Shifo Temple

There is an ancient temple on Ciyun Road in Wuzhen, called Shifo Temple, also known as Futian Temple. There are three stone Buddhas in the temple, each of which is over 1.6 feet tall and is carved from marble. The carving is exquisite and the shape is vivid, making it a masterpiece of stone carving art. When ancient people came here for sightseeing, they left behind a hymn of praise: "Six bodies stand on the same base, Zhuoshan craftsmen is the only one in the world; I don't know the purpose of flying here, it is much heavier than a feather." Where did the stone Buddha in this temple come from? The legends of these stone Buddhas are passed down among the people of Wuzhen.

It is said that the Jade Emperor in the heaven learned that there are Suzhou and Hangzhou with beautiful scenery that surpasses heaven in the world. He decided to build a palace in each of these two places for entertainment. One day, he sent four stone Buddhas from Hangzhou to Suzhou for on-site inspection. Four stone Buddhas transformed into four mortals and boarded an incense burning boat from Hangzhou to Suzhou. When the boat passed through Wuzhen, four stone Buddhas looked out of the cabin and saw streams and ponds crisscrossing here, rows of green trees, red peach, green willow and beautiful scenery. The four stone Buddhas thought that they had arrived at Suzhou, so they sent one to go ashore to take a look. When the boat arrived at the Rihui Bridge in Xizha, Wuzhen, a stone Buddha said to the boatman, "Boatman, I need to go ashore for urine. Please make it convenient and stop here for a moment." The boatman agreed and immediately pulled the boat to the shore, set up a pole and board, and let the guest go ashore. As soon as the guest stepped ashore and suddenly rose up several inches, and the people on the boat felt relieved. The boatman exclaimed in surprise, "This passenger is really heavy, like a stone bodhisattva." As soon as the boatman finished speaking, the guest on the shore stood still as if he had been immobilized. The three people who stayed on the boat saw that the truth about the stone Buddha had been revealed by the boatman. They quickly said to visit their friends and also quickly left the boat, landed and went in the south direction. At this moment, the incense burning boat was even higher, and the pilgrims on board speculated that these four people were all stone bodhisattvas.

Soon, the guest at the end of the Rihui Bridge turned into a stone Buddha standing there. The other three, walking near the Fangsheng Bridge, also showed their original form and became three stone Buddhas. After the news spread, people said that the Fengshui in Wuzhen, where Buddha has fallen, is a good place. In order to preserve this immortal land, people built a small temple for the stone Buddha who first landed on the Rihui Bridge, and also built a large temple for the three stone Buddhas south of the Fangsheng Bridge, named " Shifo Temple". A plaque was also hung inside the temple, with the words "floating from the water" written on it.

From then on, in incense fair every spring, many virtuous men and women come to the temple to worship. Especially those Suzhou and Changzhou pilgrims, who come back from Hangzhou to burn incense, when passing by Wuzhen, always always go to the Shifu Temple to burn " Turning-back Incense ". It is said that this is to apologize to several Stone Buddhas. Unfortunately, this ancient temple, along with the three stone Buddhas inside, was destroyed in the Ten Years of Turmoil. After learning about the destruction of Wuzhen historical sites such as the Shifo Temple, Mr. Mao Dun once wrote in a poem to his hometown: "The past has faded, and historical experience has been drawn." This expresses his deep regret for the destroyed historic site.

The current three stone Buddhas have been re carved in their original form, with the lower half of one stone Buddha being the original, which was built inside a wall by a local farmer to survive to this day.