元代大都の敕建寺院をめぐって

Abstract

Buddhist temples were successively built in the capital, Dadu by the Yuan Emperors. Some of these temples had Shenyudian 神御殿, in which the portraits of the builders, the Emperors and Empresses, were placed. All such temples had probably large structures in Tibetan Buddhistic style. In these temples which were built by Imperial edict, the Royal family who had not ascended the throne were enshrined. On the other hand, there were the Emperors who had not been enshrined. These facts are nothing but reflection of political strifes unrolled in successive reigns. We pay our attention to whether there is a character "聖" (sheng), in the posthumous title of those who were enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple 太廟. The differences in the Temple are entirely in accord with those perceived in the case of Shenyudian. Moreover, in those temples and the Imperial Ancestral Temple, Buddhist service with the major role of the Tibetan monks were frequently seen. It is not hard for us to imagine that Dadu was filled with peculiar atmosphere of Tibetan Buddhism.