Zhēndìng

Zhending is an old city on the Hebei plain, its temples and towers rising behind substantial walls. Among its great monasteries is Longxing Temple, where a towering bronze image of the many-armed Guanyin stands within the Great Compassion Pavilion. Cast by order of the first Song emperor, the figure became a focus of devotion and a landmark of the city.

The temple was repaired and enlarged under successive dynasties. Yuan imperial patrons endowed it with land, while the Ming court supported repairs to the great pavilion. The Kangxi emperor visited under the Qing, when an imperial residence was built nearby. The monastery's halls and sculpture thus record the patronage of rulers as well as the devotion of the people who came to worship there.