The Beizhen Temple is located on a slope 2.5
kilometers north of Beizhen County, Liaoning Province.
At the Beizhen Temple people offered
sacrifices to the Mountain God of Yiwulu Mountain. An ancestral temple was built
at the foot of the mountain during the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234). Stone tablets
indicate that Beizhen Temple was rebuilt and expanded between 1421 and 1495
during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
The large-scale Beizhen Temple is 109 meters
wide from east to west and 240 meters long from north to south. Main
constructions inside the temple include the Yuxiang Hall, Center Hall, Gengyi
Hall, Neixiang Hall and Sleeping Hall, all built on a H-shaped high base. In
front of these structures are a stone memorial archway, mountain gate, Shenma
Gate and belfry; in the back are Xianren Rock and the Cuiyun Screen.
The Yuxiang Hall has five rooms containing
imperial books and offerings. Behind the Yuxiang Hall is the Big Hall known as
the symmetrical center and also the largest construction in the temple. In the
Big Hall -- a big, wooden construction with black brick walls and a green glazed
tile roof -- the imperial family staged sacrificial ceremonies. The hall's
columns and purlins were painted red and contained carved patterns. On the walls
are 32 drawings depicting civil and military officials from the Han Dynasty
(206BC-220AD) to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). The figures are portrayed in
various postures and are remarkably true to life.
Behind the Big Hall are the three Gengyi
Halls where people changed clothes before participating in sacrificial
ceremonies in the Big Hall. At the back of the Gengyi Halls are three Neixiang
Halls where the offerings, joss sticks and candles used by local officials were
kept. The Sleeping Hall -- the forbidden house of the Mountain God -- is
located at the back. The large hall was built next to the Big Hall which was
enclosed by white stone railings.
A total of 56 stone tablets of the Yuan
(1271-1368), Ming and Qing (1644-1911) Dynasties are kept in the temple. Among
the tablets, 12 belong to the Yuan Dynasty, 16 to the Ming Dynasty and 28 to the
Qing Dynasty. The tablets are very valuable in terms of archaeological study as
well as calligraphy.