The Corner Pagodas

The corner pagodas arc white with a yellow glazed-tile decoration. Going counter-clockwise from the front pagoda (south), the remaining four are purple, black, green temples, the Purensi (Temple of Universal Benevolence), also known as the Front Temple, and the Pushansi (Temple of Universal Kindness), also known as the Rear Temple. Both were built in 1713 in Chinese style, but the former is now in poor condition and the latter is no longer in existence. Temple of the Postural Doc North of the Hill Station on the hillside overlooking Shizigou (Lion Gully) is the second group of temples, of which the most impressive is the Putuozongchengmiao. The year 1770 was the sixtieth birthday of Qianlong and 1771 was his mother's eightieth year. To celebrate these auspicious events, the Qing~ court received visits at Chengde from a great number of Uygur and Mongo. Lian tribes from the north and northwest. In honor of his visitors and to strengthen the ties between them, Qianlong ordered the construction of a lamasery built on the model of the Potala in Lha.sa,2 the centre of Lamaism. It took from 1767 t0 1771 to complete. Just as work was being finished, the Torguts.a Mongol tribe who had migrated to the banks of the Volga, returned to their homeland to escape Russian oppression. Qianlong held a ceremony at the main hall of the temple to celebrate their return. The Putuozongchengmiao is by far the largest of the Chengde temples, covering 220,000 square rejecters. "Putuo" is a Chinese transcription of the Tibetan word potala, the name of a hill near Lhasa where the Dalai Lama's palace is situated, and used to refer to the palace; "Zongcheng', means "honoured city". Potala is also rendered in Chinese as "Pudala". Often referred to in English as the "Little Potala". The original access to the triple was via a bridge across a moat which is now a vegetable garden. Two stone lions guard the front gate which opens into a paved courtyard with a stele pavilion.This part of the temple is in Chinese style. Behind is the Five Pagoda Gate, a whitewashed Tibetan-style building with red false windows, surmounted by five pagodas each of a different color. Two finely carved elephants in front are shaded by ancient pines. The five pagodas represent the five schools of Buddhism, and the elephants represent the Mahayana school. The formal symmetry of Chinese temple architecture is at this point abandoned, though there continues to be a north-south orientation of the main buildings. A winding path follows the contours of the steeply-sloping site up to an elaborate Chinese- style memorial arch in green and yellow glazed tiles. In front of the arch are two stone lions, representing secular authority in Buddhism. Between the arch and the Great Pied Platform at the summit is an irregular series of Tibetan-style whitewashed platform buildings in various shapes, several storey's high and sol.id within. From front to back, the first has five white dagobas, the second has a Chinese style wooden bell-tower, the third has a single white dagoba and others just have flat roofs. A platform building to the west has an attached Chinese-style courtyard which now houses some of the arhat statues from the former Luohantang. The informal layout of these buildings arsonist the trees, grass and rocks creates a natural, peaceful atmosphere, in contract to the imposing presence of. the Great Red Platform behind. The Corner Pagodas is a post from: Traveling China from Traveling China http://www.chinaya.org

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