Xihuang Temple () is a

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhism, Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, khurul and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in B ...

located in

Chaoyang District, Beijing Chaoyang District () is an urban list of administrative divisions of Beijing, district of Beijing. It borders the districts of Shunyi, Beijing, Shunyi to the northeast, Tongzhou, Beijing, Tongzhou to the east and southeast, Daxing, Beijing, Daxin ...

History

Qing dynasty

In 1644,

Shunzhi Emperor The Shunzhi Emperor (15 March 1638 – 5 February 1661), also known by his temple name Emperor Shizu of Qing, personal name Fulin, was the second Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the first Qing emperor to rule over China pro ...

established the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

(1644–1911) in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. In order to deal with military and political affairs, he invited the

5th Dalai Lama The 5th Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (; ; 1617–1682) was recognized as the 5th Dalai Lama, and he became the first Dalai Lama to hold both Tibet's political and spiritual leadership roles. He is often referred to simply as the Great Fif ...

to Beijing in 1651. Shunzhi Emperor issued the decree building the temple as the residence for the 5th Dalai Lama. In 1780, after the Parinirvana of the 6th Panchen Lama,

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, personal name Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China pr ...

ordered built a white pagoda to commemorate him. The construction completed in 1982, Qianlong Emperor named it "Qingjing Huacheng Pagoda" (). Xihuang Temple was devastated by the combined armies of the English and French during the

Second Opium War The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Chinese War or ''Arrow'' War, was fought between the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and the United States against the Qing dynasty of China between 1856 and 1860. It was the second major ...

in 1860. Forty years later in 1900, the

Eight-Nation Alliance The Eight-Nation Alliance was a multinational military coalition that invaded northern China in 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion, with the stated aim of relieving the foreign legations in Beijing, which were being besieged by the popular Boxer ...

ransacked Xihuang Temple during the Invasion of Beijing. In 1908, the

13th Dalai Lama The 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso (full given name: Ngawang Lobsang Thupten Gyatso Jigdral Chokley Namgyal; abbreviated to Thubten Gyatso) (; 12 February 1876 – 17 December 1933) was the 13th Dalai Lama of Tibet, enthroned during a turbulen ...

lived here for almost three months.

Republic of China

In 1923, the 9th Panchen Lama came to Beijing and lived in Xihuang Temple.

People's Republic of China

After the establishment of the Communist State in 1954, the

10th Panchen Lama Lobsang Trinley Lhündrub Chökyi Gyaltsen (born Gönbo Cêdän; 19 February 1938 – 28 January 1989) was the tenth Panchen Lama, officially the 10th Panchen Erdeni (), of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. According to Tibetan Buddhism, ...

and

14th Dalai Lama The 14th Dalai Lama (born 6 July 1935; full spiritual name: Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, shortened as Tenzin Gyatso; ) is the incumbent Dalai Lama, the highest spiritual leader and head of Tibetan Buddhism. He served a ...

paid religious homage to Xihuang Temple while they attending the

1st National People's Congress The 1st National People's Congress (NPC) was in session from 1954 to 1959. It held four sessions in this period. There were 1,226 deputies to the Congress. These were the first legislative elections to take place after the founding of the People ...

. In 1979, Xihuang Temple was inscribed to the Beijing Municipal Cultural Preservation Pnit List. The Beijing Municipal Government refurbished and redecorated the temple in the following year. Xihuang Temple has been designated as a National Key Buddhist Temple in Han Chinese Area by the

State Council of China The State Council of the People's Republic of China, also known as the Central People's Government, is the chief administrative authority and national cabinet. It is constitutionally the highest administrative organ of the country and the e ...

in 1983. In September 1987, the 10th Panchen Lama set up th
High-Level Tibetan Buddhism College of China
at the temple. In 2001, the white pagoda was listed among the "

Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Beijing Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in music ...

" by the State Council of China. On May 18, 2018, the Museum of Xihuang Temple was officially opened to the public.

Architecture

Along the central axis are the Shanmen Hall,

Hall of Four Heavenly Kings The ''Tianwang Dian'' (; lit: ”Hall of the Heavenly Kings”) is the first important hall inside a shanmen (mount gate) in Chinese Buddhist temples and is named due to the Four Heavenly Kings statues enshrined in the hall. Maitreya Buddha i ...

, Main Hall,

Paifang A ''paifang'', also known as a ''pailou'', is a traditional style of Chinese architecture, often used in arch or gateway structures. Etymology The word ''paifang'' ( zh, c=牌坊, p=páifāng) was originally a collective term for the top two le ...

, East Side Hall and West Side Hall.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Xihuang Temple Tibetan Buddhist temples in Beijing Gelug monasteries and temples Buildings and structures in Beijing Tourist attractions in Beijing 17th-century establishments in China 17th-century Buddhist temples Religious buildings and structures completed in 1662 United Front Work Department