CIS Blog
By James Hevia
- Director, International Studies Program
- Professor, New Collegiate Division
The Five Friendlies, the official mascots of the 2008 Olympic Games, are turning up in unusual places across the city. Photo by James Hevia.
August 6, 2008
The Lama Temple
Within Beijing's $40 billion Olympic makeover, an unexpected transformation.
Today we visited the Yonghegong, better known in the US and Europe as the Lama Temple. It is one of the small number of temples in Beijing devoted to Tibetan Buddhism. I have been going there since the late 1980s and seen the temple go through a number of phases, including complete restoration and the inclusion of many deities and tankha paintings that may or may not have been at the temple prior to the twentieth century.
The site is an eighteenth century creation of the Manchu-Qing emperor Qianlong and was originally where the Tibetan Buddhist canon and texts on Tibetan medicine were translated into the other three main languages of the Qing empire (1644-1911), Manchu, Mongol and Chinese. There are stelae in the temple commemorating various events, all of which are written in the four languages. One of these, the Lama Shuo (Discourse on Lamaism), was written by the Qianlong emperor and took the important step of altering the selection process of the Dalai and Panchen Lamas. In it, Qianlong declared that henceforth the lamas would be selected at random from names deposited into a golden urn. One of contemporary China's claims to sovereignty over Tibet comes from this historical precedent.
Up to two years ago, an exhibition hall at the rear of the temple told this story and others about Tibet having long been part of China. But today, we discovered that the historical narrative of Tibet in China had been replaced by a new display of quite marvelous Tibetan Buddhist artifacts, including mandalas, tankhas, statues of aspects of the Buddha and guardian gods. There is also a tankha of the Qianlong emperor as the bodhisattva Manjusri, and one of his instructor in the esoteric mysteries of Tantric Buddhism, the Zhangjia Rinpoche, a reincarnated lama.
But perhaps the replacement of one form of exhibition with another was not the most striking feature of the temple today. Far more moving were the sheer numbers of people worshipping, few if any of whom seemed to be Tibetan. Like many temples in Beijing, the Lama Temple has developed a following of loyal worshippers. And like all temples, the Yonghegong contains special features to draw devotees. These include halls of worship for the transmitter of Buddhism to Tibet, Tongkhapa, halls to various aspects of the Buddha, and halls for deities who help the sick and infirm. People burn incense and make offerings to the deities on altars in front of their statues. There is also a side temple near the rear with a statue of Guanyin, the Buddha of compassion, a goddess worshipped all over China. Her altar was especially interesting today. It contained an offering not only of incense or fresh fruit, but also a full set of the mascots for the Olympics, the Five Friendlies (those little creatures next to the candle holders at the front of the altar).
Permalink: http://cis.uchicago.edu/news/blog/2008/080806-lama_temple.shtml
By James Hevia
- Director, International Studies Program
- Professor, New Collegiate Division
The Beijing Olympics slogan, "One World, One Dream" appears throughout the city and across China. Photo by Ming Xia (CC).
The 2008 Olympics feature 5 mascots: Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying, and Nini. According to the official website of the Beijing Games, the mascots "embody the natural characteristics of four of China's most popular animals -- the Fish, the Panda, the Tibetan Antelope, the Swallow -- and the Olympic Flame. When you put their names together -- Bei Jing Huan Ying Ni -- they say "Welcome to Beijing," offering a warm invitation that reflects the mission of Fuwa as young ambassadors for the Olympic Games..." Photo by Zoe Chafe (cc), Beijing 2007.
July 17, 2008
Olympic Preparations
Sign on the streets everywhere —
Beijing 2008: One World, One Dream
Sign on a girl passing in the street —
Too Fast to Live, Too Young to Die
The beautification of Beijing has begun with a vengeance, even around us -- turns out the gym seen through our window is a volley-ball venue. Yesterday thousands of potted plants arrived. They've been arranged around the trees lining the street, at the front gate, and along the street leading to the gym. Silhouettes of volley-ball players adorn the fences surrounding the campus and along the road to the gym, and a booth has been put up across the street to be manned by volunteers who are suppose to be able to answer questions in English.
Meanwhile, outside the neighborhood, other kinds of flower displays are appearing everywhere; the air is becoming more breathable; the mobile street food vendors have been banished for the duration; and the city is cleaner thanks to the enormous amount of rain since early June. Sunday, auto traffic will be cut in half -- plates ending with even numbers will drive on even dates, ones with odd numbers on odd numbered days. Auto taxes will be reduced for two months. People are buying new bikes, or taking old ones out of storage. The video screens on new subway cars are no longer playing videos on how to use the subway system. Instead we have instructions on various Olympic events with replays from Athens and national games in the PRC. New subway lines are set to open in a few days.
All is smoldering euphoria here. We don't know if there will be one big explosion of joy on August 8, or several smaller ones leading up to the opening. I go back to the T-shirt and wonder if its a comment on Olympic mania, rather than a James Dean movie.
Permalink: http://cis.uchicago.edu/news/blog/2008/080717-olympics.shtml