Laoma Palace

Laoma Palace

Laoma palace, also known as Tianhou palace, is a history museum. It is located at the end of waima Road, Shantou City, Guangdong Province. The adjacent Guandi temple is the earliest building in Shantou before the opening of port. It was first built in the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty and rebuilt in 1992.

Detailed introduction

Mother is the honorific name of Chaoshan people for Mazu, the sea god. This is the Queen's palace commonly seen along the coast of China. Please come here to visit, mainly to understand its special significance in the development of Shantou.

At the end of Ming Dynasty and the beginning of Qing Dynasty, this beach was called "Shan". Fishermen go out to sea from here and come back here to dry their nets. Women often gather here, weaving fishing nets while waiting for their relatives to come back from the sea, gradually forming a residential area, which is the earliest prototype of Shantou. During the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty, people built Tianhou palace and Guandi temple here. When fishing boats go out to sea and Chaozhou people cross the ocean, they have to worship here, beg for peace, and pack some incense ash and soil with them to show their nostalgia for their hometown. This became the earliest building before Shantou was opened as a port. It was also a sign of the early Chaozhou people and overseas Chinese coming back to seek their roots, which was of great significance. Therefore, it was listed as a cultural relic protection unit. In 1992, it was rebuilt with the capital of the municipal government and the monument was erected.

The source of Chaoshan culture

Why only these two temples were built at the beginning? This is related to the source of Chaoshan culture.

When Shantou opened its port, the residents were mainly composed of three kinds of people: immigrants, local sea people and local mountain people. The representatives of their belief and worship are Guan Yu, Mazu and Sanshan king. Temples dedicated to these three gods are all over Chaoshan city and countryside. The common point of these three gods is that they all belong to hero worship. Their archetypes are all human beings. The king of the three mountains is a mountain god, which is mainly believed by mountain people. This is the seaside, so it's not available.

Guan Yu, a native of Jiezhou, Shanxi Province, was one of the important ministers and founders of Shu state during the Three Kingdoms period. Due to the publicity of the Three Kingdoms and romance of the Three Kingdoms, he was worshipped as a God by later generations for his loyalty and bravery. Shanxi people are good at business, and created China's financial industry. Where Shanxi people go, they take Guan Yu's worship and statues as their spiritual protection god. Because it is in line with the interests of the feudal rulers and the needs of the common people to advocate loyalty and righteousness. Taoism respected him as the emperor of Guansheng; Buddhism respected him as the king Buddha of Ming Dynasty; because Manchu people regarded him as the God of war, after the unification of China in the Qing Dynasty, they used administrative power to promote Guandi Temple throughout China, which was also called "Wenmiao" and "wumiao" together with the academic palace dedicated to Confucius, and was listed as an official Temple in the Qing Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, a large number of immigrants started from Shanxi and Henan, transited through Putian, Fujian, and gradually developed to Chaoshan. In the process of migration, they paid more attention to "righteousness". After they came to Chaoshan, Guan Yu's idol became their spiritual sustenance.

Mazu, the sea god, appeared after Song Dynasty. The prototype is Lin Mo Niang, a fisherman's daughter on Meizhou Island in Putian, Fujian Province. It is said that he could know the situation of the sea from afar when he was sitting at home, and he went out of the sea several times to rescue his father, brother and villagers in danger. Therefore, he was worshipped as the God of the sea, revered as Mazu, and granted the title of empress dowager, also known as Tianfei. It is impossible to examine whether Lin Mo Niang has "special function". But the appearance of Mazu is in line with the law. In ancient times, it was very dangerous and accidental to work at sea, so people needed spiritual protection. The only one in the world who can benefit others is his mother. Therefore, people respect it as Mazu. Chaoshan is a close neighbor of Fujian. It is natural to worship Mazu first.

present situation

Now, when overseas Chaozhou people return home, they are happy to see the new look of Shantou Special Economic Zone, but they feel strange. Seeing laoma palace and Guandi temple is like seeing a long-time departed family member. They have many feelings of remembering their ancestors.

When you are visiting, please pay attention to the various Chaoshan crafts in the temple. For example, the stone relief of the door wall and the wood carving and color painting of the beams and columns all have high aesthetic value. In particular, a pair of opencut Panlong pillars carved from a whole stone, with the statue of eight immortals standing on them, are of superb craftsmanship, which can only be seen in the Imperial Palace and Confucius Temple in the past. The art of inlaying porcelain on the roof is a unique technique of Chaoshan craft. With the fired colorful ceramic pieces, all kinds of drama patterns are made. The characters are lifelike, and they are not afraid of the erosion of wind and rain. Now they have been widely used in folk architecture.

Address: 515011, Shengping Road, Jinping District, Shantou City, Guangdong Province

Longitude: 116.67596037641

Latitude: 23.356228570225

Traffic information: take No.2, No.3, No.5, No.7, No.11, No.14, No.17, No.20, No.22, line B, No.42, No.52, No.101 jinfengtan station in Shantou City, and walk there

Chinese PinYin : Lao Ma Gong