Qualla: Fengguo Temple

Fengguo Temple: Introduction

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Zeus1234, CC BY-SA 3.0. Seven Buddhas sit in a row inside the Daxiongbao Hall, each occupying one of the seven inner bays of a timber structure that has stood for over a thousand years. Fengguo Temple, in the small town of Yixian in Liaoning province, was founded in 1020 during the Liao dynasty -- and while earthquakes, wars, and bombing have reduced the complex to a fraction of its original size, the main hall endures, holding some of the oldest large-scale Buddhist sculptures in China.

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Image: Zeus1234 | CC BY-SA 3.0

Fengguo Temple: A Scholar's Gift

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit ScareCriterion12, CC BY-SA 4.0. The temple was founded by Jiao Xiyun, a retired scholar, on the site of an earlier temple called Xianxi. A monk named Qinghui supervised the construction. Over the centuries, the temple accumulated names as dynasties changed: the Seven Buddhas Temple under the Liao, Dafengguo Tem...

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Image: ScareCriterion12 | CC BY-SA 4.0

Fengguo Temple: Surviving Everything

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Redpipe, CC BY-SA 3.0. The temple's history is a catalog of near-destruction. An earthquake in 1290 severely damaged the complex; a son-in-law of a Mongolian Khan donated funds for repairs. Between 1487 and 1888, the hall was repaired at least seventeen times. By the mid-14th century, records describe ...

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Image: Redpipe | CC BY-SA 3.0

Fengguo Temple: The Hall of Seven Buddhas

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Zeus1234, CC BY-SA 3.0. The Daxiongbao Hall is enormous by the standards of Chinese timber architecture: nine bays wide, five bays deep, measuring 55.8 by 25.9 meters on a 3-meter-high stone platform. A stone terrace extends before the three central bays. Inside, seven large Buddha sculptures from past ...

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Image: Zeus1234 | CC BY-SA 3.0

Fengguo Temple: Wild Swans and World Heritage

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit ScareCriterion12, CC BY-SA 4.0. In 2013, Fengguo Temple was placed on China's tentative list for UNESCO World Heritage Site consideration, alongside the more famous Pagoda of Fogong Temple. The temple also carries a quieter literary connection: Jung Chang's bestselling memoir Wild Swans describes how her grandp...

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Image: ScareCriterion12 | CC BY-SA 4.0