Nanhai Temple

Nanhai temple is an important site of foreign maritime transportation and trade in ancient China. It was built in the 14th year of kaihuang (594) of Sui Dynasty and has a history of 1414 years. It is the most complete and largest architectural complex left in the ancient Haishen temple in China, and also an important witness of the origin of the maritime Silk Road in Guangzhou since the Western Han Dynasty. Nanhai temple has a large scale, covering an area of 30000 square meters and five entrances in depth. On the central axis, there are memorial archway, head gate, instrument gate, ritual Pavilion, main hall and back hall from south to north, corridor veranda on both sides and bathing day Pavilion on Southwest hill. Most of the existing buildings are of Qing Dynasty structure. The architectural layout of the temple has the early architectural features, such as the shape of the corridor of the Yimen, the cushion platform of the headgate, etc. according to the research of experts, there are still architectural relics of the Zhou Dynasty. On both sides of the central axis are veranda, stele Pavilion, etc. The archway is made of granite with three four columns, and the front of the archway is carved with the four characters of "sea does not raise waves". The front gate was built in the Qing Dynasty. It has three rooms in width and two rooms in depth. Two columns are used in the distracted wall. The beams are decorated with carved fish patterns. The front and back sides are equipped with mattresses, hard hilltops, and ceramic tile ridges with two dragons competing for pearls. There is a pair of red sandstone stone lions in front of the door, and the shadow walls are on both sides. The front of the instrument is three rooms wide and four rooms deep, with a hard top and two sides connected with the corridor. Li Ting, originally built in the Ming Dynasty, was rebuilt in 1990. The main hall was originally built in the Ming Dynasty, with a single eaves resting on the top of the mountain, five rooms wide and three rooms deep. It was destroyed during the "Cultural Revolution" and rebuilt in 1989. The back hall is a reinforced concrete structure rebuilt during Chen Jitang's reign in Guangdong in 1930s. When it was built in 1991, the back hall was rebuilt with ceramic tile ridges. The temple is known as the "forest of Steles in the South" for its collection of many steles of emperors' sacrifice and the inscriptions of celebrities such as Han Yu and Su Shi.

Nanhai Temple

Nanhai temple, also known as Polo temple and dongmiao temple, is located in Miaotou village, Huangpu District, Guangzhou city. It was built in 594, the 14th year of emperor kaihuang of Sui Dynasty and has a history of more than 1400 years. It is the place where Chinese emperors sacrificed to the sea. The temple covers an area of more than 30000 square meters. From south to north, the central axis is the archway, the head gate, the instrument gate, the ritual Pavilion, the main hall and the Zhaoling palace, with veranda on both sides. There is a bathing day Pavilion on the southwest Zhangqiu hill, which is an ancient place to watch the sunrise on the sea. In the song and Yuan Dynasties, it was the first scene of the eight scenic spots in Yangcheng, "Fuxu bathing day".

Nanhai temple is the largest and most complete one among the four sea god temples in China. It plays an important role in foreign trade. It is one of the birthplaces of the ancient maritime Silk Road, as well as a historical witness and important historical trace of foreign trade. The ancient temple is located at the mouth of the Pearl River. Chinese and foreign seagoing ships enter and leave Guangzhou. As a rule, they go to the temple to worship the God of the South Sea and pray for peace and smooth sailing. Since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, emperors of all dynasties have sent officials to the Nanhai temple to hold ceremonies, leaving many precious steles, so it is known as the "forest of Steles in the South". The traditional folk custom of offering sacrifices to the God of South China Sea in March every year is listed in the national intangible cultural heritage list.

In 2010, Nanhai temple was rated as national AAAA tourist attraction; in 2013, it was announced as the seventh batch of national key cultural relics protection units by the State Council.

Historical evolution

In the 14th year of kaihuang (594), Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty ordered to build a temple of four seas to sacrifice to the four seas, and built a Nanhai temple in Nanhai, Guangzhou. A local wizard was invited to preside over the sweeping of the temple and offer sacrifices to the Nanhai God. Pine and cypress trees were widely planted in the temple, so Nanhai temple was established.

In 726, Zhang Jiuling was appointed by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty to offer sacrifices to Nanhai God in Guangzhou. This was an important sacrifice in the history of Nanhai temple. It was the first time for the emperor to send important officials to offer sacrifices to Nanhai God.

In the first month of the tenth year of Tang Tianbao (751), Emperor Xuanzong of Tang ordered Zhang Jiugao to canonize Nanhai king on the basis of jade slips with gold characters. He also renovated the old temple and offered sacrifices to Nanhai God. From then on, he began to use the ceremony of marquis, and established the system of offering sacrifices to Nanhai God by the governor of Guangzhou during the Lixia Festival. In the temple, there is a stele in the book of memorial to King Guangli, and Du Fu has a poem to give (see Han Yu's stele of Temple of God Guangli in the South China Sea).

In 818, the 13th year of Yuanhe in the Tang Dynasty, Kong Mai, the governor of Guangzhou and the governor of Lingnan, offered sacrifices to Nanhai temple. In the summer of the 14th year of Yuanhe (819), kongsai went to Nanhai temple again to offer sacrifices. He enlarged the temple and changed it into a room for the East and the West and for the food. In the summer solstice of 820, kongfu went to offer sacrifices to Nanhai God for the third time. He asked Han Yu, the governor of Yuanzhou, to write an inscription for the newly repaired Nanhai temple to record the event. Chen Jian, the governor of Yuanzhou, wrote the inscription. This is the stele of Nanhai God guangliwang temple. Now it is located on the east side of the Yimen of Nanhai temple, and there is a stele Pavilion.

In the sixth year of Kaibao (973) of Song Dynasty, the Song government repaired the temple and set up the stele of Guangli King Temple newly built in the great song dynasty. The stele was written by Pei Lize and written by Han Pu (the stele now stands on the west side of the front door of the temple).

In the sixth year of the Xiangfu reign of song Dazhong (1013), Song Zhen sent members to rebuild Nanhai temple.

In the early years of song Shaosheng (1094), when Su Dongpo was banished to Huizhou, he went to Nanhai Temple via Guangzhou to write the poem "Nanhai Yuri Pavilion". Today, there are still Su Dongpo's steles (copied).

In 1198, a stele was erected in the fourth year of the Qing Yuan period of the Song Dynasty. It was recorded that the islanders of Daxi made a rebellion and were defeated by the government in 1197 near the Nanhai temple. The government believed that the Sea God appeared to be holy and protected the country. So it reported to the capital to commend the sea god. The Ministry of rites proposed to give the temple an amount of money, saying, "it's appropriate to give 'Yinghu Temple' as an amount of money."

In the first year of song Baoqing (1225), Nanhai temple was rebuilt on a large scale, which cost more than 6 million yuan. According to the inscriptions, most of the money for the repair came from the benefits of maritime trade.

In 1276, Su gu'erchi was sent to build the temple of Nanhai on April 18, and he was given the inscription of Baoxiang Jinfan silver box Chu coins. The tablet of Bingzi in Zhiyuan recorded the event. In 1293, the temple was rebuilt because it was abandoned.

At the beginning of the second year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1369), due to the chaos of wars in the last years of the Yuan Dynasty, the temple incense was scarce, many temples were destroyed, and the God of the sea was difficult to live in. Gao Xixian and others built the temple, replaced the rotten wooden columns and broken bricks, and renovated the temple, veranda and Zhaitang.

In the eighth year of Chenghua (1472) of Ming Dynasty, due to the dilapidated Nanhai temple, he ordered the Guangzhou government to order Yu Zhi to rebuild the temple. This maintenance is the largest one in Ming Dynasty.

In 1665, the Nanhai temple was rebuilt, and Shang Kexi, the king of Pingnan, etc. established the inscription of rebuilding Nanhai temple. In 1703, Emperor Kangxi wrote "Wanli Bocheng" and made it into a huge plaque. Fan Chenglie, the right servant of the Ministry of household, sent the plaque to Nanhai temple and set up a monument to record events.

In the third year of Yongzheng reign of the Qing Dynasty (1725), the temple was rebuilt. A stone watch was erected in front of the temple as a place to look forward to. In the South was the gate of rites, in the middle was the shrine, in the West was the shelter, and in the East was the kitchen.

In the 29th year of Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty (1849), because the temple was in disrepair for a long time, it was very dilapidated.

In 1910, the temple was rebuilt and Hanyu stele pavilion was built.

On May 26, 1923, Sun Yat Sen and his wife Song Qingling visited Nanhai temple.

In 1926, the national government allocated 10000 yuan to rebuild the Nanhai temple, and organized the Nanhai temple reconstruction committee to take charge of the maintenance work. Later, when Chen Jitang was in charge of Guangdong Province, his wife Mo Xiuying presided over the construction project. The ceremony Pavilion and back hall were transformed into a five bay hard peak building with cement brick frame, and the project was relatively rough.

In January 1966, Guangzhou Cultural Relics Administration Commission handed Nanhai temple to Guangzhou Maritime Transportation Bureau to set up school and polo Temple aviation repair station.

From the end of 1966 to 1976, during the "Cultural Revolution", the main hall of Nanhai temple was destroyed, the back hall was rebuilt, the East and West corridors were rebuilt into classrooms, many ancient steles were demolished, the original Wanli Bocheng stele and pavilion were demolished, and all the statues in the temple were smashed.

In 1986, according to the plan of Ming and Qing Dynasties, Guangzhou municipal cultural relics department rebuilt Nanhai temple, which lasted for five years.

On February 8, 1991, the Guangzhou Municipal Council for cultural administration and the Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of culture held a ceremony for the restoration and completion of Nanhai temple

On the next day, more than 30 experts from the UNESCO "maritime Silk Road" team visited Nanhai temple.

In 2006, the Swedish antique ship "Gothenburg" re embarked on the maritime Silk Road. The Swedish king and queen arrived in Guangzhou with the ship and visited the Nanhai temple to observe the sea sacrifice ceremony.

geographical environment

The reason why Nanhai temple was built in Huangpu of Guangzhou is closely related to its geographical location. Guangzhou is located in the south of the mainland of China and the north end of the Pearl River Delta. It is located at the confluence of the East, West and North rivers. It is close to the South China Sea and belongs to the estuary area of the Pearl River system. It is the most important port on the Maritime Silk Road of the South China Sea. Fuxu port in Huangpu District is the outer port of ancient Guangzhou.

Architectural features

Nanhai temple has been extended and repaired for many generations. The Nanhai Temple rebuilt in the 1980s is based on the architectural form of the Ming dynasty recorded in the literature. Its building is magnificent, deep and wide. It sits in the north and south, with the front hall and back bedroom, covering an area of more than 30000 square meters. The main building of the temple is built along the central axis

Chinese PinYin : Nan Hai Shen Miao