Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
RELIGIOUS ARCHITECTURE
With today's religious renaissance drawing legions of Chinese to prayer, Běijīng's temples
and shrines are increasingly busy places of worship, and they are also some of the finest
structures in the city.
Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian temples may appear complex, but their layout and se-
quence of deities tend to follow quite strict schematic patterns. Temples are virtually all ar-
ranged on a north-south axis in a series of halls, with the main door of each hall facing
south, as is done in courtyard houses and the halls of the Forbidden City.
Chinese temples are strikingly different from Christian churches because of their open
plan and succession of halls; buildings follow a hierarchy and are interspersed with breezy,
open-air courtyards. This allows the weather to permeate the empty spaces, changing the
mood of the temple depending on the climate. The open-air layout also allows the
qì
(flow
of vital or universal energy) to circulate, dispersing stale air and allowing incense to be lib-
erally burned.
Large numbers of Běijīng's temples, such as the Big Buddha Temple, whose memory is
commemorated in the street name Dafosi Dongjie, have vanished since the Qing dynasty.
Others are in the process of disappearing, such as the small Guānyīn Temple just off
Dazhalan Xijie, or remain shut, such as Guǎngfúguàn Taoist Temple.
Many temples have been restored to their original purpose, but others are still occupied by
residents, or in the case of Dàgāoxuán Temple, by the military. Some have been converted to
offices (B
ǎ
ilín Temple), while the ancient Sōngzhùyuàn Temple has found a new lease of life
as one of the city's trendiest restaurants.
Buddhist Temples
Although there are notable exceptions, most Buddhist temples tend to follow a predictable
layout. The first hall is frequently the Hall of Heavenly Kings (Tiānwáng Diàn), where a
sedentary statue of the smiling and podgy Bodhisattva Maitreya (Mílèfó), also known as
the Monk with the Bag or the Laughing Buddha, is flanked by the ferocious Four Heavenly
Kings.
Behind is the first courtyard, where the drum and bell towers often stand, if the temple is
large enough, and smoking braziers for the burning of incense may be positioned. The
largest hall is usually named the Great Treasure Hall (Dàxióng Bǎodiàn), where you will
often discover a golden trinity of statues, representing the historic, contemporary and future
Buddhas. You can often find two rows of nine
luóhàn
(Buddhists, especially monks, who
