Liangqing (monk)

Liangqing (良卿法师) was a Chinese Buddhist monk and abbot of Famen Temple (Chinese: 法门寺; pinyin: Fǎmén Sì).

At the beginning of the Chinese Cultural Revolution in 1966, a campaign was introduced to destroy the Four Olds. As Buddhist sites and temples were widely targeted during this campaign, Liangqing's Famen Temple was a major target for destruction. Hundreds of Red Guards were sent to destroy the Famen Temple.[1] Due to this imposing threat, Liangqing, the temple's Abbot, chose an act of self-immolation to protect the temple and contents from destruction.[2][3] Although the contents of the temple were all smashed by the Red Guard, Liangqing's self-sacrifice was successful as the temple's True Relic Pagoda and its relic of the Buddha were both saved from destruction.