Located at the southern foot of Cuiwei Mountain in the Shijingshan District of the western suburbs of Beijing, construction on the Fahai (Sea of Dharma) Temple was begun in 1439 by the Board of Works in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Funds were raised by Li Tong, a favorite official eunuch of the Ming Emperor. The Temple was completed in 1443 and named by Emperor Yingzhong more than 500 years ago.
The temple used to consist of a main hall (Mahavira Hall), four subsidiary halls, a bell tower, a drum tower, and several supplementary rooms. All the buildings were decorated with remarkable murals. But unfortunately, only the main hall and several side rooms survivied, making the remaining murals even more precious. According to historical records, the paintings were executed by famous artisans recruited from all over China, under the supervision of renowned court painters.
Covering 236.7 square metres in the Mahavira Hall, the existing murals are considered to be the best-preserved Ming Dynasty murals in China. Experts think it is a wonder that after more than 500 years the murals are still intact and look almost as bright and clear as they were when freshly finished, with an imposing atmosphere of grandeur, thanks to the mineral pigments used for staining the paintings. The 77 figures in the murals show a splendid and dignified grand gathering of Buddhas. Male and female, young and old, handsome and ugly, celestial beings are lifelike and untirely different from each other. But their spirits are linked with a unified belief and morale, presenting a pious atmosphere characteristic to such religious occasions. Executed in precious perspective and with a very refined style and meticulous brushwork, the females in the paintings look gentle and the males robust. Women's ornaments and men's armours and weapons are in bold relief, all made from gold thread, employing a unique technique in decoration.
All the figures have distinctivly individual characteristics but the portraits of the three principal Bodhisattvas are especially well done. And of the three, the 1.6-metre-high Guanyin (Avolokitesvara) is the most magnificent, looking spirited, affable, pure and far from the mortal world. She is barechested and graceful, with a transparent gauze kerchief draped casually over her shoulders. Decorated with flowers embroidered with hair-thin gold threads, her almost invisible kerchief seems buoyant, allowing the visitor to feel the benevolent goddess breath. Clouds separate the celestial beings from the world of the mortals, mainfested by rocks, streams, and such plants as bodhi trees, peonies, lilies, lotuses and bananas.
