Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s3.t25.2

v1.c7.s3.t25.2

There was once a pagoda on the original location of Miaoying Temple built in Changshou second year of Liao (1096) which was damaged by war. Kublai Khan, on the Zhiyuan eighth year of Yuan Dynasty (1271) issued an order to rebuild a pagoda on the basis of old one. The work was presided over by Anika, a Nepalese architect, and went through the entire period of eight years and eventually in 1279, a white pagoda in Indian style was constructed. In the same year, Kublai Khan gave another order to build a temple centering on the white pagoda and covering an area of 160,000 sq m and named it Dasheng Shouwanan Temple. This temple was finished in the Zhiyuan 25th year of Yuan (1288) and became a royal temple and also a place where officials learnt rituals and translated Sanskrit and Mongolian Buddhist scriptures. A national Dharma assembly held in the Yuanzhen first year of Yuan (1295) presided over by the emperor attracted the attention of more than 70,000 persons. This was the period when the glory of White Pagoda Temple was at its peak. However, the temple was completely ruined by a fire caused by lightning in Yuanzheng 28th year (1368). As a result all of its palaces were destroyed except the White Pagoda. In the eighth year of the reign of Emperor Xuande, Ming Dynasty (1433), he ordered to rebuild the White Pagoda and in the Tianshun first year of Ming (1457), the temple was rebuilt and renamed as “Miaoying Temple” with its area reduced to 13,000 sq m. The temple was repaired several times during the Ming and Qing Dynasty and in the era of the People's Republic of China. In 1900, when the Eight-Power Allied Forces attacked and occupied Beijing, Miaoying Temple