White Cloud Taoist Temple
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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