Tan Gong Temple

Tan Gong Temple

Tam Kung Temple is located at the end of Aberdeen Waterfront Road in Wanchai, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. The temple is a Taoist temple. It is the most popular temple in Luhuan. It was built in 1862 during the reign of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty. In addition to worshiping Tan Xiansheng, the temple also houses a dragon boat made of whale bones, which is a cultural relic with a history of more than 100 years. The "fish bone boat" in the temple is the treasure of the temple. It is said that touching the whale bone will bring good luck. Therefore, the faithful men and women will touch the keel by the way after offering incense. Outside the temple, a giant tortoise stone with the character "goose" is also a characteristic mark of the area.

Quick navigation

Panorama

The origin of temple construction

Tan Gong temple was built in 1862. The temple worships Tan Gong, formerly known as Tan Xian (1260-1368).

According to folklore, he used to be a shepherd boy in Huidong area of Guangdong Province during the Yuan Dynasty (1260-1368). He was born with a special talent when he was a child. At the age of 12, he became a monk in Jiulong Mountain of Huizhou. After his death, he appeared many times as a child to help fishermen cure diseases and predict the weather. Therefore, he was regarded as the patron saint of fishermen.

When the temple opened, fishermen sent a whale bone more than two meters long. Later, the "keel" was made into a "dragon boat" and equipped with a dragon head, dragon tail, brocade flag, Luo umbrella, Shaogong, naoshou, etc., which was regarded as the "treasure of the temple".

According to records, Tan Gong "walked out of the mountain with every stick, and a tiger followed." today, tigers are also painted on the walls of the temple.

There are records about him in Volume 44 of Huizhou Prefecture annals, personage chapter Xianshi.

On the fifth street of Luhuan in October, there is the temple of Tan tired saint. Every year, April 8 (lunar calendar) is the festival to commemorate him (see Tan Gongsheng's birthday).

Historical frontier

The inscription of Tan Gong temple. The inscription clearly records that the temple was built in 1905 by fishermen from Shau Kei Wan. In the past 135 years, the temple has been rebuilt three times on a large scale.

At present, there are three temples, with pavilions on the left and right sides. The pillars are engraved with modern calligraphy couplets.

There are exquisite murals and sculptures inside and outside the temple. In front of the temple, a pair of stone lions are placed, which are solemn and elegant.

There are many inscriptions on the walls of the temple, recording the history of the construction and renovation of the temple, as well as the name of Shanchang.

At present, Tan Gong temple not only worships Tan Gong, but also worships other gods, such as Chisong, Huang Daxian and Wutong.

The former is dedicated to Guan Sheng emperor and the latter to gods. Beside Tan Gong temple is the Guanyin hall, in which Wanghai Guanyin is worshipped. Most of the worshippers are fishermen. Like Tianhou temple, Tan Gong Temple used to face liyumen by the sea.

Today, in front of TAM Kung Temple is a sewage treatment plant. On the right is the fisheries marketing department and Shau Kei Wan Primary School. On the left is the Cheng Ba Ai Shi Wan depot. The surrounding environment has changed a lot.

Historical relics

There are two historical relics in the temple. One of them is a four foot dragon boat made of whale bone. It has a history of more than 100 years. This dragon boat was given by fishermen when the temple was opened. It was later equipped with wooden dragon head, dragon tail, brocade flag, parasol, gongs and drums, boatman and hand scratching, which made the dragon boat more lifelike and regarded as the treasure of the temple. It is said that touching the whale bone will bring good luck, so the common men and women will touch the keel when they go to incense.

Another historical relic is a stone tablet beside the temple of Tan Gong. It was carved in 1827, the seventh year of Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty. On the stone tablet is the regulation of the Xiangshan county government that the military service of the boat division should be prohibited from disturbing fishing boats.

On the side of the temple, there is a nearly 200 year old stele of "passing through the road and ring Leshi to give instructions", which records the history of local civil administration.

On Tan Gong's birthday on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, many Hong Kong and Macao residents come to pray for blessings and perform magic arts in greenhouses.

Related festivals

Tan Gongsheng

Tan Gong's birthday is an annual event, On the eighth day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar, Tan Gong's birthday falls on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month. The Cishu society of the fourth temple in Luhuan often employs Cantonese opera troupes to perform the Shengong opera for four consecutive days. During this period, Tan Gong's "Palace" is carried to the theater shed in front of the temple to watch the opera. One of the activities of Tan Gong's birthday is to bid for five "fireworks" - new small statues of Tan Gong. The bidding price ranges from five thousand yuan to tens of thousands of yuan. Of course, there are also banquets and lion dances. Shau Kei Wan has a routine performance of Shengong opera.

On the day of performing Shengong opera, the husband must use the method of "Victory Cup" to cast divination and ask Tan Gong whether the day is auspicious.

At the same time, on the first day of Shengong opera, people would solemnly "invite" Mr. Tan to the seat in front of the audience. After watching the first play, he invited Tan Gong back to the temple.

Legend

For the temple of Tan Gong, no one under the age of 60 will know about it, while most people over the age of 60 will forget about it. Tan Gong temple is a small Taoist temple. It is located at the foot of lion mountain at the north end of Yunlong bridge, facing Xijiang River from north to south. The temple is divided into two rooms. The main deity worshiped in the temple is a clay statue of an old man with black beard and long beard. It is full of fairyland character and has a dignified and kind face.

There is a big tree on the left and right in front of the temple gate. The one on the right is a banyan about 100 years old. A big twig slants to the East, with some air roots hanging down. There are still burnt incense sticks under the roots. The one on the left is a "pipa Zi" tree.

A few steps down from the open space in front of the temple gate is a mountain road to Guangdong

What is the sacred God in the temple? There was a simple legend in Guangdong and Guangdong in the Pearl River Valley. It said that a gifted shepherd boy appeared in Huizhou, Guangdong Province in the Yuan Dynasty. When he was 12 years old, he got the Tao. When he grew up, he went to Jiulong Mountain in Huizhou to practice. When he became a fairy, he often hid his real body. When he became a fairy, he often turned into a child.

His mission is to forecast the weather, cure the disease and save the danger for the river and sea boat people and fishermen, and benefit the people. Therefore, he has won the respect of the boatman and shipping people. From the early 19th century to the early liberation of Tangong temple in Wuzhou, not only did the boat people live in remote areas and become believers to worship at the right time, but also it was agreed that all passing ships would whistle to slow down to show their respect and gratitude for their protection to the people who waded in the water.

The God of Tan Gong temple is named Tan Gong Dao. Therefore, in the past, when people in Wuzhou were accused of doing things unfairly, they would argue and joke that "if it's fair or not, ask Tan Gong Dao" to refute.

There is a long couplet in the temple of Tan Gong. The first couplet says: "the east of today, the west of tomorrow, time is running fast, time is long, you can't walk all the way to the gorge of Chu and the pass of Qin, and you can't fill the deep pool of desire.

Strength like Xiang Yu, wisdom like Cao Cao, Wujiang Red Cliff empty trouble, why? Please sit down for a while, try to put your heart into your mind, think about the past and think about the future. You have to be at ease and be at ease, and stay for tomorrow. " The second couplet says: "this road comes and that road goes. It's dusty and the road is boundless. It can't keep the white hair and gold and Jasper. Rich as Shichong, expensive as Yangsu, green pearl and red brush are dreams. Where is it now? Explain a few articles for me, sell half a pot of wine, guess three links and two links, drink freely when you can, and there is no old friend out of Yangguan in the West. " By borrowing the historical allusions of Han, Jin, Sui and Tang Dynasties, Changlian expresses the thoughts of wandering heroes, empty hegemony, scattered prosperity and dreams, and persuades people to be indifferent to fame and wealth. Today, the temple of Tan Gong no longer exists. It has returned to emptiness with the development of the times and the prosperity of science. In Wuzhou, located at the mouth of Sanjiang River, people have mastered their own destiny and controlled the occurrence of maritime disasters. Besides being used as local anecdotes or local records, the temple of Tan Gong and its legends can only be used as chatting materials by the people who used to talk!

Tourism landscape

Introduction to the place in front of the temple

The land in front of the temple refers to a vast open space in front of the temple, which is located in the southeast of Luhuan island. On the one hand, it is close to the seaside and faces Hengqin island across the sea; on the other hand, it is surrounded by green trees and has a beautiful and quiet environment. It is not only an attractive tourist resort, but also a rare rest area.

Every holiday, there will be many local residents to drive to play, visitors also like to stop here, fresh air, pleasant scenery, people linger. It is worth noting that there is a stone tablet of great historical value standing beside the temple, which is a notice issued by the Qing government in 1827 to prohibit officers and soldiers from extorting money from local fishermen. The stone tablet was originally located in Zhongjie street. It was only moved here in 1980 when the reconstruction project was carried out. On the other side of the temple, there are several large stones, on which there is a huge "goose" character. This character is written in one stroke, imitating the Chinese literary giant Su Dongpo's "goose". In addition, Mr. Yang Hui, an old resident of Luhuan and honorary chairman of Luhuan Kaifong Simiao Charity Association, wrote the word "forbearance" in calligraphy. It aims to promote the virtues of the Chinese people, and at the same time make visitors feel the strong breath of traditional Chinese culture. On the coast opposite to the temple of Tan Gong, there is a famous stone in Luhuan, which looks like a tortoise. It is climbing slowly towards the shore. It is lifelike and lifelike. It is known as "dalingguishi". Over the years, it has attracted countless visitors and become a major scenic spot in Luhuan. On Tan Gong's birthday on the eighth day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar, the four temples Charity Association in Luhuan neighborhood will set up a giant theater in front of it, and invite famous Cantonese opera troupes from Hong Kong to perform magic arts, including Ren Jianhui's and Bai Xuexian's "xianfengming", Mai Bingrong's and fenghuangnv's "Longfeng", long Jiansheng's and regret snow poem's "xiaofengming", Lin Jiasheng's "songxinsheng", and Luo Jiaying's and Wang Mingquan's "songxinsheng"

Chinese PinYin : Tan Gong Miao