Jin court's Buddhist patronage

Timeline

1. 1131–1135Minzhong Temple, Yanjing · BeijingEmperor Taizong enshrined Buddhist statues in the inner court, brought a sandalwood statue to Minzhong Temple in Yanjing, and held annual assemblies to feed monks; during the Tianhui era he ordered the monk Shanxiang to build Jingtu Temple in Yingzhou, Shanxi, and built a monastery in Yanjing for Master Haihui of Fojuo, which Xizong later named Dayansheng Temple.
2. 1130Huining Prefecture · HeilongjiangThe court banned private ordination of monks and nuns, reflecting that Buddhism had expanded so far that state intervention was needed; thereafter the Jin regulated monasteries through systems of granted titles, sutra exams, and monk superintendents.
3. 1136–1140Various circuits of Hebei and Shanxi · North ChinaEmperor Xizong continued Taizong's Buddhist policies, building many pagodas and monasteries in Hebei and Shanxi, and established officials such as State Preceptor, Monk Superintendent, and Chief Abbot to manage monasteries across the circuits; Buddhism and Sinicizing administrative reforms mutually reinforced each other, becoming a cultural resource for the legitimacy of Jin rule.