There was a saying in old Beijing: "In front of the Four Drum Towers in Dongdan and West, the Summer Palace of five altars and eight temples." As the capital of the past, Beijing not only has many attractions such as the Forbidden City, but also many temples worth visiting. Located on the east side of the southern end of Xuanwumen's Jiaozi Hutong, Fayuan Temple, built in the 19th year of Tang Zhenguan (645), is the oldest famous temple in Beijing and home to the Chinese Buddhist Academy and the Chinese Buddhist Library and Cultural Relics Museum.
Fayuan Temple was originally named "Mercy Temple", and in the nineteenth year of Tang Zhenguan, Tang Taizong Li Shimin personally defeated goguryeo soldiers, and for the soldiers who died in excess, he ordered the construction of the Temple of Mercy in Youzhou (Beijing). In the Liao Dynasty, the Temple of Mercy became a temple that was highly valued by the royal family, and members of the imperial family such as Song Qinzong during the Northern Song Dynasty were also placed under house arrest. During the Qing Dynasty, the Yongzheng Emperor changed the name of the temple to Fayuan Temple.
Fayuan Temple is not only ancient, but also preserves the complete Layout of the Zhouzheng Chinese temple building. The whole temple sits north to south, divided into six courtyards, the existing buildings are all built in the Ming and Qing dynasties, almost all of which have precious cultural relics, a pair of bronze lions in front of the Heavenly King Hall were made during the Qing Yongzheng period, and the bronze lions in front of the east gate of the Summer Palace are very similar, very imposing.
The terrain of the temple is gradually raised from south to north, and it is extremely rare in ordinary Buddhist temples. The Daxiong Treasure Hall is the main hall of The Fayuan Temple, and the plaque "Fahai Zhenyuan" hanging on the beam in front of the hall is the personal letter of the Qianlong Emperor. The meaning of "True Source of the Fa Hai" is that all precepts and punishments are "streams", and only inner sincerity is the "source".
On the front east side of the Daxiong Treasure Hall, there is a huge ancient locust tree about 110 years old, and the stone stele erected during the Ming and Qing dynasties under the tree was once highlighted by the famous writer Li Ao in the historical novel "Beijing Fayuan Temple". In the novel, Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao, Tan Si and others meet and talk with Master She and the little monk Pujing who have seen through the red dust and gone to Fayuan Temple.
Since northern China is not suitable for the growth of Bodhi trees, Fayuan Temple has planted cloves that resemble Bodhi. Since the Qing Dynasty, every spring when flowers bloom, the monks and monks must invite literati and celebrities to come to admire the flowers, so it is also known as the "Temple of Flowers". On April 26, 1924, Lin Huiyin and Xu Zhimo accompanied the Indian poet Tagore to enjoy cloves at Fayuan Temple, and that night Tagore and Xu Zhimo talked all night under the flowers, which became a good story in the history of literature.
In addition to being a Buddhist shrine, Fayuan Temple also exhibits many cultural relics and monuments, making it a religious museum. The "Great Jade Sea of Dushan", ordered by Kublai Khan in 1265, is the earliest surviving extra-large jade carving in China, which is rated as the first jade of the Zhenguo and is currently in the collection of Beihai Tuancheng. But its base has been missing since the Ming Dynasty, and it was not discovered until 1988 that it was in the Fayuan Temple.
Originally enshrined in the Pilu Hall, which was found under the stupa in Beihai Park in 1917, the parietal relics of Master Xuanzang were stolen in 1949 and now enshrine a Ming Dynasty Five-Square Buddha relocated from Sheng'an Temple in Beijing. This bronze cast five-square Buddha, nearly five meters high, is engraved on each petal of the Thousand Leaf Lotus petals, showing the superb smelting technology and Buddha statue plastic art of the Ming Dynasty.
The Tibetan Scripture Building is the last courtyard of Fayuan Temple, and the quiet and elegant courtyard is planted with Begonias of the Qianlong Period. The Tibetan Scripture Building preserves a variety of Buddhist scriptures and is one of the institutions that treasure the largest number of Buddhist scriptures and the most precious editions in China. At present, Fayuan Temple is not yet known to most tourists, except for the first and fifteenth day of the first year, there are not many tourists, if you have the opportunity, you may wish to come here and walk around.