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Weituo (Skanda)
Behind the shrine of Maitreya stands the statue of Weituo facing backwards to a large courtyard. Because he made great contributions towards guarding the graveyard of Sakyamuni, he was appointed protector of Buddhism and ranked first among the 32 guardian generals. He holds in his hand a Monster-surrender Stick, named Vajra (a symbol of might), used for defeating and conquering evil spirits or devils.

At first, Weituo, together with the two generals Heng and Ha, and the four Heavenly Kings, were all supernatural generals who protected Buddhist doctrines. All of them took on the responsibility of guarding the Buddhist temples. However, each had his work to do. Weituo, also known as Weituo Tian, or Weituo Bodhisattva, is one of the eight generals under the leadership of the "Southern World Heavenly King" named Zengzhang. Each of the Four Heavenly Kings had eight generals totalling 32 generals in all and Weituo ranked first among all the guarding generals. According to Buddhism, Buddha issued decrees that Weituo be responsible to protect those people who became monks and nuns and to shield and sustain Buddhist doctrines.

Weituo was regarded as Shen Xing Tai Bao and was good at flying over the ground. Buddhism says that after Tathagata (Buddha) was cremated, suddenly a fast moving ghost stole Buddha's two teeth and escaped with them. After Weituo discovered this he was enraged and ran through the air after it. Although the ghost was moving fast and was very agile, he was no match for the fleet-footed Weituo and finally it was caught. Weituo took back the Buddha's teeth and thereafter, he was assigned the special job of guarding the graveyard of Sakyamuni, founder of Buddhism.

After Buddhism was introduced to China about 2,000 years ago, Weituo with an Indian origin thoroughly changed his appearance and became an ancient Chinese military general. His statue is armed with a golden suit of armour. The statue shows him to be young, majestically-looking with martial bearing.

Bronze Incense Burner
This incense burner was cast in 1748. It stands 4.2 metres high with six openings to let out flames. Above each opening two dragons playing with a pearl are cast in bas-relief, while on the pedestal a design with three lions contesting for a ball is portrayed. As one of the two bronze tripods of its kind ever found in China, this is really a treasure trove. The other one stands in the Imperial Garden in the Palace Museum.

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In the pavilion there is a stone stele erected in 1792. On the stele are inscriptions in four languages: Manchu on the front side; Mongolian on the eastern side; Tibetan on the western side and on its back Han language written by Emperor Qianlong. It records the origin of Lamaism and the emperor's attitude towards it. That's why the pavilion is called Imperial Handwriting Pavilion. The inscriptions are in four languages, so it is also known as the Pavilion of Four Languages.

Lamaism was quite popular in the Qing Dynasty. Lama means "teacher" or "superior being." At the very beginning only the monks on the top ranks were called lamas. Later it became an honourable title for all the monks.

Mount Sumeru* (Mount Xumi)

Mount Sumeru, a Ming bronze sculpture, is a representation of the Buddhist world outlook. According to Buddhist tradition, Mount Sumeru is supposed to be the center of the world. On the top of it lies the legendary paradise where Sakyamuni and men of moral integrity live after death. The position of the stars near the peak roughly corresponds to the findings of modern astronomy. On the slopes are the dwellings for mankind and the Heavenly Kings. At the bottom, the floral design stands for sea waves. Below the seas evil spirits, devils or criminals abide in Hell.

Four Study Halls

On either side of the courtyard are four subsidiary halls devoted to the lamas' studies of specialized subjects: medicine in the Medicine Hall; mathematics in the Mathematics Hall; esoteric in the Esoteric Hall; Buddhist philosophy in the Esoteric Hall. Twenty-six students of Tibetan and Mongolian nationalities were sent from Inner Mongolia, Qinghai and Liaoning. They came to study at Yonghegong Lamasery in spring 1981 and have taken part in Buddhist ceremonies. The youngest was 20 years old and the oldest 34. They all came from Buddhist families. The courses are: Tibetan language, the religious discipline of the Yellow Sect, the traditional sutras and religious rituals. Half of their time is spent in classroom studies and the rest in services in the compound. They follow monastic discipline and are expected to become successors to the elder lamas staffing the temple at present.

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Dalai Lama and Panehen Erdeni
When Tsong Kha-pa was alive, he had two famous disciples named Dalai and Panchen, who were later deemed the reincarnations of Tsong Kha-pa and succeeded to the throne of the Living Buddhas after Tsong Kha-pa's death with the titles of the First Dalai Lama and the First Panchen Erdeni. After that, the succeeding Living Buddhas inherited the titles. Up till now already the Fourteenth Dalai Lama and the Eleventh Panchen Erdeni exist. On either side of the statue of Tsong Kha-pa is a throne, the one on the left is for Dalai Lama when he came to preach; the one on the right for Panchen Erdeni. In 1954 Panchen Erdeni held Buddhist ceremonies here. "Dalai" means vast sea in Mongolian, and "Lama" means teacher in Tibetan.

The Reincarnation System
The Fifth Dalai Lama (1617-1682) declared that in the future when a Dalai Lama died his spirit would pass out of the corpse into an infant boy who had been born right at the moment of the Dalai Lama's death. The problem was to find the right child. In some cases the dying Dalai Lama would predict where his incarnation could be found. Quite often there were many babies born at the same moment and the investigation had to last for years. The childs boy must confirm to the ideal shape, notably a large head and generous ears, which were considered indicative of wisdom. Objects belonging to the Dalai Lama were identified, which would help establish whether the child was the living incarnation of the Dalai Lama. When he was two to six years old, his regents took him to Lhasa from his home for training. The parents of the chosen child, usually of humble origin, were also brought to Lhasa and given noble status. The Regents exercised full power until the Buddha incarnate reached the age of eighteen.

As the old reincarnation system had many disadvantages, Emperor Qianlong introduced in 1792 a new method of "drawing lots from the gold urn." The new system stipulated that many children were to be selected from various places after the death of a Living Buddha, and each child had a lot with his name inscribed on it. All the lots were to be put into a gold urn; lamas were to recite Buddhist scriptures. Buddhists believed that recitation of Buddhist scriptures was a process to reincarnate the dead. While people were watching, the high commissioners sent by the emperor would pick up the lot dropped out of the shaking urn and show it to the people. Therefore, the child with his name on it would be considered the reincarnation of the Living Buddha.

Scripture-Turning Wheel
The wheel is called the Scripture-Turning Wheel. It is said that each wheel, big or small, is stuffed with Buddhist scripture. If you turn it one revolution, it means you have already read all the Buddhist scripture once.

Buddhist Scriptures
Along the walls on both sides of the hall stand bookcases holding 108 volumes of the Buddhist Sutras in Tibetan language translated from ancient Indian language. It is titled The Great Tibetan Buddhist Sutra, with 207 volumes of the sequel of the Sutras. Now very few such Buddhist scriptures are preserved in perfect condition.

Mountain of Five Hundred Arhats ck wood and the arhats modeled out of gold, silver, bronze, iron and tin. Five hundred arhats are worshipped in some Buddhist temples. When Sakyamuni preached, there was no written scripture. Later his 500 disciples wrote down the Great Tibetan Buddhist Sutra according to what he preached. For their contributions, they were upgraded from lamas to arhats. Here a vivid picture shows they were on the road to Buddhahood.

Fish-and-Dragon Evolving Basin
This Fish-and-Dragon Evolving Basin is carved out of ebony wood. Buddhism has it that human beings evolved from fish, and those who have both ability and political integrity could continuously evolve to dragons. Emperor Qianlong had a bath in the basin when he was three days old. His mother hoped that her son would evolve to a dragon. So the basin is also called Three-day-old emperor Washing Basin.

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This pavilion is also named the Tower of the Great Buddha. In the centre of the building is a huge statue of Maitreya, Buddha of the Future, carved out of a single trunk of white sandalwood with a total cost of 80,000 taels of silver (2,500 kilos of silver) an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records in 1990. It is 26 metres high, 18 metres above the ground and 8 metres under the ground, and 8 metres in diameter. More than 1,000 metres of satin was used to make a yellow robe for the huge Buddha.

The temple was converted into a lamasery in 1744, but this part was not completed until 1750. Emperor Qianlong felt that the area at the rear of the lamasery was too bare and planned to build a high tower as a protective screen, but it was very difficult to find a sandalwood tree of such size. The Tibetan envoy learned of this in Beijing and told the Seventh Dalai Lama about it. Shortly afterwards, a white sandalwood tree was brought to Nepal from India by the king of Nepal. The Seventh Dalai Lama bartered this huge sandalwood tree with huge precious gems from Nepal, and sent it here as a gift to the emperor to express his thanks because Emperor Qianlong had sent troops to Tibet to put down a rebellion and turned back the power to the Seventh Dalai Lama. It took three years to ship this huge tree from the banks of the Yangtze River, through the Grand Canal and up to Beijing and another three years for carving and erection. The hall was built later. In 1750 it was entirely completed. Behind the Great Buddha, there are ten thousand small Buddhas on three stories. Hence the name, Ten-Thousand-Happiness Pavilion.

First refurbished in 1953, the temple was again restored in 1978, and opened to the public in 1981. The latest effort, which started in 1992, focused on the renewal of the Giant Buddhist Maitreya and was completed in October 1993. The two-year facelift cost more than 500,000 yuan (US$87,719) state funds most of which was spent on coating the statue with 2.5 kilos of gold foil. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the Maitreya is the tallest and biggest in the world today.

Zhaofolou (Tower of the Shining Buddha)

The building was built in 1694. Qianlong's mother used to pray here. The "Five Hundred Arhats Hill" made of gold, silver, copper, iron and tin, the 18-metre-high huge Tathagata Buddha (Rulaifo) engraved from a 26-metre-long sandalwood log, and the niche for Shining Buddha carved out of nanmu (this kind of nanmu can give off a unusual scent reputed to repel mosquitoes in summer) are accredited as the three matchless masterpieces in the Lama Temple.

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Law guarantees freedom of religious belief in China. Normal activities of different religions can be carried out in China according to their rights prescribed by the Constitution and Law. Buddhism and Taoism (Daoism) are comparatively widespread in China.

There are more than 100 million religious followers in China, more than 85,000 places of worship, and 3,000 religious communities with 30,000 clergy to serve the spiritual needs of their followers.

Of the top five religions, Buddhism, the most influential, has a history of more than 2,000 years in China. There are now over 9,500 Buddhist temples and monasteries with 200,000 monks and nuns registered at temples throughout China. Taoism, native to the country, has a history of more than 1,700 years. There are over 6,000 Taoist priests and nuns who live in the temples, with more than 600 temples and monasteries open to the public. Islam was introduced to China in the seventh century. There are about 20 million Muslims and more than 35,000 mosques. Catholicism and Protestantism boomed in China with the Opium War in the 1840s. There are about 4 million Catholics, including 2,700 clergymen, and 4,000 Catholic churches, about 10 million Christians or Protestants, including 18,000 missionaries, 8,000 churches and 20,000 simply equipped meeting places in China. China now has 2,000 religious social organizations and 48 religious schools and colleges. All religious organizations operate their own affairs independently, run seminaries to suit their own needs, publish their classical works and other publications and have service organs to serve public interest. Religious scriptures, books and magazines are published by various religions. China's Constitution stipulates that the state protects normal religious activities. No one may make use of religion to engage in activities that disrupt public order, impair the health of citizens or interfere with the educational system of the state. In order to ensure that Chinese citizens really enjoy the freedom of religious belief, religious bodies and religious affairs are not subject to any foreign domination.

President Jiang Zeming said at a three-day national work conference on the subject, which ended on December 12, 2001. China will effectively implement the policy of "freedom for religious belief" and conduct religious work according to law. Religious work enjoys an important status in the country's affairs. Under the new situation, the Party's leadership over religion should be strengthened The work on religion is closely linked with the comity between different ethnic groups, social stability, national security and reunification, as well as China's relations with foreign countries. The influence of religion on political and social lives in today's world should never be underestimated. Communist Party members do not believe in any religion but treat religion with a scientific point of view. Freedom for religious belief is a basic right enjoyed by all citizens according to the Chinese Constitution, and to respect and protect such a right embodies the Party's commitment to protect human rights. On the one hand, each person enjoys the freedom of believing or not believing in religion, while on the other; religious work should be conducted within the scope of the Constitution and Laws. Religious works should not obstruct social work, working order and living order. Any religion is not allowed to interfere in the country's administrative, judicial and educational works. Religion should never be allowed to be used for opposing the Party leadership and socialist system, destroying national reunification and ethnic unity, as well as harming national interests. Religious people should love their country, support the socialist system and Party leadership, and obey the country's laws. China adopts the principle of separating politics from religions, stressing no religion has the right to override the Constitution and laws. The principle of independence must be followed and foreign interference in China's religious work should be absolutely prohibited.

Beijng-Zhuhai Expressway begun in 1986, the 2,291-kilometre-long expressway starts in Beijing and ends at Zhuhai, a coastal city of South China's Guangdong Province, while traversing the provinces of Hebei, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, and Guangdong. It is the first national expressway artery to open in the country on September 30, 2004.

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The Chinese people are sometimes thought to be rice-eaters, but most northerners prefer food made of wheat flour, and mantou is the most popular form of such food. It is made by steaming the dough and is therefore described in English as "steamed bread".

The first step in the traditional method of making mantou is fermenting the dough. Normally a small piece of leaven is kept from the previous time. This is well mixed in flour and water to make a new piece of dough, which is left for a few hours to swell. The leavening dough, when ready for steaming, contains a high degree of acid, so a suitable amount of soda solution must be mixed and well kneaded in it. The dough is then divided into smaller pieces, either round or square, which are arranged well spaced on a rack, and steamed under cover.

A kind of active yeast has been developed in recent years, making the steaming of bread easier. All one has to do is to solve the yeast in cold or lukewarm water and mix it well in dough. The dough is then kneaded, divided and shaped into pieces of a suitable size. Leave them in a temperature of 20.C to 30.C for half an hour at most, and they are ready for steaming. This method cuts short the period of leavening and improves the taste of the steamed bread.

An interesting story tells about the origin of mantou. It was first made, so the legend goes, by order of Zhuge Liang, a famous statesman and chief minister of the State of Shu during the Period of Three Kingdoms (220-280 A.D.). On an expedition to conquer the cave-dwelling southern Man barbarians who had often marauded his state, he came to the side of the Lushui River at the head of a big army. Someone told him that the river was poisonous and treacherous and that human lives would be lost in crossing unless the tyrannical River God was appeased. The way to do this, the man said, was to offer him mantou (heads of the captured barbarians) as human sacrifice. Now Zhuge Liang was a kind-hearted man. He accepted the suggestion but ordered to use "heads" (tou) made of dough instead of real human ones, thus saving a number of lives.

Since then the story goes on to say, mantou (barbarians' heads) has become a popular food and spread to the north of China.

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