You Shun Temple

You Shun Temple

You Shun Temple is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Chaoyang You Shun Temple is located in the old city area of Chaoyang. In the 37th year of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty (1698), with the approval of Emperor Kangxi, construction began the following year and was completed in the 46th year of Kangxi’s reign (1707), resulting in 150 halls and rooms. After the temple was completed, Emperor Kangxi bestowed upon it the name “You Shun Temple” and presented a sandalwood Buddha statue. In the 18th year of the Qianlong reign (1783), Emperor Qianlong stayed at You Shun Temple on his way to Shengjing (now Shenyang) to pay homage at the imperial mausoleum. He personally inscribed the plaque “Zhen Ru Miao Jue” (True Suchness, Wondrous Awakening), which was hung in the main hall of the temple. It is evident that as early as the early Qing Dynasty, You Shun Temple had already gained widespread fame due to repeated imperial favor and its thriving monastic community. The temple’s architectural layout follows a symmetrical five-courtyard axial plan, consisting of six levels of halls and pavilions.

The temple complex stretches 163.6 meters from north to south and 63.8 meters from east to west, covering an area of over 10,000 square meters. Its main structures, from south to north, are the Mountain Gate, Heavenly King Hall, Scripture Pavilion, Mahavira Hall, Changing Robes Hall, and Rear Hall (Seven-Bay Hall); other buildings are symmetrically arranged on the east and west sides, from south to north, including the East and West Wing Rooms, Theater Stage and Guan Yu Temple, Bell Tower and Drum Tower, East and West Side Rooms, East and West Side Halls, and East and West Scripture Halls. In front of the Mountain Gate are a screen wall and memorial archway. The original total floor area was 4,100 square meters, with 3,800 square meters remaining today. Except for the original Bell and Drum Towers, which were demolished, the rest are relatively well preserved. Architectural styles include hip-and-gable roof, flush gable roof, and hard gable roof. The various halls, rooms, and pavilions feature either upturned eaves with carved beams and painted rafters, or straight pillars and red latticed windows with gray walls, showcasing rigorous construction and simple yet elegant ornamentation.

The Mahavira Hall, located behind the Scripture Pavilion, is the largest main structure in the temple, measuring five bays in both width and depth, with an area of 600 square meters. The ceiling caisson, beams, and brackets inside the hall are adorned with colorful paintings, while the vermilion outer walls are inlaid with vivid stone carvings. At the four corners under the eaves are corner pillars, resting on bases shaped like four-petal reclining beasts. The main ridge of the hall is decorated with large chiwen (mythical beast heads) at both ends, and a small bronze gilt gourd-shaped pagoda is placed at the center. Other features, such as the coiled dragon reliefs on the flagpoles, Buddhist motifs and stone carvings on the door lintels, as well as the stone railings and couplets, all reflect the traditional style of Chinese Buddhist architecture and the cultural-artistic characteristics of the early Qing Dynasty. The temple originally housed six stone steles, all with coiled dragon heads, rectangular bodies, and turtle pedestals, inscribed in both Mongolian and Chinese with details about the temple’s construction. From the surviving steles and those recorded in historical texts, it is known that from the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty to the Republican era, You Shun Temple underwent multiple renovations. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, to protect this precious historical and cultural heritage, provincial and municipal governments and cultural authorities allocated funds for repairs starting in the 1960s, restoring the ancient Tibetan Buddhist temple to much of its original appearance and reviving its former grandeur.

Legend has it that the temple originally housed tens of thousands of idols of varying sizes and expressions, along with over 400 rare scriptures, and was equipped with a wide range of ritual instruments such as drums, gongs, trumpets, flutes, pipes, and clarinets. At its peak, the temple had over 300 Tibetan Buddhist monks, and the annual temple fair was held on the 15th day of the sixth lunar month. From that day onward, the theater stage within the temple resonated with drumbeats, while traditional “Buzha” dances (a ritual dance for warding off evil and praying for good fortune) were performed outside the Mountain Gate. Artists and merchants gathered in great numbers, creating a lively scene of spectators and vendors throughout the day. The temple fair lasted for six days. You Shun Temple was listed as a Cultural Relics Protection Unit of Liaoning Province in 1988. It has now been converted into the Chaoyang City Museum, becoming a hub for local cultural relics.

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Cultural Relics Protection Units of Liaoning Province

· Sixth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units