Xihuang Temple () is a Buddhist temple located in

Chaoyang District, Beijing Chaoyang District () is a core district of Beijing. It borders the districts of Shunyi to the northeast, Tongzhou to the east and southeast, Daxing to the south, Fengtai to the southwest, Dongcheng, Xicheng and Haidian to the west, and ...

History

Qing dynasty

In 1644,

Shunzhi Emperor The Shunzhi Emperor (15 March 1638 – 5 February 1661) was the second emperor of the Qing dynasty of China, and the first Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1644 to 1661. A committee of Manchu princes chose him to succee ...

established 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 ...

(1644–1911) 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 ...

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

5th Dalai Lama Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (; ; 1617–1682) was the 5th Dalai Lama and the first Dalai Lama to wield effective temporal and spiritual power over all Tibet. He is often referred to simply as the Great Fifth, being a key religious and temporal leader ...

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, born Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1735 ...

ordered to 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 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 with the stated aim of relieving the foreign legations in Beijing, then besieged by the popular Boxer militia, who were determined to remove f ...

ransacked Xihuang Temple during the Invasion of Beijing. In 1908, the 13th Dalai Lama lived here for almost three months.

Republic of China

In 1923, the

9th Panchen Lama Thubten Choekyi Nyima () (1883–1937), often referred to as ''Choekyi Nyima'', was the ninth Panchen Lama of Tibet. Thubten Choekyi Nyima is the 9th in his lineage, as recognized by Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, the traditional seat of Panch ...

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 (spiritual name Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, known as Tenzin Gyatso (Tibetan: བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, Wylie: ''bsTan-'dzin rgya-mtsho''); né Lhamo Thondup), known as ...

paid religious homage to Xihuang Temple while they attending the

1st National People's Congress The 1st National People's Congress () was in session from 1954 to 1959. It held four sessions in this period. There were 1226 deputies to the Congress. These were the first legislative elections to take place after the founding of the People's R ...

. 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 National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

by the

State Council of China The State Council, constitutionally synonymous with the Central People's Government since 1954 (particularly in relation to local governments), is the chief administrative authority of the People's Republic of China. It is chaired by the pr ...

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 ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicator ...

" 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 Hall of Four Heavenly Kings or Four Heavenly Kings Hall (), referred to as Hall of 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 ens ...

, Main Hall,

Paifang A ''paifang'', also known as a ''pailou'', is a traditional style of Chinese architectural arch or gateway structure. Evolved from the Indian subcontinent's '' torana'' through the introduction of Buddhism to China, it has developed many styles ...

, 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