The Significance Of The Lama Temple (yonghegong Monastery) Of Beijing

The Significance of The Lama Temple Of Beijing Institution: Instructor: Course: Name: Date: The Significance of the Lama Temple Of Beijing Introduction Lama Temple, also known as Yonghegong (Palace of Harmony and Peace), is popularly known as the largest and most important Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Beijing. It is a multifaceted and complex site whose long history has a lot to tell. Since 1964, what is currently referred to as Lama temple has evolved both physically and functionally. It was initially an imperial prince’s residence, and over time it has been used as a traveling palace, ancestral shrine, and a Tibetan Buddhist monastic college. Today, Lama Temple serves as a historical site, monastery, and a monastic college. It is located in a vast yard with numerous golden-colored halls and courtyards marked by tree lines. More interesting, the compound consists of a wide range of both splendid and delicate to the huge and spectacular artworks. The temple is normally packed with visitors and pilgrims every day of the week. The site serves an important role as a religious site to the people of Beijing and as a representation of the Qing dynasty’s history and prowess in architecture and art. Lama Temple symbolizes the harmonious multicultural nature of the People’s Republic of China. The contemporary use of the Lama Temple as a Tibetan Buddhist monastery and other historical differences sees most attention directed to the religious messages instead of interconnecting various components to achieve a collective picture of the whole site. In this case, most of the original and unified message in Yonghegong site is overlooked. The overall unified message in Lama Temple is firmly interconnected with aspects of historical politics, religion, and art. This paper aims at investigating the historical, artistic, and religious significance of the Lama Temple to the contemporary Beijing residents, the People’s Republic of China, and the world in general. It begins by highlighting the physical character and development history of the site in the context of Qing dynasty and contemporary Beijing. Discussion Lama Temple is found in Dongcheng district, northeast of Beijing. It is characterized by its unique halls whose arrangement aligns with the North-South axis. The main halls include The Hall of Heavenly Kings, The Hall of Harmony and Peace, The Hall of Everlasting Protection, and The Hall of The Wheel of Law (Bradstock, 2005). Each of these halls has its specific purpose in the temple and contains a particular statue(s) with a specific meaning. The Hall of Heavenly Kings houses the statues of Maitreya Buddha and other four Heavenly Kings. The Hall of Harmony and Peace contains statues of the Buddhas of the Three Ages and the eighteen Arhats (Bryant, 2003). The Hall of Everlasting Protection houses a statue of the healing Buddha. The Hall of The Wheel of Law has a statue of Je Tsongkhapa and the Five Hundred Arhat Hill and serves as a sacred place for reading the scripture and conducting religious rituals as well. The Wanfu Pavilion an eighteen-meter Buddha statue created from a sandalwood tree trunk (Berger, 2003). The development of Lama Temple is traced back to the Qing dynasty. During the Kangxi period (1662-1722) it served as a palace for the prince and a traveling palace during the Yongzheng rule (Waley-Cohen, 1998). However, significant developments took place during Qianlong period for the site was of great political, religious, and personal significance to its imperial patron. In 1744, it became a monastic college after several old buildings were renovated and an addition of new structures (Wu, 2015). The Pavilion of Infinite Happiness group and the Panchen Tower and the Ordination Platform were constructed in 1750 and 1780 respectively. The Lamashuo Stele Pavilion, added in 1792, was the last major building in the site (Bradstock, 2005). Since its development, Yonghegong was treated as a private imperial temple until 1952, when it was opened to the public. During its initial development phase, Yonghegong was used as for prince Yinzhen’s residence (1694), the fourth son of the Kangxi emperor and who later succeeded him as the Yongzheng emperor (Berger, 2003). In 1722, Prince Yong became the Yongzheng emperor, who later initiated the reconstruction of his former residence to be a traveling palace. In this case, the site was a temporary residence for the emperor whenever he is not in his palace, thus the name Yonghegong. When the Yongzheng emperor died in 1735, a decade after the completion of the traveling palace, his casket was transferred from the Palace of Celestial Purity in the Forbidden City to the Hall of Eternal Protection, a building in Yonghebong (Wu, 2015). However, the emperor’s burial was held a year later in the Tailing Tomb in the Western Qing Tombs complex. It was a vital function, characterized by various rituals. As a way of remembering the day, the roof tiles of the buildings were coated with an imperial yellow during the first year of Qianlong (1736). The imperial yellow color indicated structures used by the emperor (Eng, 2014). Eventually, the site became a place of worship for the Yongzheng emperor and the Qianlong emperor. The period between 1744 and 1952 had no major changes in the functionality of the site. However, during Qianlong 9 (1744) and Qianlong 15 (1750), several constructions were added. They included Courtyards I and II, while halls were renovated and modified, thus converting the site into a monastery and monastic college. The Qianlong emperor oversaw the reconstruction (Wu, 2015). Besides, Ruobi Duoji (Tibetan Buddhist) was also influential during modification and restructuring of the site. He was the emperor’s personal advisor on both political and religious matters and intermediary in intervening the Tibetans and Mongolians. He was a highly respected lama and famous because of his writings and spiritual practice. He was fluent in several languages including Tibetan, Chinese, Mongolian, and Manchu, thus an important negotiator and representative of the emperor. The visit by the Sixth Panchen Lama, to Beijing during Qianlong 44 (1779) led to the construction of Panchen Tower for his personal affairs. In addition, the twin Ordination Platform Tower was constructed as his venue for conducting various ceremonies involving the Qianlong emperor (Waley-Cohen, 1998). The Lama Shuo Stele Pavilion built in 1792 was the last major structure, which also marked the completion of imperial symbolism evolution in Yonghegong. However, there exists other structures and items added in later periods including the Colossal Tsongkhapa icon that show the continuing political significance of the site. The development phase of Yonghegong began after the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949, with the first reconstruction lasting between 1952 and 1954. In February 1954, Yonghegong was open to the public and attracted about 30,000 visitors in three days. Yonghegong was designate...