Wen Tianxiang Temple 文天祥祠Wén Tiānxiáng Cí

About Wen Tianxiang Temple

A small shrine to Wen Tianxiang, the Southern Song chief minister who was captured by the Yuan, held in Dadu (today's Beijing) and executed in 1283 after refusing to serve the new dynasty. First built in 1376 near the site of the prison where he was held and moved to its present site in the Wanli reign, it has two courtyards: the front hall holds an exhibition on his life, and the rear hall a modern seated statue with Ming and Qing steles. A stone carving of his Song of Righteousness, after the calligraphy of Wen Zhengming, stands in the front courtyard, and an old jujube tree in the rear courtyard, said to have been planted by Wen himself, leans south.

How to get to Wen Tianxiang Temple

Near the west end of Fuxue Hutong in Dongcheng District, about 10 minutes' walk from Zhangzizhonglu or Nanluoguxiang metro station. Closed on Mondays.

Nearby

• Temple of Confucius and Imperial Academy 孔庙和国子监 under 10 km
  Courtyards of stone steles naming imperial exam graduates, beside the old Imperial Academy
• Lama Temple 雍和宫 under 10 km
  Incense-filled courtyards and an 18-metre sandalwood Buddha in a working monastery
• Drum and Bell Towers 钟鼓楼 under 10 km
  Beijing's old timekeeping towers, with drum performances and views over the hutong roofs
• Shichahai 什刹海 under 10 km
  Three linked lakes ringed by hutongs and lakeside bars, with open-air skating in winter
• Prince Gong's Mansion 恭王府 under 10 km
  A Qing courtyard mansion and rock garden, home first to a corrupt minister, then a prince

Also within 20 km: Zhizhu Temple 智珠寺 (under 10 km), Red Building of Peking University 北京大学红楼 (under 10 km), Bailin Temple 柏林寺 (under 10 km), Jingshan Park 景山公园 (under 10 km), Guo Moruo Residence 郭沫若故居 (under 10 km), Dagaoxuan Hall 大高玄殿 (under 10 km).

On the map

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Learn more

• Wikipedia (Chinese)