Dule Temple（Solitary Joy Temple）

 

Dule Temple of Tianjin also called Solitary Joy Temple was built in the early reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty (618-907). It was also an important historic area, and it was said that An Lushan who was the prefecture military governor of Tang Dynasty and the asopted son of Concubine Yang Yuhuan and Emperor Xuanzong(someone also considered An Lushan was the secret lover of Concubine Yang Yuhuan, and his rebellion against Tang Government was mianly for this lady), once gave oath in Dule Temple to rebel against the Tang Dynasty.

Dule Temple is comprised of east, west and central parts, with monks' rooms and Xanadus in the east and west parts, and the temple gate and the Kwan-yin Pavilion in the central part. According to historical record, in the second year (984) of the Tonghe reign, the temple was rebuilt. Except the temple gate and Kwan-yin Pavilion built in the Liao Dynasty (916-1125), other buildings in the temple were all built in the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368-1911).

The temple gate built on low-lying stairs is 16.57 meters long, 2 bays deep and 8.76 meters wide. Two earthen statues of Fierce-Looking Guards stand as the gatekeepers in both sides of the pylon. The temple gate has a single-eaved palace roof, the earliest roof of its kind extant today in China. Under the eastern roof hangs a horizontal inscribed board with the name of the temple on it, which is said to have been written by Yan Song, the wicked premier of the Ming Dynasty. Passing the temple gate through stairs up to the north, there is a three-storeyed pavilion with 5 bays wide, 4 bays deep and 23 meters high. It is the oldest extant pavilion architecture in China. On the pedestal at the center of the pavilion stands a Kwan-yin statue of 16-meter height. The Kwan-yin Pavilion is centered on the statue and surrounded by two rows of pillars. The roof beams are settled around the statue, and there is an octagonal sunk panel over the head of the statue. The four walls of the pavilion's first floor are all decorated with color frescoes, whose subject matters include 16 standing Arhats, a Buddha with 3 heads and 6 arms, the Ming King with 4 arms, sceneries and folk customs, which are all masterpieces done by famous painters in the Yuan and Ming Dynasties (1271-1644). Dule Temple was reconstructed and repainted during the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the reigns of emperors Shunzhi, Qianlong and Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

The Kwan-yin Pavilion and The Gate of Dule Temple are the representatives of Chinese oldest wooden architecture, and its great architectural techniques let it go through many intense earthquakest. Dule Temple has been repaired for several times after the foundation of New China or People’s Republic of China. Today it is one of most famous tourist destinations in Tianjin.