Luban Xianshi Temple

Luban Xianshi Temple

Lu Ban Xianshi temple, also known as Lu Ban temple, is located in qingliantai, west ring. It is the only temple in Hong Kong Island to worship Lu Ban. It is now listed as a first-class historical building in Hong Kong. The temple, built in 1884, is a two-way building dedicated to the carpenter Lu Ban. The temple is equipped with many exquisite walls and a large number of sculptures, reliefs and murals.

history

At that time, the temple was built by a group of residential construction workers with funds raised by members of the three trades (carpentry, painting and muddy water) in Hong Kong. Those construction workers were originally employed to build houses and villas for some wealthy people in the "platform" residential area on the hillside north of Pokfulam Road and east of Shanshi street. Ming Pao special news on February 16, 2009 the temple of Lu Ban was built in 1884. It is the only temple dedicated to Lu Ban, the founder of the three lines of Architecture (i.e. wood, mud and stone). So the three lines refer to wood, mud and stone, paint does not belong to the three lines.

introduce

The ancestor of Luban, also known as gongshuban, was worshipped in the temple. He was a native of the state of Lu in the spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period. He was good at carpentry and was respected as the ancestor of carpenter after his death. Every June 13 of the lunar calendar is the birthday of the first teacher of Luban, and the duty Council of Luban temple holds a grand celebration ceremony. Many Sanxing workers and organizations will pay homage to the patriarch in the temple on this day. In the past, the Guangyue hall, which was in charge of the temple, would distribute meals on the same day, but later changed to issue meal coupons. The Shinshin Shin who visited the temple were mainly construction workers. They prayed for the blessing of Luban, the sage of their profession, and blessed them with smooth and safe work. Every year on June 13 of the lunar calendar, believers celebrate the birth of Lu Ban's first teacher.

Introduction to Luban

Luban incantation records: Fuyi, natural landscape, town floor, resist all disasters, home auspicious, family prosperity and well-being. Explanation: the first apprentice in Luban, the natural landscape is the good geomantic implication of fairyland, which refers to the land God in the fairyland. The natural landscape also implies that Mount Tai can be used as a residence, all disasters, strong winds and waves, thunder and lightning, ghosts and ghosts. Mount Tai can resist the disaster, and the disaster can be covered by the floor of the house Resist the family, there is no disaster, conform to the nature, bring good luck and prosperity to the family

architectural style

mural

The Luban temple is the one with the largest number of murals among the Chinese temples on Hong Kong Island. There are murals on the outside, inside, door wall and gable of the temple. For example, "Zhang Qian's painting of pantha", "wind and rain returning to the boat", "night tour of Red Cliff", "butterfly and Narcissus", "Damo crossing the river", "Lady leaning on stone", "visiting friends" and "Double Dragons", there are still many flowers and birds, characters and calligraphy among them. There are also three paintings on the back wall of the second entrance of the temple, one of which is "the whole picture of fortune, fortune and longevity", and the other is landscape painting. The contents of murals are diversified, and they have the color of traditional Chinese academic culture.

Clay sculpture

There are also many clay sculptures in Luban temple, which are quite local in color, and are rare in temples on Hong Kong Island. There are clay sculptures on the gable, back wall and long head of the temple. For example, on the gable between the first and second entrances, there is a picture of "Yin Fu", on the right gable, there is a picture of "Xue Qin". On the wall between the first and second entrances, there are two groups of clay sculptures. On the right side, there is "Jiang Shang", and on the left side, there is the story of Fengshen romance. There are three clay sculptures on the back wall of the temple, with "calligraphy" on the left, "flowers and birds" in the middle and "drunkenness" on the right. In addition, there are many calligraphy, flowers, birds and animals mixed in.

Stone Carving

The oldest cultural relic in the temple is a stone inscription standing in the 10th year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu: "advocating the construction of the temple of the first master of Luban and signing the inscription of the name of Jin Fangming.". The purpose of building the temple can be seen in the inscription of advocating the construction of Luban Xianshi temple, which was set up in 1951: "stealing from school has its origin, and later generations should think about the newspaper book... We are here to build the temple of Luban Xianshi temple, the Marquis of Beicheng, in Xianghai village, in order to do our best to repay our virtues and contributions, and think about the source after drinking water". It can be seen that the temple was built by employees of the three banks of Hong Kong in memory of their ancestors' kindness and achievements.

inscription

There is a banner engraved with the word "guangyuetang" on the front door. There are couplets on both sides of the front door: "the rules always exist, and the craftsmanship can be traced back to the sacred"; and "the Tao and utensils run through the same place, and the things can be interpreted and leveled.". The main hall is dedicated to the shrine of Lu Ban's master. On the shrine, there are four characters: "eternal beauty", hanging the curtain of "Lu Ban's master", and couplets on both sides: "the sages look up for thousands of years" and "the normal (round) hundred Shizun". On the left and right sides of the entrance are the God of wealth and the God of door, which was donated by Li Lixing, a wealthy businessman, in 1949.

Administration

In 1949, Guangyue hall, which is responsible for the management of Luban temple, was registered as a legal organization, and its name is "construction industry and Commerce of GuangYue Hall of Luban Temple". Most of the directors of Guangyue hall are Hong Kong builders. In the past, they actively supported the Zhenchang building of Cheng Zhenqiu, Changli building of Zhang Zhenhan and favorable building of Zhou you.

Joint venture person

According to the stone inscriptions in the temple, more than 1172 people contributed to the construction of Luban temple. Among them, Xinhui people accounted for 269, followed by Xinning people (245), Shunde people (243), Kaiping people (207), Xin'an people (118), Dongguan People (90). From this, we may estimate the distribution of the native places of the domestic people who came to Hong Kong to make a living in the early years of the port opening.

title

The Luban temple and its location were donated by Li Lixing, a wealthy businessman, in the name of "Lixing", but the evidence has long been lost. Li's descendants sold their land to Li Xingqu and Tan Huantang of Hexing company. Guangyue hall discussed with Li and tan on the grounds of "the teacher's temple can't be destroyed and the historic site can't be annihilated". They generously returned the land and signed a deed of delivery in the lawyer's office. The ownership of the ancient temple changed hands many times and was eventually taken over by guangyuetang temple management company in 1921.

Statutory monuments

In January 2006, the Antiquities and Monuments Office proposed to the Home Affairs Bureau that the temple should be listed as a statutory monument in Hong Kong. However, as the ownership of the temple has not been clarified, the following is not available for the time being. If Luban temple is listed as a statutory historic site, the owner will lose the right to develop the building. At present, the Department is negotiating with the owner. Lao Jian, chairman of Hong Kong Luban Guangyue hall Co., Ltd., which is responsible for the management of the Luban temple, agreed with the proposal of the monuments office. As several owners of the title to the Luban temple have passed away one after another, it is necessary for lawyers to clarify the title before officially declaring the Luban temple a historic site.

Nearby facilities

The temple was rebuilt in 1928 and 1949. Since then, although it has been repaired from time to time, it has maintained its original appearance. In 1949, a public office and school were built around the temple.

Tourism information

address

15 qingliantai, west ring, Hong Kong

traffic

Take bus 5, 5A, 5b, M5, 18, 101, 104, 105, 113

Minibus or tram (Shanshi Street Station)

Get off on the opposite side of qingliantai or at the corner of Holland. Walk to qingliantai for 10 minutes.

Opening Hours

8.30 am to 5.30 pm

Address: 15 qingliantai, Kennedy area, Hong Kong, China

Longitude: 114.17359

Latitude: 22.309187

Tel. + 852 2802 2880

Chinese PinYin : Lu Ban Xian Shi Miao