Juesheng Temple

Juesheng Temple

Juesheng Temple is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Juesheng Temple is located at No. Jia 31, North Third Ring Road, Haidian District, in the northwest of Beijing. Commonly known as the Great Bell Temple, it covers an area of over 3 million square meters and was built in the 11th year of the Yongzheng reign of the Qing Dynasty (1733).

The temple faces south, and the main buildings along its central axis are arranged from south to north, including the screen wall (now destroyed), the mountain gate, the bell and drum towers, the Heavenly King Hall, the Mahavira Hall, the Rear Hall, the Scripture Depository, the Bell Tower, and the Scripture Depositories on the east and west sides. Each side of the main halls has auxiliary chambers. The Bell Tower is the core building of the temple, standing 20 meters tall with a round top and square base, symbolizing the ancient Chinese concept of a round heaven and a square earth.

Hanging inside the tower is the Yongle Bell, also known as the Avatamsaka (Huayan) Bell because it is engraved with the Avatamsaka Sutra. It was cast by the imperial bell foundry under the order of Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Di. Initially placed at the Han Scripture Office, it was moved to the Wanshou Temple during the Wanli reign and relocated to Juesheng Temple in the Yongzheng reign. The bell stands 6.75 meters high, has a diameter of 3.3 meters, and weighs 46.5 tons, making it the largest bronze bell in the world. Its inner and outer surfaces are inscribed with over 100 kinds of Buddhist scriptures and incantations, totaling more than 230,000 characters, which also makes it the bell with the most inscriptions in the world. The calligraphy is said to have been done by Shen Du, a renowned calligrapher of the early Ming Dynasty. The bell’s suspension is formed by eight thick beams and three crossbeams, with a copper pin 1 meter long and 6 centimeters wide at the striking point. The sound of the bell is loud and far-reaching, audible within a radius of a hundred li, making it one of the greatest ancient bells in the world. In the early 1980s, the temple was fully renovated and turned into the Great Bell Temple Museum, displaying over 400 ancient bells from the pre-Qin period to the Qing Dynasty, showcasing the history of ancient Chinese bells.

In November 1996, Juesheng Temple was designated by the State Council as part of the fourth group of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Further Reading:

· First Batch of Municipal-Level Cultural Relics Protection Units in Beijing

· Fourth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units