Graceful presence

Among them, Liang referred to Longxing Temple as one of the most well-known temples outside Beijing. Built in 586, it is one of the earliest and largest well-preserved Buddhist temples in China, and it left a deep impression on him.

In his later research on ancient architecture, he repeatedly referred to Longxing as "brilliant", "magnificent" and "profound", according to Sun.

"It has the only surviving revolving Buddhist scripture bookcase from the 10th century in China. The structure of the bookcase pavilion is particularly exquisite, a masterpiece of wooden architecture. … It made us ecstatic, and happily thrilled," Liang was quoted as saying, upon seeing the Zhuanlunzang Ge, or revolving bookcase pavilion, at Longxing Temple. The quote is recorded in Sun's book.

Liang was also surprised by the temple's other treasures, including the Moni Dian, or Hall of Manichaean, from the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) period, in which there's another treasure — a multicolored statue of Avalokitesvara (Guanyin).