Badakar Monastery (Mongolian script: ''Badakar Süm''), alternatively known as Udin Ju (, Chinese transcription: Wudang Zhao), is a

Tibetan Buddhist Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

monastery of the

Gelug 240px, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Bodhgaya (India). The Gelug (, also Geluk; "virtuous")Kay, David N. (2007). ''Tibetan and Zen Buddhism in Britain: Transplantati ...

sect. It is the largest Tibetan Buddhist monastery in

Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...

, and was designated a

Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level A Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National LevelEnglish translation for "全国重点文物保护单位" varies, it includes Major Site (to Be) Protected for Its Historical and Cultural Value at the National Level, Major Histo ...

in 1996.

Names

Badekar Monastery has three names. One is local Mongolian, which is Wudang Temple (); ''Wudang'' is a Chinese transliteration of the Mongolian word for

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...

, whilst ''zhao'' is a transliteration of the word for

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

. ''Badakar'' is the formal Mongolian name from oral Tibetan Bämagar/Pemakar ( white peony). The formal quadrilingual name, granted in 1756 by the Qianlong emperor, but rarely used, is * Tibetan name: རྒྱ༌ཆེན་རྟོགས་ལྡན༌གླིང༌། (Gyaqên Dog Dänling, Gyaqêndog Monastery) * Mongolian name: (Agu'ih Onolt Monastery) * (Guangjue Monastery) * Manchu name: Amba Ulhisu Juktehen

History

The

Qing government The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...

was a major patron of

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

in Hohhot and

more broadly. The association between the government and religion assisted the Qing in maintaining their power in Inner Mongolia. Badekar Monastery was built sometime after the Kangxi era as part of the rapid construction of Tibetan Buddhist structures. The monastery was expanded on a massive scale under the Qianlong emperor, reportedly to pacify the local Mongolian population after the Qing massacred a rebellious group from the Dzungar Basin. The complex also received generous grants and expansion under the

Jiaqing emperor The Jiaqing Emperor (13 November 1760 – 2 September 1820), also known by his temple name Emperor Renzong of Qing, born Yongyan, was the sixth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and the fifth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, from ...

and

Daoguang emperor The Daoguang Emperor (; 16 September 1782 – 26 February 1850), also known by his temple name Emperor Xuanxong of Qing, born Mianning, was the seventh Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the sixth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning ...

. The monastery is located 54 km from Bugat, but was developed as a major tourist destination during the reforms of the 1980s. In 2001, the area around the monastery was declared a national park.

Architecture

In contrast to other

institutions in

, Badekar Monastery was constructed according to the layout of

Tashi Lhunpo Monastery Tashi Lhunpo Monastery (), founded in 1447 by the 1st Dalai Lama, is the traditional monastic seat of the Panchen Lama, and an historically and culturally important monastery in Shigatse, the second-largest city in Tibet. The monastery was sa ...

Xigazê Shigatse, officially known as Xigazê (; Nepali: ''सिगात्से''), is a prefecture-level city of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Its area of jurisdiction, with an area of , corresponds to the histori ...

, thus it incorporates no Han-style architecture. All structures are positioned horizontally along the mountain, with halls along the central access ascending up into the mountains.

Environment

From the late 1990s, it was observed that much of the vegetation near the monastery was receding, streams were drying up, and desert was spreading. The problem has been exacerbated by heavy summer rains, which inundate the dry soil, washing it away. The area in front of the monastery has been

urbanised Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly the ...

and, in 2009, it was noted that very few

trees could be found in its vicinity, despite them once having been plentiful.

References

Notes

Works cited

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Badekar Monastery Buddhist temples in Baotou Gelug monasteries Tibetan Buddhist temples in Inner Mongolia Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Inner Mongolia Buddhist monasteries in China Tibetan Buddhism in Asia