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| The White Cloud Temple (Baiyunguan) |
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The White Cloud Temple is in southwestern Beijing, directly behind
the Broadcasting Building. It was called the Temple of Heavenly Eternity
during the Tang Dynasty and the Temple of the Great Ultimate during
the Jin Dynasty. It is the largest Daoist architectural complex in
Beijing and was the headquarters for the Dragon Gate sect. Although
historical records indicate that there were Daoist temples in Beijing
during the Tang Dynasty, it was not until the early Yuan Dynasty that
they came to be built on a large scale. The Yuan Emperor Shizu (Kublai
Khan), whose reign lasted from 1260 to 1293, appointed a Daoist priest
from Shandong province to the position of"National Teacher,"which
nominally put him in charge of all Chinese Doaist affairs. This priest¡¯s
name was Qiu Chuji, but he was commonly known as the Sage of Eternal
Spring (Changchun Zhenren). While Qiu Chuji was in Beijing, he resided
in the Temple of the Great Ultimate, which he expanded and renamed
the Temple of Eternal Spring (Changchungong). From then on, it became
the center of Daoism in northern China. It was not until the Zhengtong
era (1436-1449) of the Ming Dynasty that its current name was adopted.
The extant temple was rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty and exemplifies
the Daoist architecture of the period. The complex is composed of
multiple courtyards set out on a central axis. From front to back
the structures are as follows: a memorial archway, the main gate,
a pool, a bridge, the Hall of Officials of the Heavenly Censor ate
(corresponding to the Buddhist Hall of Heavenly Kings), the Hall
of the Jade Emperor and the Hall of Religious Law (corresponding
to the rear hall of a Buddhist temple).
In the center of the rear courtyard is the Hall of the Patriarch
Qiu, devoted to the worship of Qiu Chuji, and behind this, the Hall
of the Four Heavenly Emperors, the second story of which is the
Hall of Three Purities (corresponding to the Sutra Repository of
Buddhist temples and housing the Daoist Tripitaka). Here one can
see the similarity between Daoist and Buddhist temple architectures,
though the decorative details and paintings make use of specifically
Daoist motifs such as lingzhi fungus, specifically Daoist immortals
and cranes, and the Eight Diagrams.
The temple contains a stela with calligraphy by Emperor Qianlong
recording in detail the history the history of the temple and the
life of Qiu Chuji. |
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