Laozi. Carved stone. Tang (618-907).

Qiu Changchun, founder of the Longmen Sect of Daoism. Yuan (1271-1368)?. Hanging scroll, ink & color on silk.

The Ying Drum in Laolu Hall. Ming (1368-1644).

The Jade Emperor. Carved wood. Ming (1368-1644). Silk hangings donated by the Empress Dowager Cixi (19th century).

Lord Guan (Guangong). Ming (1368-1644). Hanging scroll, ink & color on paper.

Master Qiu Changchun Accepting an Engagement. Ming (1368-1644). Handscroll, ink and color on silk. White Cloud Temple, Beijing.

Divine Immortals. Ming (1368-1644)?. Handscroll, ink & color on silk. White Cloud Temple, Beijing.

The White Cloud Temple (Baiyun Guan), Beijing

This is the text-only version.

Click here if you wish to see Chinese-language annotations.

The White Cloud Temple in Beijing traces its origins to the reign of Emperor Xuanzong (r. 713-756) of the Tang dynasty, who commissioned a statue of the Daoist sage Laozi and the Tianchang Temple to enshrine it. Prior to the establishment of the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368), Genghis Khan installed Qiu Changchun, the founder of the Longmen branch of the Quanzhen sect of Daoism, in Yanjing (present-day Beijing). Both Qiu Changchun's remains and the Tang statue of Laozi reside in the White Cloud Temple, built in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644).

The White Cloud Temple has recently undergone an extensive renovation of its buildings and grounds, in keeping with its status as the center of Daoist worship in China today. Every year, thousands of worshipers and tourists throng the grounds in celebration of Spring Festival. The Chinese Daoist Association not only administers the temple, but also preserves its unsurpassed collection of Daoist art and publishes its research on all aspects of Daoist history and practice. One of the Association's researchers, Wang Yi'e, arguably the only expert on Daoist art in China, has contributed an essay, entitled "The Origins of Daoist Art," in this month's issue of Chinese-art.com. In 2000-2001, several Ming-period paintings with Daoist themes in the temple collection will be traveling to Chicago, then San Francisco, as part of Taoism and the Arts of China, the first ever major exhibition on Daoist art.

The objects illustrated in this page constitute only a small percentage of the rare objects housed in the White Cloud Temple. These images, courtesy of the Chinese Daoist Association, have been published in the following titles:

Beijing Baiyun Guan (The White Cloud Daoist Temple). Beijing: Chinese Daoist Association, 1994.

Daojiao shenxian huaji (Album for Taoist Deities and Divine Immortals). Beijing: Huaxia chubanshe, 1995.

Stephen Little. Taoism and the Arts of China. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000.

Readers can purchase these books through Chinese-artbooks.com.

Celestial Worthy of Numinous Treasure. Ming (1368-1644). Hanging scroll, ink & color on silk.

Celestial Worthy of Original Beginning. Ming (1368-1644). Hanging scroll, ink & color on silk.

The celestial officials on an inspechion tom. Ming (1368-1644). Four hanging scrolls, ink & color on silk.

Lords, The Highest of the Nine Heavens. Ming (1368-1644). Three hanging scrolls, ink & color on silk.

The Four Divine Marshals for Justice and Law: Ma Sheng. Ming (1368-1644)?. Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper.

The Four Divine Marshals for Justice and Law: Wen Qiong. Ming (1368-1644)?. Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper.

The Goddess of Mount Tai on Her Way to Immortality. Qing (1644-1911). five of 22 hanging scrolls, ink and color on silk.