User:Vanessa1027/Overall Introduction

Jinghai Temple (Temple of the Calm Sea) was built in 1416 by the Yongle emperor of Ming dynasty to honor Zheng He who is not only an eunuch but also an envoy of the whole Ming dynasty. He had traveled to India and even as far as the east coast of Africa for seven times through seas. The temple was first built as a dedication to the Goddess of the Sea, Tianfei. It was also called "Tin Hua" in Hong Kong. Tin Hua or Tianfei was created by the emperor for the namesake of a young woman from Fujian province in China who dedicated herself and rescued lots of distressed sailors miraculously on seas. It was one of the largest and most grandiose temples in Nanjing. It has witnessed the failure of the Qing dynasty in "The first Opium War", on August 29, 1842. The British ship, Cornwallis, anchored on the Yangtze River which is just on the west of Jinghai Temple. This location was the place where the first unequal treaty, <Treaty of Nanking>, was signed. In the Republican Period, after the Taiping Rebellion and the destruction of the traditional architectures during the Cultural Revolution, the temple had almost disappeared. A reconstruction of Jinghai Temple was in process in 1987. After that, it was expanded in 1996 by the decision of the local government. Then it had became the museum of Nanjing Treaty. Before the return of Hong Kong to mainland China in 1996, this museum was a place that large nationalistic gatherings took place. Today the museum occupies only 15% of the Jinghai Temple. The only part of the original temple survives until today is a stele which was established and written by the Yongle emperor himself to describe why the temple was built at that time. In addition, the museum was built next to a large outcropping rock known as Sansuyan (Three Night Crag) where the Southern Song general, Yu Yunwen, moored his fleet for three nights on his return trip after defeating the Jin army in Anhui province. [3]