Transcript The temple
Unit
4
Project
Reporting on a historic religious site
The oldest Buddhist temple in
China
The White Horse Temple in Luoyang
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So what’s the structure of the
report?
• Part 1 (Para 1 )
A brief about the____________
introduction temple.
• Part 2 (Para 2-5 )
story
• The _________behind
the temple.
• Part 3 (Para 6 )
The ____________of
the temple.
architecture
• Part 4 (Para 7-9)
The ______________of
the temple.
importance
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Part 1 Para 1
A brief introduction of the temple
Read Para 1 again and fill in the blanks.
located
The White Horse Temple is _________
Luoyang
in __________,
Henan Province in the
central
_________
east of China. Being the
______
first __________
Buddhist temple in China, it
is/remains
__________one of the mostimportant
________
temples in all of China.
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Part 2 Para 2-5
The story behind the temple.
• Read Para 2-5 again and try to
answer the following questions.
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Answer the following questions.
1. What was the story behind the temple?
The story is from a dream the Emperor
Mingdi of the Eastern Han Dynasty had one
night.
2. What did Mingdi dream of that night?
He dreamt of a golden man flying over
the palace.
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3. What was the golden man like?
He was almost four metres tall, and there
were rays of light coming from his head
that lit the entire palace hall.
4. How did his officials interpret his dream?
The officials thought the Emperor
had dreamt of Buddha, a saint from India.
5. Why did Mingdi instruct his officials to go
to India on his behalf as agents?
To find more information about Buddha.
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6. What did the officials bring back
to Luoyang from India?
Two monks, some Buddhist readings and
images of Buddha.
7. How were the Buddhist readings and
images of Buddha brought back to
Luoyang?
They were brought back to Luoyang on
two white horses.
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8. Where were the Indian monks invited
to stay in Luoyang?
At Honglu Si.
9. Why did the Honglu Temple get its
present name, the White Horse Temple?
To remind people of the white horses
that the Buddhist readings and images had
travelled on.
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The temple got its present name
because of the White Horse
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10. What change did renaming the
temple bring about to the Chinese
language ?
The White Horse Temple first brought the
meaning of ‘temple’ to the word ‘si’(寺),
which is no longer used to mean
‘ministry’, and instead only refers to a
temple.
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Part 3 Para 6
The architecture of the temple
• Read Para 6 again and try to find out
the characteristics of the
architecture of the temple.
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The temple complex
______
is centered around
a southern-facing
courtyard that is
_________
shaped like a
rectangle On both
________.
sides are different
halls
____ and the
rooms where the
monks live.
______
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Different halls and rooms
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first
The ______known
Buddhist pagoda in
_________
China, Qiyun Pagoda,
13 stories tall,
_____
stands in the
___________
south-east corner
of the complex. The
pagoda houses
______ the
tombs of the two
Indian monks who
_______
first travelled to
China.
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Part 4 Para 7-9
Read Para 7-9 again and then do the
pair work.
• Pair work:
Please work in pairs and make a list of
things that make the White Horse
Temple important to Chinese People
and history.
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Things that make the White
Horse Temple important
• It is not only the oldest Buddhist temple in
China, but also the oldest one still in use.
• Buddhism spread from here to other parts of
China and Asia and the temple remains
important today as a holy Buddhist site.
• It has seen a lot of history.
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Things that make the White
Horse Temple important
• The new Indian-style pagoda, located west
of the White Horse Temple, represents the
friendship between India and China.
• Buddhism originated from India.
• It is one of the first historic buildings the
government listed to receive special state
protection.
• It is a famous tourist attraction and will remain a
popular sightseeing destination.
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