TEMPLE, ALTAR
D EARNESS LAOTSE THE SCRIPTURES THE UNDERSTANDING OF GOD THE PURPOSE OF LIFE
TEMPLE AND OTHER SACRED BUILDINGS
TAOLIAN WHITE TEMPLE TEMPLE
IN BEIJING
The temple was built during the reign of Emperor Xuan-Zong of the Tang Dynasty (712-756). The emperor favored Taoism and wanted to support it. Later, the temple suffered damage from the wars, leaving only one temple hall. When the temple was later rebuilt, this temple hall became the center of the area.
The People's Republic of China has supported the renovation of the temple. Today, the temple area is 60,000 square meters.
The temple halls are positioned exactly on the north-south axis. There are many Taoist organizations in the temple: the Chinese Taoist Community, the Institute of Chinese Taoist Culture, the Chinese Taoist College, and the Department of Chinese Taoist Publications.
It is common in China that the gods of all three Chinese religions can be served in the same temple. Religions are not perceived as competitors of each other and therefore this is possible.
Usually temples are built of brick or stone. The roofs of the temples are curved from the corners upwards, and the roof has a dragon and a phoenix bird as motifs, both of which are considered to bring good fortune. The temples are guarded by lion statues.
In the courtyard of the temple there is a burning place for the victims, where temple money or rice paper utensils can be sacrificed to the deceased. Today, even paper cars or cell phones can be seen as victim needs. By burning goods, they are believed to be transferred to the use of the dead who have moved into the spirit world.