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The White Cloud Temple, also known as Baiyun Temple or the Abbey or Monastery of the White Clouds, is a
Taoist temple A Taoist temple (, also called ''dàoguàn'' and , is a place where the Tao is observed and cultivated it is a place of worship in Taoism. Structure and function can vary according to the Taoist school the temple belongs to. For example, ''guà ...
and
monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...
located in
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...
,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
. It is one of "The Three Great Ancestral Courts" of the
Quanzhen School The Quanzhen School (全真: ''Quánzhēn''), also known as Completion of Authenticity, Complete Reality, and Complete Perfection is currently one of the two dominant denominations of Taoism in mainland China. It originated in Northern China ...
of Taoism and is titled "The First Temple under Heaven".


History

The White Cloud Temple was first founded in the mid-8th century during the
Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
and was initially called the Temple of Heavenly Perpetuity (''Tianchang Guan''). During this period, the abbey was state-sponsored and staffed by an elite clergy. From 1125 to 1215 when what is now Beijing was controlled by the Jin dynasty, the abbey served as the Taoist administrative headquarters and played an important role in state ceremonies. After Beijing was taken by the
Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member ...
in 1215, the abbey was taken over by the
Quanzhen The Quanzhen School (全真: ''Quánzhēn''), also known as Completion of Authenticity, Complete Reality, and Complete Perfection is currently one of the two dominant denominations of Taoism in mainland China. It originated in Northern China in ...
patriarch
Qiu Chuji Qiu Chuji (10 February 1148– 21 August 1227), courtesy name Tongmi (通密), also known by his Taoist name Master Changchun, was the disciple of Wang Chongyang and a renowned Taoist master. He is known for meeting Genghis Khan near the Hindu ...
and became the headquarters of the Quanzhen movement until the establishment of the
Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
. Qiuwho himself was known by the name Master of Eternal
Spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a h ...
renamed the abbey the Palace of Eternal Spring (''Changchun Gong''). Upon being summoned by
Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; ; xng, Temüjin, script=Latn; ., name=Temujin – August 25, 1227) was the founder and first Great Khan (Emperor) of the Mongol Empire, which became the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in history a ...
, Qiu undertook a three-year trek from
Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in His ...
to give the great khan an exposition on Taoism, which he completed in October 1222. Qiu's successor, Yin Zhiping (; 1169-1251) built a memorial shrine over Qiu's grave. This shrine became a temple in its own right and became known as the White Cloud Temple. The abbey was damaged when the Mongols took over in the late 13th century and, during the Ming dynasty, the Palace of Eternal Spring was destroyed. However, the White Cloud Temple survived and took over the functions of its former parent. Under the Ming, clergy from the Zhengyi school took over operations of the abbey but continued Quanzhen traditions and ordination ceremonies. Zhengyi control over the temple continued until the 17th century, when their monopoly ended and the Quanzhen master Wang Changyue (; d.1680) took over. To this day, the White Cloud Temple remains controlled by the Quanzhen school.Goossaert (2008), 208. The abbey was without an abbot for the 1940s and was closed when the
communists Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
came to power in 1949. Unlike many other historical sites which were being destroyed during 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 ...
, the White Cloud Temple managed to survived but was also damaged. Today, it is again a fully functioning temple and is the seat of the
Chinese Taoist Association Chinese Taoist Association (CTA ; ), founded in April 1957, is the official government supervisory organ of Taoism in the People's Republic of China. It is overseen by the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since th ...
.Goossaert (2008), 209.


Layout

Like most other Chinese temples, the White Cloud Temple is laid out on a north-south axis, with the entrance at the south end. There are five main halls built upon the main axis, beginning with the Main Gate, Yuhuang Hall , "Hall of the
Jade Emperor The Jade Emperor or Yudi ( or , ') in Chinese culture, traditional religions and myth is one of the representations of the first god ( '). In Daoist theology he is the assistant of Yuanshi Tianzun, who is one of the Three Pure Ones, the th ...
"), Laolü Hall ), Qiuzu Hall (, "Hall of the
Venerable The Venerable (''venerabilis'' in Latin) is a style, a title, or an epithet which is used in some Western Christian churches, or it is a translation of similar terms for clerics in Eastern Orthodoxy and monastics in Buddhism. Christianity Cat ...
Qiu"), and finally the Sanqing Hall , "Hall of the Three Pure Ones"). On either side of the main axis are two smaller axes, each containing halls dedicated to a variety of deities. In the rear of the complex is a garden which hosts the abbey’s ordination platform.


Yuhuang Hall

This hall was first built in 1661 and was rebuilt in 1788. It is dedicated to the
Jade Emperor The Jade Emperor or Yudi ( or , ') in Chinese culture, traditional religions and myth is one of the representations of the first god ( '). In Daoist theology he is the assistant of Yuanshi Tianzun, who is one of the Three Pure Ones, the th ...
, who oversees the Celestial Bureaucracy in Chinese religion. It is three bays long with a gabled roof, and is flanked by drum and bell towers.Qian, 142.


Laolü Hall

This hall has the same design as the Yuhuang Hall and was first built in 1456. The monastic community holds a twice-daily office in the Laolü Hall, and it is where ordination certificates are issued.


Qiuzu Hall

Originally built to enshrine
Qiu Chuji Qiu Chuji (10 February 1148– 21 August 1227), courtesy name Tongmi (通密), also known by his Taoist name Master Changchun, was the disciple of Wang Chongyang and a renowned Taoist master. He is known for meeting Genghis Khan near the Hindu ...
, this hall was first built in 1228. It is three bays long with a front gallery.


Sanqing Hall

In 1428, the Sanqing hall was built. It is a two-story, five bay structure with a gabled roof that contains statues of the Three Pure Ones on the top floor and the Four Celestial Aides on the bottom floor.


Ordinations

Out of 20 Quanzhen ordination seminaries in 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-speak ...
, the White Cloud Temple was the most important of all. In order to become a Taoist monk of Quanzhen Order, novices first had to spend three years living in a temple. After accomplishing this, they were eligible to be ordained. The ordination was extremely harsh. Each novice had to undergo 100 days of brutal training that sometimes resulted in death. In modern times, this has been reduced to 53 days and is no longer as dangerous. After this training period, novices had exams on Taoist classics, poetry, and precepts. Afterwards, successful novices were fully ordained as
Taoist monks A daoshi (道士 "master of the Tao"), translated as Taoist priest, Taoist monk, Taoist master or Professional Taoist, is a priest in Taoism. Along with Han Chinese priests, there are also many practicing ethnic minority priests in China. Some ...
. During the Qing dynasty, an average of 200 novices were ordained every four years. Ordination ceremonies ended after 1927, but were resumed in 1989.


Festivals

Every year on the 19th day of the first lunar month a festival is held at the abbey in celebration of Qiu Chuji's birthday. It has been thought that Qiu would return to earth as an immortal on this day. The festival was first held during the
Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fif ...
, but was suspended after the People's Republic of China was established in 1949. The festival was revived in the 1990s and continues to be held to this day.Goossaert (2008), 210.


Gallery

Image:WhiteCloudTemplepic10.jpg, Image:WhiteCloudTemplepic1.jpg, Image:WhiteCloudTemplepic2.jpg, Image:WhiteCloudTemplepic5.jpg, Image:WhiteCloudTemplepic6.jpg, Image:WhiteCloudTemplepic9.jpg, Image:WhiteCloudTemplepic4.jpg, Image:WhiteCloudTemplepic8.jpg,


See also

*
Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Ta ...
&
Taoist Canon Daozang (), meaning 'Taoist Canon', consists of around 1,400 texts that were collected (after the '' Daodejing'' and '' Zhuangzi'' and Liezi which are the core Taoist texts). They were collected by Taoist monks of the period in an attempt to b ...
* Master Changchun *
Quanzhen School The Quanzhen School (全真: ''Quánzhēn''), also known as Completion of Authenticity, Complete Reality, and Complete Perfection is currently one of the two dominant denominations of Taoism in mainland China. It originated in Northern China ...
*
Dragon Gate Taoism The Dragon Gate sect ( 龍門派 Lóngmén pài) of the Complete Reality School ( 全真派 Quánzhēn pài) of Taoism incorporates elements of Buddhism and Confucianism into a comprehensive form of Taoism. Complete Reality Taoism is generally ...
*
History of Taoism The history of Taoism stretches throughout Chinese history. Originating in prehistoric China, it has exerted a powerful influence over Chinese culture throughout the ages. Taoism evolved in response to changing times, with its doctrine and associ ...
*
Taoist schools Taoism is a East Asian religion founded in ancient China with many schools or denominations, of which none occupies a position of orthodoxy and co-existed peacefully. Taoist branches usually build their identity around a set of scriptures, tha ...
*
Chinese Taoist Association Chinese Taoist Association (CTA ; ), founded in April 1957, is the official government supervisory organ of Taoism in the People's Republic of China. It is overseen by the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since th ...


References


Citations


Bibliography

*Goossaert, Vincent. "Baiyun Guan." in Fabrizio Pregadio, ed., The Encyclopedia of Taoism (London: Routledge, 2008), 207-210. *Lai-Chi Tim. "Daoism in China Today: 1980-2002." ''The China Quarterly,'' 174(2003):413-427. *Qian Yun. ''Taoist Buildings: Ancient Chinese Architecture''. Springer, 2000. {{Old Beijing Religious buildings and structures completed in 1228 Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Beijing Taoist temples in Beijing Buildings and structures in Fengtai District 13th-century Taoist temples