Dongyue Temple, Beijing北京东岳庙
- Type
- Temples and Abbeys (Gongguan)
- Location
- China · Beijing · Beijing · 141 Chaoyangmenwai Street, Chaoyang District
- Coordinates
- 39.923, 116.446 Map ↗
- School
- Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) Daoism, Xuanjiao (Mysterious Teaching)
- First built
- Yuan, sixth year of Yanyou (1319) · Built by imperial decree by Zhang Liusun and Wu Quanjie, Grand Patriarchs of the Xuanjiao; expanded over the Yuan, Ming, and Qing; established as the Beijing Folklore Museum in 1999
- Heritage status
- Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level (1996)
Overview
Dongyue Temple in Beijing was built by imperial decree by Zhang Liusun, Grand Patriarch of the Xuanjiao (Mysterious Teaching) of the Yuan, and his disciple Wu Quanjie; construction began in the sixth year of the Yanyou era (1319) and was completed in the second year of the Zhizhi era (1322). It is a Zhengyi temple dedicated to the Great Emperor of the Eastern Peak and the largest Zhengyi temple in North China. The temple has central, eastern, and western axes; along the central axis stand Zhandai Gate, Daiyue Hall, Yude Hall, and others, while the statues of the Seventy-Six Bureaus in the side galleries display the Daoist system of offices of the underworld, of considerable value for folklore studies. The courtyards hold over a hundred steles from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing, including the Spirit Way Stele for the Celestial Master Zhang, in the calligraphy of Zhao Mengfu (a Daoist stele) — the largest collection of steles in the capital. The temple fair flourished in the Ming and Qing; the "Dongyue Temple Fair" was one of the capital's three great temple fairs. The Beijing Folklore Museum was established within the temple in 1999; Daoist activity resumed in 2008, and it is now the seat of the Beijing Taoist Association.
Highlights
- Daiyue Hall
- Seventy-Six Bureaus
- Zhao Mengfu Daoist Stele
- Yuan–Ming–Qing Stele Forest
- Beijing Folklore Museum