英语小景点导游词

英语小景点导游词 一Beihai Park (北海公园) Beihai Park is located in the center of Beijing，to the west of thenorth gate of the Forbidden City(It was first built more than 1，000years ago duri ng the Liao Dynasty(916—1 125)，then continuallyreb uilt and renovated during the Jin(1115?1234)，Yuan(1 279—1368)，Ming(1368—1644)and Qing(1644—191 1)Dyn asties，eventually becoming the beautifully landscaped garden we seetoday(As an imperial pleasure garden built within the ImperialCity，it was built more m agnificently than any other imperialcomplex outside the capital city(Now，Beihai Park is the best.preserved imperial garden in China，as well as the oldes t imperial garden in the world( Beihai Park covers a total area of over 68(2 h ectares(More thanhalf of it is taken up by the lake(which covers 38(9 hectares(Beihai Park consists mainly of two parts:the lake of Beihai and theJade Flowery Islet(Oionghuadao)( Beihai Park used to be an imperial garden for feudal rulers ofpast dynasties(Originally，this sit e was a river course of theYongding River(Later，it became a vast lake on the northeasternoutskirts of the city and was called the“Golden Sea”(at that t imenorthern people called the water or a lake the“s thea”)(Early in the10 century，the Liao Dynasty(916(1 125)made Beijing their second capital(The Emperor of the Liao Dynasty liked to comehere to relax(In 9 38，in the middle of the lake，there was a small isl and called Yao Yu(Jade Islet)on which they built a temporary imperial residence then called Yao Yu Palace( In 1115，the Jin Dynasty drove the Liao out(to ok over Beijing and then renamed the capital Jin Zhongdu(central capital of Jin)(In 1 1 5 1，the Jin E mperor ordered the expansion of the central capital(The next year，they moved the capital to Yanjing， whichis Beijing today(Later in 1179，the rulers of the Jin Dynastv started to expand the size of the park by digging a lake in the present Beihai area，fo rming and enlarging the island in the middle of the lake，which was built of earth dug out from the lake，and then they changed the name of Yaoyu to Qiongd ao and the island was called Jade Flowery Island(Qionghuadao)(They also added more palace halls，decor ated the island with Taihu rocks and( subsequently， built artificial hills(The artificial hills were bu ilt on the Island by piling up the Taihu rocks that were removed from Genyue Garden in Bianliang(south—central China of the Song Dynasty)，now Kaifeng，i n Henan Province(Then thev built Taininggong，as a secondary palace on the island for the Jin emperors(The Jin emperors spent four to five months here every year and also administered the state affairs here(The Hall of Vast Cold(Guanghandian)，built on t he top of the was an enlargement of the Liao Palace( In 1 264，Kublai Khan of the Yuan Dynasty，and es tablished its capital here named Yuan DaduIsland，pr obablycaptured Beijing (Great Capital ofYuan)(But a lmost everything in the capital was burned down and destroyed，except the area of Beihai(So Kublai Kha n had to stay in the Hall of Vast Cold(Guanghandian)on the Jade Flowery Islet in Beihai when he came to Beijing(Later they took Qionghuadao，the Jade Flow ery Islet，as the center of Dadu and built their imperial palace here(Later，they changed the name of Q ionghuadao to Long Life Hill(Longevity Hill or Dushan Hill)(The place was rebuilt three times during the Yuan dynasty(Many palace buildings and gardens were constructed here at that time，as well as the Bi g Jade Bowl in the Round City(Tuancheng)and the Iron Screen(Tieyingbi)on the north bank of Beihai Park(They are legacies from the Yuan Dynasty( Guanghandian was where Kublai Khan used to live and many other palace buildings were built on the top of the hill(It was in this palace that Kublai Khan received Marco Polo and held ceremonies on festive occasions，received foreign diplomats and issued decrees(He also had Guanghan Palace renovated and made it the place for grand receptions and banquets(The islet became the center of Dadu(Great Capital)(Unfortunately，Guanghandian was later destroyed( In the Ming Dynasty，Beihai was an imperial ga rden of the imperial palace，named Western Garden(Xi yuan)，as it was located outside the Western Flowery Gate of the Forbidden City(Some construction and r enovation were carried out here，such as the Five--D ragon Pavilions and Nine-Dragon Screen on the north bank of Beihai Park and many halls，pavilions and g alleries in Tuancheng(Circle City)(All this was don e during the Ming Dynasty.But in 1579，Guanghandian collapsed and was destroyed( Originally，the lake was called the“Lake of T aiye(”The people 1n the north habitually referred to a lake as the“sea,”so in the Ming Dynasty there were three“seas”:the North，Middle and South sea s，which mean Beihai，Zhonghai and Nanhai(The three “seas” put together were actually the three lakes put together and named“Lake Taiye(”Built over the lake，was a white marble bridge called “Jinaoyud ong” Bridge， which means “Golden Tortoise and Jade Rainbow Bridge(” Large-cale construction and restoration around Beihai were carried out under the Qing Dynasty，following the layout of the Ming palaces and gardens(In 1 65 1，during the eighth vear of Emperor Shunzhi’s reign，a Tibetan style white dagoba was erected on the ruins of the Guanghandian，which had c ollapsed almost 80 years before?The Temple of Etern al Peace(Yong’an Si)was built in front of the White th Dagoba( In the 18 century，as the Qing Dynasty entered its flourishing period，construction of the imperial garden8 also reached its culmination(During Emperor Qianlong's reign(1736—1795)，further const ruction on Beihai took place(which lasted 30 years from 1741—1771(The project included manv pavilions，halls and terraces that made Beihai(the ImperiaI Garden,even more harmonious in design(The Tower of Ten Thousand Buddha(Wanfolou)was built at the time th for the celebration of the 80 birthday of Emperor Qianlong，s mother(When construction was completed， emperor Qianlong wrote 1n8cnptions for four steles，ofle for each side of the hill，describing the scenery of Qionghuadao Islet and the history of its buildings(This laid a good foundation for today’S Beihai Park，for it still looks much as it did during Emperor Qianlong’S reign(The layout of Beih ai Park is based on an ancient Chinese legend，“A b ig pool with three hills(”According to the legend， there were supposed to be three islands called Penglai，Yingzhou and Fangzhang to the east of Bohai Bay，where people believed that the Gods lived(One of the Islands was called Penglai Island where a kind of Chinese herbal medicine grew，which was supposed to prolong people’S lives(Emperor Qinshihuang，th e first emperor of the Qin Dynasty，wanted to have a long life and live forever，SO he sent lots of peop le to Penglai Island looking for the Chinese herbal longevity medicine，but they failed(In the Han Dyn asty，Emperor Wudi also wanted to live an eternal life(After failing to find the herbal longevity medicine，he ordered people to dig a big pool at the back of his palace with three artificial hills representing the three Fairland Mountains of Penglai，Yingzh ou and Fangzhang(Later，in the Sui Dynasty，these l egendary hills with a big pool were built in the eastern capital of Louyang，and in the Tang Dynasty th e same thing was done in Changan，the capital of the Tang Dynasty(Such a traditional legendary style of gardening was followed by one dynasty after anothe r(Beihai Park was built just after this traditional style:Qionghuadao represents Penglai Island;Tuanc heng stands for Yingzhou;Xishantai symbolizes Fangz hang( Jade Flowery Islet or Qionghua Islet(琼华岛) Qionghua Islet is in the center of Beihai Park with the White Dagoba standing majestically at the summit,in the center of the island，where it is bea utifully mirrored in the lake(So the Islet is also known as Baita Hill(White Dagoba Hill)(Qionghua Isl et is 45 meters high and 880 meters in circumference(On the southem slop of the hill on the island，th ere are a group of Buddhist temples descending the hillside(on the hill，there are many halls(pavilio ns，covered walkways and rockeries，all artificially arranged and meticulously built(The buildings on t he southern slope are:the Temple of Eternal Peace(Y ong’an Si)，which is the main temple built on the southern slope，the Hall of Law Wheel (Falundian)，th e Hall of Universal Peace(Puandian)and the Hall of Shanyin(Shanyindian)(The bright and splendid buildings in the temple have yellow—colored glazed tiles and red walls(On the northern side of the island there is a complex of rockeries and caves;at the foo t of the northern slope，is the famous Fangshan Restaurant，which serves imperial style cuisine(On the western side of the island there are several buildings such as(the Mental Pleasing Hall (Yuexinlou)， the Hall for Night Parties (Qingxiaolou)，Linguangdian and the Chamber for Reading the classics(Yuegulou)(The eastern side boasts fewer buildings(But is thickly wooded with ancient trees forming a unique style( The Islet has a history which is over 1，000 y ears old(It Was called“Yaoyu”in the Liao Dynasty(L ater，in the Jin Dynasty(It was renamed Qiongdao Islet(During the Yuan and Ming Dynasties，me layout of Qiongdao remained almost unchanged until the Qing Dynasty(In 1651，Qing Emper or Shun Zhi had the White Dagoba built on the ruins of Guanghan Palace on the Islet( In front of the White Dagoba，he also had the White Dagoba Temple built，which is also known as Yong’ an Temple or the Temple of Eternal Peace( Yong’an Bridge(永安桥) Yong’an Bridge was built in the 13„century(I t was made of white marble linking the Round City and Qionghua Islet with beautiful and exquisite carvings on both sides of the balustrades and balusters(There are two wooden archways standing on either end of Yong’an Bridge(The archway on the north bea rs the inscription，“Duiyun”(Piled Clouds)，while the other one to the south has the inscription(“Ji cui”(Accumulated Emerald)(So the bridge is also ni cknamed“Duiyunjicui Bridge”(the bridge of“Piled C louds and Accumulated Emerald”)(The bridge iS 80 m eters long with two stone lions，under the archways， guarding the Yong’an Bridge( The Temple of Eternal Peace(Yong’an Si永安寺) This iS the main temple built on the southern slope of the hill，and it was built in 1651(Emperor Shunzhi(the first emperor of the Qing Dynasty，was a Buddhist(He especially respected a famous Tibetan Lama priest named Nur Momhan( At the suggestion of Momhan，a group of temples was built from the bottom to the top of the hill on the southern slope of the island(Here was the place where the lamas used to chant Buddhist scriptures(The Bell Tower iS on the east side of the temple(While the Drum Tower iS on the west(In the middle(iS the Hall of the Law and Wheel(Falundian)in which stands the image of Sakyamuni，flanked by his two disciples( In front of the temple，there are two stone lio ns，but they are facing the temple instead of facing out(The reason is that the stone bridge in front of the temple had been built before the temple was built(So the stone lions were built for guarding the bridge not for the temple( Front Gate of Yong’an Temple(永安寺山门) The Front Gate of Yong’an Temple has three ope nings with a yellow and green—colored roof and cri mson walls that show solemnity and simplicity( Inside the Front Gate of Yong’an Temple，the B ell Tower stands on the east and the Drum Tower on the west(In the old days(when the emperor came to worship the Buddha，both the bell and drum were struck to announce the important event(In front of the gate，there are sculptures of bronze cranes and bronze turtles(symbols of longevity( Hall of the Wheel of Law(法轮殿) This is the first hall in Yong’an Temple( “Wheel of LaW”means the Buddhist scriptures spreading just like wheels to pass through from place to place forever(The hall hag a single layered eave and the roof is made of yellow and green glazed tiles(The top of the roof is decorated with a small pagoda in the middle and flanked by dragons playing with a pearl，all made of glazed tiles(This kind of d esign is rarely seen anywhere( Sitting inside the middle of the Hall of the Wheel of Law，is the statue of Sakyamuni，with eight Great Bodhisattvas，the disciples of Sakyamuni，(fo ur in each side)next to him(There are eighteen Arha ts standing on each side of the hall(The hall was b uilt in 1651 during the reign of-Emperor Shun Zhi of the Qing Dynasty(Lamas performed their daily rituals there in the old days( Behind the Hall of the Wheel of Law，35 steps up，is the Longguangzizhao Pailou(the Archway of Pur ple Dragon Light)(It was built in 1 75 1，during th e Qing Dynasty，and has glazed tiles on the roof(Th ere are two symmetrical pavilions on each side of the archway(The one on the east is called Yinsheng Pavilion，while the other one on the west iS named Di’ai Pavilion(Actually(they are nicknamed“Tablet Pavilions，”because each pavilion houses a square stone tablet(The tablet in Yinsheng Pavilion，to th e east，is carved with the“Note on White Dagoba Hil l(”recording the history of White Dagoba Hill in four languages(Han，Manchu，Mongolian and Tibetan)(T he tablet in Di’ai Pavilion iS inscribed with the“N ote on the Surroundings in four sides of Dagoba Hill(”It describes the Dagoba Hill as viewed from the north，sou(th，east and west directions nearby，re ferring to the buildings on the hill，the names of t he buildings，the layout and function of Beihai Park( Both the inscriptions are in the handwriting of Emperor Qianlong( Just north of Yinsheng and Di’ai Pavilions(th ere are two stones named Kunlun Stone and Yueyun Stone(They are also known as“Genyue Stones，”becaus e they were brought to Beihai from the Genyue Garden，built by the Song emperor in Bianliang(now Sitting inside the middle of the Hall of the Wheel of Law，is the statue of Sakyamuni，with eight Great Bodh isattvas，the disciples of Sakyamuni，(four in each side)next to him(There are eighteen Arhats standing on each side of the hall(The hall was built in 165 1 during the reign of-Emperor Shun Zhi of the Qing Dynasty( Zhengjue Hall(正觉殿) Behind the Longguangzizhao Pailou(Archway of Purple Dragon Light)，is Zhengjue Hall，55 steps hig her than the Archway(This is the second hall in Yong’an Temple，but it serves as the front gate of Baitasi(the White Dagoba Temple)(The smiling Buddha(B uddha Maitreya，is sitting in the middle of the entrance(He was a vagrant Buddhist monk in the early 10th century and was calied“Bag Buddha，”because he c ollected alms with a cloth bag and donated what he got to the temples(He was also called“Smiling Budd ha or Laughing Buddha，”because he kept a nice smil ing face on all the time( In this courtyard，the west side chamber is Zo ngjing Hall(Which serves as an exhibition room for cultural relics today(The eastern chamber is Shengg uo Hall( On each side of Zhengjue Hall，two pavilions p erch on a platform halfway up the hill(The pavilion on the east is called“Yunyiting，”while the west one is called“Yiyuanting(”To the east of Yunyitin g，there are two tablets(One tablet was erected by Qing Emperor Shun Zhi，in 1651，with an inscription explaining why they built the White Dagoba and explaining its construction process.The other tablet was erected in 1 733，by Qing Emperor Yong Zheng，with an inscription elaborating on the significance of rebuilding the White Dagoba( Pu’an Hall(普安殿) The third major hall in Yong’an Temple is Pu’ an Hall，which also serves as the main hall in the Temple of the White Dagoba(There are three Buddhist Statues in this hall(In the center(there is a stat ue sitting on a lotus flower seat with his hands clasping in front of his breasts(This is the statue o f Master Tsongkhapa，the founder of the Yellow Sect of Tibetan Buddhism(Flanking him are his two favorite disciples:Dalai Lama and Panchan Lama(Tsongkhap a was born in Qinghai Province(At the age of sevent een，he went to Tibet to study Lamaism and then became a lama there(Later，he won popular support from Lamas and created a new kind of Tibetan Buddhism called Gelupai(a sect of Tibetan Buddhism(The Lamas of this sect wear yellow hats and clothes to symbolize their sect，so this sect is also called Yellow Sect( Shanyin Hall(善因殿) In front of the White Dagoba stands a square structure of glazed tiles，but the whole structure l ooks like it is made of wood(It has double eaves;t he circular roof，on the top(is covered with bronze tiles with a gilded ball capped on the top，while t he square roof is covered with green glazed tiles with yellow tiles on the edge(This shape of roof sym bolizes the ancient belief that heaven is round while the earth is square(The four side walls around t he square building are decorated with 455 glazed Bu ddhist images(Inside the hall，there is a gilded br onze Buddhist statue named“Thunderbolt Bearer of Gr eat Power and Virtue，”with 36 hands and 36 eyes(n icknamed“thousand-hand and thousand-eye Buddha(”T his statue is believed to have the power to suppress evil and protect good(His vicious-looking appeara nce is in the image of a cow’s head and human bod y(It is said that there is some water underneath the White Dagoba;people believed that only this Buddha could control the water here(SO it iS also nickna med“Buddha of Water Contr01” White Dagoba(白塔) The White Dagoba is a Lamaist dagoba，built in 1651，in the Tibetan style(It is located at the to p of the Qionghua Islet on the former site of the Yuan Dynasty’S Palace Guanghandian，which had collap sed almost 80 years earlier(in the days of Yuan Emp eror Kublai Khan(Since it belonged to a part of Yong’ansi，it was also called the Yongansi White Dagob tha(During the 8 year of Emperor Shun Zhi，the first emperor of the Qing Dynasty，the White Dagoba was b uilt on the island because the emperor intended to consolidate the rule of the Qing regime by advocating Buddhism in the country(Construction of the Whit e Dagoba was also based on a suggestion proposed by a Tibetan Lama priest named Nur Momhan(He said that a white dagoba must be built in order to prolong the life of the country and benefit its people(Emperor。Shun Zhi was a devou t Buddhist(He had the dagoba built to show his desire for the unification of China’S various nationali ties and to show his gesture of devotion to the Buddhist belief(since Emperor Shun Zhl was a pious adherent of Buddhism( The White Dagoba was built on the top of the White Dagoba Hill，67 meters high from the ground level to the apex of the Dagoba(The Dagoba itself is 35(9 meters high and was built on a 31(1 meter igh square base of huge stone slabs(The body looks lik e an upturned bowl(There is a gate in the middle，o n the front side of the Dagoba，and the Sutras in th e Tibetan language are carved inside the gate(Fourt een copper bells hang from its copper canopy，on whi ch a gilded ball gives the appearance of a flame on the top of the Dagoba(On the body of the Dagoba，t here are 306 air vents made of brick carvings(The D agoba was damaged by earthquakes and reconstructed and renovated twice in the Qing Dynasty and once in 1 976(During the r epair in 1 976，a small square-sized gold box was found on the Dagoba(The box，about seven square centimeters，was found at the top of the column supporting the apex of the White Dagoba(In the Dagoba，there were two bean。sized Buddha relics surrounded by cinnabar powder for their protection(It was said that there were some Buddhist scriptures and Buddhist monks’mantles stored inside the Dagoba(During the Qing Dynasty， thevery year，on the 25 day of the tenth month of the Chinese lunar month，there would be a big Buddhist ceremony held in the White Dagoba(The whole complex of Yong’an Temple with the main buildings built from the front gate of Yong’an Temple up to the White Dagoba，all along the central axis，gives an impres sion of one magnificent building after another(up t o the top(Shun Zhi was a pious adherent of Buddhism( The White Dagoba was built on the top of the White Dagoba Hill，67 meters high from the ground level to the apex of the Dagoba(The Dagoba itself is 35(9 meters high and was built on a 3 1(1一meter —high square base of huge stone slabs(The body loo ks like an upturned bowl(There is a gate in the mid dle，on the front side of the Dagoba，and the Sutras in the Tibetan language are carved inside the gate(Fourteen copper bells hang from its copper canopy，on which a gilded ball gives the appearance of a flame on the top of the Dagoba(On the body of the D agoba，there are 306 air vents made of brick carvings(The Dagoba was damaged by earthquakes and reconstructed and renovated twice in the Qing Dynasty and once in 1 976(During the repair in 1 976，a small s quare-sized gold box was found on the Dagoba(The bo x，about seven square centimeters，was found at the top of the column supporting the apex of the White Dagoba(In the Dagoba，therem were two bean—sized B uddha relics surrounded by cinnabar powder foi thei r protection(It was said that there were some Buddhist scriptures and Buddhist monks’mantles stored in side the Dagoba( During the Qing Dynasty，every yea th day of the tenth month of the Chinese r，on the 25 lunar month，there would be a big Buddhist ceremony held in the White Dagoba( The whole complex of Yong’an Temple with the mai n buildings built from the front gate of Yong’an Te mple up to the White Dagoba，all along the central a xis，gives an impression of one magnificent building after another，up to the top( Yuexin Hall(Hall of Pleasant Heart悦心殿) This hall stands on the west side of the White Dagoba and was built in 1651(It used to be the pl ace where the Qing emperors received their officials and handled political affairs or held court when they stayed in the garden，just like the Hall of Dil igent GoVemment in many other imperial gardens in the Qing Dynasty(The tablet of Qiongdaochunyin(the tablet of Spring Shade Over Qiongdao Islet)used to be placed in front of this hall，but was moved to the eastern side of the Island in 1 786 during the Qin g Emperor Qianlong’s reign(In the late Qing Dynast y(Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu used to come here in the winter Qingxiao Tower(庆霄楼) Qingxiao Tower is a two-storey building located behind Yuexin Hall(the Hall of Pleasant Heart)(Her e，from the tower(Was where Qing Emperor Qianlong a th thnd his mother came on the 8day of the 12 lunar mo nth to watch a ball game or skating game on the frozenlake( Yuegu Chamber(Chamber for Reading the Classics阅 古楼) This is a two—storey building located on the west side of the Qionghua Jade Islet(It is an oblo ng structure consisting of two semicircles-Emperor Qianlong ardently loved calligraphy and was skilled in the art himself(In 1 746，he commissioned three precious calligraphy masterpieces by Wang Xizhi，Wa ng Xianzhi and Wang Xun，who were famous calligraphe rs in the Jin Dynasty，and then he kept the three priceless calligraphy masterpieces in his palace， the“Hall of Three Rare Treasures(”in the Forbid den City(During the next year，1 747，Emperor Qianl ong ordered his minister Liang Shizheng，and some ot her officials，to have the three calligraphy pieces and some other outstanding calligraphical works，from the Imperial Palace Collection of the Wei and Jin Dynasties (220—420)，carved o n to the stone tablets:this constituted the“Sanxit ang Model Calligraphy”(Hall of Three Rarities Model Calligraphy)(Yuegu Chamber houses a collection of 495 pieces of stone tablets，which consists of 340 masterworks done by 135 calligraphers from the Wei and Jin Dynasties(220-420)to the Ming Dynasty(1368-1644)(They spent six years completing the carvings， thus forming a collection of China’S calligraphy ar t treasures(The Qing emperor and empress often came here to read and enjoy these classics(Inside the Hall of Reading the Classics，the walls are inlaid with the inscriptions of the ancient masterpieces，“Callig raphy of Sanxi Studio(”The structure ontains 25 rooms specially designed to house the steles( Dew Plate(铜仙承露盘) On the northwest side of the Qionghua Islet，ha lfway up to the hill，there(is a white marble pilla r carved with a design of coiling dragons(On its to p，is a bronze statue of an immortal facing to the north(In his two hands，he is holding a plate for co llecting dewdrops from heaven(The name of this stat ue is“Chenglupan”(Receptacle of Dew)(It was erect ed according to the legend(It was said that Emperor Wudi，of the Han Dynasty(206 B(C(-220 A(D()，de sired to have a long life and be an immortal(Once(a Taoist priest told him the method of how to gather dewdrops and mix them together with jade powder in order to brew the medicine that he took for longevity(Based on this legend the structure was built，b ut Emperor Qianlong said that it was just for decoration not for collecting the dewdrops( Yilantang(Hall of Gentle Ripple漪澜堂) Yilantang was built in 1 753 and used as a wharf for the emperor and empress to have a boat ride on the lake(After liberation，Fangshan Restaurant w as moved here(Visitors can taste the food cooked ac cording to the recipes of the Qing imperial kitchen(Now，Fangshan Restaurant pays special attention to the freshness，crispness and tenderness of the food(as well as its color(The food is presented in th e style of the imperial court with the dishes replicating the imperial cuisine( East Shore(东岸) Haopujian(濠濮间) There are three gardens in Beihai called the“Ga rden within the Garden(”The three gardens are:Hao pujian Garden，Huafangzhai Garden and Jingxinzhai Ga ndrden(Haopujian was built in 1 757 during the 22 year of Emperor Qianlong’S reign(It is locate d on the east shore of Beihai Lake(Hao and Pu were the names of two rivers in ancient China(Hao River is in Anhui Province and Pu River in Henan Province(During the Warring States Period(475—221 B(C()， the famous philosophers Zhuangzi and Huizi stood by Hao River and had an amusing dialogue about whether the fish were happy or not(This garden was built in memory of their remarks(During the Qing Dynasty， this was the place where the emperors and empresses often came to watch fish or go fishing(Emperor Qia nlong gave banquets to the high-ranking officials here，while Empress Dowager Cixi came here to spend many summer hours listening to traditional storytelling( The Tablet of Spring Shade Over Qiongdao lslet (琼岛春阴碑) On the eastern side of the Islet，stands a ta blet known as the“Spring Shade Over Qiongdao Islet(”one of the eight famous beautiful sights of Yanjing(now Beijing)from ancient Beijing’S Jin Dynasty(1 1 15—1234)(During the Qing Dynast y，Emperor Qianlong wrote eight inscription tablets for the eight scenes and had them put in each place(He was so fascinated by the beautiful scene here that he wrote a poem and an inscription on the tablet(The inscription of‘‘Spring Shade Over Qiongdao Islet”was carved on the front side of the tablet and the poem was carved on the back(The four Chinese characters， “Qiongdaochunyin” wer e in Emperor Qinlong’S handwriting(This tablet was originally put in front of the Yuexindian，the Hall of Pleasant Heart，and was moved to the east side of the Islet in 1786( Studio of Colorful-Painted Boat(Huafangzhai画舫斋) This is another“garden within a garden”in Bei hai Park(1ying on the east shore of the lake(It is nicknamed“Water Palace(”because it consists of s everal water(surface buildings(The garden is locat ed beside a pond and is surrounded by corridors on two sides(A corridor in front of the main hall goes around the pond in which fish are swimming amidst waterweeds(The square in front of this garden used to be a temporary place where the emperor watched the training of arrow shooting( The studio combines the solemn features of Northern Courtyards with the exquisite style of Southern gardens(Emperor Qianlong wrote a poem in praise of the garden:“The studio is like a painted boat from the south(”Hence the name，“the Painted Boat Studio(” Some buildings he、re are small in size and tra nquil，an ideal spot for scholars to write essays an d poems(Emperor Qianlong often summoned famous writers to admire ancient works here( To the left，is Guketing(Courtyard with Old Trees)(In this courtyard，there is a small house with only three sections(The courtyard is decorated with rockeries and plants in front of the small house and lovely chambers on bothsides(It is said that the Chinese Scholar Tree in this courtyard was planted during the Tang Dynasty (618-907)，but it is still full of vitality(Thus the name(“the Chinese Schol ar Tree of the Tang(’’Emperor Qianlong used to ta ke a rest under the old tree and Emperor Guangxu，wh o reigned from 1875—1908，often came here to read a nd study with his teacher Weng Tonghe(Nowadays，the Studio is often used for exhibitions of calligraphy and paintings( Silkworm Altar(蚕坛) To the north of the Studio of Colorful—Paint ed Boat，is the Silkworm Altar(During the Qing Dyna sty，the empress and imperial concubines would come here to practice silkworm raising and pay homage to the God of Silkworms(The Altar is a square-shaped altar and is surrounded by mulberry trees(Now，it h as been changed and has become the place where Beihai Kindergarten is located( North Shore of the Lake(北岸区) Embellished in perfect harmony，the structures on the north shore are arranged in a geometrical pattern along a central axis together with the Five—Dragon Pavilions( Studio of Quiet Heart(1ingxinzhai静心斋) This is the most beautiful structure located on the northern shore of Beihai Park，and the best-k nown“garden within a garden”in Beihai Park( It i s a gardening masterpiece that contains magnificent halls，studios，rocks，streams，bridges，pavilions， caves，ponds and luxuriant trees(During the Qing D ynasty，a typical gardening feature was to build smaller gardens inside a large garden(Jingxinzhai is t his type of garden and is surrounded by a zigzag painted corridor that follows the shape of the hills(Originally built during the Ming Dynasty，it was enlarged in 1 759 and was built with fine workmanship called Jingqingzhai(Clear Mirror Studio)(Its nam e was derived from a line of a poem，“A house by a pond seems to stand before a mirror(”Since Qing Em peror Qianlong used to read here，it was also nickna med， “Miniature Garden of Qianlong(”The pavilions，r ockeries and a stream offer a pleasant scene(The Qi ng emperors and empresses used to come here to relax after worshipping Gods at Xiaoxitian (Little Western Sky)(Empress Dowager Cixi regarded this spot as her favorite resort because of its quietness and seclusion(In 1885，with the money from the navy fvnd， a special narrow—gauge railway line was built from Zhongnanhai，her residence，right down to the entra nce of the garden，SO she could come here regularly(In 1913，after its renovation(its name was chang ed to Jingxinzhai，Studio of Quiet Heart(After libe ration，it became the Study Institute of Culture and History(The last Emperor，Puyi，wrote his famous b ook here about his first half—life(“From Emperor t o Citizen”)(Jingxinzhai Garden embodies the exquisite art of traditional Chinese gardening( The garden combines the special features of gardening in both the north and south areas(With a n ingenious design，it consists of three courtyards with rockeries(The first courtyard has the main building named Jingqingzhai(Clear Mirror Studio)with a square pond in front and water behind(The structur e by the pond seems to stand before a mirrOr，hence the name“Mirror Studio(”In this courtyard，Yanhua Pavilion(Room for Keeping Paintings)is the most beautiful spot for enjoying the view in Jingxinzhai(E mperor Qianlong described this location in his poem，“By the window of Yanhua Pavilion，one can see a picture beyond，”which means people can see a picturesque view from here(Inside Yanhua Pavilion，the “Painting of Peony”was painted by Empress Dowager Cixi(Behind the studio，is the second courtyard wit h a small stream dividing the two courtyards(The pa vilions，rocks，bridges，corridors and a stream crea te a pleasing scene(The resplendent building，exqui site pavilion，grotesque rockeries in strange shapes and the flowing stream in Jingxinzhai Garden really make people enjoy the scenery with every step the y take(The eastern courtyard is the third part(The courtyard is composed of Baosushuwu(the Study Embracing Book)and Yunqinzhai(Studio of Lute Rhythm)(A tiny waterfall has formed from the drops of the flowing stream，giving off a musical sound(Thus the na me，“Studio of Lute Rhythm(”Baosushuwu was the st udy where Emperor Qianlong and his crown son used to read(Emperor Qianlong used to stay here when he came to Beihai(The“Dragon Bed”of Emperor Qianlong is housed here( Half Screen Corridor(半壁廊) Half Screen Corridor links a11 the major structures in Jingxinzhai Garden to the towers on the hill(The corridor going up and down by the hill gives the impression of hills beyond hills and towers beyond towers(The different—shaped rockeries，made of Taihu rocks，look like a lotus flower in full blossom with an exquisite pavilion right in its center(T he top provides a bird’S-eye view of the whole gard en and its unique beauty(Corridor or half screen co rridor is a typical feature of Chinese gardening which links the main halls，side halls or pavilions( Glazed-Tile Tower(琉璃阁) To the west of Jingxinzhai，is the Glazed—Til e Tower of double eaves.The tower was built with yellow and green glazed tiles(It has l，376 small Buddha statues，also made of gla zed tiles(inlaid on its walls(It is an important Buddhist structure in Beihai Park( Hall of Heavenly King(天王殿) The Hall of Heavenly King is a temple structure(The front gate of the Heavenly King Hall is in the style of a city gate tower(Inside the gate，ther e are two stone pillars bearing Buddhist sutras(Dac izhenrubaodian，the main hall in this compound(is m ade of unpainted nanmu wood to maintain its natural beauty(The flagrance from the wood often makes visitors linger(It was built in the Ming Dynasty and was the place to translate and print the Tibetan Buddhist scriptures(Its yellow-edged roof is COVered with black glazed tiles and houses the Buddhas of the Three Existences( Nine-Dragon Screen(九龙壁) The Nine—Dragon Screen was built in 1 756 during the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty(It is five meters high，27 meters long and 1(2 meters thick(On either side of the screen(there a re nine different dragons，in different postures，pl aying with a pearl in the waves of clouds(There are three Nine(Dragon Screens in China(The largest on e is in the city of Datong，in Shanxl Province(The other one is in the Forbidden City(Beihai Park’S N ine-Dragon Screen is the best one among the three for it is the only one in China where the nine dragons were built on double sides(Apart from the nine d ragons on both sides，there are a lot of dragons on the roof，the eave and the upside and downside，with a total number of 653 dragons built on the screen，including the big dragons and the small dragons(Originally，the screen served as a screen for a temple behind it，but the temple was destroyed by the Eight Imperialist Powers in 1900，SO only th e screen has remained( Iron Screen Wall(铁影壁) The Iron Screen Wall IS a piece of cultural relic left over from the Yuan Dynasty(1206—1468)，some 600 years ago(It is 3(56 meters long and 1(89 me ters high(The brown color looks like the color of iron，but actually it is a piece of artwork carved out of neutral igneous rock or lapillus(Hence the nam e，“Iron Screen Wall(”There are some lively carvi ngs of animals and patterns in relief on both sides(It is a masterpiece of the Yuan Dynasty(Original ly，this screen was placed in front of an ancient temple outside the inner city gate of Deshengmen(Late r，it was moved to the temple and named HuguOdeshengan as a front screen in front of the temple，which w as located inside the inner city gate of Deshengmen(Because the Iron Screen is placed there even today，the lane is called，“Iron Screen Hutong(”In 19 47，the Iron Screen was moved to Beihai Park as a decoration( There were five famous ancient relics placed in five historic sites in Beijing(They were made of gold，silver，bronze，iron and tin( Unfortunately， only this Iron Screen is left today( On the Iron Screen，there are carvings of anima ls and patterns in relief on both sides(A mythical animal is carved on the southern face，with trees ca rved behind its tail and rocks and a sun in front of its head(On the northern face of the screen(anot her mythical beast(a unicorn)is carved in a squatting position with a bird pictured behind its tail，ro cks and a sun are in front of its head(and flowers and grass are below its belly(The carving on the ea st side is a deer relief facing the sun，while on th e west side there are two cranes(The pedestal is sc ulpted with horses with flying wings(This is an exa mple of the consummation of exquisite workmanship and perfect craftsmanship(Nowadays in Beijing，there are a lot of carving sculptures that were made in the Ming and Qing Dynasties，but rarely can we see a sculpture made in the Yuan Dynasty(This Iron Scree n is of great artistic value from the Yuan Dynasty( Chengguan Hall(澄观堂) Behind the Iron Screen，there is a compound ma de up of three courtyards(The first courtyard is Ch engguan Hall(There are two stone tablets placed on each side in front of the hall(The tablet on the we st is inscribed with the inscriptions made by two calligraphers from the Qin(221 B(C(一206 B(C()an d Jin(265-420) Dynasties(The tablet on the east is inscribed on both sides with inscriptions written by two famous calligraphers，one is a poet of the Son g Dynasty(960-1279)，the other is from the Qing Dynasties(1644—191 1)(It served as a villa for Qing Em th century(General Cai E onperor Qianlong in the 1 8 ce lived here and later，in 1922，it was named“Songpo Library”in m emory of General Cai preventing Yuan Shikai from becoming emperor( The second courtyard is called Yulan Studio(I t was built for emperors and empresses to take a rest after the religious activities in Beihai( The third courtyard is Kuaixue Hall(Inscripti ons carved on stone slabs were inlaid in the wall along the corridor，on both sides，to imitate the han dwriting of the great calligrapher Wang Xizhi(321— 379)(Stone carvings of 84 works，on the wall，were made by twenty one calligraphers who lived during the Jin(265— 420)to Yuan(1271—1368)Dynasties(They are really precious historjcal reljcs and art treasures Five-Dragon Pavilions(五龙亭) The Five—Dragon Pavilions were built in the Ming Dynasty and renovated several times under the Qing Dynasty( Since the pavilions were built over the water，they were called Dragon—Pavilions，which a re connected by zigzagging bridges(Among the five p avilions，the olre-in the center is the largest one with two layers of eaves(The upper layer is circula r shaped，while the second layer is square;this rep resents the ancient belief that heaven is round and the earth is square(The other four pavilions，two on each side，are all in square shape，which symboli zes the shape of the earth as square and the big pavilion in the middle signifies heaven(In the old da ys，the emperors and empresses often came here for fishing，watching fireworks and admiring the full moon( Chanfu Temple(阐福寺) There used to be a group of buildings behind the Five—Dragon Pavilions known as“Chanfu Temple(” During the Ming Dynasty，It was a temporary palace f or the Ming Emperors(In the Qing Dynasty，it was ch anged to a Lamaist Temple(by the order of Emperor Q ianlong’s mother，and was given the name ChanfU Temple( In the main hall of the temple，there used to be a big Buddha statue made of nanmu wood，which was inlaid with countless precious stones and pearls(I ts value is even higher than the Great Buddha in Yonghegong Lama Temple(But，unfortunately，all the va luable stones and pearls were plundered by the invading soldiers of the Eight Imperialist Powers in 1900(Later，in 1919(the wh01e emple was burnt down and only the Hall of the Heavenly King，the bell towe r，drum tower and the two big tablets were left(Whi ch we still can see today(Now，the whole compound i s used as a botanical garden(The green house inside contains a great variety of tropical plants( Tower of Ten-thousand Buddhas(Wanfolou万佛楼) To the west of Chanfu Temple，there used to be a three—storey building made of colored glazed tiles(This building was named Wanfolou，the Tower of Ten—thousand Buddhas(It was constructed in 1771，b y Qing Emperor Qianlong，to celebrate his mother’s 80„birthday(Along the wall，inside the tower(Ther e were 10，000 niches，each used to house a gold Buddha statue inside(The largest one weighs 588(8 tae ls of gold and the smallest one 58 taels(20 tons in total(It is a pity that they were all taken away by the soldiers of the Allied Forces of Eight Powers when they invaded Beijing in 1900(Then the invadin g troops used it as a prison for the imprisonment of the Chinese common people(As time went on，the to wer collapsed and was demolished later(Only the sto ne tablet was left(The stone tablet is 7(5 meters high and 1(5 meters wide and carved with poems of Emperor Qianlong in the Han，Manchu，Tibetan and Mong olian languages to mark the completion of the tower(The botanical garden today was built on the ruins of the Tower and Chanfu Temple( Pavilion of Buddhist Apprehension(Miaoxiangting妙 相亭) Miaoxiangting，the Pavilion of Buddhist Apprehension，is a part of the construction of the Tower of Ten—thousand Buddhas built in 1 770(in order to ce th birthday of Emperor Qianlong’S mothlebrate the 80 er(The pavilion is octagonal in shape with double eaves(It contains a stone pagoda with sixteen sides on which are carvings of sixteen Buddhist monks(The carvings were done by monk Guan Xiu of the Tang Dy thnasty(618—907)in the early 10 century(Each figure is full of life and marvelous in form(The pagoda a lso contains a eulogy for Emperor Qianlong and an account by monk Ming Shui of the construction of the pagoda(Guanyin Hall of the Minor Western Heaven (Xiaoxitianguanyindian小西天观音殿) In Buddhism，Western Heaven is the Land of Extreme Happiness or Western Paradise(Guanyin is the God dess of Mercy(Guanyin Hall was built at Xiaoxitian(Minor Western Heaven)by Emperor Qianlong to celebrate his mother’S birthday and to pray for happiness and longevity( Guanyin Hall is SO spacious and ma gnificent that it occupies an area of l，260 square meters(The Hall is surrounded by water(In each dir ection of the Hall，there is an archway made of glazed tiles and a square pavilion(The hall and the glazed—tile archway，within Xiaoxitian Temple，convey an atmosphere of mystery and solemnity unique to Buddhism(It is the largest structure in the square pavilion style in China( In the middle of Guanyin Hall，is Mount Xumi，a n artificial hill(At the top，the statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva is seated in the middle with other statues that symbolize his 800 Arhats(The inscription of the words“Jileshijie(Western Paradise)”were wri tten by Emperor Qianlong(This Mount Xumi of today was rebujlt in 1993 Round City,Circular City(Tuancheng团城) Tuancheng，the Round City，is located outside the southern gate of Beihai Park known as a“City wit hin the city(”It covers an area of 4，553 square m eters(5，446 square yards)，surrounded by a circular brick wall of 4(6 meters(1 5 feet)high and 276 meters (906 feet)long(The Round City is connected by Y ong’an Bridge with Qionghua Islet to the north，wit h the lake water to its west(In the old days，it re presented Yingzhou(one of the three Fairyland Hills for long life in ancient times(It is a major sceni c spot in Beihal Park and has a separate entrance outside the Park’S southern gate(Ancient trees，roc keries，pavilions and halls were planted and built on the Round City(Cultural relics are housed in the halls( The Round City has a long history(As early as in the Liao Dynasty(907—1 125)it was originally a small round islet on the lake(During the Jin Dynas ty(1 1 15-1234)，the lake was expanded and the earth dug up from the lake was piled on Qiongdao and the round islet(Then a structure was built on the round islet facing Guanghan Palace and it served as an imperial garden(During the Yuan Dynasty(1271—136 8)，Kublai Khan took Beihai as the center of his new capital(On the round islet(He had a circular hall of double eaves built and named Yitian Hall with a stone wall encircling the round islet(Later，peopl e called it the Round City(At that time，the Round City was a small islet surrounded by water(On the e ast bank of the lake，it was connected by a wooden bridge to Kublai Khan’S Imperial Palace，which was a lso known as the Imperial Palace of Danei(It also c onnected Qiongdao by a stone bridge;on(the western bank，by a wooden drawbridge，there were the palace of the crown prince and the palac'e of Empress Dowager(During the Ming Dynasty，in 1417，Yitian Hall was renovated and renamed Cheng Guang Hall(The name has lasted until today(The wooden bridge was demolished and the lake under the bridge was filled with dirt(At the same time，the drawbridge was replaced by what is now called the“Jinaoyudong(Golden Turtle and Jade Rainbow)”Bridge(Cheng Guang Hall was d estroyed by a strong earthquake in 1669 and was rebuilt in 1690(During the Qing Dynasty，in the mid-18 th century，large-scale construction of imperial gardens was carried out(The famous“Three Hills and Fiv e Gardens”were built on the northwest outskirts of Beijing and，at the same time，the renovation of the Round City was also carried out(Apart from the ren ovation of some buildings，they also did something a bout repairing the old structures and the surrounding wall，decorating the courtyards with Taihu rocks and adding some new buildings，halls，pavilions，cor ridors，glazed tile gates and rockeries(The Round C ity is of great artistic value in the history of ancient gardening in China( After the founding of the People’S Republic of China(The government paid great attention to the protection of the Round City(In 1 954，in order to en large the narrow street in front of the southern gate of Beihai Park，a plan was made to widen and straighten the street passing by the Round City(So，the removal and demolishment of some part of the Round City were taken into consideration(On hearing thi s，our respected and beloved late Premier Zhou Enlai went in person to make an immediate investigation of the situation in the Round City(After several di scussions with the experts，he decided that the new street might go around The Round City，and to leave it as it was(So even today，the street in front of the southern gate of Beihai Park goes around the Round City( Hall to Receive the Light(Chengguangdian承光殿) This is the main structure in the Round City(It h as a square platform in the front and the roof has several tiers of flying eaves，similar to the style of the watchtowers in the Forbidden City(It is a sq uare-shaped building;the roof is covered with yellow glazed tiles and there are green glazed tiles at the edge(This roof design really shows the unique style of its architecture(In the center of the hall， stand four big pillars on which are hung couplets(T he couplets on the front two columns were written by Emperor Xianfeng of the Qing Dynasty;the couplet on the rear columns and the inscription on the horizontal plaque were written by Empress Dowager Cixi(During the Ming Dynasty，this was the place where the emperor came to watch fireworks，while in the Q ing Dynasty， it was converted into a Buddha Hall(N ow，a Buddha statue of white jade is placed inside(T he White Jade Buddha Statue is enshrined in the rear part of Chengguang Hall(The Jade Buddha， 1(5 me ters high is carved out of a whole piece of white jade，and is really a very fine and elegant piece of sculpture(The crown and the garment on the statue are made of gold foil and inlaid with red and green gems and precious stones(The Buddha statue is pure in color，bearing a quiet and kind expression on its face and wearing an outer vestment(The Buddha figu re is flawlessly white and very lustrous(But its le ft arm bears some knife scars made by swords( This was the result of the looting done by soldiers of the Allied Forces Eight Power when they were grabbing for the Buddha statue’S gems when they invaded Be ijing in 1900(It was a donation from Burma brought back to Beijing by monk Mingkuan at the end of the Qing Dynasty(It is said that once a monk，named Min gkuan from Beijing，traveled to Southeast Asia with his colleague monks(During their tour，Mingkuan spr ead the story of how Empress Dowager Cixi was a devout Buddhist，how he had a lot of friends who were high-ranking officials and imperial princes(and how easy it was fbr him to go in and out of the Imperial Palace(As a result，he and his colleague monks we re Well received by Buddhist monks in various countries(In Burma，the local monks presented Mingkuan w ith two jade Buddhas，one large and one small(In or der to pass the checkpoints smoothly，Mingkuan lied about bringing the jade Buddha to the capital by the order of Empress Dowager Cixi(Thus，he returned w ith the jade Buddhas without any problems(He gave t he big one to Cixi and was awarded 500 taels of silver for the jade Buddha and for his efforts to make Empress Dowager known to the Southeast Asian countrjes( Jade Jar(Yuweng玉瓮) There are a great number of precious cultural relics on displav in the Round City(The Jade Jar，m ade in 1 265 during the Yuan Dynasty，is one of the m( In front of Chengguang Hall，there is a pavili on made of colored and glazed tiles(Inside the pavi lion is the famous Jade Jar，which is carved out of a single piece of jade(The pavilion was built in 17 46 by Emperor Qianlong to house the Jade Jar(The pa vilion is square in shape with a blue glazed—tile roof and topped by a gilded bronze ball(The Jade Ja r is elliptical in shape，0(63 meter high，1(65 me ters long and weighs 3，500 kilograms(7，700 pound s)(It is decorated with dragons and other sea animals romping in billows(Originally，the jar was kept in Guanghan Hall on Qionghua Islet(named Dushandayuhai)for containing the wine when Kublai Khan entertained his high—ranking officials(During the Ming Dynasty，the Guanghan Hall collapsed，and then the j ar was taken to Zhenwu Monastery outside Xihua Gate(It was used by the Taoist priests to make pickles(In 1 745，a Qing official found the valuable jar used for pickles，and with his own money，he bought it back and presented it to Emperor Qianlong(It was then placed in front of Chengguang Hall in the Round City(Later，a special pavilion was built to house it(The pavilion was supported by four marble pillars(Emperor Qianlong wrote two poems describing the beauty of the Jade Jar and ordered that his poems be inscribed on the inside of the Jar(He also summo ned 40 scholars from the Imperial Hanlin College to write poems about it and had their works，totalling some 1 0，000 words，inscribed on the stone pillars of the pavilion(Today，we still can see the poems carved on the marble pillars(Some of them praised t he jar as a treasure unrivaled in beauty;some claim ed that it was carved out of a piece of jade from the moon;others related the story of how it fell into the hands of the Taoist priests( Marquis of Shade(Zheyinhou遮荫侯) To the east of Chengguang Hall，there is a tal l，old pine tree，over 20 meters in height，known as “Marquis of Shade(”It was believed that the tree was already 800 years old and that it has dense leaves just like a big umbrella shading the sky(It is said that once in the summer，Emperor Qianlong came to the Round City for a visit(He feIt bored and lis tless because of the hot weather It Beihai Park I(the South Gate of Beihai Park 2(the Round City 3(Jinaoyudong Bridge(Golden Tortoise and Jade Rainbow Bridge) 4(the Flowery Islet 5(the Studio of Colorful(Painted Boat 6(the Silkworm Altar 7(the Glazed‘tile Tower and the Hall of Heavenly King 8(Nine-Dragon Screen 9( Dayuanji“gzhibaodian lO(the Iron Screen Wall 1 1(the Five Dragon(Pavilions 12(the Shanfu Temple 13(the Tower of Ten—thousand Buddha was humid and hot inside the room，SO he came out and had a seat under this tree(At the moment Emperor Qianiong sa t under the tree，he got refreshed immediately，then he gave the title“Marquis of Shade”to this tree(for it had provided him the cool shade(He also gave the title of“White-Robed General”to a lacebark pine tree and“Marquis of Sea”to another pine，because the emperor and the empress liked to take a rest under them(Now，only the “White Robed General”iS still standing to the so uth of the “Marquis of Shade(’’ Useful Words and Expressions Yao Yu(Jade Islet) 瑶屿 Kublai Khan忽必烈 Great Capital of Yuan 元大都 the Hall of Vast Cold广寒殿 the Jade Flowery Islet琼华岛 the Round City 团城 the Iron Screen铁影壁 Western Garden 西苑 the Western Flowery Gate 西华门 Jinaoyudong Bridge f Golden Tortoise and Jade Rai nbow Bridge) 金鳌 玉栋桥 the Five Dragon-Pavilions五龙亭 Nine-Dragon Screen九龙壁 Tower of Ten(Thousand Buddha 万佛楼 “A big pool with three hills” 一池三仙 Nur Momhan诺门汗(西藏喇嘛) the Piled Clouds and Accumulated Emerald Bridge堆云积翠桥 the image of Sakyamuni释迦牟尼 disciple弟子 the Archway of Purple Dragon Light龙光紫照牌楼 Bodhisattvas 菩萨 the“Note on White Dagoba Hill” 白塔山总记 the“Note on the Surroundings in four sides of Dag oba Hill” 塔山四面 记 Bag Buddha布袋和尚 Tsongkhapa宗喀巴 Gelugpa格鲁派 Yellow Sect黄教 Thunderbolt Bearer of Great Power and Virtue大威德金刚神像 Buddhist relics 舍利 the tablet of Spring Shade Over Qiongdao Islet琼岛春阴碑 calligrapher 书法家 Hall of Three Rarities Model Calligraphy,the“San xitang MOdel Calligraphy三希堂法帖 Silkworm Altar 蚕坛 mulberry tree 桑树 Study Institute of Culture and History文史研究馆 “From Emperor to Citizen” 我的前半生 Room for Keeping Paintings罨画轩 neutral igneous rock中性砾岩 iapillus火山砾 the botanical garden植物园 tropical plants热带植物 niche壁龛 Monk Guan Xiu贯休和尚 Monk Ming Shui明水和尚 The Golden Turtle and Jade Rainbow Bridge金鳌玉栋 桥 Monk Mingkuan明宽和尚 fireworks 焰火 Jade Jar玉瓮 the Imperial Hanlin College翰林院 “White-Robed General” 白袍将军 lacebark pine tree 白皮松 “Marquis of Sea” 探海将军 二、Yonghegong Lamasery (雍和宫) Yonghegong(the Palace of Harmony and Peace)， popularly known as the“Lama Temple”(iS a famous lamasery in the northeastern part of Beijing(It is located next to the northern side of the Second Ring Road，with Bai Lin Si(the Cypress Grove Temple)to its east and the Temple of Confucius and the Imperial Academy to the west(Yonghegong Lamasery is the largest lamasery and one of the best preserved lama temples at the present time in Beijing with a total area of 66， 400 square meters，480 meters long from north to south and 120 meters wide from east to west(Yonghegong Lamasery is also a well—known monastery of the Gelugpa，the Yellow Sect of Tibetan Buddhism in Mainland China(In 1961，it was listed as one of China’S major national treasures under state protection( Originally，Yonghegong was a palatial residence of the Prince Yinzhen，the fourth son of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty(It was built in 1 694 after Prince Yinzhen was given the title“YongPrince”and the palace was named“Palace Mansion of YongPrince”(After Yong Prince succeeded the throne in 1 723(He moved to the Forbidden City and became Emperor Yongzheng(In 1 725，he turned half of his former residence into a temple for the monks of the Yellow Sect and the other half became a temporary palace where he came for his personal use(Thus(his residence started to be called Yonghegong(the Palace of Harmony and Peace)(Not long after，the Temporary Palace was burnt down and only the temple part was left( Emperor Yongzheng had lived here before he came to the throne and his son Hongli(who succeeded his throne later and became Emperor Qianlong，was born here，SO as a rule，the former imperial residence then became a“Residence of Hidden Dragon”， it could not revert to secular use and had to remain a temple(In 1 735， Emperor Yongzheng died and then his son Hongli succeeded the throne(He put his father’S coffin here for more than one year before the coffin was moved to the Western Qing Tombs(Emperor Qianlong upgraded Yonghegong to the status of an Imperial Palace by replacing the green tiles of the roof with the yellow ones，for the yellow color was the imperial color in the old days，especially in the Qing Dynasty(In 1744，it was formally converted into a Lamasery but it retained the name:“Yonghegong”， the Palace of Harmony and Peace( Lamaism is also known as Tibetan Buddhism or it is called Buddhism of the Tibetan Language(Lamaism is a form of Buddhism，which contains a large element of Hinduism and popular Tibetan religious worship(“Lama”means“Superior one”(In the 7”century(Buddhism was disseminated to Tibet from India，Nepal and the interior of China(Assimilating the culture of local religion(it formed a kind of Buddhism with Tibetan characteristics known as“Tibetan Buddhism”，popularly nicknamed as Lamaism，and soon it became influenced by the Tibetan thcults(In the 13 century，it spread rapidly into Mongolia and north China(During the Qing Dynasty， the Mongolian and Tibetan people believed in Lamaism and at the same time(both Mongolia and Tibet were very 1mportant borders of the country(In order to stabilize these reglons， Emperor Qianlong found that Lamaism could play an irreplaceable role in uniting and appeasing minority nations(And could strengthen the central power of the Manchu ruler as well(So based on his religion policy， some lama monasteries were erected and Lamaism was especially encouraged by Emperor Qianlong as a means of maintaining political unity with Mongolia and Tibet(In order to safeguard territorial integrity，security and peace(And strengthen its unity with the minority ethnic groups in these areas(Emperor QianlQng changed Yonghegong to a Lamaserv(In this way，religion played a very important role in promoting harmony and cementing the relationship between the Mongolian and Tibetan people(He also ordered 500 lamas，who came from Mongolia(To stay here in the Yonghegong Lamasery(This was not only for obeying his mother’S wish，but was also in accordance with the imperial regulation of the former imperial residence(Furthermore(it also showed the emperor’S determination to conciliate the minority nationalities and reinforce the frontier( After 1 949，the Chinese Government attached great importance to this Lama Temple(Several renovations have been carried out since then，and the Temple has taken on a new look(In 1950 and 1 952，the government allocated large sums of money to renovate it.In 1961， Yonghegong Lamasery was listed by the State Council as a major national cultural relic and historical site under the state’S protection(During the ten—year Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976，Yonghegong was very well preserved because of the special care given by our late Premier Zhou Enlai(The latest renovation was carried out in 1 976，and in 1 98 1 Yonghegong was reopen to the public( Today，there are rich collections of cultural relics which are preserved in Yonghegong Lamasery，especially those related to Tibetan Buddhism(For instance，there is a large number of vividly sculptured Buddhist images of various sizes，each different in posture and expression;a large collection of Tibetan —style paintings known as Tangka paintings;delicate frescoes，scriptures and religious instruments;the inscriptions and calligraphic works on the stele and boards，and Buddhist scriptures in the languages of Manchu，Tibetan，Chinese，Mongolian and Sanskrit，all of which being of very high cultural and historical value for the Chinese people( Ever since it was opened to the public more than 20 years ago，Yonghegong Lamasery has attracted thousands of people every day(Many state and government leaders，from more than 1 00 countries and regions， have visited here(Presently，there are nearly 100 lamas in Yonghegong and most of them are Mongolians，Tibetans and people from Qinghai(Daily traditional religious ceremonies and activities in Yonghegong are undertaken strictly according to the regulation and disciplines of Tibetan Buddhism( Yonghegong Lamasery mainly consists of seven courtyards from south to north，including three well-decorated elegant archways and six main structure buildings lying along the north—south central axis， with annex halls standing along both sides(The six main buildings are:the Gate of Harmony and Peace(Yonghemen)，the Hall of Harmony and Peace(Yonghegong Dian)，the Hall of Eternal Blessings(Yongyoudian)，the Hall of Dharma Wheel (Falundian)，the Pavilion of Ten Thousand Happiness(Wanfuge) and the Pavilion of Peaceful Accomplishment(Suichengge)(In addition(there are four buildings on both sides called“the Four Academic Halls” (Sixuedian)( From south to north，the courtyards along the central axis are progressively reduced in size，one after another，while the buildings in each courtyard rise progressively higher，giving people an enigmatic impression of unfathomable infinite height and depth(Here，one can really experience traditional Chinese architecture with a special emphasis on the architectural style of TibetanBuddhism( The architecture of the overall layout，the unique decorative designs and colors all show a special combination of the architectural styles of the Ming and Qing dynasties blended with the culture of the Han and Tibetan people(It really combines the palace architectural style and temple buildings with the architectural features of the Manchu，Han，Mongolian and Tibetan people into one style(We can also find this feature in the Hall of Dharma Wheel and the Ten Thousand Happiness Pavilion(The Hall of Dharma Wheel has five dormer windows in the roof and five gilded pinnacles， which reflect the rich characteristics of the temples of Tibetan Buddhism and the architecture of the Tibetan people(The Ten Thousand Happiness Pavilion has “overhead passages”on either side of the second floor， which is typical of the building style of the Liao and Jin Dynasties(907—1 234)(Very few of these kinds of structures are still in existence today(They are rarearchitectural masterpieces( The Arch Courtyard(Pailouyuan牌楼院) The front courtyard of Yonghegong Lama Temple is located on the southern end，SO it is also called the south courtyard(Three grand，colorfully decorated arches stand on the east，west and north，respectively， while a big brick screen is on the south;hence the name， “Arch Courtyard”( The three arches were built in 1 744 during Qing Emperor Qianlong’S reign(The east and west arches are the same kind of structures，each having three entrances and four pillars with seven roofs overhead，while the north one also has three entrances and four pillars(but with nine roofs(A1l of the roofs of the three arches are covered with brilliant yellow glazed tiles( There are two stone lions，one on each side，placed in front of the north archway(Originally，the two stone lions were squatting in front of the gate of Yong Prince Mansion and were later removed after the residence was turned into the lama monastery(Behind the north archway，is the entranceway leading to the main buildings( The rectangular courtyard behind the north archway has a pavement which is 200 meters long from south to north，and 40 meters wide( This walkway was once called“Imperial Path”and was used only for the Qing Emperors( The Gate of Zhao Tai(Zhaotaimen昭泰门) This is the entrance to the Lama Temple(During the period of the Residence of Yong Prince，it served as the residence’S south reception room(It was transformed into the gate when the residence became a lama temple in 1 744(This gate is also called the“Glazed Gate”because the roofs and brackets are decorated with yellow or green glazed tiles and bricks，and the front walls are inlaid with some glazed decorations( A plaque with three Chinese characters meaning“Zhaotai Gate”is hung on the middle of the gate in four languages:Manchu，Han，Tibetan and Mongolian(The Han language was written by QingEmperor Qianlong( Entering the gate，one can see a big courtyard(Inside，there are two marble stone pedestals on each side，one on the left and one on the right， each containing a flagpole measuring over 30 meters tall(To the east side of the courtyard，is Bell Tower st and and to the west is Drum Tower(On every January 1 th15 of the Chinese Lunar Calendar，all the lamas in Yonghegong Lamasery ring the bell andpray( A huge bronze pot，which was cast in 1744，is placed thin the courtyard(In the Qing Dynasty，on December 8 of the Chinese Lunar Calendar，lamas used the pot to make some porridge for people to bring them good luck( There are also two double-eaved octagonal pavilions in this courtyard，one on each side，in front of the Hall of the Heavenly Kings(Inside each pavilion， a big tablet about six meters high stands on the back of a stone turtle(The inscription on the tablet in the east pavilion is carved in Manchu and Han characters， while the inscription on the tablet in the west pavilion is carved in the Tibetan and Mongolian languages(All these four languages have the same meaning(It not only tells the reason why Yonghegong was changed to the Lama Temple，but also shows how deeply Emperor Qianlong cherished the memory of his father Emperor Yongzheng( The inscription in Han characters was written by Emperor Qinlong( The courtyard was the place where a ceremony was held thst day of January and the 1 day of between the 29 February(according to the lunar calendar，in front of the Gate of Harmony and Peace(During the religious ceremony，lamas wearing exotic clothes performed a religious dance with masks called“Buza”which，in Mongolian，means driving away demons and any evil spirits( The Gate of Harmony and Peace(Yonghemen雍和门) The Hall of Heavenly Kings(Tianwangdian天王殿) The Gate of Harmony and Peace used to be the front entrance to the Mansion of Prince Yong(It was changed to the Gate of Harmony and Peace after the mansion was converted into a lamasery(It is actually a hall rather than a gate(According to the Buddhist tradition，the first hall in a lamasery is usually called the Maitreya’ S shrine or the Hall of Heavenly Kings(Inside this hall， a gilded wooden statue of Maitreya Buddha with a smiling face，is in the center sitting on a golden throne， flanked by the four heavenly kings(Buddha Maitreya is popularly known in Chinese as the“Big Belly Buddha”(“Big Belly Maitreya”or the“Smiling Buddha”(In Chinese folk custom，he always smiles with his breast and his big belly exposed(Legend has it that he was ththborn 1，000 years ago in the late 9 or early 10 century(He became a monk in Yuelin Temple，in Fenghua County，Zhe Jiang Province(All year long，carrying a cloth bag，he often went along the streets spreading Buddhism while begging for alms，SO people called him “Bag Buddha”(It is said that when he was dying(he sat on a piece of stone slab，telling people that he was the reincarnation of the Future Buddha Maitreya， and his story spread far and wide.Believing what he said，people called him“Buddha Maitreya”(People also called him“Smiling Buddha”or the“Laughing Buddha”， because he was smiling all the time(After his death， monks enshrined his figure in the first hall where he could be worshiped，and where he would always greet people with a smiling face;he then became the symbol of welcome to guests and pilgrims( On each side of the statue of Buddha Maitreya(there is a nine storey sandalwood pagoda known as“Longevity Pagoda”(On each storey of the pagoda，stand many small Longevity Buddha Statues(There are a total of(274 small statues，each about ten centimeters in height( On both sides of the hall，there are figures of the Four Heavenly Kings，two on each side(According to Buddhist theory，the earth is divided into four worlds:the northern，southern，eastern and western(Each of the four worlds is guarded by one of the Kings， all known as“Heavenly Kings”( The Eastern World Heavenly King，named Chiguo，holds a musical instrument called Pipa(a kind of four-stringed Chinese lute(This is a magic musical instrument，which possesses magical power(If he plucks it，the sound will give the ghosts or his enemies a headache，and he will win the battle( The Southern World Heavenly King，called Zengzhang， holds a sword in his hand(When chanting an incantation， he throws his magic sword up into the sky，the sword flies down with a flash like lightning，and hits or kills the ghosts and monsters who dare to step in( The Western World Heavenly King，known as Guangmu， carries a water snake in his hand that has the power of mounting the clouds and riding the mists(This animal disperses his enemy by suddenly spurting out water in all directions( The Northern World Heavenly King，by the name of Duowen，is lifting a precious umbrella in his hand(Whenever this Heavenly King opens up his precious umbrella，the sky over the battlefield turns dark with violent storm winds(When he closes the precious umbrella，the enemy is drawn into the umbrella and captured( The Eastern and Southern Heavenly Kings stand on the west side of the hall，while the Western and Northern Heavenly Kings are placed on the east side( Each Heavenly King has two ghosts under his feet， and altogether eight ghosts represent all evil spirits under the feet of the Four Heavenly Kings( Behind the shrine of the statue of Buddha Maitreya， inside the back gate of the hall，there is a white marble seat on which stands the figure of Skanda Weituo facing backwards to the north( Wearing a suit of armor and carrying a precious Vajra， he was one of the chief disciples of Sakyamuni(Although his appearance is that of an ancient Chinese warrior， actually he was an ancient Indian who followed Sakyamuni closely for 25 years(He holds in his hand a Monster-Surrender Stick，called Vajra(a symb01 of might)，and it was used for defeating and conquering evil spirits or devils(It is said that after the God of Buddha Sakyamuni，S death( Skanda Weituo protected the pagoda(Suddenly，a fast-moving ghost stole Buddha’ S relics and escaped(After Weituo discovered this， he was SO enraged that he ran through the air after it(Finally，the ghost was caught and Weituo took the relic back(Thereafter，he was appointed as a loyal guardian for protecting the graveyard of Sakyamuni(As he made great contributions to safeguarding the graveyard of Sakyamuni，he became the symbol of a loyal protector of all the old temples and lamaseries(His statue is dressed in a golden suit of armor with the appearance of an ancient Chinese military general(The statue shows that he is young(And majestic looking with a martial bearing(Wherever there is a temple，the statue of Weituo is seen at the back of the first hall(serving as the symbol of a loyal protector( The Bronze Tripod Incense Burner(Tongdingxianglu铜鼎 香炉) The big bronze tripod is called“Ding”in Chinese， but actually it is a bronze tripod incense burner(Over four meters high(it was cast in 1 747 with six smoke outlets in the shape of two dragons playing with a ball(This is one of the two bronze tripod incense burners of its kind in China(The other one stands in the Imperial Garden in the Forbidden City( The Imperial Stele Pavilion(Yubeiting御碑亭) Just behind the Bronze Tripod Incense B urner is a pavilion containing a big stone stele inside，known as the Imperial Tablet Pavilion(The inscription on the tablet is“On Lamaism”，written by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty in 1 792 when he was 82 years old， SO this structure is also called，“the Pavilion with Imperial Calligraphy”(The essay is carved on four sides of the stele in four different languages(They are Han， Manchu，Mongolian and Tibetan(The Han language version is in the handwriting of Emperor Qianlong himself(The Manchu language is carved on the front side of the stele;the Han language is on the back;the Mongolian on the eastern side and the Tibetan is on the west( The essay describes the history and the origin of Lamaism and explains the significance of Buddhism as well as Emperor Qianlong’S attitude towards it(The 678一word essay“On Lamaism”is an important historical record for the study of Lamaism，from which we can learn about the policy toward the minority nationalities of the Qing court( Mount Sumeru(Mount Xumi须弥山) Behind the Imperial Tablet Pavilion，there is a lotus-shaped pond base，made of white marble stone and carved with Buddha images( In the center of the white marble pond base stands a bronze mountain，1(5 meters high，called“Sumeru Mountain”(a name from an ancient Indian fairy tale(“Sumeru”comes from a translation of Sanskrit(It is said that Mount Sumeru was originally a famous mountain in Hindu mythological legends and adopted later by Buddhism(According to the Buddhist Sutra，Mount Sumeru is a representation of the Buddhist world outlook(Here，the Bronze Mount Sumeru is supposed to be the center of the world that consists of three parts:top，middle and bottom(On the top of it lies the legendary paradise with a small altar city where Sakyamuni and men of moral integrity live after their death;on the slopes are the dwellings for mankind and the Four Heavenly Kings， and there are four Palace Halls in each direction: north，south，east and west that symbolize the four worlds guarded by the four Heavenly Kings，while the mountains and plains surrounding the Palace Halls are the dwellings where mankind lives; at the bottom of the sea waves or beneath the water， is the hell for evil spirits，devils(ghosts and criminals(One who did a lot of good deeds could go to heaven after his death，otherwise he might go to suffer in hell(Inthis way，Sumeru Mountain reflects Buddhism values and beliefs about man’s world( The Hall of Harmony and Peace(Yonghegongdian雍和宫殿) This is the main hall in the Lamasery(It used to be called“Yin An Hall”where Prince Yong received his civil and military officials before he ascended the royal throne(Later(when it Was converted into the Lamasery，it was named the Hall of Harmony and Peace(According to Buddhism(the second main hall in the temple is usually called“Mahavira Hall”or“the Great Temple of Powerful Treasure”(Daxiongbaodian in Chinese)( Mahavira is an honorable title for Sakyamuni( Inside the hall，there are three big bronze Buddhist statues and two small ones，and all of them are gilded(The three big Buddha Statues，each about two meters high，are sitting enshrined，while the two small statues are standing(The three Buddhas are Buddhas of the three Ages:The Present Buddha，Sakyamuni，is in the center;the Past Buddha，Ran Deng，is on the left and the Future Buddha Maitreya is on the right(Standing on both sides of Sakyamuni，are his two favorite disciples named Ananda on the west and Kasyapa on the east(Sakyamuni used to be named Gautama Sakyamuni(which in Chinese is“Xidaduo Qiaodamuo”(He iS the founder of Buddhism and the one who created Buddhism about 2，500 years ago(He was born in ancient India in 565 B(C(，and was the son of King Suddhodana(When he saw all the troubles and suffering of the people，the reality of old age，sickness and death，he tried to seek a way to release the people from the miseries of life and he wanted to help them(At the age of 29，he became a monk and created a set of theories of Buddhism(One day，he was enlightened by sitting under a papal tree，an Indian fig tree(Since then，he propagated Buddhist doctrines for tens of years and was highly esteemed as the Buddha(He died at the age of 80 under a papal tree( In the hands of some of the Buddha statues，are ribbons known as“Ha Da”(a most precious gift to the Honorabl(e(There are seven treasures and eight precious jewels that served as magic weapons of Buddhism，and Buddhist auspicious objects are placedin front of the three Buddha Statues( On both sides of the hall，there are eighteen figures of arhats，nine on each side(It is said that all the eighteen arhats were disciples of Sakyamuni and were trusted by Sakyamuni and instructed to stay on earth for spreading B uddhism and maintaining the prosperity of Buddhism at the expense of giving up the chance to enter into Nirvana(According to the Buddhist ficripture，the monk who cultivates his moral character can be lead to three results:the first will be an arhat， the second one will be a buddhisattva and the best one will become a Buddha(So Buddha，Bodhisattva and Arhat are the three ranks for the top monks;but to be even an arhat is not that easy，for he has to give up all desires and irritations and surpass all the troubles of the eternal cycle of birth and death( There are four wooden turning wheels in this hall， two on each side，known as“Scripture—Turning Wheels”(If one makes a full turn of the wheel on its axis，that means he has already read the Buddhist scripture on it once( There is a painting of Thousand-Hand-and-Eye Guanyin Bodhisattva on the west wall in the northern part of the hall(Guanyin is described as a Bodhisattva of Great Mercy and she can see all the bitterness and difficulties of the humans and always help people overcome them，SO people believe that Guanyin Bodhisattva is the God of Mercy(That is why he has one thousand hands and eyes(People(solicit his help by chanting his name or calling his title-Bodhisattva Guanyin(According to Buddhism， Guanyin has 33 different images with 32 incarnations， but many of the images are female ones(The female image of Guanyin first appeared during the Northern and Southern Dynasties(420—589)，and became quite popular in the Tang Dynasty(618-907)(However， the Statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva in most of the temples in China is represented as a gracious female and is often depicted holding a tiny pottery flask in her hand(According to the ranks，Guanyin Bodhisattva is next only to Buddha，but people feel she is closer to the people than Buddha is(She is dressed in an ancient costume instead of Buddha Rope，which gives people an impression of kindness，cordiality and mercy(Bodhisattva Guanyin gained enlightenment on Mount Putuo，one of China’S four famous Buddhist Mountains located on Zhoushan Island，in Zhejiang Province( The painting on the east wall is“Buddha with a big white umbrella”or the“White Para”( According to the theory of Buddhism，paras are the incarnations of the Sakyamuni Buddha who is using the paras to protect the human beings and extricate them from the sufferings of the world( In front of the Hall of Eternal B lessing，there is a new kind of Four-Faced Buddha Statue placed in the shrine(B oth the shrine and the statue are donations from pilgrims(They are quite different from the style of all the other Buddhist statues in Yonghegong Lamasery，because they have characteristics of Southeast Asia( Hall of Eternal Blessing(Yongyoudian永佑殿) The Hall of Eternal Blessing used to be the bedroom and reading room for Emperor Yongzheng when he was still a prince(The name“Eternal Blessing”was given by Emperor Qianlong when he changed the residence into a lamasery( “Yongyou， Eternal Blessing”means that the everlasting blessing would belong to his father Emperor Yongzheng，and through a blessing his father’s soul would go to paradise(After Emperor Yongzheng died in 1735，his coffin was kept here for more than a year before it was moved to the Western Qing Tombs(At that time，his son， Emperor Qianlong，came here frequently to offer sacrifices to show his eternal blessing to his deceased father(Lamas came here too to perform Buddhist services since Emperor Yongzheng was a pious Buddhist when he was alive( In the hall，three big gilded Buddha statues，each 2(35 meters high，were made out of white sandalwood and placed on a stone-carved base(The one in the middle， with the Buddha-Crown on its head and a treasure vase in its hand，is the Longevity Buddha or the Buddha of Limitless Life-Buddha Amitayus(Amitayus is the interpretation of Sanskrit(It is said that he is the founder of the Legendary Paradise，and he is also the Buddha guiding the way to the Western Paradise or the Pure Land(Buddhists and pilgrims believe that if they follow the method used by Amitayus to pray to Buddha， they could enjoy long life and peace，and they could be permitted to go to the Legendary Paradise after death(In this way，their souls will be released from purgatory(That is why they always chant his name， Amitayus，in front of this Buddha(The statue to its west(on the left)is Bhaisajyaguru，the Buddha of Pharmacy，the Medicine Master，who is the patron of medicine to help people get rid of all kinds of diseases and suffering(To its east，(on the right)the statue is Simhanada，the Lion-roaring Buddha(He is the symbol of wisdom and always preaches the Buddhist scripture(He has a loud voice，like a lion roaring， that could threaten devils and evil spirits( On the east wall of the Eternal Blessing Hall， is hung a painting of White Para，while on the west wall is a silk embroidery image of the Green Para(mother Savior)(Actually，this is a fine embroidered picture of Green Para，handmade personally by Madame Niugulu， Emperor Qianlong’S mother，with the help of her palace maids more than 300 years ago，in order to show her piety and reverence to the Buddhist female savior(The Green Para，two meters long and 1(2 meters wide，was made out of 7，000 patches of satin of different sizes and colors(As Empress Dowager Niugulu had personally taken part in the work，the portrait has become the most valuable relic in the Hall of Eternal Blessing( According to Buddhist theory，there are 2 1 paras altogether appearing in different colors(Paras are supposed to be the incarnations of Guanyin Buddhisattva who would help Sakyamuni save the suffering people on earth( Four Academic Halls(Sixuedian四学殿) There are four subsidiary halls，known as the Four Academic Halls，which are located on either side of the courtyard for the lama’S study of specialized SUbjects( The Hall of Scripture Preaching(Jiangjingdian讲经殿) To the west of the Hall of Harmony and Peace (Yonghegongdian)，is the Hall of Scripture Preaching(This is the place where lamas study Buddhist“obvious doctrines”and the Buddhist philosophy(Buddhist texts are also preached or discussed here(Since this place is closely related to scholasticism，it is called the Hall of Scripture Preaching( The Esoteric Hall(Mizongdian密宗殿) The Esoteric Hall is located to the east of the Hall of Harmony and Peace(Yonghegongdian)(Lama monks study the scriptures of the esoteric sect of B uddhism here(Their teaching and learning activities mainly focus upon the esoteric courses that consist of four stages，and each stage deals with a particular group of mystical texts( The Hall of Mathematics(Shuxuedian数学殿)01"The Kalacakra Hall Here is the place where the lama monks conducted research on Kalacakra-tantra，a kind of mathematics scriptures concerning the time-wheel doctrine， almanac，and Tibetan calendar，as well as doing research in astronomy and geography( The Bhaisajyaguru Hall(Yaoshidian药师殿)or The Hall of Medicine The statue of Buddha Bhaisajyaguru，the God of Medicine，is enshrined in this hall(This is the place where the lama monks are able to study medicine from a great collection of herbal specimens that are housed here(The scriptures concerning the Buddha and other texts of Mongolian and Tibetan medicine，are learned and studied by lamas here(In this hall，the previous “Picture of Hundred Herbs”，praised as the Tibetan Compendium of Medical Herbs，is kept( Hall of Dharma Wheel(Falundian法轮殿) This is the largest hall in Yonghegong Lamasery and the place where the lamas assemble for Buddhist activities such as:preaching scriptures，giving sermons and conducting rituals and rites.Everyday， in the early morning，all the lamas in Yonghegong Lamasery are dressed in religious robes and assembled here to pray and read scriptures(Religious activities and prayer services are also held here in Yonghegong during religious festivals and on memorial days( This building was modeled after t(he Tibetan style of architecture(But the architectural form embodies a very typical Tibetan Buddhist architecture which comes from the exchanging of Han and Tibetan architectural styles(For instance，the roof is decorated with five dormer windows with five small gilded pagodas(This is a typical characteristic of the temples of Tibetan Buddhism and the architecture of the Tibetan people( Enshrined right in the center of the hall，is a gilded bronze statue of Master Tsongkhapa，founder of the Yellow Sect(In a sitting posture，with its face and hands covered with gold，the statue measures 6?1 meters high and Tsongkhapa looks splendid and eiegant(He was born in 1357，in Huangzhong County(Qinghai Province，and died in 1419(He started to study Buddhist scripture at the age of three(When he was sixteen，he went to Tibet to stuQY the theories of Lamaism，also called Tibetan B uddhism(And he became a lama there(Tibetan Buddhism， or Lamaism( Is divided Into five sects:B lack，White， Flowery，Red and Yellow(At that time，the Red Sect was SO popular in Tibet that the lama，s hat was a red color outside and a yellow color inside(The head lamas of the Red Sect were allowed to get married and their positions were hereditary(Seeing these defects，Tsongkhapa put forward 253 commandments， including the prohibition of marriage and the hereditary system(At the same’time，he reformed a sect by turnmg the hat color inside out，SO that yellow was outside and red ln81de，which was the symbol of the Yellow Sect(This Sect had Very strict disciplines and fresh ideas that had greatlV influenced the 80cletY， and soon they won not only popular support from the lamas but also from the government of the Ming Dynasty(Master TsOngkhapa was the first master and founder of the Yellow Sect(Soon he gained both administrative and religious power in Tibet(Then the Yellow Sect developed and spread rapidly and became popular in Mongolia and the Han districts of Tibet and Qinghai(All five Sects have their own head lama， known as the Living Buddha to control their own Sect(As for the Yellow Sect(the most famous living Buddhas were Dalai Lama and Banchan Erdeni( Dalai and B anchan are not ordinary names but are religious titles 1n Lamaism. Both Dalai and Banchan were two ramous disciples of Master Tsongkhapa(1357-1419)(When Tsongkhapa was alive，he had two intelligent followers:one was Dgevdurdrugba and the other was Mkasdrub(After Tsongkhapa died， they were deemed as the reincarnations of Tsongkhapa and succeeded the throne of the living Buddhas( DgeVdurdrugba won the title of the First Dalai Lama(while Mkasdrub was the first B anchan Erdeni( Tibet was governed by Dalai and Banchan，and both of them have the same reputation as well as power(According to the belief in reincarnation，they were endorsed as the earliest Buddhas of Tibetan Buddhism after their deaths(To replace the old hereditary system，the transmigration system had been introduced ever since， hence the religious names of Dalai and Banchan have been used all along until thnow(Now，the one still living abroad is the 1 4 Dalai， while the 10“Banchan died on January 28，1989(In September 1954，both Dalai and Banchan came to Beijing to attend the First National Congress of People’S Representatives，and they came to Yonghegong Lamasery to preach Buddhist scripture by themselves( Up till ththnow，there are the 14 Dalai Lama and l1 Banchan Erdeni in existence( On both sides of the statue of Master Tsongkhapa， there are two seats(The seat on the west was for the thth14 Dalai and the one on the east for the 10 Banchan to use for preaching Buddhist scripture in 1954( The statue of Great Master Tsongkhapa，sitting on a lotus stand， is six meters high(The statue was cast in 1 924，with donations from the people，and was gilded in 1982(The lotus flower is an often-used symbol in Buddhist scriptures and art(It is often seen with Buddhist statues in the temple not only because of its beauty，but also because of its purity and its exemption from dirt(Buddhists love the lotus flower SO much because its purity corresponds to the Buddhist teachings of transcendence from worldliness(That is why we can see the Buddhist statue sitting on a lotus flower in the temple，because it was taken as a symbol of Buddhism( Frescoes: The frescoes on the sidewall are called“Picture of the Life Story of Sakyamuni”，depicting the life-story of Buddha Sakyamuni(The murals，painted in colors and gold(record the courses of Sakyamuni’S transformation from a Bodhisattva into a Buddha(The frescoes show 34 episodes of Sakyamuni’S birth，study，becoming a Buddha， creating Buddhist theory and preaching Buddhist doctrines(It is a story of the whole process of hoW Sakyamuni was born from his mother’S armpit，until he finally created the Buddhist doctrines，and later preached them( Buddhist Scriptures: Along the west side of the wall in this hall are bookshelves holding 108 volumes of the Buddhist Sutras entitled(“the Great Tibetan Buddhist Sutra”(They are in the Tibetan language translated from ancient Indian language and block printing(There are 207 volumes of the sequel to the Buddhist sutras placed on the eastern side of the wall(These Buddhist sutras are used for preaching only on the sixth day of the sixth month of the Chinese lunar calendar(Every year on that day， lamas chant the scriptures and air out the original books(That is one of the famous activities in Yonghegong Lamasery(On any other day，only copies are used(Now，very few such Buddhist scriptures are preserved in perfect condition( In the back of the Hall of Dharma Wheel，there is a big sculpture of“Five Hundred Arhats Mountain”(The sculptured mountain iS five meters high，3(5 meters wide and 30 centimeters thick(It is carved out of black sandalwood with 500 arhats(each ten centimeters high， and cast in gold，silver，copper，iron and tin(All 500 uniquely styled arhats are vividly carved and exquisitely engraved(The sculpture is of very high value due to the excellent craftsmanship(This sculpture depicts a vivid story of 500 arhats worshipping in some Buddhist Temples(It was said that these 500 arhats were close followers of Sakyamuni( When Sakyamuni preached Buddhist sutras，there was no written scripture，and followers were afraid that his theory would be lost after his death(Therefore，his 500 disciples proposed collecting all their master’S sayings about Buddhism and writing down“the Great Tibetan Buddhist Sutra”according to what he preached(That was the earliest written Buddhist sutra(For their contributions，and in memory of what they did，they were upgraded from lamas to arhats(The sculpture shows a vivid picture of 500 arhats on the road to Buddhahood( The Mountain of 500 Arhats iS one of the three most unique masterpieces of wooden sculptures in Yonghegong Lamasery( There are some Scripture(Turning Wheels in this hall( Each wheel，whether big or small，has the Buddhist scriptures on it( The function is the same as that in Yonghegong Hall(If one turns it one revolution，it means that he has read the Buddhist scripture Once(Fish-And-Dragon Evolving Basin,The Fish—Dragon Transformation Tub(鱼龙变化盆) This basin IS placed in front of the Mountain of 500 Arhats(It iS carved out of ebony wood with some fish and sea waves as designs(The name“Fish-and—Dragon Evolving B asin”means “fish turning into dragon”basin，because the Buddhists believed that human beings evolved from fish，and those who had both ability and political integrity could continuously evolve to be dragons(This basin is also nicknamed the“Three—day—old—washing Basin，”for it is said that this basin gave Emperor Qianlong a bath three days after his birth( Ten-Thousand-Happiness Pavilion(Wanfuge万福阁) The pavilion，known as the Tower of the Great Buddha(iS the most magnificent building in Yonghegong Lamasery(The Ten— Thousand—Happiness Pavilion is the highest building with upper， middle and bottom storeys in Yonghegong Lamasery(It is 24eters high with triple upturned eaves(This grandiose structure，with two pavilions，is attached to the Lamasery on both sides(The east one called Yongkang Pavilion，and the west one called Yansui Pavilion，are joined by an upturned eave in the middle(There is a tremendous statue of Buddha standing on a huge white marble seat(This iS the future Buddha(Buddha Maitreya(which was carved out of a single trunk of white sandalwood(It is 26 meters high，eight meters in diameter，eighteen meters above the ground and eight meters underground(Huge as it is，it is a wooden Buddha rarely seen in the world today that one has to look up at in order to see the facial expression of the Buddha( According to historical record，this was a gift for Emperor Qianlong from the seventh Dalai Lama(In 1 744， when the residence was converted into a Lamasery， Emperor Qianlong had felt that the area in the back of the Lamasery was too bare，SO he planned to erect a high tower as a protective screen with a great Buddha statue in it(But it was very difficult to find a tree that was such a huge size(The Tibetan envoy heard of this news in Beijing，and he told the seventh Dalai Lama about it(Therefore， the seventh Dalai Lama immediately sent people to look for a huge tree(Finally，they found this huge sandalwood trunk and sent it to Beijing as a gift to Emperor Qianlong to express the Dalai Lama’S thanks，because Emperor Qianlong had helped him by sending troops to Tibet to put down a rebellion and turned the power back to the seventh Dalai Lama(It took three years to ship this huge tree to Beijing and another three years for the carving(The statue was carved out and erected first，and the hall was built afterwards(It was recorded in the“Guinness Book of World Records”in August 1990( This is a three?storeyed structure inside the Wanfu Pavilion(In each storey，there are laid out many small Buddha figurines(a total of 1 0，000)，hence the name “Ten—Thousand—Happiness Pavilion”(The Chinese pronunciation of Buddha is“Fo”(While happiness in Chinese is“fu”(Both the sound of Buddha“Fo”and Happiness“Fu”are similar to each other(Actually，it should be“Wan Fo”which means “ten thousand Buddhas”(but it is similar to“ten thousand happiness”，SO the pavilion got the name“Ten Thousand Happiness”( Connected by a flying corridor，the Hall of Eternal Health (Yongkangge)lies east of the Ten Thousand Happiness Pavilion(The statue of Buddha Amitayus and the Pagoda-Shaped Turning Wheel are placed inside the hall(The Hall of Perpetual Tranquility(Yansuige)is located on the west of the Ten Thousand Happiness Pavilion，also connected by a flying corridor(Inside，people can see a turnable lotus seat with four gilded Buddha statues sitting inside and facing the four directions(This is called “The Buddha Appearing in B lossom of Lotus” Behind the pavilion，is a unique cave surrounded by fine jade mountains and green water(known as“Guanyin Cave” or“Cave of Guanyin Bodhasattva”(The statue of Guanyin Bodhasattva is placed in the middle with the dragon king as a leader who led all the fish，turtles，lobsters and crabs in the water and gave a warm welcome to Guanyin Bodhasattva’S coming( There are two grand buildings on both sides of the Hall of Dharma Wheel(Jietai Building is on the west， while the other one is Banchan Building on the east(In 1780，the 6„Banchan came to Beijing for Emperor th birthday celebration(These two Qianlong’S 70 thbuildings were built for the 6 Banchan to preach Buddhist scriptures when he came to Beijing( Jietai Tower:It was the place where Emperor Qianlong and other Qing Emperors could sit quietly，chant sutra and do some religious activities(This building was thbuilt for welcoming the 6 Banchan when he came to Yonghegong Lamasery to preach sutra and have religious activities( th Banchan Building:In 1780，the 6 Banchan came to Beijing offering his congratulations on the birthday of Emperor Qianlong， as well as preaching scriptures and giving the ordination in Yonghegong(This pavilion was just set th up for welcoming the 6 Banchan to live and preach sutra on that thoccasion(The 9 th Banchan Master and 10 Banchan Master also came here to have religious rites(Now， it has become an exhibition hall( Inside the exhibition，people can see pictures telling US the life stories and the reincarnation of the living Buddha Dalai Lamas and Great Masters Banchan Erdeni from the first one up to thnow，especially the 6 Great Master Banchan，who came to Beijing in 1780(Emperor Qianlong met him in the Summer Resort Mountain Villa in Chengde，and then he came to Yonghegong Lamasery to preach sutra(In this exhibition room，people may not only get to know something about the establishment of the system of reincarnation of the Tibetan Buddhist living Buddha and other things in detail，but also you can see the Gold Vase used to draw lots to decide who would be the future baby Living Buddha( Zhao Fo Building(昭佛楼) To the east of Banchan Building is Zhao Fo Building(It was a private Worshiping Hall used by Emperor Qianlong’S mother for worshipping Buddha(Now， it is still kept in its original form(Inside Zhao Fo Building，there is a bronze statue in the shrine(The shrine，with three layers，is carved out of nanmu(a kind of valuable tree in southern China(The three— layered shrine has 99 large and small dragons carved on it(It is one of the Three Masterpieces of Wooden Sculptures in Yonghegong Lama Temple( The Bronze statue of Sakyamuni，with two disciples Ananda and Kasyapa standing at both sides，is a unique carving with the water fold in his clothes like ripples in the water,called water-ripple garment(It is said that before Sakyamuni returned to heaven(The ordlnary people wanted to look at his graceful bearing with reVerence?However，since the ordinary people could not look at hlm directly，he stood on the bank of a river(His image(Reflected tne water was worshipped by the people(While worshipping(one of the pilgrims who was good at drawing，drew the outline Of his 1mage，reflected in the water，with ripples on his clothes(That IS why the statue of Sakyamuni has this kind of feature( The Reincarnation System(活佛转世) One of the most important treasures in the exhibition is the Bampa，a golden vase，which was used to draw lots to decide who would be the future baby Living Buddha in Tibetan regions( The 1amas believed that when Dalai Lama died，his spirit would pass out ot the corpse into a baby boy who was born right at the moment of the Dalai Lama’s death(Quite often there were manv babies bom at the 8ame moment when Dalai was dying，so a method of drawlng lots from the gold urn” was established(The svstem is that many baby boys were to be selected from various places after Yong He Going Lamasery 1(the archway 2(the“Imperial Path” 3(Zhaotaimen 4(Bell Tower and 5(Drum Tower 6(the Tablet Pavilion 7(the Tablet Pavilion 8(the Gate of Harmony and Peace 9(the Hall of Harmony and Peace 10(the Hall of Eternal Blessings 11(the Hall of Dharma Wheel 12(the Pavilion of Ten Thousand Happiness 13(Pavilion of Peaceful Accomplishment 14(Jietai Building 15(Banchan Building the death of a Living Buddha，and each child had a lot with his name inscribed on the lot，and all the lots were to be put into a gold vase(While lamas were reciting Buddhist scriptures，and people were watching， the high commissioners appointed and sent by the emperor would pick up the lot dropped out of the shaking vase and show it to the people(Thus，the boy child with his name on it would be considered the reincarnation of the next Living Buddha( This method of using a gold vase and ivory divination slips to decide the boy who is the reincarnation of the Tibetan Buddhist Living Buddha was established by an imperial decree of Emperor Qianlong in 1792( The three Masterpieces of Wooden Sculptures(雍和宫木 雕三绝) 1(This Mountain of 500 Arhats carved in red sandalwood in the Hall of Dharma Wheel 2(The giant 18 meters high Statue of Buddha Maitreya carved in white sandalwood in the Ten Thousand Happiness Pavilion 3(The Buddha’S Shrine made of nanmu with fine veins in three tiers，and carved out of 99 intertwined dragons in Zhaofulou Building Useful Words and Expressions the Palace of Harmony and Peace雍和宫 lamasery喇嘛寺院 the Cypress Grove Temple柏林寺 the Temple of Confucius 孔庙 the Imperial Academy 国子监 Yellow Sect黄教 the Palace Mansion of Yong Prince雍亲王府 “Residence of Hidden Dragon” 潜龙邸 Tibetan Buddhism 藏传佛教 Hinduism印度教 cult信徒，崇拜者 irreplaceable不能代替的 appease抚慰，绥靖 monastery 寺院 cultural relic 文物 “the Four Academic Halls” 四学殿 The Arch Courtyard 牌楼院 Buddha Maitreya 弥勒佛 Big Belly Maitreya大肚弥勒佛 beg alms化缘 Bag Buddha布袋和尚 reincarnation化身，转世 pilgrim香客，朝拜者 Longevity Pagoda 长寿塔 The Eastern World Heavenly King named Chiguo 东方持 国天王 The Southern World Heavenly King called Zengzhang 南 方增长天王 The Western World Heavenly King known as Guangmu西方广目天王 The Northern World Heavenly King by the name of Duowen 北方多闻天王 magic power魔力 Incantation 咒语 the bronze tripod incense burner 铜鼎香炉 Mount Sumeru 须弥山 the legendary paradise极乐世界，天堂 Buddhas of the three Ages三世佛 the Present Buddha Sakyamuni现在佛，释伽牟尼 the Past Buddha Ran Deng过去佛，燃灯佛 the Future Buddha Maitreya将来佛，弥勒佛 Ananda 阿难 Kasyapa摩诃迦叶 Gautama Sakyamuni悉达多?乔达摩 King Suddhodana净梵王(释迦族) enlighten启发，领悟，悟 pipal tree菩提树 the Buddhist scripture 佛经 Arhat罗汉 disciple弟子 the Nirvana 涅槃 Arhat Buddhisattva Buddha罗汉、菩萨、佛 eternal cycle of birth and death 生死轮回 scripture-turning wheel 转轮 Guanyin Bodhisattva观音菩萨 the White Para白度母 the Green Para绿度母 Four?Faced Buddha Statue 四面佛像 the Longevity Buddha 长寿佛 the Buddha of Limitless Life无量寿佛 Sanskrit梵文 Western Paradise or the Pure Land西方极乐世界、净土 Bhaisajyaguru，the Buddha of Pharmacy药师佛 Simhanada，the Lion?roaring Buddha 狮吼佛 the Buddhist scripture佛经 Buddhist“obvious doctrine” 显宗 the esoteric sect of Buddhism 密宗 almanac年历、年鉴 specimen样本、标本 Master Tsongkhapa宗喀巴大师 hereditary system世袭制 commandments 戒律 the Living Buddha 活佛 Dalai Lama达赖喇嘛 Banchan Erdeni班禅额尔德尼 DgeVdurdrugba 根敦?珠巴 Mkasdrub 凯珠 the First Dalai Lama一世达赖 the First Banchan Erdeni一世班禅 the transmigration system转世 制度 关于办公室下班关闭电源制度矿山事故隐患举报和奖励制度制度下载人事管理制度doc盘点制度下载 frescoes壁画 the“Picture of the Life Story of Sakyamuni” 《释迦牟尼本生图》 mural壁画 the Buddhist Sutras,Buddhist scriptures佛经 “the Great Tibetan Buddhist Sutra” 大藏经 the sequel of the Buddhist sutras续藏经 “Five Hundred Arhats Mountain” 五百罗汉山 Fish?And-Dragon Evolving Basin鱼龙变化盆 The Fish-Dragon Transformation Tub鱼龙变化盆 ebony wood柿属木、乌木 Three-day-old-washing Basin洗三盆 Ten-Thousand-Happiness Pavilion万福阁 “Guinness Book of World Records” 吉尼斯世界纪录 the Hall of Eternal Health永康阁 The Hall of Perpetual Tranquility延绥阁 “The Buddha Appearing in Blossom of Lotus” 开莲现佛 Shrine佛龛 water-ripple garment 水纹衣 the Bampa，a golden vase金贲巴瓶 a method of“drawing lots from the gold urn”“掣签制度” The three Masterpieces of Wooden Sculptures雍和宫木雕三绝 三The White Cloud Taoist Temple (白云观) The White Cloud Taoist Temple is located at Xibianmen City Gate，southwest of Beijing(It has an area of 6，000 square meters with a floor space of 1 0，000 square meters(It is the chief temple of the Quan Zhen Taoist Sect and one of the three big center temples for the Quan Zhen Taoist Sect(Baiyunguan in Beijing，Yonglegong in Shanxi，Chongyanggong in Shaanxi)( But now，it is the place where The Chinese Taoist Association and The Chinese Taoist College are located(The Institute of Chinese Taoist Culture and The Editorial Department of the Journal of Chinese Taoism are also located there( According to the historical records，the templ e was first built in 74 1 during the Tang Dynasty，a nd was known as Tianchang Temple(At that time，Lao Zi was treated as the chief deity of Taoism and the founding philosopher of Taoism(In order to enshrin e Lao Zi，a temple named Tianchang Temple was built by Emperor Xuan Zong of the Tang Dynasty(It has a s tone statue of the seated figure of Lao Zi in it(Because the Emp eror’S birthday was called Tianchang Festival，the temple was called Tianchang Temple at that time( During the Jin Dynasty,the Tianchang Temple was destroyed in a big fire and renamed the Taiji Palace in 1203(But the stone statue of Lao Zi survived(and we can s ee it in the exhibition hall today( In 1 224，during the Yuan Dynasty，the founder of the Longmen Subsect，Qiu Changchun，lived in the templ e(He and his disciples rebuilt the temple and it took on a new look(Then(in 1227(The Yuan Emperor Genghis K han renamed the palace，“Changchun Palace(”After Qiu’ S death in 1 228，his disciples built a temple to the east of the Changchu Palace called the White Cloud Taoist Temple(Baiyunguan)and buried his remains under the temple’S Chushun Hall(After that，the Longmen Subsect of the Q uan Zhen Taoist Sect treated the White Cloud Taoist Temple as the chief temple of the Quan Zhen Taoist Sect in memory of Qiu，the founder of the Longmen Subsect under the Quan Zhen Taoist Sect( Since the Changchu Palace was mostly burned down in a fire during a war in the late Yuan Dynasty，only the White Cloud Taoist Temple，in the eastern part of the Changchu Palace，was left(In the Ming Dynasty，Zhu Di，t he King of Yan，ordered that the temple be rebuilt again in 1394(After that，the White Cloud Taoist Temple inherited the fame and merits of the preceding temples( At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty，Wang Changy ue，the seventh generation of the Longmen Subsect of the Quan Zhen Taoist Sect，came to Beijing as the abbot in the White Cloud Taoist Temple(Since then，the temple has become more and more popular，and after it was rebuilt and enlarged many times under the reign of Qing Emperors Kang Xi，Qian Long and Guang Xu，it has become the size lt IS today( After the founding of the People’S Republic of China，the government allocated large sums of money to renovate the White Cloud Taoist Temple in 1956， 1981 and 1998(In 1957，the Chinese Taoist Association was founded here and The Chinese Taoist College was set up inside too(Now it iS a historical site under the protection of the Beijing Municipal Government，and the offices of t he Chinese Taoist Association and the Chinese Taoist College are housed inside( The White Cloud Taoist Temple today is essentially as it was after the renovation in the Ming and Qing Dynasties(Entering the Front Gate，there are three visiting routes for the tourists: The Central Axis Route(中轴路) A screen wall，known as a shadow wall，shields the view from the street and is in front of the temple(There are four large characters inscribed on the wall(“Everlasting Spring”)in the handwriting of Zhao Mengfu，an eminent calligrapher of the Yuan Dynasty( An ornamental wooden archway with seven decorative roofs，known as Lingxing Gate，was used for obs erving the heavens by the Taoists in the old days(T he two board plaques on the arch have four words that praise the temple( The Front Gate iS a very impressive stone structure with three openings that were built in the Ming Dynasty(Images of monkeys，cranes，clouds and fl owers are carved on the gate(The monkey is the typi cal thing for people to touch for good luck as they enter the temple on the festival of Qiu Changchun’ thS birthday on the 1 9 of the first lunar month eac thh year(The name of the temple was give by the 6 M ing Emperor Ying Zong，and is inscribed on a plaque in the middle of the stone gate(It was said that th e plaque was made of iron，which means the temple could last forever( Outside the Front Gate，there are a pair of decorative pillars(known as Hua Biao，and a pair of st one lions( After entering the gate，people can see a large arched stone bridge known as Wuofeng Bridge，but th ere is no water beneath it(There are two stories about the no—water bridge: The first story:The bridge was built for Wang Chongyang，the founder of the Quan Zhen Taoist Sect(Wang 1eft home for Taoism and met an extraordinary person at the Ganhe Bridge in Shaanxi， who told him the secret method for practicing Taoism(Later，Wang succeeded in founding the Quan Zhen Taoist Sect(In order to commemorate the founder，h is disciples built this bridge because Ga(nhe Bridg e means，“no water bridge”in Chinese( The second story:At that time，a bridge known a s Ganyu Bridge (meaning，“nice rain bridge”)was bu ilt outside the temple(So the two bridges mean，“n ice weather with a bumper harvest( Wuofeng Bridge was first built in 1 706 during the Qing Emperor Kang Xi’S reign，but was later destr oyed(The present one was rebuilt in 1988(The coins and bells hanging on both sides beneath the bridge are for the visitors and those who want to pray for good luck by throwing coins to hit the bell(People believe that each time the bell is struck，a blessing will be bestowed(This act is calle d “Hitting the Gold Coin”which has become one of t he folk activities through which the tourists and prayers pray for good luck( The Hall of tingguan(灵官殿) It was first built in 1443 during the reign of Emperor Ying Zong of the Ming Dynasty，and it was r ebuilt in 1662 during the Qing Emperor Kang Xi’S re ign(The statue of the God enshrined inside the hall is Wang Lingguan，the God of Protecting the Law of Taoism(The statue，1(2 meters high with red face a nd three eyes， was made of wood in the Ming Dynasty(The statue wears a suit of armor and holds a whip in his hand with the onerous task of maintaining the good and eliminating the evils in the world(On t he wall，there are the portraits of his four marshals who are responsible for protecting Taoism(The two portraits on the left are Zhao Guangming and Ma Sheng;the two portraits on the right are Wen Qiong and Yue Fei( There are two tablets in front of the hall(The one on the east was erected in 1 924 for Chen Mingl stin，the 21 generation abbot in this temple，who col lected money for renovating the halls and the Wuofeng Bridge(The one on the west was for donations to the temple during the period of the Republic of China( The Diq(1m Tower on the east and the Bell Tower on the west were used to mark time for the monks in the temple in the old days as well as for the signals during the Taoist Ceremonies( The Hall of the Jade Emperor(玉皇殿) This hall was first built in 1438 during the Ming Dynasty，and rebuilt in 1662，1706 and 1788 in the Qing Dynasty(At first，it was named the Hall of Yuli Everlasting Spring;the present name was given in 1 706 after it was rebuilt in the Qing Dynasty(Here was the place for making offerings to the Imperial Jade Emperor( Both the shrine and the statue are made of wood carved in the Ming Dynasty(The statue of the Imp erial Jade Emperor is 1(8 meters high in the seatin g posture(Many ribbons hang around the shrine with the Chinese word，“Longevity”embroidered on them(T hese were the presents given to the temple by Empre thss Dowager Ci Xi on her 60 birthday(On both sides of the throne(there are six bronze statues all made during the Ming Dynasty;four are statues of the He avenly Master of the Jade Emperor and two are Attendant Boys of the Jade Emperor(The walls inside the hall are decorated with eight depictions of the Six Southern Stars，the Seven Northern Stars，the 28 St ar Deities and the 36 Celestial Kings—aU features of the Taoist philosophy( There are two stone steles in front of the hall that were erected in the Qing Dynasty(The one on t he west contains a poem while the other one on the east contains the“Notes of Rebuilding the Temple(” Both were written by Emperor Qian Long in his own handwriting( The Hall of the Three Gods(三官殿) This hall is located to the east of the Hall of the Jade Emperor(It was originally named“The Hall of Feng Zhen” but now it is called，“The Hall of Three Gods”for people to make offerings to the three Gods who are enshrined here，namely the God of Heaven(the God of Earth and the God of Water(The God ot Heaven is enshrined in the middle and people believe that he could bring good luck and relieve people’S suffering(The God of Earth，enshrined on the left，would pardon guilt and faults and release grievances，while the God of Water，on the right could eliminate all diseases(bad luck and disasters( The HalI of the God of Wealth(财神殿) This hall is opposite the Hall of the Three Gods on the right in this coui:tyard(It was first named“Hall of Confucian Immortals” and got its present name later(There are three God’S statues inside(The middle one is called，“the God of Bi Gan，”the civil god of wealth;the God of Zhao Gongming，the military god of wealth，is placed on the left and“the God of Guan Yu” is placed on the right，and is also the military god of wealth(People pray in this hall for abundant financial resources and to make a fortune(It iS believed that they can get whatever they have prayed for based on their benevolence，(justice and kindheartedness( The Lao tu Hall(老律堂) This hall was first built in 1 228 during the Yuan Dynasty(In 1440，during the Ming Dynasty，it was the place to make offerings to the Taoist saint Qiu Changchun(Later，in 1 509，seven Taoist saints were worshipped here(SO it was named the“Hall of Seven True Taoist Saints(”During the Qing Dynasty，since it was the place for the preaching ceremony of Taoists’ discipline，it was renamed Lao Lu Hall(which means the Hall of old Taoists’ discipline(Now it is the place for the daily Taoist religious activities and chanting scriptures of Taoism(It contains statues of the seven Taoists who achieved perfection with the statue of the True Taoist Saint Qiu Chuji in the middle(The plaque in the middle has four big Chinese characters in the calligraphy of Qing Emperor Kang Xi and means“Here is the place to lecture and chant the Taoist scriptures(” The Hall of Rescuing the Suffering People(救苦殿) This hall is on the east of the Lao Lu Hall and first named the“Hall of Great Master(”But now it is called the“Hall of Rescuing the Suffered(’’It is for worshipping the God of Relieving Sufferers who is the highest God in the nine-layer netherworld(He often rides a lion with nine heads and holds a sweet—dew bottle in his left hand and a double-edged sword in his right hand to relieve the unfortunate suffering of those falling into the netherworld( The Hall of the God of Medicine(药王殿) To the west of the Lao Lu Hall iS the Hall of the God of Medicine(This hall was originally named the“Hall of Master”for worshipping the Medicine God， Taoist Sun Simiao(Now it is called the“Hall of the God of Medicine(”Sun Yimiao was a famous Taoist doctor of the Tang Dynasty(He wrote some famous medical books during his lifetime，and he died at the age of 102(In l 103，Emperor Hui Zong of the Song Dynasty conferred the title of“Immortal Taoist Miao Ying”to Sun Simiao after his death(It is said that Taoist Sun Simiao could raise the dead and cure a variety of serious diseases( In the middle of this hall(iS the stature of the Taoist medical doctor Sun Simiao，in a seating posture， and the mural paintings on the wall depict scenes of curing a tiger( The Hall of Founder Qiu Zu(邱祖殿) This building is in the center of the temple and was first built in 1228 in the Yuan Dynasty(In 1443(during the Ming Dynasty，it used to be called “Yanqing Hall”and“Zhenji Hall”respectively( but later it was exclusively used for offering a sacrifice to the Taoist founder Qiu Changchu，SO it was renamed the hall of founder Qiu Zu(The stature of Qiu Zu was made in the Yuan Dynasty with the help of a Nepalese artist named Arnico，and it is really a treasure of the Yuan Dynasty(On both sides of the statue，there are two sculptures entitled“Fonder Qiu’S visit to the west(”The huge gourd—shaped wooden bowl named“Ying Bo”was made from very old gnarled tree roots with gilded edges and was a present from Qing Emperor Qian Long(It is said that the remains of the founder Qiu Zu，were concealed under the big bowl(The calligraphies on both sides of the wall are rubbings from a stone stele that were written by an outstanding calligrapher of the Yuan Dynasty( The Tower of the Three Pure Gods&The HalI of Four Heavenly Guardians(三清阁、四御殿) This is a two—storied building located behind the Hall of Founder Qiu Zu(It was first built in 1428 during the Ming Dynasty and named，the Big Hall of Three Pure Gods(In 1662，during the Qing Dynasty，it was changed into a two—storied building(The upper tower was for worshipping the Three Pure Gods and the lower part was for the Jade Emperor(In 1 788，during Qing Emperor Qian Long’S reign，the lower part was changed to worship the Four Heavenly Guardians( The Tower of the Three Pure Gods consists of three big’statures of the three most exalted gods of Taoism: God of Jade Purity(Yuqing Yuan Shi)in the middle:God of Upper Purity(Shangqing Ling Bao)on the left and God of Supreme Purity(Taiqing Dao De)on the right(In Taoist theory(these three Gods are regarded as the embodiments of Taoism SO they are highly worshipped by the Taoists(The statues of the three gilded gods were made in the Ming Dynasty with a mixture of silk，ramie and lacquer( The Hall of Four Heavenly Guardians is downstairs(The tablet of the Jade Emperor is placed in the middle;the statues of God of Heaven(Gouchen God) and Everlasting South(Pole God (Nanjichangsheng God)are placed on the left while the statues of the Central Celestial Star North—Pole God(Zhongtian Ziwei God) and the Earth God(Chengtian Xiaofa God)are placed on the right(The statues of the four Gods were sculptures made of clay in the Qing Dynasty( The four gods were considered as four assistants of the Jade Emperor in the heavens and were treated as his four guardians(The God of Gouchen was believed to have the power to control the North and South-Poles and the talents of the heavens(earth and people，as well as all the stars;the Everlasting South—Pole God could control longevity;the central celestial star Zhongtian Ziwei North—Pole God was believed to control all kinds of things in the heavens such as:the sun，the moon， the stars，the temperature， the climate(etc(The God of Chengtian Xiaofa Earth God iS a goddess who was believed to have the power to control birth，both in this world and the netherworld( In front of the building，there is a gilded bronze tripod incense burner which was cast in 1 529 during the Ming Dynasty(It is 1(16 meters high and decorated with 43 writhing dragons，each with a different design(Each of the three legs of the incense burner bears the head of a ljon. Scriptu re Tower&Enjoying the Moon Tower (藏经楼、望月楼) The two towers are located on both sides of the Tower of Three Pure Gods(The tower on the east is the Scripture Tower where 5，485 volumes of Taoist scriptures，made in the Ming Dynasty， were originally kept(Every year on the first day to the seventh day of each June，a big ceremony of airing the scriptures would be held in this temple，and all the scriptures would be aired(But now only copies of the Taoist Scriptures are kept here;the original ones were handed over to the National Library in 1 950(The tower on the west is the Tower Enjoying the Moon(Now， the two towers are museum exhibition rooms for the tourists(In the museum，the statue of Lao Zi，the founder of Taoism，was given to the temple in 739 by Emperor Xuan Zong of the Tang Dynasty( The Western Route(西路) Bronze Horse(牡马) Actually，this is a mythical animal named“Shen Te(” It has the face of a donkey，the ears of a horse，the hooves of an ox and the body resembles a mule(So local people call it“Bronze Donkey(”It was believed to cure diseases by first touching the suffering places on your own body and then touching the same place on the Bronze Donkey( It is said that this mythical bronze animal was made during the reign of Qing Emperor Qian Long in memory of his own beloved horse( Ancestral Worship Hall(祠堂) This hall was built in 1706 in the Qing Dynasty(This is the place tO worship Taoist Master Wang Changyue，the seventh generation abbot of，the Longmen Subsect of the Quan Zhen Taoist Sect(He came to Beijing as the abbot in the Qing Dynasty and his remains were buried under this hall(Later，all the famous Master Taoists were worshipped here and had their tablets put here after their death(The calligraphies carved on both sides of the wall are copies from the Qing Dynasty(They are the Taoist scriptures in the handwriting of famous calligrapher Zhao Mengfu，of the Yuan Dynasty(Now these copies are the treasure of the Taoist Temple( The Eight Immortals Hall(八仙殿) This hall was first built in 1808 during the Qing Dynasty(There are eight statues placed inside(Each of the eight immortals has precious weapons and magic powers and their stories are very popular among the common people( Hall of Founder Lu(吕祖殿) This hall was first built in 1 887 in the Qing Dynasty(Here is the place to worship Lu Dongbin，one of the five north founders of Taoism(Founder Lu was born in Shanxi Province and was the highest scoring candidate on the imperial examination of the Tang Dynasty(Later，he became an immortal with help fi’om Zhong Liquan who had been an immortal already(Lu is also one of the eight immortals in Chinese fairy tales( In the hall(Lu’S statue is made of wood and was carved during the Ming Dynasty( Yuan Jun Hall(元君殿) This hall was built in 1756 during the Qing Emperor Qian Long’S reign and was first named“Hall of Offspring”or“Goddess Hall”(The statue in the middle is the Immortal Goddess to whom women prayed for the ability to give birth to a baby and for her protection and blessings to all children(The two statues on the right are Goddess Yanguang and Goddess Tianhua，and the two on the left are Goddess Songzi，who brings children to people，and Goddess Cuisheng who can help mothers give birth to babies safely(All five statues were made of wood in the Qing Dynasty( Wen Chang Hall(文昌殿) This hall was originally named“Hall of Five North Ancestors”(Beiwuzudian)for offering sacrifices to five gods:Ludongbin(Hanzhongli，Wangxuanpu，Liuhaichan and Wangchongyang( But now，the God of Wenchang is worshipped here together with Kongzi Confucian and Zhuxi(God Wenchang was believed to be in charge of scholarly honors and official ranks in the world(He used to be worshipped by the scholars( The statue of Wenchang was placed in the middle with a boy attendant and a girl attendant on both sides， who were deaf mutes SO that the topic of the palace examination could not be leaked out(The statue on the east is Confucius，who was the founder of Confucianism; the one on the right is Zhuxi，the great master of idealist philosophy(The statues in the hall were made in the Ming dynasty( The Hall of Yuanchen(元辰殿) This hall is commonly known as the 60一Year—Old Hall，which was first built in 1 190，in the Jin Dynasty， th birthday of Emperor Zhangzong’for celebrating the 60 S mother(Because the Emperor’S mother was born in the year of Dingmao，the hall was called“Dingmao Hall” and the Dingmao Goddess was enshrined here( According to ancient Chinese mythology，people calculate their birthdays based on the circulating combination between the ten Heavenly Terms(Tiangan of ten)and the twelve Earthly Branches(Dizhi of twelve)(It starts from the first Heavenly Term Jia with the initial Earthly Branches，Zi，and ends at Gui， the last Heavenly Term with the last initial Earthly Branches，Hai(All the HeavenIy Terms should be combined with all the EarthlV Branches respectively(Jiazi is considered as the first one with Guihai as the final combination( Every sixty years completes a cycle(and then it starts again?Since a whole cycle is 60 years， Jiazi stands for 60一 Year—Old(The birth year is called the year of Yuanchen(hence tile hall IS known as Yuanchen Hall or Jiazi Hall(There are sixty statues of the God of Stars to be worshipped in this hall(and each 1S considered as the God of the people’s birth years( Twelve-Animal Wall(十二生肖壁) The wall was built in 1993(In ancient China，people combined twelve animals with twelve Earthly Branches， which indicated the year of birth(Each animal has its special merits，SO people a11 10ve the year of their special animal(The twelve years of animals are( the Year of the mouse，the year of the OX，the year of the tiger(The Year of the rabbit，the year of the dragon， the year of the snake(the year of the horse，the year of the sheep，the year of the monkey，the year of the rooster， the year of the dog and the vear of the pig( Filial Piety Wall of 24 Figures(二十四孝壁) This wall was erected in 1 993，and it shows 24 figures， filiaI piety to the aged(Taoism always pays strong attention to the filial piety of the aged，which is considered as a part of Chinese virtue as well as Taoist virtue( The Eastern Route(东路) tuogong Pagoda(罗公塔) This pagoda is located in the northeastern corner of the temple( It is the burial pagoda and houses the remains of Master Luo，the Perfected Taoist(Luogong Pagoda was built to honor him by Qing Emperor Yong Zheng in 1727(It is for worshipping Master Taoist Luogong， who created Chinese massage therapy and barber tools( It is an octagonal three--storied pagoda( Hall of Gods of Three Stars(三星殿) This hall was first built during Qing Emperor Qian Long’S reign， in 1 788，for offering sacrifices to the seven miracle—skilled doctors and medicine saints such as，Huatuo and Bianque(After 1957，this was the location of the offices for the Chinese Taoist Association( In 2000，after its renovation，it was changed to the Hall of Gods of Three Stars for worshipping the three Gods of Stars:God of Happiness， God of Emolument and God of Longevity( Cihang Hall(慈航殿) This hall was first built in 1788 in the Qing Dynasty(In 1957，it was changed to the offices of the Chinese Taoist Association(After the renovation in 2000，it was renamed Cihang Hall，which means Hall of Mercy or Hall of Kindness to worship the God of Cihang(The God of Cihang is believed to have the power to relieve people’S suffering and distress，but this is actually adopted from the Buddhist belief in the God of Guanyin Budhisattva，commonly known as the God of Mercy or God of Kindness( Hall of Zhenwu(真武殿) Zhenwu Hall was built in 1 788 during Qing Emperor Qian Long’S reign，with the statue of the King of Zhenwu worshipped inside(Both the hall and the bronze statue of Zhenwu God were rebuilt in 2000(Zhenwu God is also known as the King of Xuanwu，the Supreme God of the North and the God of Water( Leizu HalI(雷祖殿) Leizu means the God of Thunder(It was first built in 1438，during the Ming Dynasty，and rebuilt in 2000(In this hall，people can see the statue of the Thunder God placed in the middle，with the King of Wind and the King of Lightning on the east and the King of Thunder and the King of Rain on the west(All the Bronze statues were brought here from the San Jiao Temple(Sanjiaosi三教寺)in 1980( The Back Courtyard(后院) The Back Courtyard is actually a garden known as Yunji Garden or minor Penglai(a fairyland islet for immortals)(The Back Courtyard was built in 1 890 in the Qing Dynasty and consists ofthree small yards( Ordination Altar(戒台) In the center of the back garden，among the pavilions and rockeries，is the Ordination Altar where the Taoist Master preaches a sermon and teaches the Taoist Novices the protocol of ordination( Yunjishan House(云集山房) Both the Ordination Altar and the Yunjishan House were built in 1890 during the Qing Emperor Guangxu’ S reign(Yunjishan House is the place where the Taoists listen to his preachings( Three Hills(三山) There are three artificial hills in each yard of the Yunji Garden(In Taoist theory，they represent legendary stories of the three Fairyland Mountains in the east of Bohai Bay(Youhe Pavilion is built on the hill to the east;Miaoxiang Pavilion is on the hill to the west，while Yuxian Pavilion is on the north with frescoes on the wall depicting the eight immortals crossing the sea( Tuiju Tower(退居楼) TuOu Tower is actually a Retreat Tower for those old Taoist abbots to have an easy and comfortable life after retreating to the temple(Since 1983，this is the place where the Chinese Taoist College offers classes( Stone Tablet Gallery(碑廊) The Tablet Gallery was built in 1993 for storing 81 pieces of stone tablets of the Taoists Masters and some famous figures in China，such as Qing Emperor Qian Long，Dr(Sun Yat—sen and Mr(Zhao Puchu( Useful Words and Expressions The White Cloud Taoist Temple 白云观 the Quan Zhen Taoist Sect全真道教 The Chinese Taoist Association 中国道教协会 ‘ The Chinese Taoist College中国道教学院 The Institute of Chinese Taoist Culture中国道教文化研究所 The Editorial Department of the Journal of Chinese Taoism 中国道教杂志编辑部 Tianchang Temple 天长观 the Longmen Subsect龙门派 disciples门徒，信徒 Genghis Khan成吉思汗 abbot寺院住持 Heavenly Terms(Tiangan of ten) 天干 Earthly Branches(Dizhi of twelve) 地支 the 0Irdination Aitar戒坛 四Beijing Confucius Temple (北京孔庙) Confucius Temple is located at the eastern end of Guo Zijian(Chengxian Street，East District of Beijing(Facing south(it COVers an area of 22，000 square meters with a floor space of 7，400 square me ters( The Confucian Temple is part of the Imperial College(Originally，it was called Confucian Temple of Imperial College or Capital Confucian Temple(Act ually，the Beijing Confucius Temple is not the only Confucius Temple in China(There is one in Qufu，Sha ndong Province，which is Confucius’hometown(The Co nfucius Temple in Qufu is much larger in size(yet t he SOCial position of Confucius Temple in Beijing was much higher than the Confucius Temple in Qufu(Th is is because the Emperors of the Yuan，Ming and Qin g Dynasties all came to Beijing Confucius Temple to pay homage to the ancient sage Confucius(So in hie rarchal ancient feudal society，no other Confucius T empie could equal this one( Construction of Beijing Confucius Temple started in 1302 and was completed in 1 306 during the Yuan Dynasty(The Imperial College was built to its west side where it was considered the highest educational college at that time(Later(it was rebuilt in 1411 during the Ming Dynasty，and in 1737，during t he Qing Dynasty(From 1906 to 1916，ten years were s pent to enlarge and renovate the temple to make it what we see today(The Confucius Temple houses many precious historical and cultural relics including the Qian Long stone drums，the inscribed boards，ston e tablets inscribed with the full texts of the thirteen Confucian classics，and stone tablets bearing t he names and origins of scholars who passed the palace examination(To better protect and utilize this historical site，in 1981，the Confucius Temple was t urned into the Capital Museum，and in 1988，it was d esignated as one of the major national historical a nd cultural sites under the national protection of the State Council( There are three courtyards located along the north—south central axis(The main buildings on the central axis are:Xianshi Gate， Dacheng Gate，the Hall of Dacheng and the Hall of Chongsheng( Main St ructures in the Confucius Temple The Xianshi Gate(The Gate of the Sage先师门) Generally speaking，the gate in front of the Confucius Temple is called“Lingxing Gate(”After its renovation in 1768，during the Qing Dynasty，Emp eror Qian Long gave it the name“Xianshi Gate(”Thi s gate is constructed in the typical Yuan Dynasty Style that can rarely be seen in Beijing today(The t wo stone tablets，known as the“Stele of Dismounting from Horses”were erected in the Qing Dynasty，and placed over ten meters to the east and west respectively on both sides of the gate of the Confucius Temple(The stele is four meters high and one meter wide with the inscription，“Officials and others shou ld dismount from their horseback at this place”carv ed on it in six languages (Manchu，Han，Mongolian，H ui，Tuo Te and Tibetan)According to the historical records，not only were officials required to dismount from horseback or carriage，even the emperor himsel f had to get down from his carriage and walk to the Confucius Temple( This indicated the supreme status of the Confucius Temple and Confucianism( The Dacheng Gate(The Gate of Great Achievements 大成门) The Dacheng Gate is the front gate of the Hall of Dacheng，the main building in the Confucius Temple(Dacheng means“great achievements”which indic ates the great achievements made by Confucius in developing Chinese culture(The drum and the bell insi de the gate were used for the worshipping ceremony honoring Confucius(This sacrificial ceremony，offer ed by the Emperor，required that the bell was struck 108 times and the drum beaten 360 times，thus creat ing a solemn atmosphere for me ceremony( On the two sides of the Gate of Great Achievements are ten stone drums that were carved during t he reign of Emperor Qian Long(1 736_1 796)of the Qing Dynasty(imitating the style of the stone drums of the Qin dynasty(22 1-207 B(C()They are called st one drums because they look like drums(On each ston e drum，there is an ancient poem engraved which describes the hunting activities of Xuan Wang at Qiyang of the Zhou Dynasty(For this reason，they are also called“hunting tablets(”The stone drums were con sidered as state treasures，SO Emperor Qian Long ord ered them duplicated(Now，the original ones are kep t in the Palace Museum( There are two stone steles flanking both sides of the gate(The one on the east bears an inscription recording the duplication of the stone drums in 1 790 during the reign of Emperor Qian Long of theQing Dynasty(The top part of the stele is inscribed with two characters signifying“Made by the Empero r”(Engraved on the front side of the stele“A pref ace to the Carving of a Collection of stone drum writings in ten chapters”(The adjusted stone drum tunes are carved on the reverse side( The stele on the west side bears the“Stone Dru m Song”，by Han Yu，a famous writer of the Tang Dynasty(The characters on the stele are in the cursive handwriting of famous calligrapher Zhang Zhao of the Qing Dynasty(On the top of the stele is the handwriting of Qing Emperor Qian Long praising the“excellent work with a marvelous brush”，expressing his views on the cursive handwriting of Zhang Zhao in copying Han Yu’S“St one Drum Song”( A big stone tablet stands to the east of the Dacheng Gate(It is called“Jia Hao Coronation Stele of Confucius”and is the highest title conferred on Confucius by Emperor Cheng Zong of the Yuan Dynasty in 1 307(The whole original imperial edict was carved on the stele，thus providing a precious material for the study of and research into the ideology，p olitics and cultural tradition of the Yuan Dynasty( Along the path in front of the gate，there use d to be the Divine Kitchen，the Animal-Slaughtering Pavilion，and the Well Pavilion( In the east and we st of the front courtyard，the Divine Warehouse and the Fasting Room were located( The Dacheng Hall(Hall of Grear Achievements大成殿) The Dacheng Hall is the main building in the Confucius Temple(It is the place where the sacred tablet of Confucius is kept inside and also the place for the emperors to offer homage during sacrificial rites in honor of Confucius( The Dacheng Hall was first built in 1 302 during the Yuan Dynasty，but later was destroyed(Then the hall was rebuilt in 1411 and in 1600 respectively during the Ming Dynasty(The present hall was successfully rebuilt in 1737 and in 1906 during the Qing Dynasty，and was expanded using the Ming Dynasty structure as a model(The roo f of the hall was covered with green glazed tiles in the Ming Dynasty，but they were replaced with yellow colored glazed tiles during the Qing Dynasty(The building looks magnificent with two layers of upturned flying eaves(The roof is covered with yellow glazed tiles and the two ends of the ridgepole are d ecorated with dragon—shaped ornaments(It is the sa me pattern and rank as the HdU of Supreme Harmony in the Forbidden City( Starting from the second Qing Emperor Kang Xi， every crowned prince was required to come here to give a lecture before he could succeed the throne(Af ter giving the lecture，the crowned prince would han g an inscribed board in Dacheng Hall(The inscribed boards that hang in this hall were all sent by the Qing Emperor( Inside the middle of the hall(there iS a woode n shrine with a wooden memorial tablet dedicated to Confucius，on which the Chinese characters meaning“Memorial Tablet of the Greatest Sage and Teacher Confucius”are written(During the Mi ng Dynasty，a statue of Confucius was placed in the shrine(At that time，there were over a thousand Confucius Temples that were built in China and the statue of Confucius looked different in appearance due to different sculptors’workmanship(Therefore，Emp eror Jia Jing of the Ming Dynasty，ordered that the statues be replaced by a wooden memoriaI tablet(Lat er，the wooden tablet was replaced by a portrait but it is said that unfortunately the portrait was stolen by German invaders when the Allied Forces of the Eight Powers invaded BeOing in 1900 and it was later acquired by someone who admired Eastern culture got it( Also inside Dacheng Hall，there are Si Pei，Twe lve Zhes(And Seventy-two Xians as well as various utensils and musical instruments for use at sacrificial rites( Si Pei(四配) The main shrine is Confucius’shrine(It is acc ompanied by four secondary shrines，two on the east and two on the west of the main shrine(Each seconda ry shrine contains a tablet，the name of the seconda ry shrine is“Pei”(The four secondary shrines are called“Si Pei”(which means the tablets of“four n otables of secondary importance”(The two tablets o n the East Pei are named Fusheng Yanzi(Hui)and Shushengzi Sizi(Kong ji);the two tablets on the West Pei are Zong Sheng Zengzi(Can)and Yasheng Mengzi (Ke)(Pei means,“companion in sacrifice(”Only Confu cian masters immediately next to Confucius could receive such treatment( Twelve Zhes(十二哲) There are also twelve memorial tablets kept in shrines near the east and west wall in this room called“Shi Er Zhe”(The twelve tablets represent twelve talented philosophers(They were the Confuci an sages immediately next to the Fours Peis(Placeme nt of the Zhe tablets started in the Tang dynasty with ten tablets(The number of tablets fluctuated in different times and，in the Qing Dynasty under the reign of Emperor Qian Long，the number was settled a t twelve(The name“Zi”refers to the honorable titl es( and the words in brackets refer to the names of the respected people( Seventy two Xians(72贤) Confucius devoted all his life to his career in education and made great achievements in ancient Chinese education(He taught more than 3，000 stude nts during his lifetime，and 72 were outstanding in virtue and talents(In 72 A(D(during the Han Dynas ty，when Emperor Hanping offered sacrifices to Confu cius，the first sacrifice was to the 72 Xians(Later， some of them were promoted to Four Peis and Twelve Zhes by the people，SO the people added Confucius’o ther students to make up the 72(There are 72 sculpt ures of his disciples standing on both sides in the shrine in this room，but these were made in the 1980s( Various vessels，utensils and musical instrume nts for use in sacrificial ceremonies and worship were placed on the altar table in front of the shrines(These were mostly made in the Qing Dynasty( On both sides of the path in front of the Hall，there are eleven imperial pavilions housing stone tablets on which bear the inscriptions recording the historical events in the Ming and Qing Dynasties(The significant historical events inscribed on these stone steles mainly tell about the achievements made by the three Qing Emperors:Emperor Kang Xi，E mperor Yong Zheng，and Emperor Qian Long(There are also inscriptions on the stone tablets in memory of repairing and renovating the Confucius Temple(the emperors’visits to the temple，as well as the emper ors’lectures in the Directorate of Education(All t he stone tablets were placed On the exquisitely carved tortoise?shaped pedestals( The Silk Burner(焚帛炉) The Silk Burner was placed in the southwest corner in front of the Hall of the courtyard(It was us ed for burning papers and silks with elegiac addresses written on them。and some other sacrificial offerings(Actually，it is ancient Chinese custom to bum the offering whenever performing sacrificial activities because the ancient Chinese believed that only after burning the sacrificial offerings into ashes could the dead receive them( Yanshui Lake(砚水湖) To the west of the courtyard，under the tre e(there is a well under the tree with a history of over 500 years during the Ming Dynasty(It is said t hat the water in the well had been shallow and sweet and that the scholars could express eloquent thinking in their writing after drinking the well’S swe et water(This special water would enable them to write beautiful articles and to make ink for their wr iting brushes(Emperor Qian Long named the well“Yan shui Lake”which means(“the Lake Wffter for ink st one( slab(” Chu lian Cypress(除奸柏) There are more than 1 00 ancient trees in the Confucius Temple that are well known in Beijing for their long history(Among these ancient trees，“C hu Jian Cypress”is the most famous one(It is said that in the Ming Dynasty，during the reign of Empero r Jia Jing，a powerful but treacherous and corrupt prime minister，Yan Song，came here to pay homage to Confucius(Because he was SO imperious and despotic， he persecuted those able and virtuous officials and bullied and oppressed the common people(So，when h e passed beneath the cypress tree，his black-gauze o fficial cap(a kind of cap worn by feudal officials as a symbol of palatial status) was scraped off by a branch when a sudden gust of wind blew across the platform of Da Cheng Hall(Later，people named the tree“Chu Jian Cypress，”which means，“the cypress that offended a treacherous minister(’’The old c ypress tree is already 700 years old(but it is stil l green and flourishing as well as luxuriant( Chong Sheng Temple(崇圣祠) The Chong Sheng Temple is the last building behind all the other main buildings along the central axis in the third courtyard of the Confucius Temple(It is the family temple where the last five generations before Confucius were worshipped(It was buil t in 1 530 during the Ming Dynasty in order to worship the ancestors of the Confucian family(The diffe rence between this building and other buildings in the Confucius Temple is that the roof is covered with green glazed tiles rather than yellow glazed ti les(The Famous Stone Tablets Carving in the Confucius Temple(孔庙中著名的石碑) Stone Steles Bearing the Names of“Jin Shi”(进士 题 快递公司问题件快递公司问题件货款处理关于圆的周长面积重点题型关于解方程组的题及答案关于南海问题 名碑) Steles bearing the names of“Jin Shi”are quite famous site in the Confucius Temple(In the first co urtyard of the temple there are 198 stone tablets on two sides of the path bearing the list of names， birthplaces and ranks of 51，624 scholars who obtain ed the rank of “Jin Shi”at the imperial examinatio ns during the Yuan，Ming and Qing Dynasties(These f urnish valuable data on the imperial examination system of China( “Jin Shi”iS the honorable title gi ven to a successful candidate in the highest imperial examination( Erecting stone steles bearing names of successful candidates came from“Yan Ta Ti Ming” in the Tang Dynasty，which means “Bearing the Name on Swallow Tower(”a stone tow er about one or two meters high(It was said that a scholar named Wei Zhao got an honorable title through all examination and happened to write his name on the Swallow Tower(Later，people followed his exam ple and wrote their names on steles after they got their degrees(The first stele carved with the successful candidate’S name on it was erected in the Confucius Temple in 1 3 1 3 during the Yuan Dynasty( Nine examinations were held in the Yuan Dynasty，b ut only three steles with the names of the successful candidates carved on them are left(The reason is that people of the Ming Dynasty had polished off the names on the steles and carved their new names o n，so the steles carved with the original names of the successful candidates of the Yuan Dynasty are rare;only three steles with the names of the Jin Shi in the Yuan Dynasty are in the Confucius Temple(The se three steles were found in the years of Qing Emperor Kang Xi，by Wu Yuan，the master of the Imperial College(Seventy—two stone steles with the names of the successful candidates in the Ming Dynasty bel thong to the period from 1416 to 1643(the 14 year of th Emperor Yong Le to the 16 year of Emperor Chong Z hen);1 1 8 stone steles belong to the Qing Dynasty， rderected in the period from 1646 to 1904(the 3 year th of Emperor Shun Zhi to the 13 year of Emperor Gua ng Xu)(These 198 steles have become precious materials for the study of the imperial examination system of the Yuan，Ming，and Qing Dynasties( The Thirteen Classics Carved Stones or Stone Classics of Emperor Qian Long (十三经刻石 乾隆石经) The Thirteen Classics Carved Stones in the Confucius Temple are also known as Stone Classics of Emperor Qian Long，which are exhibited in the long a nd narrow courtyard between the Confucius Temple and the Imperial College(It is a must to view the sto ne carving of The Thirteen Classics when visiting the Confucius Temple(There are 1 90 stone steles forming a small forest of steles of thirteen classics(People began to carve the Confucian Classics on stone in the Han Dynasty(206 B(C(-220 A(D()(The earliest stOne carving of Confucian Classics is known as“Xiping Stone Classics(”It was carved by a f amous man of letters and historian named Cai Yong during the reign of Xiping in the Han Dynasty.In the Qing Dynasty(a scholar named Jiang Heng came from Jintan of Jiangsu Province and viewed the‘‘Stone C lassics” of twelve Confucian Classics in Xi’an，w hich were carved in 837 during the Tang Dynasty，but were written by different people in various styles of calligraphy(He deemed it regrettable and made up his mind to coPY the Thirteen Confucian Classics all by himself in good calligraphy(He spent twelve years，from 1726 to 1737，copying aU the thirteen cl assics in his own calligraphy in regular script，tot aling 630，000 Chinese characters(In 1794，during t he Qing Dynasty，Emperor Qian Long ordered that the words be engraved on the stone steles and erected in the Imperial College(In 1956，when the Imperial C ollege was under renovat|on，these stone classics we re moved to their present location，the narrow lane between the Imperial College and the Confucius Temple( The“Forest of Stone Tablets of Thirteen Classics’’has a total of 190 stone steles(This consist s of the 189 Thirteen Classics plus the one Imperial Stone Tablet that announces the completion of engraving( The Thirteen Confucius Classics are entitled: 1(Zhou Yi(The Book of Changes) The major content:a book of divination( 2(Shang Shu(The Book of Documents ) The major content:the earliest ancient historic al documents( 3(Shi Jing(The Book of Songs) The major content:a collection of the oldest an cient Doetry( 4(Zhou Li(Ritual of Zhou) The major content:an official institution svstem( 5(Yi Li(Ceremony and Ritual) The major content:a ritual institution system( 6(Li ji(The Book of Rites) The major content:a supplementary system of the fitual institution( 7.Chun Qiu Zuo Zhuan(Zuo Qiuming’s annotations on the Spring and Autumn Annals) The major content:Chun Qiu(Spring and Autumn):annals of 243 years(722 B(C(?481 B(C()made by Confucius( Zuo Zhuan:Zuo Qiuming’S explanations on Chun Qiu f the Spring and Autumn Annals)( 8.Chun Qiu Gongyang Zhuan(The Gongyang Commenta ry、 The major content:the comments on Chu Qiu(the“S pring and Autumn”)( 9(Chun Qiu Guliang Zhuan(The Guliang Commentarv) The major content:a prose of the comments on Chu Qiu ( the “Spring and Autumn”)( 10(Lun Yu(The Analects of Confucius) The major content:the quotations of Confucius( 11(Meng Zi(The Works of Mencius) The major content:Mencius’book on benevolence( 12(Xiao Jing(Classic of Filial Piety) The major content:classics of piety 13(Er Ya(Literary Expositor) The major content:annotation book on ancient classical words( The Worshipping Activities in Confucius Temple The Confucius Temple is the place to worship Confucius(Since the Qing Dynasty，a big memorial ceremony to worship Confucius th was held twice a year，on the 4 day of the secon d month of spring and autumn(On the ceremony day，people would gat her in front of the gate of the Confucius Temple at midnight(At three O’clock in the early morning，the ceremony started with the sounding bell， drum and music(The whole ceremony began with a set of ceremonial rites according to the ritual，includi ng welcoming the gods and seeing off the God along with a grand sacrificial offering ceremony in—between and all the participants kneeling down to kowtow;the ceremony was performed until dawn(Af ter that，the sacrificial animals，such as pigs，cattle，and sh eep would be cut into pieces and given to the people in charge of the ceremony;it was considered an honor to share the sacrificial articles(As a rule， when the emperor came in person，the emperor would kowtow inside the Da Cheng Hall(If the princes came on behalf of the emperor，they kneeled in front of the hall;but i f the emperor sent his ministers on his behalf，the ministers would kowtow beneath the stairway(This kind of worshipping ceremony of Confucius continued until the 191 1 Revolution( During the early years of the Republic of China，Yuan Shikai，the SO-called President，came to th e Confucius Temple in person to offer the ceremonies honoring Confucius(His aim was to show the legality of his status as an emperor and the restoration of the autocratic monarchy(Later(this kind of cere mony lost its symbolic meaning representing the imperial privileges，and became just a custom of traditional culture(The last ceremony to worship Confuciu s was held in 1 948，during the period of the Republic of China( In 1989，music and dance performances to honor Confucius were resumed at the Confucius Temple in Beijing as a tourist program(These performances ext ol the outstanding achievements made by Confucius during his lifetime with songs，dance and music(The music for the memorial ceremony is called Shaoyue(I t is said that Confucius first heard this type of music in Shaoyuan Village，SO it is called Shaoyue(S ince the music was played with such grace and harmony，Confucius was so attracted to it that he“forgot the taste of meat for three months(”The memorial songs are composed and written by Niu Hong and Cai Zheng from the Sui Dynasty(The dance，known as the feather dance，can be dated back to 2200 B(C(in th e Xia Dynasty(When the dancers danced(they would h old a rod in the left hand and a long pheasant tail feather in the right hand(The band consisting of 4 5 people would make pleasant music with ancient Chinese musical instruments including:chime(zheng，sh eng，and xun(This kind of performance has kept the ritual of the musical ceremony alive since the West Zhou Dynasty， and this grand memorial ceremony to honor Confucius is held once every year. Confucius(孔子551 B(C(-479B(C() Confucius，also named Qiu and Zhongni was born in 55 1 B(C(in Lu State，today Qu Fu，Shandong P rovince of China，and died in 479 B(C(He is a famo us ancient Chinese thinker and educator( During his childhood，he was clever and always ready to learn( When he was about thirty，his major thinking was already formed and he had become quite learned and popular among the people( He advocated that everyb ody should have an education and that a teacher should never be too tired to teach(He founded the firs t private school in Chinese history，and he taught 3，000 disciples among whom 72 were sages(His achie vements are extraordinary， and he is regarded as th e one who epitomized the ancient cultural heritage of China( Confucius lived in the late Spring and Autumn period，when society was in disordered condition， SO he took to helping that generation and loving th e common people as his mission(He established Confu cianism——the Confucian Theory System，which is the most famous philosophical system in the history of China( The spirit of the Confucian Theory System is“benevolence”(Chinese word for“Ren”)，which is the core of his thought，and“courtesy”(Chinese wor d for“Li”)，which is the form of expression and manifestation(He hoped to create a flourishing period with times of peace and prosperity with a sage-king，talented officials and fine citizens(His thought s have greatly influenced the Chinese people for over 2，500 years，and his doctrine containing these ethics has had a great effect on the ideas of the people(It has also helped tO unite the Chinese people and make the nation become famous because of its excellent rites(Confucianism has become the mainbody of Chinese traditional culture and his spirit of harmonious CO-existence and humanitarian care are a shining page in the treasure house of mankind’S thi nking even today( Confucius traveled from one state to another preaching his thoughts and doctrines during his lif etime until he was old(He spent his last years comp iling classical documents and writing his works，inc luding the six books of Chun Qiu(Spring and Autumn)，Shi(Odes)，Shu(History)，Li(Rites)，Yue(Music)an d Yi(Book of Change)(These six books are regarded as the classical works of Confucianism and have been handed down to the present time( Confucius had some famous philosophical sayings(“I can find a teacher from any of three ordinary people，”“Never be satisfied with your knowledge and never be tired when teaching”and SO on( Today， these words are still brilliant in philosophical theory and hi8 major sayings have already been written down in a book entitled“Lun Yu(”Being Chinese people，we h ave always been proud of such a great person( Confucius is a great thinker(statesman，educa tor and classical document compiler in Chinese history(He is respected not only by Chinese people，but also by the people of some foreign countries( The sage’S thought and theory have greatly influenced p eople throughout the world and are regarded as a p art of the spiritual wealth of mankind( Useful Words and Expressions the Confucius Temple孔庙 the Imperial College 国子监 Stele of Dismounting from Horses 下马碑 ( 1ectures in the Directorate of Education 临雍 The Thirteen Classics Carved Stones十三经刻石 Stone Classics of Emperor Qian Long乾隆石经 the“Stone Classics” 石经(石刻经书) The Thirteen Confucius Classics十三经 Zhou Yi(The Book of Changes) 周易 Shang Shu(The Book of Documents) 尚书 Shi Jing(The Book of Songs) 诗经 Zhou Li(Ritual of Zhou) 周礼 Yi Li(Ceremony and Ritual) 仪礼 Li Ji(The Book ofRites) 礼记 Chun Qiu Zuo Zhuan(Zuo Qiuming’s annotations on the Spring andAutumn Annals) 春秋?左氏传 Chun Qiu Gongyang Zhuan(The Gongyang Commentary) 春秋?公羊传 Chun Qiu Guliang Zhuan(The Guliang Commentary) 春秋-榖梁传 Lun Yu(The Analects of Confucius) 论语 Meng Zi(The Works of Mencius) 孟子 Xiao Jing(Classic of Filial Piety) 孝经 Er Ya(Literary Expositor) 尔雅 thinker思想家 educationalist 教育家 Spring and Autumn period春秋时期 Benevolence 仁 Courtesy礼 五、Guozijian(The Imperial College) (国子监) Beijing Guozijian(the Imperial College)， generally known as the highest official institution of learning in imperial China，is located to the west of the Confucian Temple at Guozijian Street(originally named Chengxian Street)，in Andingmennei Street of East District of Beijing(The street is the only existing street in Beijing with four beautifully painted ancient archways(Two archways stand on the east and west ends of the street and two stand on both sides of the gate of Guozijian( Guozijian lies in the middle of the street，with the Confucian Temple to the east(The temple is in memory of the great education advocator Confucius(This is in accordance with the ancient convention and the original building system of“Temple on the Left and College on the Right，”that also shows the traditional Chinese concept:respecting teachers and stressing education(On the east end across the street is the Lama Temple，the largest lama temple in Beijing(Now Guozijian is a famous cultural and historical site in Beijing( Beijing Guozijian was the highest administrative organ supervising education and also the nation’S highest academy during the Yuan，Ming and Qing Dynasties of ancient China(In ancient times，Guozoian was called “Taixue’’which means“the Highest Scholarship of the Imperial College”(The history of“Imperial College” can be traced back to more than 2，000 years ago( Emperor Wu Di of the Han Dynasty set up an“Imperial C011ege，in 124 B(C(Beijing Guozijian has a history of over 700 years with the functions of administration and education respectively(It was first built in 1 287 during the period of Emperor Da De，s reign (1297-1307)in the Yuan Dynasty(and was subsequently enlarged several times.It was renovated and rebuilt on a large scale during the Ming dynasty，and in 1 784 during the Qing Dynasty(some new buildings were added， such as Biyong，the East and West Stele Pavilions， and the Glazed Archways(The impressiveness of GuozOian can still be seen today( In 1 905，the Imperial Examination system was abolished bv the Qing Government and at the same time Guozijian finished its historical mission(After the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949， the Imperial College was completely renovated and then the Capital Library was incorporated inside( Guozijian occupies an area of 30，000 square meters with a total building area of more than 1 0，000 square meters(Facing south，Guozijian has three big courtyards，which lie from south to north in plcturesque order，dotted with ancient green trees(Its quietness and unique architectural style， with its profound cultural background，help people experience the strong historical atmosphere together with recollections of antiquity(Along the central axis are:Jixian Gate(the front gate)，Taixue Gate(the second gate)，the Glazed Archway，Biyong Hall，Yiluntang(Hall of Sacrifice of Ethics)and Jingyiting(Jingyi Pavilion)(There are six annex halls on the east and west sides of the central axis( forming the traditional symmetrical pattern of Chinese architecture( Jixian Gate(集贤门) The main gate of Guozijian is called Jixian Gate(which means the Gate of Assembled Virtue(There are two colorfully painted archways on both sides of the gate with three Chinese characters:“Guo Zi Jian” on it(Inside the gate，is the first courtyard of Guozijian and there are two wells in a pavilion on each side that still produce water flowing to the p001(Now， water is pumped from the well and channeled through an underground tunnel to the pool.To the east，the Chijing Gate leads to the Confucius Temple( While the rooms in the west courtyard formerlv served as classrooms of Guojizian，they have now become the Beijing Youth and Children’S Library，a place where many middle sch001 students come to read or do their homework( Taixue Gate(太学门) This gate，also known as the“Highest Scholarship Gate，”was exclusively reserved for the emperor when he came here in Derson( The teachers and students， however，could only use the side doors( Actually， this is the second courtyard of GuozOian with most of the main buildings located here( The Glazed archway(琉璃牌坊) In this courtyard，the colorful glazed archway is on the central axis with a bell tower and a drum tower to the east and west(This Glazed Archway is the only one in Beijing which is devoted to education(The Chinese characters engraved on the top of the Glazed Archway(front and back)were in Qing Emperor Qian Long’ S handwriting and were meant to encourage the students to study wholeheartedly( Biyong Hall(辟雍大殿) Biyong means，“to give a lecture”and Biyong Hall means，“the Emperor’S lecture Hall(”It is the main hall of Guozoian and is located in the center of all the buildings in Guozoian(It was here that the emperor came occasionally to expound the Confucian classics to the students of the Imperial College and to the civil and military officials from the imperial court(It was built in 1 784 during the Qing Dynasty and was the place where the emperors would give lectures on the classics(Biyong Hall is located in the middle of the second courtyard，lush with ancient trees(The Hall’ S uniquely structured square—shape has a double layered，single pyramid—shaped roof(With no pillar visible inside，Biyong Hall is surrounded by a pool with four stone bridges leading to the gates( Its floor is paved with gold bricks and the vault ceiling is colorfully painted with a dragon throne in the middle(This unique style of architectural art really reflects the spirit of education(Mr(Liang Sicheng，a famous ancient architecture expert，described Biyong Hall as one of the most famous Palatial Halls in Beijing(the others are:the three big halls in the Forbidden City，the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest in the Temple of Heaven and the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity in the Summer Palace)( Qing Emperor Qian Long once came to Biyong Hall and a grand ceremony was held，which was called，“Giving Lecture in Biyong(”All the attendants kneeled outside Biyong Hall listening to the lecture given by the emperor( East and West Six Halls(东西六堂) The specially designed middle courtyard of Guozijian was very graceful and quiet，and it was the place where the students of GuozOian studied( The rooms on both sides of the Biyong Hall，along two corridors，were classrooms for the students of the Imperial College and were called the East and West Six Halls(The three halls to the east were:Benxing Hall， Chengxin Hall and Chongzhi Hall;the three rooms to the west were:Xiudao Hall，Zhengyi Hall and Guangye Hall(Among the six halls there were three halls(Guangye Hall，Chongzi Hall and Zhengyi Hall)for the junior classes，which had one and a half years’study;two halls(Chengxin Hall and Xiudao Hall) were for the middle classes，which also had one and a half years’ study(After that，those who could pass the examination would study one more year in Benxing Hall for the Senior Class，SO the studying period for the three classes was four years in a11(After graduation， these students could attend the Imperial Examination，and those who could pass the exam would be granted official positions and honorably received by the Emperor( During the Qing Dynasty，the Thirteen Classics Carved Stones were placed in front of the East and the West Six Halls(In 1 956，when Guozijian was under renovation，these stone classics were moVed to the narrow lane between Guozijian(the Imperial College and the Confucius Temple( Yilun Hall(彝伦堂) Yilun Hall(Yilun means“Ethics”)stands just behind the Biyong Hall(It was the former Chongwenge Pavilion during the Yuan Dynasty，and was used as fl library(Later，it was changed to Yilun Hall after being rebuilt during the Ming Dynasty(With a special royal seat placed here，this was where the emperor and other noted scholars gave lectures during the time before the Biyong Hall was built;and now it is one of the reading rooms of the Capital Library( Uesful words and Expressions Guozijian(the Imperial College) 国子监 the Imperial Examination殿试 abolish废除 the Capital Library首都图书馆 Biyong Hall辟雍殿 East and West Six Halls东西六堂 Benxing Hall本性堂 Chengxin Hall诚心堂 Chongzhi Hall崇志堂 Xiudao Hall修道堂 Zhengyi Hall正义堂 Guangye Hall广业堂 六、 Tanzhe Temple (潭柘寺) Tanzhe Temple iS situated in Western Hills(Ta nzhe Mountain，45km(28 miles)in the southwest suburbs of Beijing(An ancient saying goes like this:“Fi rst there was the Tanzhe Temple，then came Beijing，” which is showing that the history of Tanzhe temple is earlier than that of Beijing(But in fact，the te mple dates back just 1，700 years to the Jin Dynasty;although its name has been changed on numerous oc casions(Its original name was Jiafusi，or the Templ e of Auspicious Fortune(During the Tang Dynasty，it was expanded and renamed Longquan Temple，which mea ns“Dragon Spnng Temple”(In the Jin Dynasty，it wa s changed to Dawanshou Si(which means“Grand Longev ity Temple”(The Temple got its current name because there is a pool named Dragon Pool behind the temple with Zhe trees(cudrania trees or wild Mulberries)on the hill(The name Tanzhe means“Pool and ZheTree Temple”or popularly known as“Tanzhe Temple”(Tan zhe Temple was continually restored and renovated throughout the Jin，Yuan，Ming and Qing dynasties( Covering an area of 41，600 square meters，Tan zhe Temple was built 1，700 years ago in the Jin dyn asty，and it is one of the largest Buddhist Temples in the Beijing area( The buildings were mostly rebuilt in the Ming and Qing dynasties(Tanzhe Temple was built with a beautiful landscape(Ancient pines frame the front gate，while several groups of buildings sit on elevated terraces in beautiful symmetry，typical of Ming t imes(During the Qing Dynasties，Emperor，Kangxi，Yo ngzheng，Qianlong and Jiaqing often came here in person( In 1997，Tanzbe Temple was reinstated as a religious center by Beijing Cultural Conservation，embr acing the party’S“Minorities and Religions”policy( The buildings of Tanzhe Temple can be divided into three parts(The most interesting buildings are located along the central axis(They are:Memorial Archway(Paifang)，Front Gate(Shan Men)，the Hall of Heavenly Kings(Tianwangdian)，the Mahavira Hall(Dax iong B aodian)and Pilu Pavilion( The Central Axis(中路) Front Gate(Shan Men山门) The Memorial Archway(Paifang)is just outside the Front Gate( Entering the Front Gate，you can s ee the courtyard to the east， which originally was the kitchen for the temple(There used to be three b ig pots for cooking;the big one was for rice or porridge and was two meters deep and four meters in diameter，while the small one was for cookitlg vegetables and was 1(1 meters deep and 1(85 meters in dia meter(Unfortunately，only the small one is still here; the two big ones are no longer in inexistence( The Hall of Heavenly Kings(Tianwangdian天王殿) Altogether，there are SIX Buddha statues 1n this hall(In the middle，sits the statue of smiling A mitabha Buddha or Maitreya Buddha flanked on two sides by the four heavenly kings(Buddha Maitreya is popularly known as the“Big Belly Budd ha”or“Smiling Buddha”because he always smiles wit h his chest and his big belly exposed(The story is that all year long he often weht along the streets spreading Buddhism while carrying a cloth bag for begging alms(SO the people called him“Bag Buddha”(H e said that he was the incarnation of the Future Buddha Maitreya or of the Amitabba Buddha，SO after hi s death people called him“Amitabha Buddha”or“Budd ha Maitreya”(People also called him“Smiling Buddh a”or the“Laughing Buddha”(because he was smiling all the time(Later，the sculpture of the big—bell ied Amitabha Buddha，with a smiling face，was modele d after his appearance( At each side of the Smiling Buddha，stand four figures known as the Four Heavenly Kings(The Four Heavenly Kings are:the Eastern World Heavenly King， named Chiguo，who holds a musical instrument called Pipa in his hand;the Southern World Heavenly King， called Zengzhang，who holds a sword in his hand;the Western World Heavenly King，known as Guangmu，who carries a water snake in his hand and the Northern World Heavenly King，by the name of Duowen，who is l ifting a precious umbrella in his hand(The Eastern and Southern Heavenly Kings stand on the west side of the hall，while the Western and Northern Heavenly Kings are placed on the east side( At the back of the hall，behind“Laughing Buddha，” stands a statue knclwn as Wei Tuo，law protection God of Buddhism. Wearing a suit of armor，he is carryi ng a precious weapon，the Monster—Surrender Stick， named Vajra(a symbol of might)，in his hand(It was used for defeating and conquermg evil spirits or de vils(Wei Tuo was the symbol of a loyal protector(W herever there is a temple or lamasery，the statue of Wei tuo is seen at the back of the first hall，serv ing as the symbol of a loyal protector. Mahavira Hall(Daxiong Baodian大雄宝殿) This is the main hall in the Temple(According t o Buddhism，the second main hall in the temple is usually called“Mahavira Hall”or“the Great Temple of Powerful Treasure”(Daxiongbaodian in Chinese )(Ma havira is an honorable title for Sakyamuni，the foun der of Buddhism who created Buddhism，about 2，500 y ears ago(The Mahavira Hall is very imposing，with l ong gilded chains hung at either end of the main roof ridge(The plaque on the top was written by Mr(Zhao Puchu，the president of t he Chinese Taoist Association and the president of the Chinese Taoist College，while the second plaque was in Qing Emperor Qian Long’s handwriting( Inside the hall，five Buddhist statues are wor shiped respectively(The three big Buddha Statues are sitting enshrined with two small statues standing by(Buddha Sakyamuni，in the center，IS known as t he Present Buddha with his two favorite disciples named Ananda on the west and Kasyapa on the east(Bud dha Wen Shu is on the left and Buddha Pu Xian iS on the right( On both sides of the hall，there are eighteen figures of arhats， nine on each side(It is said t hat all the eighteen arhats were disciples of Sakyamuni who were trusted by Sakyamuni and instructed to stay on earth for spreading Buddhism( Pilu Pavilion(毗卢阁) Pilu Pavilion was built during the Yuan Dynasty，and it stands on the highest point of the temple，offering an excellent view of the’ overall temp le site and the surrounding hills(The plaque of“Pi lu Pavilion”was in Qing Emperor Kang Xi’S handwrit ing(There are five God statues，inside the hall，wh ich symbolize five directions; God Pilu，the God of Law，is placed in the middle;the South God，the Go d of Happiness，and the East God，the God of Compreh ension，are placed on the left，while the North God， God of Occupation，and West God，God of Wisdom，are on the right( According to the Buddhist scriptures， the five Gods signify the five wisdoms of Buddha( The Old Trees in the Temple(古树) There are several famous ancient trees in the courtyard: SaI Tree(娑罗树) Sal Tree，Precious Tree of Buddhism，originat ed in India( Buddha Sakyamuni being born，then beco ming a Buddha， expanding Buddhism，propagating Budd hist doctrine and nirvana are all related to the Sal Tree(SO it is called“Precious Tree of Buddhism(" It was said that Buddha Sakyamuni had nirvana under the Sal Tree， SO the Sal Tree was treated as the precious tree of Buddhism(Along with Buddhism sprea ding in China(Sal Trees were transplanted in China’ S temples as well(The Sal tree in this courtyard is hundreds of years old，and it is the oldest Sal Tre e in North China( Emperor Trees(帝王树) Actually，this is an ancient ginkgo tree，whi ch is about 30 meters high with a shading area of 600 square meters(It is said that this tree was planted in the Tang Dynasty some 1(000 Years ago.Accord ing to the Buddhist record，Buddha Sakyamuni was enl ightened and became a Buddhist under a pipal tree ( bodhi tree)，SO Buddhism treated the pipal tree as one of the precious trees of Buddhism(Since this kind of tree grows in the south，the gingko trees we re planted instead in the northern temples(Qing Emp eror Qianlong named it“Emperor Tree”because a new branch came out when Emperor Qian Long once came here(The gingko tree on the west，known as“Wife—Bei ng Tree，”was planted later for the symmetry of the Emperor Tree，in order to have a tree that would pair up with his majesty( Wife-Being Tree(The Tree That Pairs with His Majesty配王树) Gingko should be a dioecious tree(The Emperor Tree should be a male one，while Wife?Being Tree s hould be a female one(but it was jokingly unknown why the tree planter planted a male tree as a wife— being tree instead of a female tree( It is said that once Emperor Qianlong recited a poem in front of this tree when he went for a walk here in the spring(When Emperor Qian Long described this gingko tree，he lost sight of the fact that the Wife—Being Tree actually was not female but was a male tree( The Magnolia Tree(二乔玉兰) The huge magnolia tree，planted on the easter n part of the courtyard，already has a history of ov er 400 years，and that is the masterpiece in the Tanzhe Temple(Because the flowers on the magnolia tree are in two colors，white and purple，it is also kno wn as“Magnolia Tree of Two Qiao”((Qiao was the n ame of two beautiful girls who were the most delicate and charming girls in the Tree Kingdoms Period(220—280 A(D()( Tree of Prosperity(百事如意树) The Tree of Prosperity actually is a tree that grows together with a cypress and a persimmon tree( Cypress， in Chinese pronunciation，means “hundred”， while persimmon means“things”，whic h in Chinese could mean“hundred things”,“everythi ng”or“all your wishes”(The homophonic meaning is: May all your wishes be fulfilled，SO that everythin g will be prosperous(Since the twin trees grow together，the tourists will feel that everything will go well after touching this tree( The East Route(东路) Cup-Floating Pavilion(流杯亭) The waterway inside the pavilion has been designed with a unique meandered shape style that looks like a dragonhead from the south，and a tiger’S head from the north(People would enjoy playing a unique poetry game(As a person drank from the cup of wine，the cup would then be set adrift through the meandering water，and wherever the cup stopped，that person would make up a poem，sip some wine and set the wine cup adrift to the next“lucky”person(In t he pavilion，the floating wine cup would make people enjoy making a poem and sipping the wine on the meandering water(There are three more Cup—Floating Pavilions in Beijing，such as the Cup—Floating Pavi lion in Zhongnanhai(to the west of the Forbidden City)，the Cup—Floating Pavilion in Emperor Qian Long’S Garden of the Forbidden City，and the Cup—Floa ting Pavilion in Prince Gong’S Mansion( Yanshou Dagoba(延寿塔)(舍利塔) This dagoba，the Buddhist Relic Dagoba(Shelita)，called Yanshou Dagoba，is also a tomb which was built during the Ming Dynasty about 500 years ago(The dagoba is 1 7 meters tall and sits on a square Sumeru pedestal(The inverted bowl—shaped dagoba is decorated with thirteen layers of。discs on the s teeple and a gilded bronze canopy on top(Looking st urdy and elegant，the dagoba is encircled with two pine trees，SO it is also known as“dagoba encircling with twin pine trees(” Courtyard of Dagoba(塔院) In front of the Tanzhe Temple is the“Courty ard of Dagoba” where 75 Buddhist Relic Dagobas，dat ing from the Jin(1115— 1234)，Yuan(1271—1368)，Min g(1368-1644)and Qing(1644- 1911)Dynasties，are locat ed inside(There are many dagobas( under which are the remains of many famous Buddhist monks( These da gobas，with the Buddhist Relics，are the best—prese rved in Beijing( The West Route(西路) The Altar of Attaining the full status(Jie Tan戒 坛) This is a place to attain the full status of a monk or a nun(The disciples are initiated into mo nkhood in a ceremony where they must promise to obey Dharma(Buddhist discipline)(The ceremonies are di vided into three perceptions which last for thirty to forty days(Those who want to be a qualified Buddhist monk must attain the full three perceptions(Th e statue of Sakyamuni，the founder of Buddhism，is e nshrined on the platform( Guanyin hall(观音殿) This is the last hall on the western part of the temple(The four words on the plaque are in Qing Emperor Qian Long’S handwriting(Guanyin is one of the Buddhist Bodhisattvas(It is said that Guanyin had more than 30 kinds of images and those that were widely spread among the people were female figures(In front of Guanyin，stand Charitable Boy and Dra gon Daughter( Legend has it that Princess Miaoyan，daughter of Yuan Emperor Kublai Khan，the first emperor of th e Yuan Dynasty，once became a nun in this temple and she was SO devoted that she spent her days worshipping Buddha in the Hall(The indentations could be f ound on the stone on which she always knelt and pra yed day after day(Later，because of the indentation s on the brick，it was called，“worshipping brick(” Her sincerity was then widely praised by the following generations( Guanyin with a Thousand Hands and a Thousand Eyes (千手千眼观音) Guanyin，with a thousand hands and a thousand eyes，is one of the thirty incarnations of Guanyin Bodhisattva(He had boundless magic power that could save the people from suffering(In order to make peo ple lead a happy life，eliminate evil and benefit the people，he had a thousand hands and a thousand eyes(The thousand hands represent his limitless supernatural power，and the thousand eyes show his infinite wisdom，thus releasing the common people from suffering( Stone Fish(石鱼) The stonefish，1(7 meters long，hangs under th e veranda in front of the Hall of the Dragon King(I t is said that the stonefish was originally a treasure in the Dragon Palace in South Sea(But the Drago n King presented the stonefish to the Jade Emperor in heaven，and then the Jade Emperor bestowed it upon Tanzhe Temple because he understood and sympathized with the suffering people(So，later，whenever pe ople got any diseases，they would come here and touc h the same place on the stonefish for they believed that by doing this their diseases would be eliminated( Another belief is that the Jade Emperor in heaven granted the stonefish to Tanzhe Temple to control the drought(There are thirteen points on the stonefish that represent thirteen provinces at that time(Wherever a drought happened in a province，that point would be struck SO that the province could have rain immediately( Useful Words and Expressions Tanzhe Temple潭柘寺 Jiafusi(or the Temple of Auspicious Fortune嘉福寺 Longquan Temple龙泉寺 Dawanshou Si大万寿寺 The Memorial Archway 牌坊 “Big Belly Buddha” 大肚弥勒佛 beg alms化缘 “Bag Buddha” 布袋和尚 Buddha Sakyamuni释迦牟尼 Prince Gong’s Mansion恭王府 the Buddhist Relic Dagoba舍利塔 the“Courtyard of Dagoba” 塔院 Dharma(佛教中的)法(音译作“达摩”，指教说、 规范 编程规范下载gsp规范下载钢格栅规范下载警徽规范下载建设厅规范下载 等) 七、 The Ruins of Yuanmingyuan (圆明园遗址) Yuanmingyuan(Garden of Perfect Brightness)is located in Haidian District，twenty kilometers from the northwest suburbs of Beijing，next to the Summer Palace， and not far from Peking University and Qinghua University(It was a famous imperial garden built in the Qing Dynasty，but now it is a theme park with particular historic significance( Originally，Yuanmingyuanwas a group of gardens， composed of three comparatively independent but interconnected gardens;they were: Yuanmingyuan (Garden of Perfect Splendor)，Changchunyuan (Garden of Eternal Spring) and Qichunyuan (Garden of Blossoming Spring)(Yuanmingyuan covered an area of over 350 hectares with 1 08 scenic spots and an architectural area of 1 70，000 square meters(In 1 707，the first garden was built on this site by the second Qing Emperor Kangxi(Later，in the next 1 50 years，the garden was constantly expanded through the reigns of five emperors:Emperor Yongzheng，Qianlong， Jiaqing，Daoguang，and Xianfeng(Finally，it became an imperial summer resort in Beijing’S western suburbs， and one of the largest imperial gardens in the world at the time(Because Yuanmingyuan was first to be constructed and the largest in size among the three gardens(the group of gardens was called Yuanmingyuan(The unique architecture of Yuanmingyuan was not only inherited and developed from the traditional gardening art of China but also incorporated some European horticultural techniques(It was built with many famous natural scenes and gardens from the southern region of the Yangtze River and combined with European style architecture(Streams and lakes were flowing around the garden’S hills，and the man。made landscapes looked very natural(The artistic achievements gained not only a brilliant page in the history of Chinese architectural construction，but was also extolled bv the Europeans as the‘‘Garden of Gardens in the World” and the“Versailles of the East”(It is really a“wonder of human civilization”(But，unfortunately，this beautiful site(a wonder of human civilization，was sacked，looted and burned down by the Anglo—French Allied Forces in October 1860( Originally，Yuanmingyuan was prince Yinzhen’S garden presented by the second Qing Emperor Kangxi(1662(1723)to his fourth son，prince Yinzhen， who later became the third Qing Emperor，Emperor Yongzheng(1 723(1 735)(The name of the garden “Yuanmingyuan”，was granted by Emperor Kangxi also( The construction of the garden started from 1 707 to 1 709，but on a small scale(Large—scale expansion and construction followed later during the reign of Emperor Yongzheng and Emperor Qianlong( After Emperor Yongzheng came to the throne，the garden was enlarged and expanded(Eventually，it functioned both as an office and a residence for the emperor，which was the ideal combination of administration and gardening(The main palaces were the places where the emperor received his officials and conducted state affairs;while the chambers，flanked on both sides(were the offices of the ministries(The back section was for the living quarters，temples and Buddhist towers( During Emperor Qianlong’S reign(1735—1796)， the Qing Dynasty entered its flourishing period，and construction and expansion were continuously carried out(Altogether，five gardens were built in this area; they were:Yuanmingyuan，Changchunyuarr， Qichunyuan， Xichunyuan and Chunxiyuan，known as“Five Gardens of Yunmingyuan”(Later，in 1802，during the reign of Emperor Jiaqing，Chunxiyuan was divided into two parts(which were presented to the Qing prince and princess， respectively，by Emperor Jiaqing(In 1822，Emperor Daoguang presented Xichunyuan tO Prince Miankai，SO only three gardens were left and called(“Three Gardens of Yuanmingyuan(”Because Yuanmingyuan was the largest garden among the three，eventually the area was commonly known as Yuanmingyuan( In October 1860，the Anglo(French Allied Forces invaded China and they entered Yuanmingyuan(Under the permission of the Allied Forces’headquarters，the invaders spent three davs plundering and pillaging the treasures，and destroying the buildings(After that， they set fire to the buildings under the command of the diplomatic envoy of the British Embassv in Beijing(The fire burned for three days and nights(after which nothing but some broken walls，stone gates，stone terraces，and rockeries，were left(The destruction of Yuanmingyuan caused unimaginable losses; not only the world famous“Garden of Gardens”was gone，but also the Chinese architectural treasures which were built in the park were completely destroyed(No wonder even the great French writer，Victor Hugo，once wrote a letter to his friend sharply denouncing them for their evil actions(He strongly condemned their crimes and said， “In facing the history，we must lodge a protest against these robbers(”Today，the remaining carved stone columns are a reminder of the crimes committed by the invaders( After 1860，this garden continuously suffered damages at the hands of foreign invaders，Chinese warlords(and bandits(In 1900，when the Allied Forces of the Eight Powers invaded Beijing，the garden was plundered again(The Qing Dynasty was overthrown by the 191 1 Revolution led by Dr(Sun Yat—sen(The Northern Warlords(1912—1927)further plundered the garden( cutting down the trees and shipping off a great amount of valuable stone materials(In 1 949，because of the unrestrained damage，Yuanmingyuan was reduced to mere clusters of ruins and debris( After the founding of the People’S Republic of China in 1949，the Chinese government paid great attention to the preservation of the ruins(The Chinese government listed Yuanmingyuan as one of the key cultural sites under special national protection and a special administrative office was set up(In 1983(it was named as“The Garden of the Ruins of Yuanmingyuan” and in 2000，the Beijing Municipal Government and the National Cultural Relics Bureau approved a plan to renovate the Ruins of Yuanmingyuan(After years of renovation，many parts of the water system and hills have been restored，some of its original splendor has reappeared，and a number of important sites have been repaired( The Scenic Spots in Yuanmingyuan Garden (园明园中的景区(点)) Yuanmingyuan，the most magnificent imperial garden in China，was built in 1 709 during the Qing Dynasty(Its unique features represent typical Chinese scenery combined with Western architecture( Originally，the Garden had a great lake in the middle with islets surrounding it(Various temples and pavilions were scattered around the islets(Its green hills and exquisite architecture were laid out in a picturesque scene(More than 1 00 scenes of islands， pavilions，corridors，and bridges were scattered in the garden(The artisans borrowed various sights from all over the country，including garden architecture from Suzhou，mountain scenery from Huangshan landscapes and the beautiful natural scenery from south of the Yangtze River，as well as temple and monastery buildings(About 40 percent of the garden area was covered by rivers and lakes( The whole area can be mainly divided into three gardens:the western section--Yuanmingyuan(the Garden of Perfection and Brightness)，the southern section--Changchunyuang(the Garden of Eternal Spring)and the eastern section--Wanchunyuan(the Garden of Blossoming Spring)(People can find the European style garden，with its Great Fountain Ruins， in Changchunyuan，which is considered the only and best-preserved relic in the palace( Yuanmingyuan，boasting 48 scenic spots，was the largest one of the three gardens(Actually，there were 40 scenic spots built in 1 744 by Emperor Qianglong; another 40 scenic spots were added during the reigns of Emperors Qianlong to Daoguang(1 736—1850)，and more scenic spots were built in the following years(So， rather than 48，there were really over 100 scenic spots(The main structures inside the garden were: the Zhengda Guangming Hall，where emperors handled political affairs，Jiuzhou Qingyan Hall，where the imperial family dined，Anyou Palace，where sacrificial ceremonies were held，Wenyuan Pavilion，where books were stored，and Broken Bridge，Fallen Snow，and several scenic spots imitating the style of the West Lake(A large number of books，calligraphies，paintings，and treasures were also kept in the garden( Hall of Uprightness and Brightness (Zheng Da Guang Ming Hall正大光明殿) Entering the Main Palace Gate，one can see Zhengda Guangming Hall(Hall of Uprightness and Brightness)with a horizontal board bearing the Chinese characters， “Zhengda Guangming(”It was the place where the emperor gave the imperial audience to his ministers and foreign envoys(Every year，on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month，a banquet would be held in this hall to entertain the foreign envoys( In October 1860，during the time when the Anglo(French Allied Forces were looting the treasures， the invaders used this hall as their temporary headquarters before the hall was burned down.Diligent Government and Close to Worthies (Qin Zheng Qin Xian勤政亲贤) This is a group of buildings built in 1 725 during the Qing Dynasty(The major building is the Hall of Diligent Government (Qinzhengdian)which is located to the east of the Zhengda Guangming Hall(Hall of Uprightness and Brightness)(The Hall of Diligent Government(Qinzhengdian)was the place where the Qing Emperor Qianlong read and signed documents(as well as received the court officials and handled the state affairs(Because the bamboo plants that were grown in this courtyard produced such a cool and tranquil environment，the emperor decided to live here every summer to escape from the heat( Tranquility and Peace of the Chinese Nation (1iu Zhou Qing Yan九州清晏) Located on the south bank of the rear lake(this group of buildings was actually the living quarters for the Qing Emperors built during the second Qing Emperor Kangxi’S reign(There were nine islets around the lake， and among them this was the largest islet with the largest architectural complex in the rear lake area at that time(The sight was divided into three routes with three big halls along the central route(The first hall was the Hall of Yuanmingyuan(It contained a horizontal board，in the middle(On which the inscription of three Chinese characters in the handwriting of Emperor Kangxi，read“Yuan Ming Yuan”(Garden of Perfect Splendor Brightness)(The second hall was the Hall of Fengsan Wusi(Obeying Three Worships and Selflessness)where the imperial family’S banquets were held by the emperor(The Hall of Tranquility and Peace of the Chinese Nation(Jiuzhouqingyan)Was the third hall along the central route，and its board was inscribed in the third Qing Emperor Yong Zheng’S handwriting(Actually，this hall was the bedchamber for the emperor(The courtyard of “Harmonious Spring in the Heaven and Earth Family(” on the eastern route，was the living quarters for the empress and imperial concubines(The buildings in the western route，called the“Hall of Peace and Tranquility，”were changed into the living quarters for the empress during the reign of Qing Emperor Daoguang(The third Qing Emperor，Yongzheng，and the sixth Emperor( Daoguang，died on this islet，while the fifth Emperor，Jiajing，and the Seventh emperor，Xianfeng， were born here( Universal Peace and Harmony in All Places (Wan Fang An He万方安和) This sight，located to the northwest of the rear lake(was built in 1727，and was commonly known as Wan Zi House(The main building was built in the middle of the lake in the shape of a“swastika”which meant universal peace and harmony in a11 places(This swastika —shaped structure consists of 33 rooms linking each other in a zigzag pattern in all directions(It is the only one of its kind with this unique Chinese architectural structure(The sensible layout and unusual features of this structure made it warm in the winter and cool in the summer，a really pleasant place for living all year round(It was the favorite residing place of Emperor Yongzheng‘at that time(Every year， during the Dragon Boat Festival，Emperor Qianlong used to accompany his mother，the Empress Dowager，to the banquet that was held here( Wonderland on Fanghu Island (Fang Hu Sheng Jing方壶胜境) Located on the northeastern bank of Fuhai Lake， this ’wonderland’was built in 1740 by Qing Emperor Qianlong(It was(quite a magnificent structure with luxurious decorations(There were nine splendid buildings in this area with 2， 000 Buddhist images and 30、Buddhist towers installed inside(Three double.eaved pavilions，projecting to the lake were built on the marble terrace foundation( It is rare to see a structure with such artistic style in the present garden(To the west，was the site of“Three Pools Mirroring the Moon”(Santanyingyue)，built and named after the famous scenic spot at the West Lake in Hang Zhou( Buddhist Town-city Sravati(She Wei Cheng舍卫城) This was the only independent Buddhist area in Yuanmingyuan，a typical Buddhist complex commonly known as Buddhist Town-city(It was 1 00 meters long(from north to south(and 80 meters wide，from east to west， with a city moat surrounding the town-city，and the whole city was heavily guarded(It was said that the layout was designed after an ancient capital city of India(More than 100，000 Buddha statues and Buddhist scriptures were housed in the town SO the emperor and empress could worship God on the first and fifteenth day of each lunar month(To the south of the town， there was a shopping street with all kinds of shops that looked just like a busy fair，except the shop owners were all court eunuchs pretending to be shop owners( Palace of Peace and Blessing(An You Gong安佑宫) This sight is located on the northwest side of Yuanmingyuan and was built in 1 742 during the Qing Dynasty(Its function imitated that of the“Hall of Long Live Sovereigns”(Shouhuangdian)，in Jingshan，a scenic spot in Beijing，but this was more graceful looking(It was an imperial ancestral temple in the imperial garden(This hall，with a double(eaved roof and glazed tiles，was the largest building at the highest level in the garden(The portraits of the second Qing Emperor， Kangxi，and the third Emperor，Yongzheng，were enshrined in the hall(Palace of Peace and Blessing(An You Gong)， Buddhist Town(city(She Wei Cheng)，and Wonderland on Fanghu Island(Fang Hu Sheng Jing)were three big architectural structures in Yuanmingyuan( Fuhai Lake(Fu Hal福海) This lake，located in the center of Yuanmingyuan， was the largest water area in the whole garden and covered a total water surface area of 28 hectares(Fuhai Lake was a symbol of the East Sea with three small islets in the middle of the lake that symbolized the three immortal hills:Penglai，Yingzhou，and Fangzhang(where the immortals lived)(The dragon(boat race was held on Fuhai Lake on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month each year，and the lanterns were placed in the water of Fuhai Lake in July on the fifteenth day of the lunar month( Yuanmingyuan，once described as a“fairyland in the moon”and a“garden of the thousand gardens(”is gone!The beautiful landscapes in Yuanmingyuan are gone!The magnificent Chinese architecture in Yuanmingyuan is gone!Only the mountain views，some river systems， various ruins of the palaces and stone or marble terraces can be seen today( Garden of Eternal Spring(Chang Chun Yuan长春园) The Garden of Eternal Spring(Chang Chun Yuan)was located to the east of Yuanmingyuan and was built in 1 745 during the Ming Dynasty(After successive expansion and construction，at the time(1766(1772)， it covered an area of 70 hectares and included more than 20 scenic spots( The classical garden landscaping and Chinese architectural style were the main part of Changchuyuan， but the European—style buildings in the northern section presented an exotic atmosphere( Harmonious Wonder(Xieqiqu谐奇趣) Xieqiqu was the first building constructed in this architectural group，having the first European—style fountain in the front(Here was the place where the emperor and empress enjoyed Mongolian and Western music，and sometimes held a banquet with western-style food(The main building had three storey and was completely made of white marble and built on a high terrace(The marble columns were decoratively carved with exquisite Roman designs(The buildings were connected by a curving gallery，with two octagonal buildings in front，which served as orchestras at that time(There was a large fountain in front of the building，in the shape of a flowering crabapple，with bronze water jets in the shape of rams，ducks，and western-style stone fish(To the north of the main building，there was a small fountain in the shape of a chrysanthemum blossom( The Labyrinth(迷宫)(Wan Hua Zhen万花镇，黄花镇) To the north of Xieqiqu，the Labyrinth was an imitation of a European-style maze(A high，round-based Western-style pavilion was located in the center，which was surrounded by rectangle-shaped layers of brick walls(The Labyrinth was 89 meters long，from north to south;59 meters wide，from east to west(with 1(2 m-high brick walls on which flowerpots were placed on the top to prevent the people from seeing out(On the evening thof the Mid-autumn Festival every year(the 1 5 day of the eighth Chinese lunar month)，a lantern party was held in the Labyrinth(The emperor would sit inside the pavilion，and the concubines and palace maids would run between the walls carrying lotus lanterns made of yellow silk(The first to reach the pavilion in the center would get an award from the emperor(Thus，the Labyrinth was also known as“Garden of Yellow Flowers”( The Labyrinth was restored in 1 989，and the pavilion in the center was built of white marble( Hall of National Peace(Haiyantang海晏堂) Built in 1 759，during the Qing Dynasty，this was the largest European.style garden in Yuanmingyuan(The Hall of National Peace(Hiayantang)consisted of a main building and an H-shaped water tower behind it(The main building had two storeys and it was flanked by steps leading down to a large fountain in the front( A V-shaped platform was surrounded by a water pond(on which stood twelve bronze statues with animal heads and human bodies( These represented the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac，and also indicated a person’S year of birth((In ancient China，people combined twelve animals with twelve Earthly Branches，which indicated the year of birth)(Every two hours，the water would be sprayed out successively from each animal’S mouth(At twelve o’clock noon(the water sprayed out from all the twelve animals’ mouths(thus the fountain was also called the“Water Clock”( In order to keep the“Water Clock”working，a reservoir called，“Water Tower”was built to the east behind the main building( The reservoir fed all the fountains around this area(At the east and west ends there were waterwheel houses and the reservoir in the middle was built with tin walls and a tin base to prevent the water from leaking out，SO it was also known as the “tin sea”(The reservoir could hold over 180 tons of water(At that time，water was brought up by man-powered waterwheels;later，a pulley system was used to haul up water in big jars and then the water was sent through a copper tube to the fountains( Immense Ocean Observatory(Yuan Ying Guan远瀛观) This sight consisted of three parts:the Immense Ocean Observatory(Yuan Ying Guan)，Grand Waterworks(Da Shui Fa)，and the Throne for Viewing the Waterworks(Guan Shui Fa)(The Immense Ocean Observatory(Yuan Ying Guan)，was located at the northern end of the central axis of Changchunyuan and was built in 1783，during Qing Emperor Qianlong’S reign(It was a large hall in the shape of a European Bell Tower，built on a high terrace and was the main hall(The inside was decorated with western—style furniture and a big tapestry，given by the French King，Louie the Sixteenth，was hung on the wall(The celestial globe(a birthday gift from George?of Britain to Emperor Qianlong，was placed in this hall too( Grand Waterworks(Da Shui Fa大水法) Grand Waterworks(Da Shui Fa)actually was a group of artificial fountains(10cated in the center of this sight(It was built in 1 759，during the Qing Emperor Qianlong’S reign，with a shrine—shaped structure in the background(To the north of the fountain，was a marble shrine with seven layers of water fountains in the front(The stone head of a lion was inlayed in the center of the marble shrine with the water coming out from its mouth down to the oval water pond below(which formed a beautiful waterfall scene(The oval pond， in the shape of a chrysanthemum blossom，showed a hunting scene of a bronze deer，whose horns sprayed water，being chased by ten bronze hounds，whose mouths shot water in the direction of their prey(This was the famous fountain of“Ten hounds hunting a deer(” Throne for Viewing the Waterworks(Guan Shui Fa观水法) To the south of Da Shui Fa(Grand Waterworks)， was Guan Shui Fa(Throne for Viewing the Waterworks)(It consisted of a carved stone throne and five sections of a carved stone screen， which were both built around 1 759，facing north SO the emperor could admire the grand Waterworks(The stone screen was behind the throne with the carvings of the standards，swords and guns of European armies( It formed a complete beautiful landscape together with Da Shui Fa(Granted Grand Waterworks)and Yuan Ying Guan(Immense Ocean Observatory)( These beautiful sights were destroyed by the Anglo-French Allied Forces in October 1 860，and only some stone ruins are left today( Garden of Blossoming Spring(Qi Chun Yuan绮春园) The Garden of Blossoming Spring(Qichunyuan)is situated to the south of Yuanmingyuan(Originally， this garden was presented to Prince Yunxiang，the thirteenth son of Emperor Kangxi(1661— 1722)(It was expanded and renovated successively by the later emperors(In 1 770，the garden got its present name， Qichunyuan， and was incorporated into Yuanmingyuan( In 1860 and 1900，the garden was severely damaged by the Anglo--French Allied Forces and the Allied Forces of the Eight Powers(Today，only some of the ravaged rooms and ruins of the buildings are left(In 1986，some of the pavilions and buildings were restored， such as:the palace gate，Jianbi Pavilion，the Haoran Pavilion，and Xianren Chenglu(Platform of Immortal Receiving Heavenly Dew)( The Palace Gate of Qichunyuan(绮春园宫门) This palace gate was rebuilt on the original site in 1 987，together with the inner gate，outer gate， palace wall，and side doors(Now，this gate serves as the main gate to the whole park( Pavilion in a Blue Mirror(Jianbi Pavilion鉴碧亭) This square-shaped pavilion was built in 181 1 during the Qing Emperor Jiaqing’S reign(Located in the center of the lake，the pavilion was tall and spacious，with four open sides，SO it offered a beautiful view of the area(The current pavilion was rebuilt in 1 993，according to the original design( (Tian Xin Shui Mian天心水面) Located north of the Jianbi Pavilion，this scenic spot has five spacious rooms facing the water(Two inscribed boards were hung over the main entrance; the north one read，“Oneness of Sky and Water”and the south one read(“Pavilion for Playing Cranes(” Zheng lue Temple(Enlightenment Temple)(正觉寺) Located on the western side of the palace gate of the Garden of Blossoming Spring(Qichunyuan)，Zheng Jue Temple was built in 1773，during the Qing Dynasty， and was commonly known as a lamasery(The temple once had an abbot who was in charge of the monks’work， such as burning incense and chanting scriptures in the Buddhist temple in Changchunyuan(Now，only some of the eight-sided pavilion and several side chambers remain(Platform of Immortals Receiving Heavenly Dew (Xianren Chenglu Tai仙人承露台) It is located on the western side of the lake(According to the legend，Emperor Wu Di，of the Han Dynasty(reigning 140—87 B(C()，longed for an eternal life(A Taoist priest told him that swallowing jade powder mixed with heavenly dew could help him attain his desire for a long life(So(he ordered the creation of d bronze statue of an immortal holding a plate for receiving dew from heaven and had it placed at the Jianzhang Temple in Xian(In the Qing Dynasty， during Emperor Jiaqing’S reign(1 796-1820)，a bronze statue of the same kind was erected at Qichunyuan， but it disappeared when the garden was destroyed(Today， this sculpture iS made of marble stone which was carved in 1 989(Its size and style are designed in accordance with a picture preserved by the Qing court( Fenglin Islet(Phoenix an Unicorn Islet凤麟洲) This islet was located in the east lake of Qichunyuan(In 1 807，Qing Emperor Jiaqing，in his poems， praised this place as“theideal summer spot in Qichunyuan(”So，it was the place where theEmpress Dowagers stayed during the summer( The islet was named according to the legend;it was said that in Chinese mythology there was a fabled island called Fenglin Islet in the West Sea(The island was surrounded by deep water and it was impossible to reach(In spite of this，many immortals lived happily on Fenglin Islet with phoenixes and unicorns，as well as over 100 kinds of miraculous Chinese herbs growing there(And that is how “Fenglin Islet，”meaning“Phoenix and Unicorn Islet(”got its name( The Winding Brige on Fenglin Islet was newly built in 1992( Three-Arch Bridge of Hanqiu Study (Hanqiuguan Sankongqiao涵秋馆三孔桥) The Three—Arch Bridge was located on the northern part of Hanqiu Study(Originally，it was built with stone and bricks，but was damaged when the garden was destroyed(The current one was reconstructed in 1979 on the original site，but with cement， marble，and stone as its building materials( Hao Ran Pavilion(浩然亭) This pavilion was built on a small island to the north of Fenglin Islet(It was first built sometime before 1 781，and was then a four( sided pavilion with a double—eaved roof(Today’S pavilion was rebuilt in 1992，and it is a hexagonal structure with double eaves( Historical Relics(文物踪迹) After being damaged twice，Yuanmingyuan lost a lot of its historical relics and treasures(Some of the treasures are still in China，but some are also abroad( In Beijing University: 1(Stone Qilin(石麒麟):It is in Beijing University in front of the office building( 2(Plum Stone Tablet(梅石碑):It is in Beijing University by the lake;(this tablet has a poem carved on one side and an old branch of a plum blossom on the other side，and SO it was known as“Plum Stone Tablet”)( 3(Waterspout of Stone Fish:It is in Beijing University by the lake;(originally it was a European—style fountain in Xieqiqu of Changchuyuan)( In the Branch Library of Beijing Library 1(Stone Column Huabiao(华表):It is in the Branch Library of Beijing Library( 2(Stone Tablet of Qing Emperor Shooting on Horseback(清高宗教谕骑射碑)( 3(Stone Tablet of Wenyuange(文源阁记碑)as well as Stone Lion，Kunlun Rock，Bronze Crane，and Stone Elephant were all from Yuanmingyuan( In the Summer Palace 1(Bronze Qinlin(铜麒麟):In front of the Hall of Benevolence and Longevity( 2(Stone Ramp with Cloud and Dragon Design(云龙丹 陛石):It is placed in front of the East Palace gate of the Summer Palace(The bronze deer，bronze crane， and some beautiful rocks were all from Yuanmingyuan( In Zhong Shan Park 1(Lanting Pavilion(兰亭)( 2(Qinglianduo(青莲朵):It is a beautiful grotesque rock( 3(Qingyunpian(青云片):It is a beautiful grotesque rock( In the National Museum There are twenty-hree stone landscape carvings of “Geng ZhiTu(耕织图)”housed inside the National Museum( In BO Li Museum There are four bronze animal heads，kept in this museum，that belong to the twelve animal years in the Chinese zodiac and indicate the year of birth(We obtained these four in the years of 2000 and 2003， respectively( Abroad In France 1(National Library in Paris Two volumes of“Scenes in Yuanmingyuan”are kept in the National Library in Paris( 2(Other Museums in France There are countless treasures kept in different museums in France，such as: the white-jade seal of Yuanmingyuan，the imperial seal of Emperor Qian Long，made of white jade，Emperor Qian Long’S gold pagoda，the silk Buddha painting，the Ming porcelain and cloisonn6 and the bronze head of a mouse and rabbit，which indicated the different years of people’S birth( In England More than 1 0，000 pieces of treasure relics，from Yuanmingyun，are housed in the London Museum of Great Britain(The most famous one is a painting done by the great painter Gu Kai zji of the Jin Dynasty(265420A(D()( A Museum in New York City，U(S(A 1(Geng ZhiTu(1andscape painting)(耕织图): The famous landscape painting of“Geng Zhi Tu(耕织 图)”made in the Yuan Dynasty(1271-1368)，is housed inside a museum in New York City in the U(S(A( 2(Qing Emperor Xian Feng’S watch(he reigned 1850(1861)( After the founding of the People’S Republic of China，the government has paid great attention to the preservation of the ruins(In 1 960，Yuanmingyuan Ruins were listed as key cultural sites under special protection by the Haidian District，and by the Beijing Municipal Government in 1979(In 1988，it was listed as a national key cultural site under special protection by the State Council(In 1983( it was officially named the“Park of Yuanmingyuan Ruins(” Massive reforestation efforts have been carried out(After many years of work，some of its original splendor has reappeared(A number of important sites have been repaired and restored(It was officially opened to the public in 1988( Today，a restoration of Yuanmingyuan is already in progress(Upon its completion in 2006，not only the buildings，but some beautiful natural scenes will be created to enhance the landscape( The Ruins is the centerpiece of Yuanmingyuan Park(It is a wonderful place to inspire a sense of pride in the Chinese people，but it iS also a tremendous letdown because of all the ruins that have been left behind(Yunmingyuan is really like a textbook providing a vivid portrait of Chinese history for all generations to Cnme . 八、Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian (周口店北京猿人遗址) Peking man(北京猿人) Peking Man，or Peking ape-man，a primitive caveman lived some 200，000 to 700，000 years ago on Dragon Bone Hill by the Town of Zhoukoudian，about 50 kilometers(3 1 miles)southwest of Beijing( (Dragon Bone Hill is noted for its large quantities of the Chinese medicine called dragon bone)(The first intact skull of Peking Man was discovered in December 1929 by Pei Wenzhong， a well-known Chinese paleoanthropologist( The site of Peking Man lies 42 kilometers southwest of Beijing at Zhoukoudian，fl town in Fangshan District(The site occupies an area of 0(24 square kilometers( Zhoukoudian site is world famous for its Peking Man fossils as well as its abundant cultural remains which were discovered in the 1920s(The discovery of the site of Peking Man is really a milestone in the study of Chinese history of Paleoanthropology( After the excavation，which lasted more than a half-century(We found seven important locations at Zhoukoudian site; the largest site is called“Locality 1 at Zhoukoudian Site(”It covers the period from the Early Pleistocene Age to the Late Pleistocene Age in the Geological timetable(The fossil localities represent a time period about five million years ago to 10，000 years ago including the ancient human being，Peking Man， who lived approximately 700，000 to 200，000 years before the present( The Upper Cave was discovered in 1930 on the top of Dragon Bone Hill and later in 1933 and 1934 human fossils，stone artifacts，and mammalian fossils were unearthed from the Upper Cave(In 1973，a group of students visited the locality and accidentally discovered the fissure(Later，the excavation was started by the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology and shortly after they found the first molar of an early Homo sapien(This cave is located between Peking Man Locality 1 and Upper Cave， SO some paleoanthropologists called Homo sapien in this newly discovered cave，“the New Cave Man(” The Site of Peking Man at Zhoukoudian was listed as key cultural relics by the State Council and placed thunder the state protection on March the 4 1961(and was added to the World Heritage List by UNESCO in 1987( Archaeological Excavation(考古挖掘) For a long period of time(the local residents of Zhoukoudian have mainly depended on quarrying and mining to maintain their lives(As a result(numeroUS animal fossils preserved in the caves or fissures were discovered(This attracted great interest from foreign scientists(In 1921，a small-scale excavation was carried out by Mr(John Gunnar Andersson，a famous Swedish geologist together with Mr(O(Zdansky，an Austrian paleontologist who was working as Andersson’S assistant at Zhoukoudian(In 1923(the scientists identified two human teeth after some short—term excavation at Zhoukoudian(At that time，the human fossils were rare and seldom found，SO all the world scientists were shocked when the news was proclaimed by the Swedish Crowned Prince，at the welcoming ceremony，during his visit to China(Starting from 1 927，systematical and large(scale excavations were conducted for ten years at Zhoukoudian by the Cenozoic Research Laboratory in cooperation with the Geological Survey of China and the Peiping Union Medical College(Large quantities of human fossils， mammalian fossils and historical relics were unearthed at Zhoukoudian Site(These scientific discoveries basically can be labeled as the most important breakthroughs achieved in the study of the Zhoukoudian site in recent years( The Discovery of“Peking Man”(北京猿人的发现) nd On December 2 ，1929，Mr(Pei Wenzhong(a famous Chinese Paleolithic archaeologist in charge of the excavation(discovered the first complete skull 6f a Peking Man which dated back Over 500，000 to 600，000 years and that caused a great sensation bv the scientists throughout the world(In the same year，evidence of the use of fire by Peking Man was collected from Locality 1 at Zhoukoudian(Thus the use of fire by humanity was dated some hundreds of thousands of years in advance and also the existence of the Homo erectus was confirmed(These discoveries basically proved out the sequence and the process in evolutionary history of ancient human beings，and Zhoukoudian Site was given an important position in the history of paleOanthropological study and paleoanthropological evolutionary study( In 1930(the Upper Cave，situated on the northeast slope of Dragon(Bone Hill。was discovered during the investigation work Oil the Peking Man Cave(Later(in 1933 and 1934，it was excavated systematically SO that human fossils，stone artifacts，ornaments， and mammalian fossils were unearthed successively( ( Since 1927，more than 20 years，over 200 pieces of Peking Ape Man fossils and Upper Cave Man fossils， over 100，000 pieces of stone artifacts，abundant evidence of the use of fire，and a plentiful multitude of mammalian fossils have been unearthed from the caves(The Zhoukoudian Site can demonstrate that the human beings who once lived here from some 700，000 years ago to 200，000 years ago were the ancient Peking Homo erectus group， 100，000 years ago，it was the New Cave Man and 20，000 to 70，000 years ago，the Upper Cave Man lived(It also can show the evidence of the Early Pleistocene age to the Late Pleistocene age， which both took place during the Geological Age，and covers the period from five million years ago to 10，000 years ago( The Characteristics of Peking Man(北京猿人的特点) So far(there are altogether six complete or nearly complete skulls，fifteen pieces of incomplete mandibles，1 57 teeth，seven fragments of femurs，one fragment of tibia，three fragments of humerus，one clavicle，one fragment of lunate bone，and some fragments of bones and skulls have been unearthed from Peking Man’S Cave(All the findings represent the materials from about 40 male and female individuals of different ages(From these fossils， we can easily find out many differences between modem people and Peking man(Specifically，Peking man’s skull has thick walls and a low and flattened forehead(Moreover，the brow ridges on the skull protrude strongly，and the transverse occipital ridge on the back and the sagittal keeling on the top of the skull are especially characteristic(Peking man’s mandibles are strikingly robust with multiple mental foramina and without mental protuberance at the chin region;the teeth of Peking man are more robust than those of modem humans(The cranial capacity of Peking man(with an average of 1，088 ml for the adult)is smaller than the average modem human’S(about 1，400 m1)which iS about 915—1，250 ml and the male Peking Man is 1 56 cm in height，while the female is 1 50 cm(Archaeologists demonstrated that the limb bones of Peking Man are morphologically similar to those of modern humans， but they are much stronger and somewhat shorter except that the lower limbs are somewhat crooked even though Peking Man could walk erect(The life expectancy of Peking Man was very short;most of them died before fourteen years old and very few people could pass the age of 50( Life of Peking Man(北京猿人的生活) Ninety-seven kinds of animal mammalian fossils and over 1 00，000 pieces of stone implements，of various types，were unearthed from the Peking Man’S Cave(This indicates that Peking man was able to make a variety of stone implements by applying different techniques such as:making big pieces of stone into scrapers， points，choppers，gravers(burins)，borer(awls)，etc( The ash layers which were deposited a couple of meters deep in the cave confirm the existence of the remains of fire used by Peking Man(This shows that Peking Man could not only produce the stone implements but he also possessed the ability to control fire( Using fire is of tremendous importance because fire could be used to repel cold and moisture;it would also discourage carnivores from entering the cave(Peking Man’S use of fire was an important milestone in the cultural development of the human race(It not only drastically improved the ability of man to conquer nature，but also exerted，remarkable influences on the physical evolution of mankind(Peking Man was characterized by the evolution of the stone tool industry that can be demonstrated from the size of the tools，the materials being used and the flake—producing techniques( This period was also characterized by lighter tools that must have been the result of more sophisticated production techniques( Peking Man，the ancient human beings in the Zhoukoudian region，fully enjoyed the exceptional natural advantages here and was thus able to create a variety of cultures(They had a gregarious life of collecting and hunting activities in the cave， indicating that Peking Man already had a primitive type of social organization at that time Peking Man Cave(北京猿人洞) The Site of Peking Man is located in a deep cave on the northern 8lope of Dragon Bone Hill，by the Town of Zhoukoudian(about 50 kllometers(31 miles)southwest of Beijing，in Fangshan District((Dragon Bone Hill is noted for its large quantities of Chinese medlclne called dragon bone)(The site，know as“Localitv 1 at Zhoukoudian” or “Peking Man Cave”， is the largest human—inhabited cave discovered up to date， and it is the world(renowned Site for its Peking Man fossils and its abundant cultural remains(It 18 the m08tlmportant locality at the Zhoukoudian Site(This site was dlscovered in 1 92 1 and intensive excavations were carried out successlVely during 1927-1937 which created the present condition of the site. It is a big limestone cave， 140 meters long and 40 meters wlde but with only two meters at the western end and was coVered uP with heavy cave deposits( After years of excavation( on JY a small part is still covered with the cave deposits( ( The Cave developed from a limestone massif of the 0rdovician Period some 4.5 hundred million years ago， so the roof of the cave had already disappeared when we discovered the cave in the 1920s(1 he deposit8 in the cave were 40 meters thick and the scientists generally divided the deposits of the cave into 1 7 thlayers(Based onthe geological age，the 13 layer belongs to the Early and Middle Pleistocene age that was about 73，000 years ago;14(17 lavers belong to the Early Pleistocene age;Peking Man’s fossils should come from 3-1 1 layers being that Peking Man lived in the Zhoukoudian area for about 26，000 years off and on intermittently( some 500，000 to 240，000 years ago( The 1 7 layers of the deposits of the cave are detailed(from the top to the bottom)as follows: stnd -2 layer:Fossil bearing breccia，with a few pieces 1 of stone artifacts encountered from layer 2， interbedded with silty clay and travertine(Thickness: 4m( rd 3 layer:Fossil bearing coarse breccia，containing hominid fossils，stone tools，and large blocks in the lower part，representing the deposits from the collapse of the cave roof(Thickness:3 m( th4 layer:Fossil bearing ash layer，upper cultural layer，rich in hominid and other mammalian fossils， stone artifacts，and burnt bones and rocks(Maximum thickness:6m( th5 layer:Travertine，bearing a few mammalian fossil and stone artifacts(Thickness:1 m( th6 layer:Fossil bearing breccia，well cemented，with large limestone blocks(Numerous stone tools and animals fossils were unearthed(Thickness:5m( th7 layer:Fossil bearing dark gray silt(containing mica)，bearing a few human fossils and artifacts，and a large number of more or less complete mammalian skeletons(The west part is soft，whereas the east part is hard(Thickness:2 m( thth -9 layer:Fossil bearing breccia，interbedded with 8 ash layer，lower cultural layer connected with cultural zone B in the Pigeon Hall(which was excavated in 1931: The three complete human skulls found in 1936 were from these layers，in association with numerous stone tools and faunal remains( th 10 layer:The upper part is fossil bearing red sandy clay，and the lower part is a thin ash layer(A few pieces of human fossils， animal bones and stone artifacts were unearthed from this level( Thickness:2m( th 11 layer:Fossil bearing breccia(Peking Man’S first skull was discovered from this layer，together with some lithic artifacts( Thickness:2m( th 12 layer:Red silt(The few fossils found are white( fragmented and rounded(Thickness:2 m( th 13 layer:Laminated silty clay intercalated with red or gray lenses(There are large blocks in the lower part(Fossils are rare(There is a layer of hyena coprolites(Thickness:2 m( thth 14 -17 layer:Sand and gravel layer(without fossils and stone artifacts(These layers were therefore established based on the knowledge obtained from the test pit(Thickness:10m( The Upper Cave(山顶洞) This cave is situated on the northeast slope of Dragon Bone Hill and was discovered in 1930 during an investigation of the deposit area of the southwest wall of Locality 1 of Peking Man Cave(Upper Cave is the locality with the youngest geological age at the Zhoukoudian site(Later，in 1933 and 1934，the archaeologists systematically and successively excavatedsome human fossils，stone artifacts，ornaments and abundant mammalian fossils( Originally，Upper Cave was developed in a limestone massif and formed in a south-north direction(It is composed of four parts:the entrance，the upper chamber， the lower chamber and the recess(The upper chamber is on the south site of the entrance，the lower chamber is on the west side-of the upper chamber and the recess extends to the northeast corner(The Upper Cave originally had a complete roof with a north。facing opening，but it was demolished for safety purposes(The three Chinese characters“Shan Ding Dong，”which mean Upper Cave，were engraved on the roof in the handwriting of Mr(Guo Moruo，a famous Chinese scholar and former chairman of the Chinese Academy of Sciences( The lower chamber:We found some late Homo sapiens’ fossils with hematite particles around the pelvic bones and femurs(We also found some ornaments close to the human skeletons，which suggested that these items might have been arranged deliberately(Accordingly，some scholars firmly hold that the lower chamber is Upper Cave Man’S graveyard，which is actually the earliest burial tomb found in China SO far( The upper chamber:Two layers of ash residue and some stone implements were found in the upper chamber，which probably indicates that this chamber was a living area for the Upper Cave Man( The lower recess:This recess is considered as a natural trap because many complete skeletons of large mammalian animal bones were unearthed there，but no human fossils were ever found(It was surmised that these large animals had slipped and fallen down into the natural trap and then became fossils(After surveying the animal fossils in the cave，the scholars reckoned that the large animals must have lived here sorrfe 1 0，000 to 30，000 years ago( The Pigeon Hall(鸽子堂) The Pigeon Hall is known for pigeons perching here(The excavation work was carried out in 1930 and 1931 respectively(and abundant clavicle fossils， parietal bones and mandible fossils( as well as many rough stone implements were found in the cave(Based on the four layers of the deposits in the cave and the use of fire to produce the layers of ash residue，the geological age of the Pigeon Cave is most probably the same age as the Middle Pleistocene age( Tianyuan Cave(田园洞) The Tianyuan Cave is located at the Tianyuan Wood Farm( about six kilometers southwest of the Peking Man Site(This cave was found in June 2001，and was initially excavated during June to August 2003( In June 2003，the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology started the excavation work at Tianyuan Wood Farm(Plenty of human fossils and animal bones were unearthed from the cave which provided an important discovery in Chinese Paleoanthropology( It is now designated as “Locality 27 at Zhoukoudian”(Tianyuan Cave)( The cave formed inside a lower Precambrian limestone hill(And the stalactites and stalagmites inside the cave are still growing(The age of the cave deposits，obtained by employing different techniques， varies between 25，000 and 39，000 years(Some other dating techniques will be underway in the future( The Mystery of Losing of Peking Man’S Skulls (北京人头盖骨遗失之迷) Peking Man’S fossils and Upper Man’S fossils， as well as many other valuable cultural remains unearthed from Zhoukoudian(Were mysteriously lost in December 1941 during World War II，and it became a mysterious case throughout the whole world( ( There were altogether five intact skulls，together with 147 teeth， broken skulls，thighbone，lower jawbone and collarbone lost，including the first completed skull of Peking Man discovered by Pei Wenzhong， a famous Chinese paleoanthropologist， on December 2”(1929(There were also some other human fossils from Upper Man Cave as well as many bone fossils unearthed from the Zhoukoudian area(It is really a great loss in the history of paleoanthropological study and paleoanthropolOgical evolutionary study(After losing the fossils and relics，there have been many guesses about the whereabouts of these missing relics( On July 7”1937(the“July 7‘“Lugou Bridge Incident” happened(This marked the comprehensive Japanese invasion of China，and then the War of Resistance Against Japan broke out;soon after that，the Japanese occupied Beiping(Beijing now)(Taking their safety into consideration，the skulls of Peking Man，the Upper Man’ S fossils and some other valuable cultural remains were hidden in Beiping Union Medical College，which was set up by Americans( The original fossils were under study at the Peking Union Medical College(In 1941，Chinese scientists tried to get the Peking Man fossils to safety，SO an attempt was made’to smuggle the fossils out of China to the United States for safekeeping(Mr(Pei Wenzhong， a chief of Cenozoic Research Laboratory，agreed to have the fossils packed into two big wooden crates，marked A and B ，and then he let a U(S(expert，who was doing the research work on Peking Man in Beiping Union Medical College，take the boxes to the United States for he was about to evacuate from China(The skulls were wrapped in layers of paper，thick couon， medical gauze and cardboard，all with the utmost care(Each skull was placed in a separate box(Finally，they were all packed into two wooden crates marked A and B for the journey(But these priceless relics never made it to the safety of the American Museum of Natural History(Unfortunately，after leaving the Peking Union Medical College，the two boxes with the fossils and skulls inside mysteriously disappeared，and there has been no trace of them eversince( Another story is that after the Japanese occupied Beiping，they tried very hard to get the Peking Man’ S skulls and fossils(In 1941， Chinese scientists secretly planned to have the Peking Man skulls escorted to the United States by U(S(Marines who were evacuating China(The fossil boxes were moved to Tianjin Harbor where U(S(Marines were about to evacuate the country( Unfortunately，the plan to spirit the skulls out of the country did not succeed because Japan bombed th Pearl Harbor on Dec(7 (1941 and all the U(S(troops in China were involved in the war(Soon( Japanese aggressors occupied the military camp and then the boxes containing the five intact skulls and fossils(as well as those priceless relics，mysteriously disappeared( After the end of World War II，China，the United States and Japan all conducted a search for the missing peking Man skulls and other relics，but to date，none of them have been found(The missing relics remained a great regret to Pei，finder of the first Peking Man skull，until the last minute of his life(In the autumn of 1978，the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and PaleoanthropOlogy called upon the whole world to search for the clues of the mystery of the whereabouts of the Peking Man skulls( Calls and efforts for searching for the missing relics have continued in China for many years，but with little progress being made(So anewly established committee was set up by the government(It is the first of its kind，led by the government，together with the Palaeoanthropology Research Center，responsible for seeking clues about the missing relics and searching for them(As long as there is still a glimmer of hope， we shall never give up our search for the lost fossils(Sadly，the secret of the missing Peking Man skulls and other relics，remains a trans—century secret(It is a great loss to science and is really a great loss in the history of paleOanthropolOgical，paleoanthropological and evolutionary study( The Peking Man Site Museum at Zhoukoudian (北京猿人遗址博物馆) In 1953，the Peking Man Site Museum at Zhoukoudian was set up at the foot of Dragon Bone Hill of Zhoukoudian，in the Fang Shan District of Beijing(The Museum contains the history of Peking Man of 600，000 years ago，New Cave Man of 100，000 years ago and Upper Cave Man of 18，000 ago(The rock specimens of 40 million years ago to 1 0 million years ago， unearthed from the Zhoukoudian area are in display in the lobby( The first exhibition hall:casts of the skulls of Peking Man， evidence of the earliest human’S use of fire and stone tools are on display( The second exhibition hall:sculptures of Peking Man’S life scenes，a scene of Peking Man using fire and the paintings showing the ape man’s life as well as the restoration model of Peking man’s cave( The third exhibition hall:the models of more than 20 ruins of fossil localities of vertebrate fossils have been found at Dragon Bone Hill in the Zhoukoudian area，and a variety of ornaments made of perforated teeth，perforated stone pebbles，perforated stone beads，perforated shells，fish vertebrae，etc，of Upper Cave Man some 18，000 years ago，are on display in this hall( The fourth exhibition hall:fl variety of fossils and stone implements from different periods of time， and paintings and sculptures done in the Late Paleolithic Age，are on display in this hall( The Preservation Work on Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian(北京猿人遗址保护工程) There are 27 localities which have been systematically excavated since 1927 SO far(Among them， eight are core localities，but these localities are all different in scientific value，geological age and conservational state(Among these localities，only a few of them are under good conditions，whereas most others are exposed to natural weathering and erosion， and even to unintentional destruction from human beings(Even more serious，several of them have disappeared from the earth forever(Now，some of the fossil sites at Zhoukoudian are in imminent danger of collapse because of natural and man-made factors such as:rain，ice， erosion，temperature change，root system s of plant growth，etc( All these factors contribute to the deterioration at Zhoukoudian( Further more， extensive economic development around the Caves， most notably the coal mining and cement refining，has harmed preservation efforts(After a series of prospecting in this area by some experts from the Institute of Geology and Geophysics，it was found that 2 1 places out of seven fossil sites are in danger，SO a plan to improve the preservation of the site of Peking Man at Zhoukoudian， as well as to protect the relics，was made by the government(Since 2004，a large amount of money was spent Off the preservation work on the Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian( The government plan also includes shutting down all factories within a six kilometer radius of the caves and to plant more trees in the Zhoukoudian area Useful Words and Expressions paleoanthropoIogy 古人类学 paleoanthropologists 古人类学家 Pleistocene 更新世 0rdovician Period 奥陶纪 the Early Pleistocene Age早更新世时期 the Middle Pleistocene age中更新世时期 the Late Pleistocene Age晚更新世时期 the Late Paleolithic Age旧石器晚期 Paleolithic Archeology旧石器时代考古学 Quaternary Geology第四纪地质学 the Geological Age地质时代 the fossil localities 化石地点 the Upper Cave山顶洞 the Dragon Bone Hill龙骨山 human fossils 人类化石 mammalian fossils哺乳动物化石 Paleoanthropology 古人类学 Paleontology古生物学 Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and PaIeoanthropoIogy 中国科学院 古脊椎动物与古人类研究所 ’ the PaIaeoanthropology Research Center 古人类学研究中心 Homo sapiens 人类 the New Cave Man新洞人 Cenozoic新生代 the Cenozoic Research Laboratory新生代研究室 the Peiping Union Medical College北平协和医院 evolutionary history进化史 evolution进化 evolutionism进化论 human’s evolutionary人类进化 vertebrate脊椎动物 the sagittal矢状(缝),箭状 keeling龙骨脊，脊骨 parietal bone 顶骨 molar臼齿 Fragments 碎片 specimens 标本 evidence 证据 fragments 碎片 mandibles下颌骨 femurs 股骨 humerus 肱骨 clavicle 锁骨 lunate bone胫骨 lunate bone月骨 pelvic骨盆 breccia角砾岩 lithic artifact 石制品 hematite particles赤铁矿粉末 skeletons骷髅,骨骼 karstic,silty粉砂 interbedded夹在其他沉积层中间的一种典型的沉积物薄层 the Chinese Academy of Sciences 中国科学院