Fuyou Temple

Fuyou Temple

Fuyou Temple is a municipal cultural heritage site of Beijing.

Fuyou Temple is located on the east side of the northern entrance to Beichang Street.

Built during the Shunzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty, it served as a smallpox isolation site for Emperor Shengzu Xuanye (Emperor Kangxi). In the first year of the Yongzheng reign (1723), it was planned to be allocated to Prince Bao (the title given to Emperor Gaozong Hongli when he was a prince), but Hongli never moved in. After ascending the throne, it was converted into a temple and named Fuyou Temple.

The outer gate faces west. Along the central axis from south to north are: a screen wall (18.5 meters long), two wooden memorial archways, a three-bay mountain gate with carved dragon imperial pathways in front and back, and octagonal screen walls on both sides. There are also bell and drum towers, and a three-bay Hall of Heavenly Kings. Each side has a three-bay side hall. The Mahavira Hall has five bays, with a front terrace and a carved cloud-patterned imperial pathway. The rear hall has five bays and houses a memorial tablet for “The Great Meritorious and Virtuous Buddha of the Sacred Ancestor Emperor.” In 1927, it was converted into the office of the Panchen Lama in Beiping. After 1980, it served as the Panchen Lama’s Beijing office.

Fuyou Temple is a municipal-level cultural heritage site in Beijing, located on Beichang Street in Xicheng District. It was built during the Shunzhi reign of the Qing Dynasty as a smallpox isolation site for Emperor Shengzu Xuanye. In the first year of the Yongzheng reign (1723), it was planned to be allocated to Prince Bao (Emperor Qianlong, Hongli) as his private residence. Hongli did not move in, and after ascending the throne, it was converted into a temple and named Fuyou Temple. It has been renovated several times over the generations. The temple faces south and the outer gate faces west. There are bell and drum towers and a three-bay Hall of Heavenly Kings. Each side has a three-bay side hall. The Mahavira Hall has five bays, with a front terrace and a carved cloud-patterned imperial pathway. The rear hall has five bays and houses a memorial tablet for “The Great Meritorious and Virtuous Buddha of the Sacred Ancestor Emperor.”

The entire temple complex has three courtyards. The first courtyard consists of the mountain gate, bell and drum towers, and the Hall of Heavenly Kings. The mountain gate has three bays with a yellow glazed tile hip-and-gable roof. There are carved dragon imperial pathways in front and back of the gate, octagonal screen walls on both sides, and a giant glazed screen wall over 18 meters long facing the south. Two wooden memorial archways stand on the east and west sides of the gate. The main structure, the Hall of Heavenly Kings, has a yellow glazed tile hip-and-gable roof, with bell and drum towers on the east and west sides, both featuring double-eave yellow glazed tile hip-and-gable roofs. The second courtyard centers around the Mahavira Hall, the main building of the temple, which has five bays, a yellow glazed tile hip-and-gable roof, and a lotus pedestal copper tower at the center of the main ridge. The third courtyard is the rear hall, which has five bays and a hip-and-gable roof. Inside is a memorial tablet for “The Great Meritorious and Virtuous Stele of the Sacred Ancestor Emperor.” The Mahavira Hall has five bays, with a front terrace and a carved cloud-patterned imperial pathway. The rear hall has five bays and houses a memorial tablet for “The Great Meritorious and Virtuous Buddha of the Sacred Ancestor Emperor.” Both sides of the main hall have side halls and auxiliary rooms.

Fuyou Temple

In 1919, Mao Zedong stayed here briefly while leading a delegation from Hunan to petition against warlord Zhang Jingyao in Beiping. In 1927, it was converted into the office of the Panchen Lama in Beiping. After 1949, it served as the Panchen Lama’s Beijing office. In 1984, the China Nationalities Museum was established here, collecting literature, films, and cultural relics related to ethnic cultures. In the same year, it was designated as a protected area with defined boundaries and construction control zones. The protected area includes the former office space of the Panchen Lama in Beijing, extending east to the Imperial Moat, south and north to the temple walls, and west to the planned red line.

As a royal temple, it has never received worshippers or donors since ancient times, and the halls are usually locked. The entire architectural complex is divided into three courtyards from south to north, all facing south with the main gate to the west. From south to north are two memorial archways, inscribed with “Eternal Virtue” and “Compassion for All Beings.” To the left and right inside the gate are the bell and drum towers. The three-bay mountain gate is flanked by large stone lions, with carved dragon imperial pathways in front and back, and octagonal screen walls on both sides. There are also side gates on each corner. The Hall of Heavenly Kings is the second hall, followed by the Mahavira Hall, which is majestic and solemn. The main halls along the central axis have front and back doors, allowing a straight passage from front to back, symbolizing that all will go smoothly. Inside the Mahavira Hall is an octagonal pavilion with double eaves, on whose roof hangs a hada offered by the 10th Panchen Lama. At the center of the pavilion is a statue of Manjushri cast in pure gold, with a crown adorned with large colorful gemstones. Legend says Emperor Qianlong once dreamed he was the reincarnation of Manjushri, hence Manjushri is enshrined in a standalone pavilion—unique in Beijing and even China—called the “Manjushri Pavilion.” On the right are statues of Sakyamuni Buddha, and on the east and west sides are golden statues of the Eighteen Arhats, exquisitely crafted and radiating an extraordinary imperial grandeur. The Hall of Heavenly Kings houses four colossal warrior deity statues, each holding: a scaleless, clawless dragon; a boneless, canopy-less umbrella; a stringless lute; and a sheathless sword. The paintings of the deities are extremely detailed, with visible eyebrows and beards. These uniquely refined and imposing warrior statues are found nowhere else, no one dares touch them, and their exact material remains unknown. They have been well preserved for centuries.

Location

No. 20, Beichang Street, Xicheng District, Beijing

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Municipal Cultural Heritage Sites in Beijing