White Horse Temple is the first Buddhist Temple to be established in China. And guarding the Mountain Gate of the temple are two white horse statues that represent the original white horses that carried the Buddhist scriptures to China.
Stone Sculpture of Scripture Carrying Horses 驮经之马石像
Bluestone | Northern Song dynasty (960 – 1127 AD) | Dimensions – H: 1.8m, L: 2.2m | White Horse Temple, Moved here from Luoyang Pingle Village, Wei Xianxin’s tomb. 青石 | 北宋仁宗天聖六年九月葬（公元1028年）｜高1.8米，长2.2米｜白马寺，1935年从洛阳平乐村南北宋太师太保魏咸信墓迁移至此
The two white horse stone statues in front of the Mountain Gate 山门 of the White Horse Temple 白马寺 were moved from the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127 AD) tomb of Wei Xianxin 北宋太师太保魏咸信墓 in 1935. These two stone horses are 1.8 metres high, 2.2 metres long, symmetrical, handsome, gentle and round. They are two excellent examples of Song Dynasty stone carvings.
Around 1935, Abbot of the White Horse Temple, Reverend Dehao 德浩法师, was rebuilding the White Horse Temple. He saw two stone horses lying in the crop field in the south of Pingle Village, north of the White Horse Temple, and asked people to move them in front of the Mountain Gate where they have remained since then. The two stone-carved horses are perfect match for the simple design of the Mountain Gate.
Built in the 11th year of Yongping (68 AD) in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220 AD), White Horse Temple was the first temple in China. It was also in White Horse Temple that Zhu Shixing 朱士行 became the first monk in China to take the tonsure. Zhu Shixing felt that the scriptures circulating at that time had not been about to fulfill the utopia, so he went to Kingdom of Khotan (modern day Hotan) to seek further scriptures and died in Hotan.
Translating the Scriptures
蕭寺馱經馬，元從竺國來。
唐．李賀〈馬〉詩二三首之一九
White Horse Temple is located about 12 kilometres east of the old city of Luoyang City. Its establishment symbolises the acceptance of Buddhism by Chinese civilisation and is also the beginning of the integration of Buddhism into the mainstream of Chinese culture.
Emperor Ming of Eastern Han Dynasty sent ministers to Tianzhu (ancient India) to ask for Buddhist scriptures to be brought to China. Along the journey, they met two senior monks She Moteng 摄摩腾 and Zhu Falang 竺法兰. Therefore, they were invited to Luoyang to teach the scriptures. They came on riding two white horses carrying scriptures and Buddha statues. In order to welcome the two reverent monks from India, Emperor Ming built the White Horse Temple “according to the old style of Tianzhu (India)” for the two to translate the scriptures.
Today, the tombs of the two monks, She Moteng 摄摩腾 and Zhu Falang 竺法兰still stand in the east and west sides of the thousand-year-old ancient temple. The scripture that they translated, “The Forty-two Chapters Sutra” 《四十二章经》, are still being used. The Sutra is extracted from the collection of the original Buddhist ancient texts “Agama Sutra” 《阿含经》. Using the phrases of Confucianism and Taoism to convey the teachings of Buddha, they express Buddhism’s peaceful spirit and compassionate consciousness.
The Original Owner of the Horses
魏咸信（946—1014），字国宝，卫州汲人，驸马都尉，其妻为宋太祖三女永庆公主。魏咸信的父亲魏仁浦是后周和北宋初期的宰相，为后周郭威统一北方立下了汗马功劳，后又辅佐柴荣治理天下。为人清静俭朴、能言善辩、足智多谋、左右逢源。魏仁浦是四朝元老（后晋、后汉、后周、北宋），树大根深。魏仁浦是一位实力派人物，是各方权臣交结的重点。
Northern Song Dynasty Tomb Shinto Stone Sheep, Stone Tiger Statues 北宋墓神道石羊、石虎
Bluestone | Song dynasty (960 – 1279 AD) | Luoyang Museum, Excavated from Luoyang 青石｜宋（公元960-1279年）｜洛阳博物馆，洛阳出土
旧时墓前有神道碑以及虎、羊、马等礼仪石雕一组，民国时期洛阳盗墓成风，魏咸信墓亦不能幸免。魏咸信神道碑全称为《宋故推忠保節同德孚正翊戴功臣保平軍節度使川陜內觀察處置等使開府儀同三司檢校太尉同中書門下平章事□陜州大都督府魏公神道碑銘 》，该碑今藏洛阳博物馆。
About Chinese National Treasure Series
中華國寶系列 Chinese National Treasure series feature specific artefacts and relics from museums all around the world that are historically significant to be considered a National Treasure. The series covers the 5,000 years of Chinese civilisation from Neolithic periods before the Xia dynasty (c. 2070-1600 BC) to modern day.
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