| Fayuan Temple | |
|---|---|
 The Fayuan Temple | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Buddhism |
| Location | |
| Location | Beijing |
| Country | China |
  Location in Beijing | |
| Geographic coordinates | 39°53′02″N116°21′49″E / 39.88389°N 116.36361°E /39.88389; 116.36361 |
| Architecture | |
| Style | Chinese architecture |
| Date established | 645 |
| Completed | 1437 (reconstruction) |
TheFayuan Temple (Chinese:法源寺;pinyin:Fǎyuán Sì), situated in the southwest quarter of centralBeijing, is one of the city's oldest and most renowned Buddhist temples.
The Fayuan Temple, originally named the Minzhong Temple, was first built in 645 during theTang dynasty byLi Shimin (Emperor Taizong),[1] and later rebuilt in theZhengtong era (1436–1449) of theMing dynasty. Emperor Taizong founded the temple to commemorate his soldiers who died in hiscampaign against Goguryeo.[2][3][4][5] The temple occupies an area of 6,700 square meters. The temple also contains a large number of cultural relics, including sculptures of ancient bronzes, stone lions, as well as gilded figures of thethree Buddhas. The temple also features large number of Buddhist texts from the Ming andQing dynasties.[6]
It has a compact overall arrangement and buildings are arranged along the medial axis symmetrically. Main buildings there include the Gate of Temple, Heavenly King Hall, Main Hall, Hall of Great Compassion, Sutra Hall, and Bell and Drum Towers.
On both sides of the Gate of Temple stand the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower respectively. The Main Hall, which is magnificent and sacred, houses Statues of Flower Adornment School's three saints:Vairocana,Manjusri, andSamantabhadra. The Hall of Great Compassion houses statues, carved stones, and artistic masterpieces. Among these statues there stand some of the most valuable statues in ancient China - Pottery Statue of Sitting Buddha of theEastern Han dynasty (25-220), Pottery-bottle Statue of Buddha of theEastern Wu dynasty (229–280), Stone Statue of Buddha of theTang dynasty (618–907), and Steel-cast Statue of Guanyin.
Taiwanese writerLi Ao, who published a novelMartyrs' Shrine: The Story of the Reform Movement of 1898 in China (another name is called "Fayuan Temple"), is about the beginning and the failure of theHundred Days' Reform in the lateQing dynasty. He was nominated for theNobel Prize in Literature.
The Minzhong Temple is known today as the Fayuan Temple in Beijing. The temple was built by Emperor Li Shimin to mourn and salvage the lost souls in his failed attempt to conquer Goguryeo.