Situated to the north of Beijing Zoo in Haidian District of Beijing, the Five Pagoda Temple , and Indian-styled temple, is an ideal place to appreciate the splendid history of Buddhism and architecture in China as well as to enjoy the pleasant scene and special tranquility of the temple.
With its original name of True Awakening Temple, the temple was first constructed during the reign of Yongle of the Ming dynasty and was completed in 1473. At that time, and Indian monk came to China to present Emperor Chengzu, the third emperor of the Ming dynasty, five golden statues of Buddha and a draft of an Indian diamond throne pagoda. Using this draft, the temple with the special architecture of five pagodas was built with the Western Hills at the back and the rippling Long River in front.
During the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing dynasty(1736-1796), the temple twice underwent extensive renovations and was renamed Dazhengjue Temple. In the succeeding years until modern times, the temple has been totally renovated. In 1982, it opened to the public. Today it is popularly refered to as the Five Pagoda Temple.
The main architecture in the Five Pagoda Temple is the grand construction of the Indian diamond throne pagoda, wherein five pagodas stand on a square foundation known as the throne. It does not copy the Indian mode, but has its own unique style fusing the Indian pattern with traditional Chinese architectural art and carving. The whole construction, made of bricks and bluestones, has two parts. One is the 25-foot-high square foundation with six storeys. The first storey with a high of 5.8 feet is the base of the whole construction. Each of the five storeys above has a narrow eave and carvings of small Buddhist shrines and Buddhas. The other part is the five pagodas rising from their square bases on top of the throne foundation. One pagoda is in the center and the others in the four corners of the foundation respectively. The central one of 26 feet in height is a little higher than the others and has 13 storeys. All five pagodas are dainty in appearance and artistic in desig n. They are all engraved with delicate images of Buddha, bodhi trees, Sanskrit letters and Buddhist symboles as well as lions, elephants, horses and other animal figures. The images of Buddha on these five pagodas represent Buddha in five directions according to the sutra. In addition, it is interesting that the south wall of the base storey of the central pagoda is carved with a pair of footprints of Buddha, meaning that the spirit of Buddha spreads everywhere.
The temple complex, with the diamond throne pagoda as its essence, is an outstanding accomplishment of Buddhist art. The carvings in Sanskrit also provide priceless material for research of the ancient Indian language and Tibetan Buddhism. Today, bearing a history of overy 500years, the Five Pagoda Temple is not only a solemn religious relic, but also the location of the Beijing Art Museum of Stone Carvings which displays more than 2000 pieces of stone artworks for tourist. It opened to the public in October,1982.
---------------------------------------------------------------Author: AmoyTrip.com--Five Pagoda Temple
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