Dagaoxuan Hall (Hall of Imperial Longevity, Great High Mystery)大高玄殿
- Type
- Temples and Abbeys (Gongguan)
- Location
- China · Beijing · Beijing · Jingshan Front Street, Xicheng District, northwest of the Shenwumen Gate of the Forbidden City
- Coordinates
- 39.926, 116.39 Map ↗
- School
- Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) Daoism
- First built
- Ming, twenty-first year of Jiajing (1542) · Built by Emperor Shizong of the Ming as an imperial Daoist temple for zhai-jiao rites and prayer; renamed Dagao Hall in the Qing; returned to the Palace Museum in 2010; restored from 2015
- Heritage status
- Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level (1996)
Overview
Dagaoxuan Hall was an imperial Daoist temple of the Ming and Qing dynasties, built in the 21st year of the Jiajing era of the Ming (1542) by Emperor Shizong for the performance of zhai and jiao rites; it was the only Daoist temple reserved for imperial use outside the Forbidden City. The halls face south, with a glazed-tile memorial archway and the Xili Pavilion (popularly known as the "nine-beam, eighteen-pillar" music pavilion) in front; the main structures include Dagaoxuan Gate, Dagaoxuan Hall, the Jiutian Yingyuan Thunder Altar, and Qianyuan Pavilion (round above and square below, symbolizing round heaven and square earth). In the Qing it was renamed Dagao Hall to avoid the taboo on the Kangxi Emperor's personal name Xuanye, and it continued to serve as an imperial site for praying for rain and snow. From the 1950s it was long occupied by military departments; it was transferred to the Palace Museum in 2010, and restoration began in 2015 with partial public opening — it is an important physical record for the study of Ming imperial Daoist architecture and the Jiajing emperor's devotion to Daoism.
Highlights
- Qianyuan Pavilion
- Jiutian Yingyuan Thunder Altar
- Glazed-Tile Memorial Archway
- Xili Pavilion