The sentence "Open the South Temple Gate" should be pronounced as "Open/South/Temple Gate" instead of "Open/South Temple/Gate". It means: open the door to the south of the temple (the main entrance is on the south wall of the temple). The sentence "Open South Gate" in the text after "Cao Quanbei" (in "Ode" at the end of the inscription) proves this point.
Before the Song Dynasty, the layout of Buddhist temples in the Han Dynasty had no certain rules. It was not until the Song Dynasty that it gradually became a model, and the "Galand Seven-Hall System" was formed, that is, sitting north to south, starting from the mountain gate and laying out along the north-south central axis. That is to say, before the Song Dynasty (including the Eastern Han Dynasty, of course), the architectural pattern of the temple did not necessarily face south, and the main entrance was located in the south of the temple.
Then, what is the purpose of "opening the main entrance on the south wall of the temple" (this is a "reconstruction" project)? A: To achieve the goal of "looking to Hua Yue".
2. Explain "Looking at Hua Yue":
Cheng: Welcome (welcome: welcome).
Look: look high and see far.
Hope: treat it with respect; Look up; Visit.
Hua Yue: Huashan Mountain. Huashan is located in huayin city, Weinan City, Shaanxi Province.
Looking forward to Hua Yue: Look up at Huashan Mountain with reverence (so that temples and believers educated in temples can face the majestic Hua Yue Fairy Mountain with reverence. (Note: Heyang County (now in hancheng city, Shaanxi Province) is located in the north of Huashan Mountain (in huayin city, Shaanxi Province), so "opening the south gate of the temple" can achieve the purpose of "making the believers in the temple and the temple look at Hua Yue". )
3. The purpose of "opening the door to the south of the temple to make the whole temple face Huashan" is to adjust the geomantic omen in Heyang County, so as to improve the long-standing bad situation of "the gentry and the people who cultivate themselves".