Luodou Ancestral Temple

Luodou Ancestral Temple

Luodou Ancestral Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

Luodou Ancestral Temple 　Located in Lungkeng Natural Village, Longwu Village, Qingshui Township, Yong’an City, this is a temple dedicated to “King of Min” Wang Shenzhi. In the third year of the Guangqi era (887 AD) during the reign of Emperor Xizong of the Tang Dynasty, Wang Shenzhi led his army into Fujian. When passing through Lungkeng in Longwu, his mother, Lady Xu, fell ill and passed away. Wang Shenzhi buried his mother on the spot and left a group of personal guards to protect her tomb. During the Five Dynasties period, descendants of Wang Shenzhi’s fourth son, Wang Yanzheng, came to live here and built a temple, naming it after the local place name “Luodou.” In the 1930s, the temple was burned down by the troops of the Youxi warlord Lu Xingbang. The current “Luodou Ancestral Temple” was rebuilt in 1981. On the 11th day of the eighth lunar month each year, descendants of Wang Shenzhi from all over the province as well as from Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Guangdong come to the “Luodou Ancestral Temple” to pay homage to their ancestors.

Wang Shenzhi, courtesy names Xintong and also Xiangqing, was a native of Gushi in Guangzhou (now Gushi County, Henan Province). He was born in the third year of the Xiantong era (862 AD) during the Tang Dynasty. He was the third of three brothers and was known as the Third Younger. In his youth, Wang Shenzhi enjoyed reading and had great aspirations.

In the first year of the Zhonghe era (881 AD), Wang Xu, a butcher from Shouzhou (now Shou County, Anhui Province), raised an army and captured Gushi. Wang Shenzhi and his brothers joined Wang Xu’s rebel forces. Not long after, Qin Zongquan, the military governor of Caizhou under the Tang Dynasty, launched an attack against Wang Xu. Wang Xu then led his troops across the Yangtze River southward into Fujian, successively capturing areas such as Tingzhou and Zhangzhou. Wang Shenzhi and his brothers followed the army into Fujian. Wang Xu was by nature suspicious... More details about Wang Shenzhi++