Qualla: Yunju Temple

Yunju Temple: Introduction

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Siyuwj, CC BY-SA 4.0. Around 611 CE, a monk named Jingwan made a vow. Buddhism had recently survived two imperial campaigns to destroy it -- under Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei and Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou -- and Jingwan was convinced the faith would face worse. The Buddhist concept of the Degenerate Age held that the dharma would eventually decline beyond recovery. Paper burned. Wood rotted. But stone endured. So Jingwan began carving Buddhist sutras into stone steles at Yunju Temple, 70 kilometres southwest of Beijing, and set in motion a project that would continue for over a thousand years.

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Image: Siyuwj | CC BY-SA 4.0

Yunju Temple: A Library Against Apocalypse

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit N509FZ, CC BY-SA 4.0. The numbers are staggering. Over the centuries, monks at Yunju Temple produced 1,122 Buddhist sutras in 3,572 volumes, carved onto more than 14,200 stone steles engraved on both sides. Nine caves were excavated into the mountainside and filled with these stone pages. Two undergro...

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Image: N509FZ | CC BY-SA 4.0

Yunju Temple: Dynasties of Devotion

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Siyuwj, CC BY-SA 4.0. Construction of Yunju Temple began during the Northern Qi dynasty, between 550 and 570 CE, though the exact year is lost to history. Royal patronage arrived during the Sui dynasty and deepened under the Tang. Princess Jinxian, around 713 to 755 CE, petitioned Emperor Xuanzong to ...

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Image: Siyuwj | CC BY-SA 4.0

Yunju Temple: Paper, Wood, and Stone

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Alexamies, CC BY-SA 3.0. Yunju Temple's treasures extend beyond stone. The temple holds over 22,000 scrolls of rare printed or manuscript sutras, including the Ming dynasty's Yongle Southern Tripitaka from 1420 and the Yongle Northern Tripitaka from 1440. It also possesses one of only two complete extant...

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Image: Alexamies | CC BY-SA 3.0

Yunju Temple: Pagodas and Persistence

Sat, 14 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit N509FZ, CC BY-SA 4.0. Twelve pagodas from the Tang and Liao dynasties stand across the temple grounds, along with three tomb pagodas from the Qing dynasty. The temple's original layout arranged six halls from east to west, with guest accommodations and monks' dormitories flanking both sides. Much of t...

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Image: N509FZ | CC BY-SA 4.0