Dongshan Guan Yu Temple

Dongshan Guan Yu Temple

Dongshan Guan Yu Temple is a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level.

Constructed in the 20th year of the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty (1387), Dongshan Guan Yu Temple is one of the four most renowned Guan Yu temples in China. In December 1996, it was designated as a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level by the State Council. The architectural structure of Dongshan Guan Yu Temple is remarkably exquisite. Its temple gate is designed in the style of a memorial archway, known as the “Crown Prince Pavilion,” supported by six round stone pillars holding up hundreds of interlocking brackets that distribute weight evenly, all supporting a palace-style pavilion. The pavilion features colorful porcelain cut-and-paste carvings with distinctive artistic characteristics of southern Fujian, showcasing vivid shapes, diverse forms, and a dazzling display of colors.

The temple’s corridors, side rooms, ceremonial stairways, dragon-patterned platforms, ornamental columns, and monks’ quarters all showcase exquisite craftsmanship. Inside the temple are preserved numerous precious cultural relics such as stone inscriptions, column bases, bronze bells, and incense burners. Among them, the gold-lacquered wood carvings and stone carvings are especially abundant, lifelike, and considered the finest of the fine, holding significant archaeological and research value.

Dongshan Guan Yu Temple is also the ancestral temple that many Guan Yu temples in Taiwan and Southeast Asia trace their spiritual roots to. Every year, numerous Guan Yu devotees visit Dongshan Guan Yu Temple to trace their origins, pay homage, and engage in pilgrimage and sightseeing. The temple has become a bridge for people-to-people exchanges across the Taiwan Strait.

Ticket Information: Included in the 45 RMB ticket for the Wind-Rocking Stone Scenic Area

Detailed Address: Dongshan County, Zhangzhou City

Contact Number: 0596-5662927

Guan Yu (162?–220), of Han ethnicity, was born during the Yanxi era of Emperor Huan of the Eastern Han Dynasty. His courtesy name was Yunchang, originally Changsheng, and he was a native of Xieliang in Hedong (present-day Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province). A famous general of the Shu Han kingdom during the Three Kingdoms period, he held the rank of General of the Vanguard, was enfeoffed as Marquis of Hanshou Ting, and was a military strategist. After his death, he was revered by the people and honored by successive imperial courts, eventually being worshipped as Guan Sheng Di Jun (Lord Guan the Holy Emperor). In Buddhism, he is known as Sangharama Bodhisattva and respectfully called “Guan Gong.” Later rulers revered Guan Yu as the “Martial Saint,” placing him on par with Confucius, the “Civil Saint.”

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Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level