山西運城絳縣太陰寺-800餘年長四米的整根黃楊木雕臥佛｜Taiyin Temple，a 800-year-old Reclining Buddha Carved out of a Boxwood

Taiyin Temple was built in the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534 A.D.), and was repaired in the third year of Taihe of the Northern Zhou Dynasty (568 A.D.), the first year of Yonghui of Tang Dynasty (650 A.D.), twentieth year of Dading of Jin Dynasty (1180 A.D.), and first year of Dade of Yuan Dynasty (1297 A.D.).

The original buildings are majestic with stone steles. The Northern Palace was burned down in the 5th year of the Republic of China. Now it is a family temple moved from the nearby area. The South Palace keeps the architectural style of the Jin Dynasty. Taiyin Temple faces north and orient towards Yin (the dark side), thus it is named as "Taiyin Temple"(too dark). There exists the largest single Sleeping Buddha wood carving in our country. According to the inscriptions from the Yuan Dynasty, the wooden image of the Nirvana of Buddha was carved by Yun Gong and Fa Shu. There still exists Fa Shu’s statue on the west side of the shrine. When Yun Gong and Fa Shu restored the Taiyin Temple, they carved the Sleeping Buddha and other three Buddha statues as supplements of the Temple. And those carvings are recorded in the Tripitaka Zhao Cheng Jin Zang, which is the earliest and most complete Tripitaka in Chinese history. Currently it is the treasure of National Library of China and is reputed to be the best publication of the Tripitaka in history.

The Tripitaka went through from Jin Dynasty to Yuan Dynasty, experiencing the start, supplement and printing of carving. Taiyin Temple is one of the important places for engraving and printing. The shrine contains a set of murals for condolence painted in the fifth year of Hongwu period in Ming Dynasty. There are also huge murals in the North and South Palace. But unfortunately the precious mural painted in Jin Dynasty and the heads of the three Buddha statue were sold to the Dutch Empire by local squires in collusion with antique dealers in the 12th year of the Republic of China.

Taiyin Temple is a precious heritage for studying ancient architecture, murals, sculpture and Buddhist history in China. In 1986, it was listed as a "key cultural relics protection unit" by the People's government of Shanxi Province. In 2001, it was listed as a national cultural relic protection unit by the State Council.