The Zhihua Temple ( 智化寺; pinyin: Zhìhuà Sì; lit. "Temple of Wisdom Attained") is a

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 ...

-era

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

temple in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. It is located in the Lumicang (禄米仓) ''

hutong ''Hutong'' () are a type of narrow street or alley commonly associated with northern Chinese cities, especially Beijing. In Beijing, hutongs are alleys formed by lines of ''siheyuan'', traditional courtyard residences. Many neighbourhoods wer ...

'', in the

Chaoyangmen Chaoyangmen (; Manchu:; Möllendorff:šun be aliha duka) was a gate in the former city wall of Beijing. It is now a transportation node and a district border in Beijing. It is located in the Dongcheng District of northeastern central Beijing. R ...

area of Dongcheng District, within the

Second Ring Road The 2nd Ring Road () is the innermost ring road highway which encircles the city center of Beijing, People's Republic of China. (The first ring road had been a circular tram route.) The ring road can be divided into two parts: the original rin ...

to the north of Jinbaojie Street, west of the

Yabaolu Yabaolu (, russian: Ябаолу) is a street and area in Beijing, China, running from Chaoyangmen Outer Street to Jianguomen Outer Street. The south part of Yabaolu is home to . On the west side of Yabaolu lies Ritan Park. As of 2011 the co ...

area. The temple was built in 1443 at the order of Wang Zhen, a powerful eunuch in the Rites Supervising Office of the court of the

Zhengtong Emperor Emperor Yingzong of Ming (; 29 November 1427 – 23 February 1464), personal name Zhu Qizhen (), was the sixth and eighth Emperor of the Ming dynasty. He ascended the throne as the Zhengtong Emperor () in 1435, but was forced to abdicate in 1 ...

(also known as Emperor Yingzong; reigned 1436-1449 and 1457-1464). The temple, surrounding buildings, and grounds comprise approximately . It is one of the most important original building complexes that has remained intact since the Ming dynasty period in the Old City area of Beijing. It is also striking for its extensive use of black roof tiles. The Beijing Cultural Exchange Museum, established in November 1992, is located in the temple compound; its principal aim is "as a centre for developing cultural exchange and for developing the study of cultural relics and museums."english.bjta.gov.cn
At the temple, a group of musicians regularly performs centuries-old ritual music which has been handed down over 27 generations. The six-member group was led by the octogenarian Buddhist monk Zhang Benxing (张本兴, 1923-2009

the only surviving member of the 26th generation of musicians, and the last person to have learned the music in the traditional manner. In addition to singing voices, the instruments used include '' guanzi'' (oboe), '' dizi'' (bamboo flute), '' sheng'' (mouth organ), ''

yunluo The ''yunluo'' (simplified: 云锣; traditional: 雲鑼 pinyin: yúnluó, ; literally "cloud gongs" or "cloud of gongs"), is a traditional Chinese musical instrument. It is made up of a set of gongs of varying sizes held within a frame. It was a ...

'' (a set of ten small tuned gongs mounted vertically in a frame), and percussion including drums and cymbals. The Zhihua Temple became a nationally preserved cultural and historic relic in 1961. In 2005 the Chinese government undertook a renovation of the temple (which is now complete) in preparation for the numerous international visitors expected at the time of the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

Layout

The structures of the temple mostly date to the

Shanmen

The

shanmen The Shanmen (), also known as the Gate of Three Liberations, is the most important gate of a Chinese Chan Buddhist temple. Etymology The origins of the name "sanmen" are debated. One theory is that "''Shanmen''" takes its literal meaning of "Mo ...

(

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

: 山門;

Pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...

: ''Shānmén'') of Zhihua Temple dates to the

. It consists of a single archways 7.10 meters wide and 5 meters long, with a single-eaved xieshan-style roof. A white marble plaque is embedded on the top of the gate, which is inscribed with the words "敕賜智化寺" in

traditional Chinese characters Traditional Chinese characters are one type of standard Chinese character sets of the contemporary written Chinese. The traditional characters had taken shapes since the clerical change and mostly remained in the same structure they took at ...

, meaning "Gifted by the Imperial Court to Zhihua Temple". The left and right sides of the shanmen are also inscribed with Chinese characters; the left inscription reads "正九年正月初九日奉旨敕建", which means "Built under Imperial order on the 9th day of the 1st lunar month of the 9th year of the reign of the

Zhengde Emperor The Zhengde Emperor (; 26 October 149120 April 1521) was the 11th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1505 to 1521. Born Zhu Houzhao, he was the Hongzhi Emperor's eldest son. Zhu Houzhao took the throne at only 14 with the era name Zhen ...

", while right inscription reads "萬曆五年三月三日司禮監管監事兼掌內府供用庫印提督禮儀房太監鄭真等重修", which means "Rebuilt by the eunuch Zheng Zhen, the Master of Ceremonies who oversees the inner palace and the ceremonial room, as well as others in the 3rd day of the 3rd month of 5th year of the reign of the

Wanli Emperor The Wanli Emperor (; 4 September 1563 – 18 August 1620), personal name Zhu Yijun (), was the 14th Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1572 to 1620. "Wanli", the era name of his reign, literally means "ten thousand calendars". He was the ...

". Two

Chinese guardian lions 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 () ...

guard both sides of this gate.

Zhihua Gate

The Zhihua Gate (

: 智化門;

: ''Zhìhuàmén'') of the temple is a building structure equivalent to the Hall of the Four Heavenly Kings in most Chinese Buddhist temples. It has a width of 13 meters and a length of 7.8 meters. The building, which was built during the Ming dynasty, originally enshrined statues of

Maitreya 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 ...

, the deva Wei Tuo and 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 a ...

, but they are not extant now. It now houses an exhibition of the history of the Zhihua Temple, and the temple's ritual musicians regularly hold their performances within this building. Several steeles dating to the Ming dynasty which commemorates past donors of the temple are also housed within this building.

Bell Tower

The

Bell Tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

(

: 鐘樓;

: ''Zhōnglóu'') is located on the east side outside the Zhihua Gate and consists of two floors. It houses a bronze bell, which was cast during the Ming dynasty in the 9th year of the reign of the Emperor Yingzong (1444). The bell has a diameter of 1.05 meters, a height of 1.60 meters, and a thickness of 9 cm. The surface of the bell is inscribed with mantras written in the Sanskrit script.

Drum Tower

The Drum Tower (

: 鼓樓;

: ''Gǔlóu'') is located on the west side outside Zhihua Gate and also consists of two floors. It houses a Ming dynasty drum, which has a height of 1.45 meters and a diameter of 1.37 meters. The surface of the drum is inscribed with a lacquer pattern composing of 12 golden dragons prancing.

Zhihua Hall

The Zhihua Hall (

: 智化殿;

: ''Zhìhuàdiàn'') of the temple is a building structure equivalent to the

Mahavira Hall A Mahavira Hall, usually simply known as a Main Hall, is the main hall or building in a traditional Chinese Buddhist temple, enshrining representations of Gautama Buddha and various other buddhas and bodhisattvas. It is encountered throughout ...

in most Chinese Buddhist temples. It dates back to the Ming dynasty and enshrines numerous Ming dynasty statues of various Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and dharmapalas. In 1972, three wooden lacquered gold statues of the Buddhas

Sakyamuni 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 ...

Bhaisajyaguru Bhaiṣajyaguru ( sa, भैषज्यगुरु, zh, t= , ja, 薬師仏, ko, 약사불, bo, སངས་རྒྱས་སྨན་བླ), or ''Bhaishajyaguru'', formally Bhaiṣajya-guru-vaiḍūrya-prabhā-rāja ("Medicine Master ...

and Amitabha (each seated on a marble

lotus throne In Asian art a lotus throne, sometimes lotus platform, is a stylized lotus flower used as the seat or base for a figure. It is the normal pedestal for divine figures in Buddhist art and Hindu art, and often seen in Jain art. Originating in Indi ...

) as well as statues of the

Eighteen Arhats The Eighteen Arhats (or Luohan) () are depicted in Chinese Buddhism as the original followers of Gautama Buddha (''arhat'') who have followed the Noble Eightfold Path and attained the four stages of enlightenment. They have reached the state of N ...

which were originally enshrined in this hall were moved to the

Dajue Temple The Dajue Temple () is a Buddhist temple located in the Haidian District of western Beijing, China. It was founded in the 11th century, and the current temple dates to a reconstruction in the 15th century during the Ming Dynasty. It contains three ...

(after the Buddha statues originally enshrined in the Mahavira Hall of Dajue Temple had in turn been moved to Guangji Temple). In modern times, the temple enshrines another set of Ming dynasty statues of the Buddhas

and Amitabha (which were originally enshrined in the Hall of Great Compassion), as well as various other Buddhist figures such as Wei Tuo, Sangharama Bodhisattva and several

arhats 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 ...

. The walls of the hall are also painted with Ming dynasty murals featuring the bodhisattva Ksitigarbha,

Yanluo Wang In Chinese mythology and religion, King Yan () is the god of death and the ruler of Diyu, overseeing the "Ten Kings of Hell" in its capital of Youdu. He is also known as King Yanluo (), a transcription of the Sanskrit for "King Yama" (/, ). Kin ...

, the Ten Kings of Hell and other Buddhist figures. The mural is 3.14 meters high, 4.7 meters wide, and occupies a total area of 14.76 square meters.

Tathagata Hall and Thousand Buddha Pavilion

The Tathagata Hall (

: 如来殿;

: ''Rúláidiàn'') and Thousand Buddha Pavilion (

: 萬佛閣;

: ''Wànfogé'') are located in a single building, with the Tathagata Hall making up the first floor and the Thousand Buddha Pavilion making up the second floor. The dimensions of the Tathagata Hall measures 19 meters by 12.6 meters wide. It enshrines a Ming dynasty statues of

in the centre, flanked by statues of Sakra and

Brahma Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...

. The Thousand Buddha Pavilion enshrines statues of the three bodies of the Buddha under the

Trikaya The Trikāya doctrine ( sa, त्रिकाय, lit. "three bodies"; , ) is a Mahayana Buddhist teaching on both the nature of reality and the nature of Buddhahood. The doctrine says that Buddha has three ''kāyas'' or ''bodies'', the ''Dharma ...

doctrine:

Vairocana Vairocana (also Mahāvairocana, sa, वैरोचन) is a cosmic buddha from Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Vairocana is often interpreted, in texts like the ''Avatamsaka Sutra'', as the dharmakāya of the historical Gautama Buddha. In East ...

, Rocana and

. The walls of the pavilion are lined with niches enshrining small statues of a total of 9,999 Buddhas, which gives the pavilion its name. A Ming Dynasty copper incense burner is placed outside the gate of this building.

Buddhist Texts Library

The Buddhist Texts Library (

: 蔵經閣;

: ''Cángjīnggé'') is located on the west side of the Zhihua Hall. It mainly houses a Ming dynasty Zhuanlunzang (

simplified Chinese Simplification, Simplify, or Simplified may refer to: Mathematics Simplification is the process of replacing a mathematical expression by an equivalent one, that is simpler (usually shorter), for example * Simplification of algebraic expressions, ...

: 转轮藏;

traditional Chinese A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

: 轉輪藏;

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...

: ''Zhuànlúnzàng'', a rotating wooden used as a sutra cabinet). The Zhuanlunzang is octagonal in shape and measures more than 4 metres in height. The Zhuanlunzang's bottom portion is engraved with carvings of the

Eight Legions The Eight Legions ( sa, अष्टसेना, ; 八部衆) are a group of Buddhist deities whose function is to protect the Dharma. These beings are common among the audience addressed by the Buddha in Mahāyāna sūtras, making appearances ...

, the middle portion is engraved with carvings of

Bodhisattvas 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 ...

, the Four Heavenlty Kings, Wei Tuo and vajra-warriors and the top portion is engraved with carvings of

Vairocana Buddha Vairocana (also Mahāvairocana, sa, वैरोचन) is a cosmic buddha from Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Vairocana is often interpreted, in texts like the ''Avatamsaka Sutra'', as the dharmakāya of the historical Gautama Buddha. In East ...

, nagas and

garuda Garuda (Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ; Vedic Sanskrit: गरुळ Garuḷa) is a Hindu demigod and divine creature mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths. He is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. Garuda is a ...

References

{{Buddhist temples in Beijing Buildings and structures completed in 1443 15th-century Buddhist temples Buddhist temples in Beijing Dongcheng District, Beijing Ming dynasty architecture Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Beijing