001 Architecture Lingyan Temple In the Zhengguang era of the Northern Wei, the Chan master Fading came to Mount Fang and founded a place of Buddhist practice; in the Tang, a monastery was re-established beside the damaged images left by the Huichang suppression of Buddhism. In the Northern Song a complex of more than five hundred bays drew crowds of pilgrims, only to fall quickly into decline amid famine; in the Jin the monks defended the temple's mountain forest on the strength of old steles; in the Yuan more than five thousand volumes of scripture waited forty-five years for the Dragon Treasury Hall; in the Ming the Hall of the Thousand Buddhas was rebuilt; and in the Qing the treasury hall was destroyed by fire. Through its many cycles of rise and decline, the temple has left behind stele inscriptions, rubbings, and photographs from successive ages. Northern Wei Dynasty Changqing District, Jinan, Shandong Province Lingyan Temple · Mount Fang · Mount Yufu →
002 Architecture White Deer Grotto Academy White Deer Grotto Academy stands at the southern foot of the Five Old Men Peaks of Mount Lu, in Lushan City, Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province. In the Baoli era of the Tang, Li Bo built terraces and pavilions at his former hermitage here; in the Shengyuan era of the Southern Tang, the Lushan National Academy was established on the site; in the early Northern Song it was counted with Suiyang, Shigu, and Yuelu among the Four Great Academies; and in the Chunxi era of the Southern Song, Zhu Xi, as prefect of Nankang, rebuilt the academy and drew up the Articles of Learning of the White Deer Grotto Academy, and Lu Jiuyuan once lectured here by invitation. Destroyed in the wars at the end of the Yuan, it was rebuilt in the first year of the Zhengtong era of the Ming by the Nankang prefect Zhai Pufu and repeatedly repaired under the Qing, so that the surviving buildings largely preserve the Qing-dynasty layout. The entry presents the original texts of the New Book of Tang, Lü Zuqian's Record of the White Deer Grotto Academy, Zhu Xi's Memorial on the White Deer Academy and Articles of Learning, Lu Jiuyuan's Lecture at the White Deer Grotto Academy, Wang Yi's Record of a Visit to the White Deer Grotto, and the Gazetteer of the White Deer Academy, together with early twentieth-century photographs of the academy by Sidney D. Gamble, Tokiwa Daijō, and Sekino Tadashi. Tang Dynasty Lushan City, Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province White Deer Grotto Academy · White Deer Academy · Lushan National Academy →
003 Architecture Taihe Palace Taihe Palace stands on Mingfeng Mountain in Kunming, Yunnan. Founded in the Wanli era of the Ming, it is centered on a gilded hall cast of copper. The original copper hall was moved to Mount Jizu in the Chongzhen era, and Wu Sangui, the Prince Who Pacified the West, recast the copper hall on Mingfeng Mountain in the Kangxi era; in the late Qing the complex passed through wartime destruction, fundraising, and continual rebuilding, and old photographs from 1911 onward preserve the former appearance of the Golden Hall with its steps and balustrades. Ming Dynasty Kunming, Yunnan Province Golden Hall of Taihe Palace · Taihe Palace · Golden Hall →
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 →