Hall of the Jade Emperor in Da dao Guan

Hall of the Jade Emperor in Da dao Guan

The Hall of the Jade Emperor in Da dao Guan is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Hall of the Jade Emperor in Da dao Guan is located on Xinghua Middle Road in Dingzhou City, Hebei Province.

Originally built during the Yuan Dynasty and reconstructed in the Ming Dynasty, this hall features the typical pillar-reduction construction style of Yuan architecture. It is seven bays wide from east to west and four bays deep from north to south, with a hip-and-gable roof covered in glazed tiles and trimmed edges, and is equipped with three-tiered bracket sets featuring single upward and single downward cantilevers. During the Kangxi era of the Qing Dynasty (1662–1722), there used to be a pond to the east of Da dao Guan where fish were raised and lotus flowers planted. Locals would gather here during the Mid-Autumn Festival to enjoy the moon with wine, and the scene became known as “Moon Viewing at West Stream,” which was listed as one of the Eight Scenic Spots of Dingzhou. The interior walls of the hall still preserve a Ming Dynasty (1573–1620) fresco depicting an imperial procession, rendered in gold relief. The figures in the painting are strikingly lifelike, and the craftsmanship is said to rival that of the murals in the Temple of the Northern Peak, one of China’s Five Sacred Mountains. It is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Originally, Da dao Guan was a group of axial-style buildings, arranged from south to north in sequence: a large screen wall, the Hall of Guan Yu, the Hall of the Second Deity, the Hall of the Six Deities, the Hall of the Jade Emperor, and the Hall of Laozi—five major halls in total. Today, only the Hall of the Jade Emperor remains. The hall has a rectangular floor plan, being seven bays wide from east to west and four bays deep from north to south. It adopts the commonly used Yuan Dynasty pillar-reduction design, with a hip-and-gable roof, glazed tile trimming, and three-tiered bracket sets featuring single upward and single downward cantilevers. The shape of the bracket arms appears to be from the mid-Ming and Qing periods, but the base of the arms aligns with Song Dynasty construction practices, suggesting the hall may have undergone major renovations during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The interior walls of the central hall are painted with gold-relief murals depicting various deities paying homage and the celestial palaces of the Jade Emperor. The figures are exquisitely shaped, the lines fluid, and the depictions of ministers, thunder gods, rain gods, and others are vivid and distinct.

In 2006, the Hall of the Jade Emperor in Da dao Guan, recognized as a Ming Dynasty architectural structure, was included in the sixth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units by the State Council.

Further Reading:

· Second Batch of Hebei Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units