Tianning Temple, Buddhist temple in Xicheng District, Beijing, China
Tianning Temple is a Buddhist temple complex in Xicheng District, Beijing, centred on the 12th-century Pagoda of Tianning Temple. The thirteen-storey octagonal brick and stone tower rises 57.8 m from a square platform; its base is carved as a sumeru pedestal with guardian figures, and its arched doorways and bracket sets imitate wooden construction.
The pagoda was built between 1119 and 1120 under Emperor Tianzuo of the Liao, as recorded on a stele found in its steeple in 1991 and now in the Beijing Stone Carving Art Museum. The temple itself is first documented as Tianwang Temple, founded in the Tang between 746 and 755; it was renamed Tianning in 1435. The grounds were rebuilt in the Ming and Qing, and the temple became a nunnery after restoration in 2007.
The temple was renamed Tianning in 1435, during the Ming Xuande era; before that it was known as Tianwang Temple. The pagoda's name, Tianwang Temple Relic Pagoda, was confirmed by a Liao stele found in 1991–1992 inside the steeple base. The temple became a nunnery after reopening in 2007, and the 2012 enthronement of Abbess Fa'en was held here.
The temple is located on Tianningsi Front Street in Xicheng District and welcomes visitors daily without entrance fees. The area is accessible by foot and nearby streets provide easy orientation to find the complex.
The pagoda is entirely solid, with no hollow chambers or internal staircase. A 1991–1992 restoration recovered a Liao-era inscription from the steeple base, now kept at the Beijing Stone Carving Art Museum, which fixed the construction dates to 1119–1120 and the original name, Tianwang Temple Relic Pagoda.
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