Twin Saints Temple

Twin Saints Temple

The Twin Saints Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

These are two tombstones erected inside the Twin Saints Temple, each standing 0.8 meters tall and approximately 0.3 meters wide (photo taken on January 5). Recently, archaeologists in Shunchang County, Fujian Province, discovered a joint divine tomb of the "Brothers Sun Wukong" at the main peak of Baoshan, located northwest of Shunchang County town. The tomb dates back to the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties. "Great Sage Equaling Heaven" Sun Wukong is a mythical figure familiar to Chinese people at home and abroad, while the "Great Sage Reaching Heaven" on the tombstone does not appear in the classic Ming Dynasty novel *Journey to the West* by author Wu Cheng'en. According to Wang Yimin, director of the Shunchang County Museum, the character "Great Sage Reaching Heaven" can be found in the *Journey to the West* zaju (a form of Chinese opera) written by Mongolian playwright Yang Jiance during the late Yuan and early Ming periods. Wang believes that when writing his novel *Journey to the West*, Ming Dynasty novelist Wu Cheng'en, in order to highlight distinctive character traits, attributed the title of "Great Sage Equaling Heaven" to the "Great Sage Reaching Heaven," and also consolidated all the legendary extraordinary powers of the "Great Sage Reaching Heaven" and his siblings into the single character of Sun Wukong. This helped shape the widely celebrated mythological hero known to later generations.

This is the exterior view of the renovated Twin Saints Temple (photo taken on January 5). Recently, archaeologists in Shunchang County, Fujian Province, discovered a joint divine tomb of the "Brothers Sun Wukong" at the main peak of Baoshan, located northwest of Shunchang County town. The tomb dates back to the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties. "Great Sage Equaling Heaven" Sun Wukong is a mythical figure familiar to Chinese people at home and abroad, while the "Great Sage Reaching Heaven" on the tombstone does not appear in the classic Ming Dynasty novel *Journey to the West* by author Wu Cheng'en. According to Wang Yimin, director of the Shunchang County Museum, the character "Great Sage Reaching Heaven" can be found in the *Journey to the West* zaju (a form of Chinese opera) written by Mongolian playwright Yang Jiance during the late Yuan and early Ming periods. Wang believes that when writing his novel *Journey to the West*, Ming Dynasty novelist Wu Cheng'en, in order to highlight distinctive character traits, attributed the title of "Great Sage Equaling Heaven" to the "Great Sage Reaching Heaven," and also consolidated all the legendary extraordinary powers of the "Great Sage Reaching Heaven" and his siblings into the single character of Sun Wukong. This helped shape the widely celebrated mythological hero known to later generations.

Novelist Nadu's book *Atavism* is based on this news story.