TEMPLE OF THE EIGHT IMMORTALS
The Temple of the Eight Immortals lies at
Changlefang Street outside the East Gate of Xi’an. The
temple was first built in the Son Dynasty (618-907). The
stone tablet standing before he temple bears on the
characters of CHANG AN JIU SI (meaning Chang’an Wine shop),
along which were engraved the following temple where Lu
Dongbin (a Taoist) met Han Zhongli (Master Taoist), who
helped Lu attain the Way. As was recorded in BIOGRAPHICS OF
THE IMMORTALS, Han Zhongli, patriarch of Taoism picked Lu
Dongbin out of pipe dreams at Chang'an Wine shop and enabled
him to finally attain the Way. Later on, the temple was
built in memory of Lu, the Immortal.
The Temple of the Eight Immortals enjoys
widespread reputation for the touching tales of the Eight
Immortals. As one of the major Taoist temples in China
placed on the first list of important historical sites to be
protected in Shaanxi Province, it has attracted believers of
Taoism across the country.
As is revealed in the data of the temple,
thunders rumbled under the ground thereabout now and then in
the Song Dynasty and a temple was therefore built with an
aim to repress the boom. Then there was a rumor that eight
figures of unusual manner had been seen banqueting the
temple. They were believed to be the Eight Immortals
incarnate. That led to the construction of another temple
to commemorate their tour under Heaven. And the temple was
thus named “Temple of the Eight Immortals. During the Jin
(1115-1234) and Yuan (1206-1368) Dynasties. Quan Zhen Jiao,
a sect of Taoism, developed to the full. The believers of
the sect worshipped Han Zhongli and Lu Dongbin as
patriarchies of Taoism and expanded considerably the
existing scale of the temple. By the Miing (1368-1644) and
Qing (1616-1911) Dynasties, it had become a major temple of
Taoism, where Taoist priests from the Northwest China were
taught Taoist doctrines and scriptures of Taoism.
In 1900 when the Eight-Power Allied
Forces intruded into Beijing, Emperor Dai Tian (Dezong
reigned 1875-1908) and Empress Ci Xi (mother of the emperor)
made hasty escape to Xi’an, where they settled down in the
Temple of the Eight Immortals. They bestowed upon the
temple a horizontal inscribed board the character of YU QING
ZHI DAO (meaning first and foremost god of Taoism in the
first place), and officially conferred upon it the Temple of
the Eight Immortals at the imperial order. The temple
sustained damage during the mid 60’s after China’s
liberation. Nevertheless, the departments concerned at the
provincial and municipal levels helped it restored to its
original looks. Today, the temple has a gracefully quiet
environment dotted with flowers and tall tree s as if it
resembled the imperial palace in Heaven.
All the halls in the temple retain the
architectural style of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, whose
features are simple, unsophisticated but magnificent in
compact layout. From the entrance to the rear hall line,
three rows of single-storey houses flanked by the Bell Tower
and the Drum Tower, with two yards located eastward and
westerward separately. Along the axis spread the Hall of
Lingguan, the Hall of the Eight Immortals and the Hall of
Dou Mu. The yard east to the axis consists of the Hall of
Master Lu, the Hall of Master Doctor and Hall of Tai Bai,
whereas the yard west to the axis comprises of the Master
Hall of Qiu and the houses of the temple heads.
The Temple of the Eight Immortals is the
best-preserved Taoist sort in Xi’an. Since it came into
existence in the Song Dynasty, renovations and expansions
have made the structure closer to completeness. Today, the
Temple of the Eight Immortals, an entity combined Taoism
with culture and tourism, has been embracing friends both at
home and overseas.
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