Beijing Wen Tianxiang Memorial Temple

Beijing Wen Tianxiang Memorial Temple

The Beijing Wen Tianxiang Memorial Temple is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit and a patriotic education base.

Also known as the Memorial Temple of Lord Wen, Wen Tianxiang Memorial Temple is located at No. 63 Fuxue Hutong, Dongcheng District, Beijing. It was the place where Wen Tianxiang, a national hero of the Southern Song Dynasty, was imprisoned and executed. The temple was built in 1376 during the ninth year of the Hongwu reign in the Ming Dynasty. The existing structures include the main gate, front hall, and rear hall. In 1979, the Wen Tianxiang Memorial Temple was designated as a cultural relic protection unit of Beijing. It opened to the public in 1984 and was designated as a patriotic education base in 1992.

Though small in size (only 600 square meters), the "temple" houses a "great spirit." Over the past 20 years, it has welcomed more than 200,000 domestic and international visitors. Here, people recite "The Song of Righteousness" and "Crossing Zero Point," experiencing Wen Tianxiang's lofty national integrity and patriotic spirit of sacrificing himself for his country. The renovated Wen Tianxiang Memorial Temple, based on historical photographs from 1930, has restored the clay statue of Wen Tianxiang, shrine, offering table, and some plaques and couplets in the rear hall. The front hall has been updated with new display boards and cabinets, showcasing Wen Tianxiang’s noble spirit and patriotism through charts, photos, paintings, and artifacts.

In May 2013, Wen Tianxiang Memorial Temple was approved and announced by the State Council of the People's Republic of China as part of the seventh batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Address: No. 63 Fuxue Hutong, Dongcheng District, Beijing

Phone: 010-64014968

Opening Hours:

9:00–17:00, with ticket sales closing at 16:30.

Wen Tianxiang, the top scholar of the Southern Song Dynasty, styled Songrui and also known as Wenshan, was born in 1236 in Futian Village, Chunhua Township, Luling (now southern Ji’an, Jiangxi), into a landlord family. His father loved reading and placed great importance on his children’s education, hiring renowned teachers. Regardless of the season, Wen Tianxiang studied, wrote, and discussed history and current affairs with his younger brother in a study filled with moral maxims.

At the age of 18, Wen Tianxiang ranked first in the Luling township examination. At 20, he entered Bailuzhou Academy in Jizhou (now Ji’an, Jiangxi) and was selected as a Jizhou tribute student in the same year. He went with his father to Lin’an (now Hangzhou) to take the imperial examinations. …   More details about Wen Tianxiang++

Further Reading:

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

· Seventh Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units