2. Huanqiutan
“Tan” is Chinese for altar,
but these are no ordinary
altars. Built in a circle,
the tan is a three-tiered
structure with the altar at
the center …
The most famous of these
tan is in Beijing, at the
Temple of Heaven
(Tiantan) Park. It was
built in 1530 during the
reign of Emperor Jiajing
of the Ming dynasty.
3. Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest
At the other end of Tiantan
Park is the Hall of Prayer for
Good Harvest. This was the
first of the buildings in the
Temple of Heaven complex,
dating to about 1420 C.E.
The white platform on which
the building sits is a circular
altar approximately 144 feet
across and 18 feet high.
4. Ancestral Halls
Ancestral tablets embody the
dead. The most typical way of
preserving
them is a
dedicated area of
a home. However,
those with more
money will buy or
build a separate
house for the
tablets. Ancestral
halls range from
the very simple to
the very elegant,
depending on the
family’s financial status.
This “spirit tablet” dates to ca. 1900. The
inscription reads “Spirit tablet of the illustrious
lord Zhang, who had received the title of Grand
Master for Governance from the Qing court.
Respectfully set up by his pious son, Zhang
Fujun.” (U of Missouri-Columbia Museum of
Anthropology)
Above: Tang Ancestral Hall
in Taiwan, est. in the mid-
1700s.
5. The entrance to the Foshan Ancestral Temple
in the far south of China. The temple was
originally built in the late 11th
century.
The ancestral hall
(citang in Chinese) is
more than simply a
type of mausoleum.
Families gather here
for special meals,
weddings and other
special functions.
6. Taoist Temples
Taoist temples are
nearly always made
of wood (not stone
or brick). Their roof
lines distinguish
them from other
temples – the
intended
impression is the
defiance of gravity,
an achievement
often attributed to
Taoist Immortals
(imagine the
scenes from
Crouching Tiger,
Hidden Dragon).
8. In Taoism, the Taoshi (priest) carries out the
various rites and ceremonies, including funeral
rites and rites on behalf of the community. At
other times, the laity come to the Taoshi for help
with their own specific problems.
The “three purities” ar ethe primary focus at
the Taoist temple.
9. Robe for a Taoist
priest (mid-1800s)
Taoist priest in a piece
from the Southern Song
Dynasty (Qinghua)
10. Buddhist Temples
Central in a Chinese Buddhist temple is Shakyamuni Buddha
(Siddhartha during his life), flanked by two other Buddhas. Also
prominent is Kwan Yin, a Chinese bodhisattva.
Kwan Yin (right) is associated
in China with mercy, and
hence with vegetarianism. Her
statue in a restaurant
indicates that the menu is
vegetarian.
(PAY SPECIAL ATTENTION
TO THIS DETAIL!)
11. The Big Goose Pagoda in Xi’an
was built in the mid-600s in
honor of Xuan Zang, a monk
who traveled to India to gather
Sanskrit versions of the
Buddhist texts, so as to improve
the state of the Chinese
translations.
12. The Silk Road (the network of travel routes that connected eastern
China to Persia, Byzantium, the Middle East and beyond) was a
desolate strecth. But from the 1st century B.C.E. to the 14th
century C.E., the city of Gaochang was a key stop along the way.
Today, only ruins remain of its Buddhist temple and mountainside
grottoes.
13. Shaolin Temple may be the most famous Buddhist
monastery in the world, due to its association with
Kung Fu. Built in 497 C.E., it was the site from which
Chan Buddhism (called “Zen” in Japan) was
introduced.
Immediately inside the front entrance (above) are two
guardians. This one is on the right side.
14. Far left: Bodhidharma (who brought
Chan from India to Shaolin) in a 16th
century painting. Left: Mural from the
Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
15. Cave Temples
The practice of hollowing out caves as temples began in India, but
spread to China by the 300s C.E.
In Dunhuang in northwest China, over 500
cave temples were created from 336 C.E. to
This is cave 96. The front building is 9
stories – evoking traditional Chinese
symbolism. Inside is a 100’ tall Buddha.
16. The practice of hollowing out
caves as temples began in India,
but spread to China by the 300s
C.E.
In Dunhuang in northwest China, over 500
cave temples were created from 336 C.E. to
17. Confucian Temples
There is an austerity to the
Confucian Temple. There are
no gods or spirits displayed,
no dragons, lions or other
traditional religious symbols.
The focus is on the ancestors
alone.
18. Qufu
Qufu is the Kong family home. Tradition holds
that the ancestral hall was built in 478
B.C.E., soon after Confucius’ death. Several
more buildings and gates were added in the
following centuries.
19. The ceremony at the Confucian temple consists in the “sacrifice” of
music, dance, and food and wine. The sounding of the jin drum and
the bell initiate the ceremony. Traditional dance was performed by
eight lines of eight dancers.
20. A Confucian temple is essentially an ancestral hall for the Kong
family. At the very center above the altar is the spirit tablet of
Confucius himself. Note the numerous musical instruments.
21. For most of the last two
millennia, Confucian
thought was the
foundation of Chinese
public life. The
Communist victory
brought that to an end,
and in the Cultural
Revolution many
Confucian temples were
seized and/or destroyed.
This temple, in Beijing, is
the second largest in the
country, first built in
1320. Since the death of
Mao, it has been
restored, although some
of the damage was
irreparable.
Editor's Notes
Temple photo from Balázs Káplár Photography http://www.kaplarbalazs.com/gallery/foshanzumiao
