Jokhang | |
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![]() The Jokhang, with Barkhor Square in front | |
Religion | |
Affiliation | Tibetan Buddhism |
Sect | Gelug |
Deity | Shakyamuni; home of the most-venerated statue in Tibet |
Location | |
Location | Barkhor, Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region |
Country | China |
Architecture | |
Style | Vihara, Tibetan, Nepalese |
Founder | Songtsen Gampo |
Date established | 7th century |
Official name | Jokhang Temple Monastery |
Part of | Historic Ensemble of the Potala Palace, Lhasa |
Criteria | Cultural: (i), (iv), (vi) |
Reference | 707ter-002 |
Inscription | 1994 (18th Session) |
Extensions | 2000, 2001 |
Area | 7.5 ha (810,000 sq ft) |
Buffer zone | 130 ha (14,000,000 sq ft) |
Coordinates | 29°39′11″N 91°2′51″E / 29.65306°N 91.04750°E |
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Tibetan Buddhism |
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The Jokhang (Tibetan: ཇོ་ཁང།, Chinese: 大昭寺), or the Ra sa 'phrul snang gtsug lag khang,[1] or Qoikang Monastery, or Zuglagkang, (Tibetan: གཙུག་ལག་ཁང༌།, Wylie: gtsug-lag-khang, ZYPY: Zuglagkang or Tsuklakang), is considered the "heart of Lhasa".[2] The Jokhang consists of a Tibetan Buddhist temple, its temple complex, and a Gelug school monastery. Located in Barkhor Square, it was built in c.640 by King Songsten Gampo to house the Jowo Mikyo Dorje,[3] a statue of Akshobhya Buddha, brought to Tibet by his Nepalese queen,[2] Bhrikuti. Another statue, the Jowo Shakyamuni, brought by his Tang Chinese queen Wencheng, is currently housed in the temple[2] and the Jowo Mikyo Dorje is housed in the Ramoche, in Lhasa.
Many Nepalese artists and craftsmen worked on the temple's original design and construction. Around the 14th century, the temple was associated with the Vajrasana in India.[citation needed] In the 18th century the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing dynasty, following the Nepalese Gorkha invasion of Tibet in 1792, did not allow the Nepalese to visit this temple [citation needed] and it became an exclusive place of worship for the Tibetans. During the Chinese Cultural Revolution in Tibet, the Red Guards attacked the Jokhang temple in 1966 and for a decade there was no worship. During the Chinese development of Lhasa, the Barkhor Square in front of the temple was encroached.[citation needed] Renovation of the Jokhang took place from 1972 to 1980. In 2000, the Jokhang became a UNESCO World Heritage Site as an extension of the Potala Palace, which has been a World Heritage Site since 1994.