[Beijing] Built in 1443 during Ming Dynasty, the Fahai Temple (法海寺) is a Buddhist temple located at the foot of Cuiwei Moutain, Beijing’s outskirt. Historians believed that although the Temple was built by Li Tong, a powerful Ming eunuch, ostensibly to show his indebtedness to Emperor Yingzong (明英宗), Li had his own agenda, as his tomb sits just a few hundred meters away down the slope. For those who had read enough about the evils of the Ming eunuchs, you would know collectively, history -official and unofficial – has long painted them as a highly corrupted and greedy group, capable of not much except endless manipulation and incrimination of loyal officials. Many historians also blamed them for the fall of the Ming dynasty. Today, the Temple is more famous for its beautiful wall murals from the Ming dynasty, which include marvellous paintings of Bodhisattvas and heavenly deities. Visitors who wants to look at these paintings would be required to put on shoe gloves and will be given a torchlight as the hall with these murals are in complete darkness. It will be a very special experience and definitely worth the long car ride and some hiking in the mountain! 🔦 📍Beijing, China. 中国北京。🇨🇳 . . . #china #beijing #forbiddencity #travelthroughthelenses #nonmainstream #ancientchina #travelgram #igchina #history #love #chinagram #seetheworld #bitesize #beijinger #chinese #chinesearchitecture #citygrammers #oldplaces #chinaexplorer #discoverchina #createexplore #winter #instatravel #sihantravels #igdaily #instabeijing #notatourist #中国 #北京 #故宫

[Pudu Temple, Beijing] Judging from the name and the appearance of this monument today, it may just sound or look like any other similar looking place of worship in Beijing or China, but this is a place that’s filled with stories. First in the year 1442, the Emperor Yingzong of Ming dynasty (明英宗) personally led a half million strong army to fight against the Mongols but was met with one of the most humiliating battles in Chinese history, at least 100 000 Ming soldiers were crushed by the Mongol cavalry. The emperor himself was captured alive by the enemy and the news shook the Ming empire to its core, his younger brother was installed as the new ruler known as Emperor Jingtai (景泰帝). Although Emperor Yingzong was released one year later, he was immediately put under house arrest by Emperor Jingtai for almost 7 years. During this time, he was locked up in this place which was later renamed as Pudu Temple (普渡寺) during Qing dynasty. I chanced upon this place while walking to the Forbidden City from Wangfujing, it took me about 3 years to realise this was where Emperor Yingzong was held captive and it was also the former residence of Dorgon (多尔衮), a Manchu prince and regent of the early Qing dynasty! The discover almost blew my mind as initially I thought this was just any other ordinary place of worship! 😃 📍Beijing, China. 中国北京。🇨🇳 . . . #china #beijing #forbiddencity #travelthroughthelenses #nonmainstream #ancientchina #travelgram #igchina #history #love #learnsomethingnew #seetheworld #bitesize #beijinger #chinese #chinesearchitecture #citygrammers #oldplaces #chinaexplorer #discoverchina #createexplore #instagram #instatravel #sihantravels #igdaily #instabeijing #notatourist #中国 #北京

🧚🏻‍♂️帝像變變變！ 💡明代帝后像的數量，在這次特展中的特別多，為什麼？ #背景越來越豐富 #濾鏡越來越奇幻 🔦因為比起兩宋帝后像，三百多年維持著幾乎一致的裝扮與場景，明代帝王像在接近三百年的歲月裡，則持續變變變。 階段1:〈明仁宗坐像〉可以代表最早期的款式：也就是帝王跨坐在交腳圈椅上，腳踏下方還有一張華麗的地毯，皇帝身後不再多加擺飾背景。 階段2: 第二個階段則如〈明宣宗坐像〉。明宣宗是明仁宗之子。畫中原本隨時可開闔使用的交腳圈椅，此時則改以可能以玉雕的華麗寶座取代，其他場景設定依然類似。 階段3: 第三個階段則可以〈明英宗坐像〉為例。這幅畫作是現存明代皇帝坐像中 #最早全正面地面對觀者的作品！ 🤹🏻前面兩個階段都是以半側面的角度側向觀者。此外，畫中英宗穿著的龍袍上，與之前皇帝龍紋常服不同，為更正式織繡著「十二紋章」的袞服。搭配明英宗正面朝向觀者的效果，整體畫面對稱穩固，讓這張帝王肖像，就像是一個象徵至高權力的大型符號圖案。 階段4: 第四個階段可以〈明孝宗坐像〉為代表，與前三階段維持帝王身後定義不明的場景不同。這個階段華麗的寶座後方，還會豎立三面大屏風，幾乎覆蓋了原本上半部的空白，將帝王更完整的包覆於各種物像之中。 🏆明代帝王像經過數段累積與演變後，畫中陳設、擺飾與符號的堆砌，朝越來越繽紛的方向發展，最終幾乎佔滿畫中帝王存在的空間。