大昭慶律寺位於杭州西湖北岸，在錢塘門外，西去府治三里，與西湖南岸淨慈寺對峙，為有宋精藍四百八十之一。舊名菩提院，石晉天福元年（九三六），吳越王錢氏建，宋乾德二年（九六四）重建，僧永智開山；太平興國三年（九七八）築戒壇，七年（九八二）賜額「大昭慶律寺」；淳化至天禧間（九九〇～一〇二一），僧省常結「華嚴淨行社」；慶曆二年（一〇四二）建鐘樓；宋、元兩代屢毀屢興。明洪武二十四年（一三九一）重建戒壇，正統元年（一四三六）鑄大鐘，建鼓樓。有明一代，興廢靡常，然香火不絕，為西湖名剎。記本寺之掌故，舊有「昭慶伽藍記」、「昭慶記事」、「喜日宗譜」等，廣賓上人綜而撰為「西湖律宗大昭慶律寺輯略」十四篇；清乾隆年間，寺僧宜潔別裁志稿五卷，沙門篆玉為之釐正；乾隆二十九年（一七六四），鄉人吳樹虛以「喜日宗譜」、「大昭慶律寺輯略」為藍本，刪棄煩蕪，添增華實，別撰「大昭慶律寺志」十卷，前繪寺圖一幅，下分八門：盛典、興建、舊蹟、淨社、戒律、軌儀、僧伽、游集。盛典一門，記康熙、雍正、乾隆三帝南巡駐蹕之事。興建一門，記寺之建置沿革，採編年綱目體，有關建置碑、記、諭、疏、塔銘，則附錄之。舊蹟一門，記寺附近之名勝古蹟，有關藝文附之。淨社、戒律、軌儀三門，為本寺志之特例，蓋大昭慶律寺乃律宗守廷，戒律、軌儀為律宗之所重，淨社為宋代江南結社唸佛之特色。是志特列此三門，要為存律宗之文獻也。僧伽一門，為高僧傳記，多採塔銘。游集一門，則錄詩篇。體例謹嚴，所據資料，皆冠以書名，要而不繁，簡而不疏，洵名志也。茲據清光緒八年（一八八二）錢塘丁氏重刋本景印。
Dazhaoqing Lü Temple (Great Imperial Qing Vinaya Monastery) is situated on the northern shore of the West Lake in Hangzhou, just outside Qiantang Gate, three li west of the prefectural seat. It stands in direct alignment with Jingci Temple on the southern shore, one of the 480 celebrated temples of the Song Dynasty. Originally named Bodhi Court, it was founded by King Qian of Wuyue in the first year of Tianfu in the Later Jin Dynasty (936 CE). Rebuilt in the second year of Qiande in the Song Dynasty (964 CE), it was established by the monk Yongzhi as its founding abbot. In the third year of Taiping Xingguo (978 CE), an ordination platform was constructed, and in the seventh year (982 CE), the temple received the imperial title “Dazhaoqing Lü Temple.” Between the Chunhua and Tianxi eras (990–1021), the monk Shengchang organized the “Huayan Pure Practice Society.” A bell tower was added in the second year of Qingli (1042 CE). Throughout the Song and Yuan dynasties, the temple saw cycles of destruction and restoration. In the twenty-fourth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1391), the ordination platform was rebuilt, and in the first year of Zhengtong (1436), a great bell was cast and a drum tower erected. Through the Ming Dynasty, the temple experienced fluctuating fortunes, yet its incense never died out, and it remained a renowned monastery of the West Lake.
Records of the temple’s history were preserved in works such as the “Record of Zhaoging Monastery,” “Chronicles of Zhaoging,” and the “Xiri Lineage Register.” The venerable Guangbin compiled these into the “Brief Account of Dazhaoqing Lü Temple of the Vinaya School in the West Lake” in fourteen chapters. During the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, the monk Yijie independently drafted a five-volume manuscript, later revised by the monk Zhuan Yu. In the twenty-ninth year of Qianlong (1764), a local scholar named Wu Shuxu, drawing upon the “Xiri Lineage Register” and the “Brief Account of Dazhaoqing Lü Temple” as his primary sources, streamlined the redundant and enriched the substantive, producing the ten-volume “Gazetteer of Dazhaoqing Lü Temple.” Prefaced with a temple map, the gazetteer is organized into eight sections: Grand Celebrations, Construction History, Ancient Sites, Pure Practice Society, Monastic Discipline, Ritual Protocols, Sangha Biographies, and Literary Gatherings. The Grand Celebrations section records the southern inspection visits of Emperors Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong. The Construction History section documents the temple’s architectural evolution, adopting a chronological outline format, with related stele inscriptions, records, imperial edicts, and pagoda epitaphs appended. The Ancient Sites section describes notable landmarks and historical sites near the temple, accompanied by relevant literary works. The sections on the Pure Practice Society, Monastic Discipline, and Ritual Protocols constitute a distinctive feature of this gazetteer—for Dazhaoqing Lü Temple served as a bastion of the Vinaya School, and discipline and ceremonial protocols were central to its tradition, while the Pure Practice Society exemplified the distinctive tradition of communal Pure Land recitation in the Jiangnan region during the Song Dynasty. These three sections were deliberately included to preserve the literary heritage of the Vinaya School. The Sangha Biographies section presents biographies of eminent monks, drawing primarily from pagoda epitaphs, while the Literary Gatherings section collects poems. With its rigorous structure and meticulous attribution of sources cited under their respective titles, the gazetteer is comprehensive without being cumbersome, concise without being sparse—truly a distinguished work. This edition is reproduced from the reprint by the Ding family of Qiantang in the eighth year of the Guangxu reign (1882).