Zhongyue Temple中岳庙

Type

Temples and Abbeys (Gongguan)

Location

China · Henan · Dengfeng, Zhengzhou · About 4 km east of Dengfeng, at the foot of Huanggai Peak on the southern slopes of Mount Taishi.

Coordinates

34.463, 113.07 Map ↗

School

Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) Daoism

First built

Qin (one account: Han) · Originally named Taishi Shrine; moved to its present site under the Northern Wei; greatly expanded under the Tang and Song; the present main structures were rebuilt during the Qianlong reign of the Qing in the style of the Forbidden City in Beijing.

Heritage status

Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level (2001)UNESCO World Heritage Site: Component of the Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in "The Centre of Heaven and Earth" (2010)

Overview

Zhongyue Temple is the state-sacrifice temple dedicated to the god of Mount Song, the Central Peak, and is one of the largest and best-preserved of the temples to the Five Sacred Peaks, covering an area of about 110,000 square meters. Along its central axis lie eleven courtyards, including the Gate of China (Zhonghua Men), the Yaocan Pavilion, the Tianzhong Pavilion, the Chongsheng Gate, the Huasan Gate, the Junji Gate, the Junji Hall (Main Hall of Zhongyue), and the Sleeping Hall. The temple originated as the Taishi Shrine of the Qin–Han period, was moved to its present site under the Northern Wei, flourished greatly under the Tang and Song, and was rebuilt in the style of the Forbidden City during the Qianlong reign of the Qing. The temple preserves the Taishi Que gate-towers of 118 (the fifth year of the Yuanchu era of Emperor An of the Eastern Han), the Northern Wei Stele of the Numinous Temple of Songgao, Song-dynasty iron guardian figures (four cast in 1064, the first year of the Zhiping era of the Northern Song), and several hundred stelae from the Jin, Ming and Qing dynasties. It is now presided over by priests of the Longmen Lineage of Quanzhen and serves as an important center of the Henan Taoist Association.

Highlights

• Junji Hall
• Northern Song Iron Figures
• Taishi Que Gate-towers
• Stele of the Numinous Temple of Songgao
• Ancient Cypress Grove

Related figures