Ancestral Temple of Wén Tiānxiáng 于谦祠
交道口南大街府学胡同63号
Part of A Better Guide to Běijīng’s coverage of North and East of the Imperial City
This is an ancient counterpart to the hagiographic museums of communism’s saints. Versions vary, but Wén Tiānxiáng was a poetical general and prime minister faithful to the 960–1279 Sòng dynasty, which was crushed by the Mongols who founded the 1279–1368 Yuán dynasty. Wén was executed in 1283 somewhere in Fǔxué Hútòng for refusing to swear loyalty to the new regime, and this shrine was erected in his honour shortly after the re-establishment of Chinese rule under the Míng dynasty in 1368.
The first courtyard has a small stele with a picture of Wén, 1236–83, the shrine being built later to commemorate him. The first hall has a brief biography mostly in Chinese, pictures of his Jiāngxī Province birthplace, a bust, and a map showing his movements in various campaigns. His was a life full of derring-do and miraculous escapes from capture. An inscription from Máo Zédōng indicates his approval for brave hearts who serve the country.
The hall at the rear of the second courtyard has more photographs, route maps, pictures of other monuments to his achievements, and two unusual Táng dynasty circular stelae on the right, of dubious relevance as they pre-date him by several hundred years.
A jujube tree (a small date), supposedly planted by the man himself, faces south to show his fidelity to the Sòng, whose two Northern and Southern dynasty capitals both lie a long distance in that direction. The jujubes glow a pleasant deep red in the autumn and look just like small lanterns. This tiny site is very quiet unless you’re unlucky enough to encounter a bedlam of schoolchildren undergoing indoctrination in nationalism at the shrine of another resister of foreigners.
See
▶ Wén Tiānxiáng Cí, Fǔxué Hútòng 63, t 6401 4968, 9am–4.30pm. ¥5. m Zhāng Zìzhōng Lù (Line 5). b to 北兵马司: 104电车, 108电车, 113, 612, 758.
There’s a major complex of ancient buildings under renovation just to the west, which those sitting nearby said was something Confucian. It’s a short walk to the Former Residence of Máo Dùn from here. Return to Jiāodào Kǒu Nán Dàjiē (交道口南大街) and walk north, taking approximately the fourth hútòng on the left, Hòu Yuán’ēn Sì Hútòng (后圆恩寺胡同).
Next in North and East of the Imperial City: Three Small Temples for Three Big Heroes (story)
Previously: Míng City Wall Ruins Park
Main Index of A Better Guide to Beijing.
For discussion of China travel, see The Oriental-List.
