Home » Sunday » Now and Then
Huge Taoist temple in Shanxi known for murals, Yuan styling
Print Edition
永乐宫(YǑNGLè Gōng) The Palace of Eternal Joy
Yongle Gong, or the Palace of Eternal Joy, is the largest Taoist temple existing in China today that features a distinctive architectural style of the Yuan Dynasty (1206-1368).
In addition to its elegant and grandiose building style, the temple is known for the large amount of matchlessly exquisite and colorful murals painted on the interior walls of its four main halls.
The temple got its present name from its original location, Yongle Town, in northern China’s Shanxi Province. In 1959, when China decided to build a gigantic dam on the Yellow River, which winds through the province, Yongle Town would become submerged under the river water. The temple was moved nearly 20 kilometers north to its current location.
Construction of the temple started in 1247 during the early period of the Yuan Dynasty and it was not completed until 110 years later. The construction included the painting of 960 square meters of extremely beautiful murals.
The temple was built to worship Lyu Dongbin (AD 796-?), revered as the founder of the Taoist mainstream Quanzhen School.
Born in Yongle Town, the original site of the temple, Lyu was a scholar and poet in the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907). Later, he was elevated to be one of the “Eight Immortals” of Taoism.
In the Chinese culture, there are many legends, folk stories, proverbs and idioms related to this Taoist immortal.
For instance, the Chinese proverb “dog bites Lyu Dongbin” means failing to recognize a good man and repaying kindness with wickedness.
Taoist temples usually resemble the style and layout of imperial palaces, but on a smaller scale and with simpler decorations. People can often see a pair of symmetrically located bell towers and a pair of drum towers inside the temples.
Of course, there are also religious ornaments and furnishings.
Yongle Gong demonstrates a salient architectural style of the Yuan Dynasty. The buildings there all have multiple layers of bulky bracket sets, but with far fewer decorations or carvings than buildings in the following dynasties.
However, the builders had also borrowed some ideas and features from the “Rules of Architecture” and “pillars reduction method” from the previous dynasties.
The temple’s layout gives people an impression of simplicity and spaciousness. In addition to its front gate, the temple has four main halls, namely, the Longhu Hall (Dragon and Tiger Hall), Sanqing Hall, Chunyang Hall and Chongyang Hall, sitting along the south-north axis.
The Longhu Hall was the original front gate of the temple, featuring a single-eave gable and hip roof, thick pillars and mixed use of glazed and grey tiles. The hall used to house two tall color sculptures, Black Dragon and White Tiger, the patron deities of Taoism. Now, they exist only in a mural there.
The Sanqing Hall, or the Three Taoist Saints Hall, is the largest of the four and its inside walls are almost completely covered with elaborately painted murals. The murals depict a grand scene of congregation, featuring the three saints and more than 280 other figures.
The Chunyang Hall is devoted to the worshipping of Lyu Dongbin. The murals in this hall tell the life stories of this immortal. They are highly reputed for the vivid portrayal of various figures and their harmonious blending into the background scenes.
In the last hall, the Chongyang Hall, the murals are pictures showing the worldly life of ordinary people, freshening up, drinking tea, cooking, working in the farm fields, fishing, gathering herbs, chatting and teaching. But there are also nobles and government officials going about their business and Taoist priests holding religious ceremonies and chanting sutras.
The murals in Yongle Gong represent the peak of mural painting in China and are widely deemed a gem in the art world.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
