Photography Halls of the Yonghe Temple

A black-and-white photograph showing a view of a group of temples at the Yonghe Gong 雍和宫 or “Temple of Tranquility and Harmony” temple complex in Beijing. During the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911), it was the seat of dignitaries of Tibetan Buddhism and home to nearly a thousand monks of the Gelugpa Order (Gelupai 格鲁派), the so-called Yellow Hat School.

From the appearance of the roof, we can conclude that the building on the left is the Falun Hall (Falundian 法輪 殿) or the “Hall of Dharma Wheel”. The spectacular hall embodies the Tibetan style in form and function. Inside is a 20-metre tall statue of Tsongkhapa (1357–1419), an important reformer of Tibetan Buddhism and founder of the Gelugpa monastic order, to whom Yonghe Temple is also dedicated. On the left-hand side of the photo, next to Falun Hall, there are two other buildings that look identical from the outside but which are completely different on the inside.

Falun Hall is built on a large stone foundation that covers 1,112 square metres and has the largest interior space in the entire complex. The roofs of the hall are covered with yellow tiles, but have only five figures of mythical creatures, with the last one, the figure of a phoenix rider (ji feng xianren 騎鳳仙人) on the main eave. This represents the transformation of bad into good and hope. The building is also characterised by five ornate gable windows that protrude from the central roof and allow light into the interior of the hall, a feature of Tibetan architecture. In the centre of the roof is the largest gable window, designed to illuminate the statue of Tsongkhapa in the otherwise dark interior. On the roof of this brush is a large gilded finial in the Tibetan style. The finial, which resembles a stupa in shape, has a dark blue enameled section in the centre where the relics are to be kept. The other four dormers, whose arrangement follows the four sides of the sky, are smaller and simpler, with the so-called xuanshanding 懸山頂 roof, gilded roof finials in the form of Tibetan stupa crescents and an even smaller number of roof figures.

The photograph is the 195th of 449 photographs of Beijing and its surroundings in the album of Ivan Skušek Jr., purchased during his stay in Beijing (1914–1920). In the handwritten inventory of the album, the photograph is referred to as Lama-Kloster: Tempel-Gruppe. (DZ, MV)