001 Architecture Wuhou Shrine In the third year of the Zhangwu reign of Shu Han (223), Liu Bei was buried in the Huiling Mausoleum in Chengdu; the Temple of the Former Sovereign founded under the Southern Qi and the Wuhou Shrine that appeared during the Northern and Southern Dynasties thereafter stood separately beside the tomb. In the twenty-fourth year of the Hongwu reign of the Ming (1391), Zhu Chun, Prince Xian of Shu, abolished the separate shrine to Marquis Wu and moved Zhuge Liang into the Temple of Emperor Zhaolie of Han; after the rebuilding in the Kangxi reign of the Qing, Liu Bei came to occupy the front and Zhuge Liang the rear. The main gate still bears the plaque “Temple of Emperor Zhaolie of Han,” while the whole joint mausoleum-temple of sovereign and minister is popularly known as the “Wuhou Shrine.” Shu Han Wuhou District, Chengdu, Sichuan Province Wuhou Shrine · Chengdu Wuhou Shrine · Temple of Emperor Zhaolie of Han →
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 →