The Cloud Platform at Juyongguan () is a mid-14th-century architectural feature situated in the Guangou Valley at the Juyongguan Pass of the

Great Wall of China The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand ''li'' long wall") is a series of fortifications in China. They were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against vario ...

, in the

Changping District Changping District (), formerly Changping County (), is a district situated in the suburbs of north and northwest Beijing. Changping has a population of 2,269,487 as of November 2020, making it the most populous suburban district of Beijing. Hist ...

of Beijing Municipality, about northwest of central

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 ...

. Although the structure looks like a gateway, it was originally the base for three white dagobas or

stupa In Buddhism, a stupa (, ) is a domed hemispherical structure containing several types of sacred relics, including images, statues, metals, and '' śarīra''—the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns. It is used as a place of pilgrimage and m ...

s, with a passage through it, a type of structure known as a "crossing street tower" (). The platform is renowned for its Buddhist carvings and for its Buddhist inscriptions in six languages. The Cloud Platform was the 98th site included in the first batch of 180 Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level as designated 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 April 1961.

History

The platform was built between 1342 and 1345, during the reign of Emperor Huizong of the

Yuan Dynasty The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...

, by imperial command. It was part of the Buddhist Yongming Baoxiang Temple (), which was situated at the Juyongguan Pass northwest of the capital, Dadu (modern Beijing). The road from the capital to the summer capital,

Shangdu Shangdu (; lit. "Upper Capital"; ), known in the West as Xanadu, was the summer capital of the Yuan dynasty under Kublai Khan. Located in what is now Zhenglan Banner, Inner Mongolia, it was designed by Chinese architect Liu Bingzhong and served as ...

, in the north went through this pass, and so the emperor would pass through the temple at least twice a year. The temple had a north gate and a south gate, and the platform supporting three white dagobas was constructed on the inside of the south gate of the temple. The passageway underneath the dagobas was wide enough to allow pedestrians and carts to pass through into the temple. It is recorded that in 1343 the official Ouyang Xuan (, 1283–1358) was paid 50

tael Tael ( ),"Tael" entry
at the

stelae A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...

to commemorate the completion of the "crossing street tower" at Juyongguan. However, the small Chinese inscription on the west wall of the platform is dated the 9th month of the 5th year of the Zhizheng era (1345), so the engravings and inscriptions must have taken two more years to complete. The Qing Dynasty scholar

Gu Yanwu Gu Yanwu () (July 15, 1613 – February 15, 1682), also known as Gu Tinglin (), was a Chinese philologist, geographer, and famous scholar in the early Qing dynasty. After the Manchu conquest of north China in 1644, Gu participated in anti-Manc ...

(1613–1682) suggested that the construction of the Cloud Platform was begun in 1326, on the basis that the ''

History of Yuan The ''History of Yuan'' (), also known as the ''Yuanshi'', is one of the official Chinese historical works known as the '' Twenty-Four Histories'' of China. Commissioned by the court of the Ming dynasty, in accordance to political tradition, t ...

'' records that a Uyghur official called Uduman () was sent to carve dharanis in the language of the western barbarians (i.e. Tibetan) on the rockface at Juyongguan. However, the inscriptions referred to here are probably not the inscriptions on the Cloud Platform, and so modern scholarship dates the construction of the Cloud Platform to 1342 or 1343. Fahaisi guojita

By the early

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

(1368–1644) two of the three dagobas on the platform had collapsed or had been dismantled. By the reign of the

Zhengtong Emperor , succession = Emperor of the Ming dynasty , reign-type = First reign , reign = 31 January 1435 – 22 September 1449 , coronation = 7 February 1435 , cor-type = Enthronement , regent = , reg-type = Regents , ...

(1427–1464) no dagobas remained, and the structure was given the name "Cloud Platform", because from a distance it seemed to rise out of the clouds. A project to restore the platform was carried out between 1443 and 1450. When the platform was surveyed by a Japanese expedition in 1943 a stele commemorating the restoration, dated 1448, was found on top of the platform. However, the restoration was not completed until 1450, as evidenced by an inscription on the far right-hand side of the inner west wall of the platform, dated the 15th day of the 5th month of the 15th year of the Zhengtong era (1450), that records that the restoration was carried out by a benefactor named as Lin Puxian (). The restoration involved building a five-roomed wooden Buddhist hall, called the Tai'an Temple (), on top of the platform, in place of the original dagobas. In 1702, in the 41st year of the reign of the

Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 165420 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, personal name Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign of 61 ...

there was a fire, and the Buddhist hall on top of the platform burnt down. The platform was not restored again, and by the time it was surveyed by a Japanese expedition in 1943 it was in a state of neglect and disrepair. In 1961 the platform was repaired, and the balustrades around the top were restored. The platform is now surrounded by a carpark. Several hundred meters from the Cloud Platform in adjoining carparks are sections of the Great Wall going up both sides of the Valley, often crowded with tourists climbing up to panoramic views. Most are not aware of the Cloud Platform, which is easy to miss from both the ground and the viewpoints up the mountains.

Description

The Cloud Platform is a rectangular structure, with sloping walls clad in white marble. The dimensions of the structure are at the base and at the top, and the structure is in height. The top of the platform is surrounded by a marble

balustrade A baluster () is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its ...

, with marble dragonhead

gargoyle In architecture, and specifically Gothic architecture, a gargoyle () is a carved or formed Grotesque (architecture), grotesque with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing it from ...

s at the base of each pillar, in total 54 small gargoyles around the edges and four large gargoyles at the corners. A passageway runs through the platform in a north–south orientation, with a semi-octagonal arch, wide and high, at either end. The edges of the arches on both sides, and the inner walls and ceilings of the passageway are decorated with

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

carvings of Buddhist images, as well as inscriptions of Buddhist texts in six different scripts. The Buddhist iconography is typical of the

Sakya The ''Sakya'' (, 'pale earth') school is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug. It is one of the Red Hat Orders along with the Nyingma and Kagyu. Origins Virūpa, 16th century. It depict ...

school of

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, D ...

, and was intended to bring blessings on those who passed through the passageway, and to protect the Yuan state and its capital from misfortune. Both the north and the south arch have the same symmetrical decoration. On each side of each arch is a crossed

vajra The Vajra (, , ), is a legendary and ritualistic tool, symbolizing the properties of a diamond (indestructibility) and a thunderbolt (irresistible force). It is also described as a "ritual weapon". The use of the bell and vajra together as s ...

(''viśvavajra''), above which is an elephant surmounted by a youth riding a mythical creature. At the peak of each arch is a

garuda Garuda (; ; Vedic Sanskrit: , ) is a Hindu deity who is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. This divine creature is mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain faiths. Garuda is also the half-brother of the D ...

catching a pair of half-human, half-snake

nagaraja A Nagaraja ( ', ) is a king of the various races of the nāga, the divine or semi-divine, half-human, half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld ( Patala), and can occasionally take human form. Rituals devoted to these supernatural being ...

. The ends of the inner walls are decorated with large images, , of the

Four Heavenly Kings The Four Heavenly Kings are four Buddhism, Buddhist gods or Deva (Buddhism), ''devas'', each of whom is believed to watch over one cardinal direction of the world. The Hall of Four Heavenly Kings is a standard component of Chinese Buddhism, Ch ...

(also known as the four Deva Kings), each with various attendants, and treading on demons or ghosts: * Deva King of the North (Sanskrit ; ), holding a parasol, on the north end of the west wall * Deva King of the South (Sanskrit ; ), holding a sword, on the south end of the east wall * Deva King of the East (Sanskrit ; ), holding a

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck (music), neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lu ...

, on the north end of the east wall * Deva King of the West (Sanskrit ; ), holding a serpent, on the south end of the west wall On the inner walls between the Heavenly Kings are inscriptions of the Sanskrit text of the "Dharani-Sutra of the Victorious Buddha-Crown" and the "Dharani-Sutra of the Tathagata Heart" in six different scripts, as well as translations of the "Record of Merits in the Construction of the Pagoda" in five languages, and summaries of the "Dharani-Sutra of the Tathagata Heart" in two languages (see below for details). The sloping walls of the ceiling are decorated with the Buddhas of the Ten Directions, five on each side, with the space between them taken up with small images of the Thousand Buddhas of the present

kalpa Kalevan Pallo (KalPa) is a professional ice hockey team which competes in the Finnish Liiga. They play in Kuopio, Finland at the Niiralan monttu, Olvi Areena. Team history Established in 1929 as ''Sortavalan Palloseura'' in Sortavala, the club r ...

. The flat ceiling at the top is decorated with five

mandala A mandala (, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for establishing a sacred space and as an aid ...

s of the

Five Dhyani Buddhas 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs. Mathematics 5 is a Fermat pri ...

Inscriptions

The inscriptions on the inside walls of the platform are written in six different scripts: *

Lanydza script The Rañjanā script (Lantsa) is an abugida writing system which developed in the 11th centuryJwajalapa

(used to write

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

) *

Tibetan script The Tibetan script is a segmental writing system, or '' abugida'', forming a part of the Brahmic scripts, and used to write certain Tibetic languages, including Tibetan, Dzongkha, Sikkimese, Ladakhi, Jirel and Balti. Its exact origins ...

(used to write the

Tibetan language Tibetan language may refer to: * Lhasa Tibetan or Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dialect * Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard * Any of the other Tibetic languages See also * Ol ...

) *

ʼPhags-pa script The Phagspa ( ), Phags-pa or ḥPags-pa script is an alphabet designed by the Tibetan monk and State Preceptor (later Imperial Preceptor) Drogön Chögyal Phagpa (1235–1280) for Kublai Khan (), the founder of the Yuan dynasty (1271–1 ...

(created at the command of

Kublai Khan Kublai Khan (23 September 1215 – 18 February 1294), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Shizu of Yuan and his regnal name Setsen Khan, was the founder and first emperor of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty of China. He proclaimed the ...

, and used to write Chinese, Mongolian and

Uyghur Uyghur may refer to: * Uyghurs, a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia (West China) ** Uyghur language, a Turkic language spoken primarily by the Uyghurs *** Old Uyghur language, a different Turkic language spoken in the Uyghur K ...

) * Old Uyghur script (used to write the

Old Uyghur language Old Uyghur () was a Turkic language spoken in Qocho from the 9th–14th centuries as well as in Gansu. History Old Uyghur evolved from Old Turkic, a Siberian Turkic language, after the Uyghur Khaganate broke up and remnants of it migrat ...

) *

Chinese characters Chinese characters are logographs used Written Chinese, to write the Chinese languages and others from regions historically influenced by Chinese culture. Of the four independently invented writing systems accepted by scholars, they represe ...

(used to write Chinese) * Tangut script (used to write the

Tangut language Tangut (Tangut: ; ) is an extinct language in the Sino-Tibetan language family. Tangut was one of the official languages of the Western Xia, Western Xia dynasty, founded by the Tangut people in northwestern China. The Western Xia was annihilate ...

) Each of these six scripts is used to transcribe the Sanskrit text of two Buddhist dharani-sutras (a type of ritual incantation) in large characters, one dharani-sutra in each script on each wall: * () on the east wall * () on the west wall In addition to the two Sanskrit dharani-sutras written in large characters in all six scripts, five of the scripts (not Lanydza) are used to write the "Record of Merits in the Construction of the Pagoda" in one of five different languages, in small characters: * Tibetan version of the "Record of Merits" in Tibetan script * Mongolian version of the "Record of Merits" in 'Phags-pa script * Uyghur version of the "Record of Merits" in Old Uyghur script * Chinese version of the "Record of Merits" in Chinese characters * Tangut version of the "Record of Merits" in Tangut script The Tibetan, Mongolian and Uyghur versions of the "Record of Merits" are written over both the east and west walls, whereas the Chinese and Tangut versions are complete on the east wall, and the small script Chinese and Tangut inscriptions on the west wall are explanatory summaries in the Chinese and Tangut languages of the "Dharani-Sutra of the Tathagata Heart".

East wall

The inscriptions on the east inner wall of the passageway are laid out as below: Phagspa inscription

* Top panel (0.40 m high): 4 lines of horizontal Lanydza text in large characters * Middle panel (0.55 m high): ** 2 lines of horizontal Tibetan text in large characters (transcription of the Sanskrit "Dharani-Sutra of the Victorious Buddha-Crown") ** 4 lines of horizontal Tibetan text in small characters (Tibetan translation of the "Record of Merits", part 1) * Bottom panel (1.55 m high) divided into four sections (from left to right): ** Vertical columns of 'Phags-pa text running from left to right (1.58 m wide): *** 20 columns of vertical 'Phags-pa text in large characters (transcription of the Sanskrit "Dharani-Sutra of the Victorious Buddha-Crown") *** 8 columns of vertical 'Phags-pa text in small characters (Mongolian translation of the "Record of Merits", part 1) ** Vertical columns of Old Uyghur text running from left to right (1.44 m wide): *** 20 columns of vertical Old Uyghur text in large characters (transcription of the Sanskrit "Dharani-Sutra of the Victorious Buddha-Crown") *** 13 columns of vertical Old Uyghur text in small characters (Uyghur translation of the "Record of Merits", part 1) ** Vertical columns of Tangut text running from right to left (1.73 m wide): *** 27 columns of vertical Tangut text in large characters (transcription of the Sanskrit "Dharani-Sutra of the Victorious Buddha-Crown") *** 11 columns of vertical Tangut text in small characters (Tangut translation of the "Record of Merits") ** Vertical columns of Chinese text running from right to left (1.58 m wide): *** 21 columns of vertical Chinese text in large characters (transcription of the Sanskrit "Dharani-Sutra of the Victorious Buddha-Crown") *** 21 columns of vertical Chinese text in small characters (Chinese translation of the "Record of Merits")

West wall

The inscriptions on the west inner wall of the passageway are laid out as below: Tangut inscription

* Top panel (0.40 m high): 4 lines of horizontal Lanydza text in large characters * Middle panel (0.55 m high): ** 3 lines of horizontal Tibetan text in large characters (transcription of the Sanskrit "Dharani-Sutra of the Tathagata Heart") ** 4 lines of horizontal Tibetan text in small characters (Tibetan translation of the "Record of Merits", part 2) * Bottom panel (1.55 m high) divided into four sections (from left to right): ** Vertical columns of 'Phags-pa text running from left to right (1.58 m wide): *** 19 columns of vertical 'Phags-pa text in large characters (transcription of the Sanskrit "Dharani-Sutra of the Tathagata Heart") *** 14 columns of vertical 'Phags-pa text in small characters (Mongolian translation of the "Record of Merits", part 2) ** Vertical columns of Old Uyghur text running from left to right (1.50 m wide): *** 20 columns of vertical Old Uyghur text in large characters (transcription of the Sanskrit "Dharani-Sutra of the Tathagata Heart") *** 14 columns of vertical Old Uyghur text in small characters (Uyghur translation of the "Record of Merits", part 2) ** Vertical columns of Tangut text running from right to left (1.72 m wide): *** 26 columns of vertical Tangut text in large characters (transcription of the Sanskrit "Dharani-Sutra of the Tathagata Heart") *** 13 columns of vertical Tangut text in small characters (summary of the "Dharani-Sutra of the Tathagata Heart" in Tangut language) ** Vertical columns of Chinese text running from right to left (1.58 m wide): *** 21 columns of vertical Chinese text in large characters (transcription of the Sanskrit "Dharani-Sutra of the Tathagata Heart") *** 20 columns of vertical Chinese text in small characters (summary of the "Dharani-Sutra of the Tathagata Heart" in Chinese language) The summary of the "Dharani-Sutra of the Tathagata Heart" in Chinese is concluded with an inscription specifying that it was written on an auspicious day of the 9th month of the 5th year of the Zhizheng era (1345) by a monk called Decheng () from the Baoji Temple () in

Chengdu Chengdu; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ; Chinese postal romanization, previously Romanization of Chinese, romanized as Chengtu. is the capital city of the Chinese province of Sichuan. With a ...

. The Old Uyghur version of the "Record of Merits" is also concluded with a date, but it is now damaged, and all that can be made out is the Zhizheng era.

Notes

References

Citations

Sources

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cloud Platform at Juyongguan Buddhism in Beijing Buildings and structures completed in 1345 Buildings and structures in Beijing Changping District Chinese architectural history Pagodas in China Great Wall of China Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Beijing Tangut script Tibetan script Tourist attractions in Beijing Yuan dynasty architecture