The Yonghe Temple (, "Palace of Peace and Harmony"), also known as the Yonghe Lamasery, or popularly as the Lama Temple, is a temple and 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 ...

school 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 ...

located on 12 Yonghegong Street,

Dongcheng District, Beijing The Dongcheng District (; literally "east city district") of Beijing covers the eastern half of Beijing's urban core, including all of the eastern half of the Old City inside of the 2nd Ring Road with the northernmost extent crossing into the are ...

, China. The building and artwork of the temple is a combination of

Han Chinese The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctiv ...

and

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...

an styles. This building is one of the largest Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in China proper. The current abbot is Lama Hu Xuefeng. Yonghe Temple, because Emperor Qianlong was born here, there were two emperors in Yonghe Temple. It became the center of the Qing government in charge of Tibetan Buddhism affairs across the country. Yonghe Temple is the highest Buddhist temple in the country in the middle and late Qing Dynasty.

History

Building work on the Yonghe Temple started in 1694 during the

Qing dynasty 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-spea ...

on the site where originally stood an official residence for court eunuchs of the Ming dynasty. It was then converted into the residence of Yinzhen (Prince Yong), the fourth son of the

Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to ...

. The

awarded this building to Yinzhen in 1702,Zhao LZ & Guo ML, ''Yong He Gong Man Wen Dang An Bian Yi, Vol 1'', p.1 Beijing, 2016 who was at the time a ''junwang'' (second-rank prince). Yinzhen moved into this building in May 1703. The Kangxi Emperor promoted Yinzhen from junwang to qinwang (first-rank prince) under the title "Prince Yong of the First Rank" (和硕雍亲王; 和碩雍親王; Héshuò Yōng Qīnwáng; Manchu: hošoi hūwaliyasun cin wang) in 1709. The name of this building was thus changed into 'the Residence of Prince Yong of the First Rank' (雍親王府) in the same year. In 1711, Hongli, the fourth son of Yongzheng, the future Qianlong emperor, was born in the East Academy (东书院) in this building. Prince Yong ascended the throne as the

Yongzheng Emperor The Yongzheng Emperor (13 December 1678 – 8 October 1735), also known by his temple name Emperor Shizong of Qing, born Yinzhen, was the fourth Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the third Qing emperor to rule over China proper. He reigned from ...

in 1722, and the Residence of Prince Yong of the First Rank was later promoted into the 'Palace of Peace and Harmony' (雍和宫). After the Yongzheng Emperor's death in 1735, his coffin was placed in the temple from 1735 to 1737. Before the Yonghe Temple was converted into a monastery, the

Grand Secretariat The Grand Secretariat (; Manchu: ''dorgi yamun'') was nominally a coordinating agency but ''de facto'' the highest institution in the imperial government of the Chinese Ming dynasty. It first took shape after the Hongwu Emperor abolished the o ...

Ortai had once proposed that

Hongzhou Hongzhou may refer to: *Hongzhou (prince) (1712–1770), a Qing dynasty prince *Hongzhou school, a Chinese school of Chán Buddhism in the Tang period * Hongzhou Town, a town in Liping County, Guizhou, China *Hongzhou Township Hongzhou () is a to ...

(Prince He) should take the Yonghe Palace as his private residence, but this suggestion was denied by the Qianlong Emperor. The Qianlong Emperor, who succeeded the Yongzheng Emperor, gave the temple imperial status signified by having its

turquoise Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrated phosphate of copper and aluminium, with the chemical formula . It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gemstone and ornamental stone for thousands of year ...

tiles replaced with yellow tiles which were reserved for the emperor. In 1744, the Qianlong Emperor issued an edict of converting the Palace of Peace and Harmony into a lamasery, and the following Buddhābhiṣeka (开光 Kaiguang) of the Buddhist figure was executed in 1745. Subsequently, the monastery became a residence for large numbers of Tibetan Buddhist monks from

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

and

, and so the Yonghe Lamasery became the national centre of Lama administration. Since 1792, with the foundation of the Golden Urn, the Yonghe Temple also became a place for the Manchu government to exert control over the Tibetan and Mongolian lama

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is ...

s. The temple was the site of an armed revolt against the Chinese Nationalist government in 1929. After the

Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...

ended in 1949, the temple was declared a national monument and closed for the following 32 years. It is said to have survived the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...

due to the intervention of Premier

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 January 1976. Zhou served under Chairman Ma ...

. Reopened to the public in 1981, it is today both a functioning temple and highly popular tourist attraction in the city.

Administration

After the Yonghegong Temple was converted into a monastery, its management can be divided into two parts: administrative affairs management and religious affairs management. In terms of administration, the Yonghe Temple is treated as an imperial Tibetan Buddhist temple directly under the jurisdiction of the Qing Dynasty. The emperor would appoint a prince or a junwang (second-rank prince) as the responsible of the temple's secular business, and delegate the actual management affairs to the

Imperial Household Department The Imperial Household Department (; mnc, , v=dorgi baita be uheri kadalara yamun) was an institution of the Qing dynasty of China. Its primary purpose was to manage the internal affairs of the Qing imperial family and the activities of the inn ...

and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The religious affair of the Yonghe Temple is handled by a Khenpo lama （管理雍和宫总堪布喇嘛） as the head of the monastery. This position is usually held by lamas from Tibet, and is higher in status than the usual Zhasake (Manchu: jasak i da lama) lamas. It is worth noting that since 1936, the term used to address the religious head of the Yonghe Temple has changed from khenpo to

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The ...

(CN: 住持）

Layout

(Please see the map attached) *Memorial Archway *Imperial Carriage Pathway *Toilet *Zhaotai Gate * Drum tower * Bell tower *West Stele Pavilion *East Stele Pavilion *West Ase Gate *East Ase Gate *Yonghe Gate Hall *Four-Language Stele Pavilion *Exoteric Hall *Esoteric Hall *Shilun Hall *Medicine Hall *Yonghegong Hal *Yongyou Hall *West Side Hall *Eate Side Hall *Falun Hall *Jietai Building *Panchen Building *Wanfuge Pavilion *Yansui Pavilion *Yongkang Pavilion *Yamudaga Building *Zhaofo Building *Suicheng Hall *West Shunshan Building *East Shunshan Building *The Residence of A Jia Rinpoche *Souvenir store *Ticket Center *Reception *Tourist Center *Buddhābhiṣeka Center

Architecture and artworks

The Yonghe Temple is arranged along a north–south central axis, which has a length of 480 metres, and covers an area of 66,400 square meters. The main gate, the Gate of Clarity and Prosperity (''Zhaotaimen'') is at the southern end of this axis, along with three memorial archways in the front. And a path built for imperial carriages (''Niandao'') is situated between the front memorial archway and the Gate of Clarity and Prosperity. Along the axis, there are five main halls which are separated by courtyards: the ''Gate Hall of Harmony and Peace'' (''Yonghemendian''), the ''Hall of Harmony and Peace'' (''Yonghegong''), the ''Hall of Everlasting Protection'' (''Yongyoudian''), the ''Hall of the Wheel of the Law'' (''Falundian''), and the ''Pavilion of Ten Thousand Happinesses'' (''Wanfuge''). The ''Gate Hall of Harmony and Peace'' is the southernmost of the main halls, it served originally as the main entrance of the palace, but was later changed into the Hall of Heavenly Kings (Tianwangdian). In the center of the hall stands a statue of the

Maitreya Buddha Maitreya (Sanskrit: ) or Metteyya (Pali: ), also Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha, is regarded as the future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. As the 5th and final Buddha of the current kalpa, Maitreya's teachings will be aimed at ...

, along the walls statues of the

four Heavenly Kings The Four Heavenly Kings are four Buddhist gods, each of whom is believed to watch over one cardinal direction of the world. In Chinese mythology, they are known collectively as the "Fēng Tiáo Yǔ Shùn" () or "Sìdà Tiānwáng" (). In the ...

are arranged. There sit two stele pavilions in front of the Gate Hall of Harmony and Peace, which contain the stele of the Yonghe Temple and the stele of the Discourse of Lamas. The ''Hall of Harmony and Peace'' is the main building of the temple. It houses three bronze statues of the Buddhas of the Three Ages, the statue of the

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

(Buddha of the Present) is in the center, it is flanked by the statue of

Dīpankara Buddha Dipankara (Pali: ''Dīpaṅkara''; Sanskrit: ', "Lamp bearer") or Dipankara Buddha is one of the Buddhas of the past. He is said to have lived on Earth four asankheyyas and one hundred thousand kappas ago. According to some Buddhist or folk tr ...

(Buddha of the Past, right) and the

(Buddha of the Future, left). Along the sides of the hall, the statues of the 18

Arhat In Buddhism, an ''arhat'' (Sanskrit: अर्हत्) or ''arahant'' (Pali: अरहन्त्, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana'' and liberated ...

s are placed. A mural in the hall shows the

bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...

Avalokitesvara. The ''Hall of Everlasting Protection'' was Emperor Yongzheng's living quarters as a prince and the place where his coffin was placed after his death. Today, a statue of the ''Bhaisajya-guru'' (healing Buddha) stands in this hall. The ''Hall of the Wheel of the Law'' functions as a place for reading scriptures and conducting religious ceremonies. It contains a large statue of Je Tsongkhapa, founder of the Geluk School. The hall also contains the Five-Hundred-

-Hill, a carving made of red

sandalwood Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods for us ...

with statues of the arhats made from five different metals (gold, silver, copper, iron, and tin). The ''Pavilion of Ten Thousand Happinesses'' (sometimes referred to as "The Hall of Boundless Happiness") contains an 18m tall (with an additional 8m underground, making it 26m in total) statue of the

carved from a single piece of White

Sandalwood Sandalwood is a class of woods from trees in the genus ''Santalum''. The woods are heavy, yellow, and fine-grained, and, unlike many other aromatic woods, they retain their fragrance for decades. Sandalwood oil is extracted from the woods for us ...

. This was a gift from the seventh Dalai Lama to the Qianlong Emperor and took three years to transport from Tibet to Beijing.Zatko, M. (2014). The Rough Guide To Beijing. (fifth edition). Rough Guides Ltd. London, UK The statue is one of three artworks in the Temple which were included in the Guinness Book of Records in 1993.

Three fabulous artworks

* three bronze statues of the Buddhas of the Three Ages * Five-Hundred-

-Hill * 18m tall White

statue of the

Two Steles

The Yonghe Temple contains two steles built during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. Both of them are written in Chinese, Manchu, Tibetan, and Mongolian. The first one is the Yonghegong Stele, erected in 1744, signaling the palace's conversion into a lama monastery. The second one is The Discourse of Lama, a stele erected in 1792, which is written by the Qianlong Emperor to target the wrongdoing of the Tibetan lamas in handling the reincarnation issues. Both steles are well-preserved in the two pavilions in front of the Yonghe Gate.

Cham Dance

Being a Tibetan Buddhist temple, the Yonghe temple also inherits rituals and dances from Tibet. The temple has adopted the tradition of the cham dance, or bujak in Manchu, shortly after its conversion into a lama monastery. The first record of the practice of cham dance in Yonghe Temple was first found in 1746, at a banquet hosted by the Qianlong emperor in hosting a Dzunggar envoy. This ritual is hosted on every 28th day of the 12th lunar month and the fourth day of the first lunar month in the period after its foundation. During the reign of the Guangxu Emperor, the tradition was rescheduled as an eight-day performance starts from the 23rd of the first lunar year to the 1st of the second lunar year. Due to the closure of the Yonghe Temple in the Cultural Revolution period, the cham dance was also suspended. It was not revived until 1987.

Location

The Yonghe Temple is located in Beijing's Dongcheng District, near the northeastern corner of the Second Ring Road. The postal address is: ''12 Yonghegong Dajie, Beixinqiao, Dongcheng District, Beijing''. The Yonghe Temple and the Forbidden City are about five kilometers apart, about an hour's walk away.

Transport

Lines 2 and 5 of the

Beijing Subway The Beijing Subway is the rapid transit system of Beijing Municipality that consists of 25 lines including 20 rapid transit lines, two airport rail links, one maglev line and 2 light rail lines, and 463 stations. The rail network extends acro ...

both stop at Yonghegong (Lama Temple) station, as do a number of city buses.

Gallery

File:China - Beijing 12 - lion outside the Tibetan Monastery (134036069).jpg, A

Chinese guardian lion Chinese guardian lions, or imperial guardian lions, are a traditional Chinese architectural ornament, but the origins lie deep in much older Indian Buddhist traditions. Typically made of stone, they are also known as stone lions or shishi (). ...

outside the temple File:Gfp-china-beijing-sign-at-the-entrance-of-lama-temple.jpg, A

pailou Pailou may refer to: *Paifang, a traditional Chinese architectural form like an archway Towns * Pailou, Chizhou, in Guichi District, Chizhou, Anhui * Pailou, Jingmen, in Dongbao District, Jingmen, Hubei *Pailou, Haicheng, Liaoning Townships * P ...

with 群生仁壽 inscribed on it, at the entrance to the temple File:Gfp-china-beijing-bell.jpg, A giant ancient bell File:Gfp-china-beijing-worshipping-at-lama-temple.jpg, The Hall of Harmony and Peace (雍和宮) File:Yongyoudian.jpg, The Hall of Everlasting Protection (永佑殿) File:Gfp-china-beijing-largest-temple-at-lama-temple.jpg, The Pavilion of Ten Thousand Happinesses (萬福閣) File:Pekin L00-1P.jpg, The Pavilion of Ten Thousand Happinesses File:Yonghe Gong sign.jpg, A sign of Symbol Thriving Gate (昭泰門) File:20130915-Beijing-Yonghegong Lama Temple-Statue of Tsong-kha-pa.JPG, Statue of

Tsongkhapa Tsongkhapa ('','' meaning: "the man from Tsongkha" or "the Man from Onion Valley", c. 1357–1419) was an influential Tibetan Buddhist monk, philosopher and tantric yogi, whose activities led to the formation of the Gelug school of Tibetan Budd ...

File:Weituo, Yonghegong Lamsery, Beijing.jpg, Statue of Wei Tuo File:Pekin L00-1U.jpg, Statue of the

File:Yonghe Temple3.jpg, Statue of the Maitreya Buddha File:Yonghegong prayer wheel.jpg, A prayer wheel File:Yonghegong wall decoration.jpg, A wall decoration File:Yonghe Temple Roof.jpg, Roof at Yonghe Temple File:Yonghe temple 僧人.jpg, Monks in the Yonghe Temple

References

*''Lonely Planet Beijing'' 10th Edition (Oakland, CA: Lonely Planet Publications, 2007), 134.

External links

Official Yonghe Temple website
��
GoogleMaps: Satellite photo of the Yonghe Temple
— ''centered on the Hall of Everlasting Protection''.

�� {{Use dmy dates, date=October 2019 Tibetan Buddhist temples in Beijing Gelug monasteries and temples Tibetan Buddhist temples Dongcheng District, Beijing Qing dynasty architecture Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Beijing Houses completed in 1694 1694 establishments in China Religious organizations established in 1722 18th-century Buddhist temples 1720s establishments in China Tibetan Buddhism in Asia Maitreya