Zhihua Si Temple

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Zhihua Si Temple (智化寺; pinyin: Zhìhuà Sì; lit. "Temple of Wisdom Attained") is a Ming Dynasty-era Buddhist temple in Beijing, China. It is located in the Lumicang hutong, in the Chaoyangmen area of the Dongcheng District, within the Second Ring Road to the north of Jinbaojie Street, west of the Yabaolu area. The temple was built in 1443 at the order of Wang Zhen, a powerful eunuch in the Rites Supervising Office of the court of the Zhengtong Emperor (also known as Yingzong; reigned 1436-1449 and 1457-1464).[1][2].

The temple, surrounding buildings, and grounds comprise approximately 20 thousand square meters. It is the only wooden structure and group of buildings from the Ming Dynasty to remain intact in Beijing.[3] It is also striking for its extensive use of black roof tiles. The Beijing Cultural Exchange Museum, established in November 1992, is located in the temple compound; its principal aim is "as a centre for developing cultural exchange and for developing the study of cultural relics and museums."[4]

At the temple, a group of musicians regularly performs centuries-old ritual music which has been handed down over 27 generations. The six-member group is led by the octogenarian Buddhist monk Zhang Benxing, the only surviving member of the 26th generation of musicians, and the last person to have learned the music in the traditional manner.[5] In addition to singing voices, the instruments used include guan (oboe), dizi (bamboo flute), sheng (mouth organ), yunluo (a set of ten small tuned gongs mounted vertically in a frame), and percussion including drums and cymbals.

The Zhihua Si Temple became a nationally preserved cultural and historic relic in 1961. In 2005 the Chinese government undertook a renovation of the temple (which is now complete) in preparation for the numerous international visitors expected at the time of the 2008 Summer Olympics.