Info on Confucius Temple, Lama Temple, Summer Palace

Hi everyone! Below is my paper for the above three things... hope all is well! miss you all!

Lama Temple
This weekend (7 June 2008) we went to the Lama Temple (YongHeGong). I have been before two years ago, but didn’t remember much of the experience. Now knowing more about the temple, I was able to better appreciate its history and culture. I still don’t think I was able to fully understand the magnitude of the temple and the Buddha statues situated throughout, but I was at the very least able to realize the significance.

Yonghegong Tibetian Buddhist Lama Temple, the biggest lamasery in Beijing, was built in 1694 as the residence of Prince Yong of Qing Dynasty. After the prince came to the throne, he changed his old residence into a temporary dwelling palace in 1725. His successor, Emperor Qianlong changed the palace into a lama temple. Many Buddha statues are enshrined within the temple and Tang-ga (scrolled painting) and precious cultural relics are displayed. Three of the most famous statues are: the Niche of Buddha, which has three layers of filigree; the Five-Hundred-Arhat Mountain, which is carved out of red sandalwood; and an 26-meter high Buddha which was carved out of white sandalwood and holds the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest statue made out of one piece.

Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the government has attached great importance to this temple and has allocated large sums of money to renovate it. In 1961, it was listed as a major Historic Site under State Protection. The Yonghegong Lama Temple survived during the turbulent years of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). In 1981, the temple was opened to the public.

While we were there, we saw many people burning incense and praying to the Buddhas, especially the Buddha of the Future. I thought it was interesting that there were many signs that said, “Please offer incense instead of burning if wind is bad,” yet many people continued to burn it on our windy visit. Also, another funny thing to note is that there is a statue enclosed in a gate that says “Do not throw incenses or coins.” However, the ground around the entire statue was covered in silver coins. I guess people break the rules no matter where you live.

Summer Palace
We were also able to go see the Summer Palace (Yi He Yuan). Having met some local students, we took them along for the afternoon and enjoyed a wonderful day by the water. The Summer Palace covers an expanse of 2.9 square kilometers, three quarters of which is water. The palace area is mainly dominated by Longevity Hill and the Kunming Lake. It suffered two major attacks during the Anglo-French invasion of 1860 and the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. It served as a summer resort for Empress Dowager Cixi, who used monies originally designated for the Chinese navy to reconstruct and enlarge the Summer Palace.

UNESCO has declared the Summer Palace an “outstanding expression of the creative art of Chinese landscape garden design, incorporating the works of humankind and nature in a harmonious whole.”

When we arrived at the palace, we began walking toward the lake along the Suzhou Street. We stopped at a small bridge that led to a smaller island to take pictures and enjoy the view of the lake and the Duobao Glazed Pagoda. We ate curry noodles on the edge of the water and meander down the street licking cold ice cream. We stopped at the Bronze Ox statue, also called the “Golden Ox.” The ox was positioned near the water to keep the floods down. Next, we traveled over the 17-Arch Bridge (Shiqi Kong Qiao), which has over 500 engraved lions and runs along the eastern edge of the lake. It is the longest bridge in any Chinese imperial garden and was named for its seventeen arches. Across the bridge, we visited another, larger island (Nanhu Dao) which contained beautiful gardens and a cultural relic building atop a hill, giving a great view of the lake below.

We then traveled back along the Suzhou Street to the bottom of the Longevity Hill. Some of the group decided to climb through the woods, bypassing the ticket checkpoint, to see the top of the hill and the pagoda. We decided to take a xiuxi (break) by the water’s edge. We walked along the Long Corridor and came to the Marble Boat, which is at the southwest foot of the hill.

The boat, also known as Qingyanfang (Boat of Clearness and Comfort), was built in 1755 as an imitation of the sailing boats that Qianlong took during his inspection of Southern China. As an old saying goes, "water can carry the boat as well as overturn it," meaning that water symbolizing the common people can uphold the royal boat, or it can swamp the boat. Emperor Qianlong had the huge Marble Boat fastened in the water to indicate the steadfast rule of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).




Confucius Temple
On Sunday, we went back to the same area as the Lama Temple to see the Confucius Temple (kong miao). Not as widely known perhaps, but definitely more relaxing the temple was used for training and the building up of Confucianism.

The area is covered with stone tablets that have the carved names of each person to pass the imperial examinations. The examinations take years to study for and the accomplishment is one of high regard. The temple allows visitors to feel secluded from the big city and somehow manages to block all noise except for birds chirping and other forms of nature. The Confucius Temple is located adjacent to the Imperial College, where many of the students were trained. The temple has a large hall that was once used by the Emperor to make speeches and give lectures to the public about Confucius ideals. The temple also houses an extensive museum/gallery that tells visitors how Confucianism has spread around the world and their goal to create 100 Confucius schools.

The temple is very tranquil and we spent some time just relaxing under a tree and watching the wind blow through the grass. I would recommend this temple to others, and if you are a student, you get a half price discount.