Wu Shan Temple

Wu Shan Temple

Wu Shan Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

Wu King Temple is located on the eastern side of Wushan Town, about 35 kilometers north of Hefei City, Anhui Province. It got its name because it is the burial site of Yang Xingmi, the leader of the peasant uprising army at the end of the Tang Dynasty, and the temple built later by people to worship him. Yang Xingmi (852–905) was from Hefei, with the courtesy name Huayuan. In his youth, he harbored resentment toward the imperial court and sympathized with the suffering of the people. In his twenties, he rose in rebellion, risking life and limb in battles across the land.

Over the centuries, Wu Shan Temple has endured wars, rising and falling through the ages. The existing temple features brick walls, tiled roofs, carved beams and painted rafters, as well as statues and stone tablets, all exuding solemnity and reverence. Devotees flock here year after year to offer incense. Beside the temple lie the tombs of Wu King, his son Yang Bo, and Princess Baihua, all unadorned and untouched by carving, reflecting the Wu King’s simple and unpretentious life during his lifetime.

At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bang enfeoffed eight non-Liu kings, seven of whom rebelled and were swiftly eliminated, except for the Wu clan’s Changsha Kingdom, which remained loyal to the Han for five generations. Therefore, the Wu King has been regarded by successive rulers as a model of loyalty. This is why Wu King Temple was established. The *City Antiquities Record* describes it more specifically: Wu King Temple is located outside the north gate of Changsha, and today, in a small vegetable garden by the road outside the north gate, there is a very tiny temple. Though small, it attracts countless visitors paying homage. Yang Xingmi, the Wu King of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, left behind many historical sites related to him in his hometown of Hefei.

According to the *New History of the Five Dynasties* and the *Zizhi Tongjian*, although Yang Xingmi was tall and strong, he was not particularly skilled in archery or cavalry tactics. The reason he could command the army and pacify the Jianghuai region lay not only in his exceptional military leadership and far-sighted political vision but also in his benevolence, integrity, and ability to win the hearts of his men. His lenient yet strategic governance, his care for his soldiers, his willingness to share hardships, his sincerity in dealing with others, his efforts to resettle refugees, and his light taxation all contributed to the loyalty of his troops and the success of his cause.

Local legends in Wushan Town, however, add a more down-to-earth and neighborly flavor to the image of the Wu King. Yang Xingmi never forgot Hefei or his hometown. On his birthday banquets, he always included the white geese from his hometown; when rewarding meritorious soldiers, he did the same. As a result, the large, tender, and smooth-feathered white geese from Maojie, Wushan Town, Changfeng County, came to be known as Tribute Geese. Today’s Gongwu Wine is also made using the recipe of the fine liquor once offered to the Wu King.

In November of the second year of the Tianyou era of the Tang Dynasty (905 AD), Yang Xingmi passed away due to illness at the age of 54, posthumously honored with the title Wu Wuzhong. In the first year of the Wu Gan Zhen era (927 AD), he was further revered as Emperor Wu. The Wu King’s coffin was escorted back to his hometown by his eldest son Yang Wo and his daughter Princess Baihua.

To the west of Wu King’s Tomb lies the Hundred Flowers Garden. Legend has it that Princess Baihua shared an exceptionally deep bond with her father, Yang Xingmi. After his death, she was overcome with grief. To honor her father and preserve their bond, Princess Baihua built this garden beside his tomb as a place to express her sorrow and remembrance.

Wushan Town: Pearl of Jianghuai, Hometown of the Wu King, Land of Tribute Geese, Hub of Prosperity

According to the *Hefei County Annals*, during the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, Yang Xingmi, the founder of the Wu Kingdom, was buried here. His tomb mound was as large as a hill, and his daughter, Princess Baihua, built a nunnery to the north of the tomb to guard the mausoleum and observe mourning. Thus, later generations named the place after the Wu Kingdom, called the king’s tomb a mountain, the princess’s nunnery a temple, and the area Wushan Temple—today’s Wushan Town, which has a history of over a thousand years. Due to its profound cultural and historical significance, in October 1995, the “Traces of the Wu King” scenic spot within its territory was named one of Hefei’s “Top Ten Scenic Spots.”

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