001 Architecture Hua Pagoda at Guanghui Temple, Zhengding The Hua Pagoda at Guanghui Temple stands inside the south gate of Zhengding, also called Huata Temple or Duobao Pagoda. The temple's history traces back to the Sui and Tang, while the date of the pagoda itself drifts between the Jin Dading rebuilding and the Northern Song inscriptions discovered during 1990s restoration. The Qianlong Emperor climbed the pagoda and inscribed a poem; Liang Sicheng called it 'perhaps a sole surviving example within the seas'; in 1947 Zhao Shengming gave his life to protect the pagoda in battle. Tang / Song-Jin Zhengding County, Hebei Hua Pagoda Guanghui Temple · Guanghui Temple · Huata Temple →
002 Architecture Pule Temple Pule Temple, northeast of the Chengde Mountain Resort in Hebei, was built by imperial decree in the thirty-first year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing (1766) and completed the following year—an imperial Tibetan Buddhist temple laid out facing east. Drawing on the Imperially Commissioned Gazetteer of Rehe, the Stele Inscription of Pule Temple, the surveys of the Society for Research in Chinese Architecture, and old photographs by Hedda Morrison, this article traces Zongyin Hall, Xuguang Pavilion, the layout of the mandala-city, the frontier audience rites of the Qing, and the temple's appearance in the 1930s and 1940s. Qing dynasty Shuangqiao District, Chengde, Hebei Pule Temple · Xuguang Pavilion · Zongyin Hall →
003 Architecture Puning Temple In the twentieth year of the Qianlong reign, the chiefs of the four Oirat tribes received investiture and rewards at the Mountain Resort and raised wine in wishes for the emperor's long life at the banquet; it was against this background that Puning Temple was built. The temple was laid out in imitation of Samye Monastery in Tibet, its rear precinct rising tier upon tier through the Mahayana Pavilion, the four continents, and the group of stupas; by the Jiaqing reign, the Hall of Mahavira was already leaking and rotting. Visiting the temple, Bojun wrote that even craning his head he could not see up to the great Buddha's belly, and had to “climb one more story” before its countenance came into view. Qing dynasty Chengde, Hebei Puning Temple · Great Buddha Temple · Eight Outer Temples →
004 Architecture Putuo Zongcheng Temple From his study of archival records and Qing-period images, Yang Xu concluded that under the Qianlong reign the Great Red Terrace of the Putuo Zongcheng Temple originally had four full stories, and the gilded roof of the Wanfa Guiyi Hall was not exposed. Later the Red Terrace lost a story, and shelter pavilions were added over the two red sandalwood pagodas whose tops emerged above the roofline; soon after von Mumm photographed them, both pavilions collapsed one after the other in 1904. The silhouette familiar today has passed through the loss of a story, the addition of pavilions, collapse, and modern restoration. Qing Dynasty Shuangqiao District, Chengde, Hebei Province Putuo Zongcheng Temple · Putuo Zongcheng Miao · Little Potala →
005 Architecture Xumi Fushou Temple In the forty-fifth year of the Qianlong reign, Qianlong built the Xumi Fushou Temple in imitation of Tashilhunpo Monastery to welcome the Sixth Panchen Lama, who had journeyed from distant Tsang. The Panchen stayed at Rehe for only about two months, yet for this pilgrimage the mountain gate, stele pavilion, Great Red Terrace, gilded-roof hall towers, and living quarters together formed a complete monastic residence. In the Jiaqing years, the leaking enclosing rooms of the Jixiang Faxi Tower's courtyard and the terrace roof before the hall were surveyed and repaired in turn; old photographs from the 1930s further preserve the form of the Red Terrace, the gilded roof, and the glazed pagoda joining one behind another. Qing Dynasty Shuangqiao District, Chengde, Hebei Province Xumi Fushou Temple · Xumi Fushou Miao · Tibetan Buddhism →