Sansheng Nunnery

Sansheng Nunnery

Sansheng Nunnery is a protected cultural heritage site of Beijing Municipality.

Sansheng Nunnery is located east of today’s Liuxiang South Road and west of Haizi Bian, and takes its name from the nunnery. During the Qing Dynasty, it was called Sansheng Temple Street, and after the Republic of China, it became known as Sansheng Nunnery. This temple was first built over 1,000 years ago during the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty, which was also the period of the Liao Dynasty’s Nanjing City. It is a nunnery dedicated to the Three Western Saints, hence the name Sansheng Nunnery.

The nunnery has three courtyards. In the upper level of the main hall in the final courtyard are enshrined the Three Buddhas—Sakyamuni, Amitabha, and Bhaisajyaguru; the lower level houses the Three Western Saints—namely Amitabha, Mahasthamaprapta, and Guanyin. Although some of the original open courtyard spaces have now been turned into building plots for new residential communities, the overall structure remains intact. The current appearance dates back to the major renovation in the early years of the Republic of China. To respect the thousand-year-old all-wood mortise-and-tenon construction, no iron nails have ever been used, and no nails are found on the walls either. The present-day treasure-shaped glazed tiles and the “five ridges and six beasts” on the upturned eaves were donated by President Li Yuanhong, a devout Buddhist, in the early Republic of China.

Source: Beijing Municipal Commission of Tourism Development

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of Municipal-Level Protected Cultural Heritage Sites in Beijing