Guandi temple near the city gate

Looking through the information recently, I came across a saying: "According to legend, in the 20th year of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty (1387), Zhu Yuanzhang ordered Zhou Dexing of Xiahou and Jiang to rectify the coastal defense and build a city, and all seven counties in the state should build temples to worship Guan Di." Is this statement true? Does Guandi Temple still exist?

According to the historical records of Quanzhou, from the end of Yuan Dynasty to the beginning of Ming Dynasty, the peripheral gates of Quanzhou were Renfengmen (East Gate), Yichengmen (West Gate), Dejimen (South Gate), Chaotianmen (North Gate), Tonghuaimen (Tumen), Linzhangmen (New Gate), Nanxun Gate (Watergate) and Xiaodongmen (whether it has been built or not).

According to interviews and research data, there are still Guandi temples similar to the above gates, including:

1. Renfengmen: Zhong Yi Palace, located in Zhong Yi Lane, is dedicated to Guan Di, and is widely dedicated to loyal politicians of past dynasties.

2. Chaotianmen: Yuesuo Guandi Palace, located in Beimen Street, Doudu Lane. The temple is dedicated to Guandi, Lady Di's mother, Emperor Yang, Guanyin and Tugong. It is said that Guandi and Guandi of Guan Yue Temple in Tonghuai of Tumen Street are a tree, cut in half and carved.

3. Tonghuai Gate: Tonghuai Guan Yue Temple is located in the middle of Tumen Street. Guan Yu was mainly dedicated in the temple, and Yue Fei was added in the third year of the Republic of China (19 14).

4. Nanxunmen: Sanyi Temple, located in Zhu Jie, opposite Nanxunmen site. In addition to Guandi, there are Liu Bei and Zhang Fei in the temple. It is said that Guandi, who was enshrined in Guan Yue Temple in Tonghuai, passed through the furnace from then on.

So it is possible to build Guandi Temple next to the city gate, but there is a temporary lack of historical data to prove that it was built by Zhu Yuanzhang.

Is it an isolated case to build Guandi Temple next to Quanzhou City Gate? According to the search, there is Guandi Temple in Jiumen urn in the inner city of Beijing. There is Guandi Temple near the Eight Gates of Jian 'ou Ancient City. So Quanzhou is obviously not an isolated case.

Why did you build Guandi Temple next to the city gate in ancient times? Guan Yu was honored as a warrior, crowned king since the Song Dynasty, and was named a loyal monarch to help heaven and protect the country during the Wanli period. Therefore, in order to motivate the soldiers guarding the border and the city, China has built many Guandi temples in border areas and important passes. Such as Juyongguan Wang Guan Temple, Jiayuguan Guandi Temple and Tianshan Guandi Temple; There are also several Guandi temples in Yili, Xinjiang, the westernmost part of Bantu, China. Dongshan Island, Fujian, on the southeast coast, where the island keepers built Guan Temple in the Ming Dynasty; Statues about Gong are also carved in the Cliff Grottoes of Xishan Mountain on the bank of Dianchi Lake in Kunming, southern Xinjiang. Therefore, Guandi Temple, as the main entrance, was built to meet the needs at that time.

To sum up, although it can't be directly confirmed that Zhu Yuanzhang ordered it, there should be Guandi Temple next to the Seven Gates in Quanzhou. At present, only four places are known, and the rest have yet to be verified.

By the way, in the process of searching for information, I also saw an interesting record: "(Quanzhou) integrity theory is very popular ... all buildings are accompanied by the theory that the five elements are interdependent because of their position, even if they are dedicated to the gods." For example, the four doors left by Zicheng are: Xingchunmen lives in the east, belongs to Party A and Party B, belongs to wood, and should be Jin Kemu, so Zhao Xingjun, the god of wealth upstairs; The Qing Gate in the west is Geng Xin, which belongs to gold, so it should be burned with fire, so there are five phantoms upstairs (that is, fire and star king); Chongyang Gate, located in the south, is Ding Bing, which belongs to fire and should be made of water, so the water supply is Dexing Jun; Quanshanmen, who lives in the north, belongs to water, so it has to be covered with soil, so it is dedicated to Fude Shen Zheng, that is, the land god (there is only one underground palace near Quanshanmen). "

Since the Song Dynasty, many celebrities in Quanzhou have made in-depth research on geomantic omen, such as Cai Qing, Li Tingji, Li Zhi in the Ming Dynasty and Zeng Zhou in the Republic of China. As a Christian, I objectively and dialectically believe that Feng Shui, which conforms to nature and understands the laws of natural science, is beneficial to human survival and life, but I disagree with the statement that Feng Shui is related to ghosts and gods.

The above notes are only based on historical research and have nothing to do with faith.

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