Guangji Temple, situated in
Fuchengmennei Street, Xisi, Beijing, is a famous ancient Buddhist temple in
Beijing. In 1983, it was designated as one of national key temples in the areas
of the Han nationality. Now, it is the site of Chinese Buddhism
Association.
Guangji Temple was founded at the end of the
Song Dynasty (960-1279), and destroyed by war afterwards. At the beginning of
the Tianshun reign (1457-1464) of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), Zenghui and
Yuanhong, two monks from Shaanxi Province, came here to raise funds and rebuilt
this temple at the same place. In the Qing Dynasty (1644-1840), because emperors
must pass Guangji Temple whenever they went out of the city, it began to be much
valued by the imperial family. Emperors of several eras came here in person,
inscribed poems, established steles, or granted tablets with autographs to this
temple, which suddenly promoted its status. Since then, Guangji Temple has
become a very important temple in Beijing. In 1935, it was rebuilt again, and
the buildings became more magnificent. In 1953, the Buddhist Association of
China was founded here.
The overall arrangement of this temple is
symmetrical. On its medial axis stand such important buildings as the Temple
Gate, the Main Hall, the Sutra Hall, the Jade Carving Monk Status Attaining
Altar, etc. from south to north. There exists a large-scale finger painting on
the back wall of the Main Hall which was drawn by Fu Wen, a famous artist of the
Qing Dynasty, with fingers. It is the largest extant fresco in China depicting
the scene of Buddha expounding Buddhist doctrines, and also a rare artistic
work. The Sutra Hall treasures up a lot of precious Buddhist scriptures, and the
tooth relics of Buddha and Buddhist relics found from the relics of Thousand
Buddha Pagoda of the Liao Dynasty (916-1125) has been moved and enshrined here.
In a small yard west of the Sutra Hall there stands a white marble stone carving
Monk Status Attaining Altar. It is well preserved, and is the only monk
status-attaining altar in Beijing.
Each year Guangji Temple receives a large
number of Buddhists and tourists from home and overseas, and many large-scale
meetings, religious ceremonies, and ceremonies concerning foreign affairs are
frequently held here.