The Historical Origin of Guandi Temple in Quanzhou

In the past 600 years, seven Guandi temples in Qimen, Quanzhou have flourished for a while. Because the local people believe in Guandi very much, in addition to these seven temples, some small temples have been built in every street. By the end of Qing Dynasty, there were more than 100 temples serving Guandi in Quanzhou. With the changes of the times, there are few incense left, and the most incense is still Tonghuai Temple. In many people's minds, Guan Gong is an omnipotent and responsive god. Therefore, whether you are getting married, doing business, getting sick or looking for a job, you should go to Guandi Temple to draw lots, hoping to get guidance and psychological comfort. Signing poems has also become a way for people to communicate with the gods. Compared with other temples, this signature poem of Guandi Temple is more elegant and rich in content, which undoubtedly attracts more believers.

Since the Song and Yuan Dynasties, local commerce and trade in Quanzhou have prevailed. Traditional business culture emphasizes that operators should have the virtue of "keeping promises and emphasizing commitments", and Guan Gong's image has become the representative of this virtue and is regarded as the patron saint of business, which is what we call "Wu Caishen". Anyone who does business will come to the temple to seek wealth and pray, and donate some incense money. Especially in recent years, Quanzhou's economy has developed rapidly, and people who get rich in business in Jinjiang, Shishi and other counties and cities often come to Tonghuai Guandi Temple to burn incense and donate money. Guandi Temple also used a large part of these incense money for charity and disaster relief.

The existing temples were rebuilt in the 16th year of the Republic of China (1927), and were completely renovated again from 1986 to 1990. The temple seat faces south, and consists of three parallel temples: Wucheng Temple, Chongxian Temple and Sanyi Temple, all of which are three entrances, with a building area of 1.300 square meters. During the large-scale reconstruction in the third year of the Republic of China (19 14), the front hall of Sanyi Temple retreated and juxtaposed with the front hall of the main hall, so that the three halls merged into one, forming a complex with symmetrical structure and spectacular temple shape. After the restoration, the temple is beautifully decorated with wood carvings, stone carvings and clay sculptures, and the roof is carved with porcelain dragons, flowers, birds and animals with different shapes, which reflects the artistic style of ancient buildings in southern Fujian.

There is no textual research on the founding date and initial regulations of Tonghuai Guandi Temple, which is said to have been built from the Southern Tang Dynasty to the Song Dynasty. During the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty (1522- 1566), Li Yide with a long history was rebuilt. At that time, there were left and right halls in the temple, each with a front hall, a main hall and a back hall. The left hall is dedicated to Shou Hou Ting (Guan Yu), and the right hall is dedicated to Lang Ping Houyan. During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty (1573— 16 19), the tourist hall was changed to Sanyi Hall, dedicated to Liu, Guan and Zhang, and Zhuge was attached. Tomorrow, in the first year (162 1), the Guandi Temple will be rebuilt, the abbot's room will be widened, and the statue of Guan Yu's crown will be molded in the back hall of Zuotang. A hall was built in the Qianlong Room of Qing Dynasty (1736— 1795) to worship Guan Yu's great-grandfather, grandfather and father. In front of the main hall, there is a Ritual and Music Pavilion (Ritual and Music Pavilion was changed into a school in Guangxu period, and it was named Licheng Primary School, which means "Li Li Cheng Le"). In the 16th year of the Republic of China (1927), the left temple was turned into gravel, while Sanyi Hall and Chongxian Hall remained. At that time, Zuotang was rebuilt according to the old system, and Guandi was carved out of the big camphor wood of Enyan.