Three Small Temples for Three Big Heroes

Part of A Better Guide to Běijīng

Out of all the myriad monuments and ancestral halls that were once sprinkled across Běijīng, it’s instructive to note that shrines to resisters of foreigners have been those not only most likely to survive but also most likely to be chosen for restoration by the current emperors.

Wén Tiānxiáng attempted to fight off the Mongols to save the Sòng, Yú Qiān prevented their return during the Míng, and Yuán Chónghuàn held off the Manchu Qīng towards the end of the Míng.

This might give foreign investors pause for thought, until perhaps they consider that all three heroes came to bad ends, two of them at the hands of those who owed them most.

The foreigners always won in the end.

Next in North and East of the Imperial City: Ancestral Temple of Yú Qiān
Previously: Ancestral Temple of Wén Tiānxiáng
Main Index of A Better Guide to Beijing.

For discussion of China travel, see The Oriental-List.