Fu Mei Palace

Fu Mei Palace

Fu Mei Palace is a cultural heritage site protected at the provincial level in Fujian Province.

Fu Mei Palace enshrines Xiao Wangfu (also known as Xiao Aye or Bai Zong Gong), a famous minister of the Western Han Dynasty in China. It also worships the Twenty-Four Departments and the Civil and Martial Deities, among others. Originally a local guardian deity, it gradually developed into the only “Royal Lords’ Pilgrimage Palace” in Quanzhou, enjoying flourishing incense offerings with spirit tablets distributed far and wide.

The ancient Fu Mei Ferry was one of the important docks for maritime traffic in ancient Quanzhou. It served as a key hub connecting inland areas with overseas trade and goods distribution. The nearby “Jubao Street” earned its name during the Song and Yuan dynasties as a place where foreign merchants conducted business. In the third year of the Yongle era during the Ming Dynasty (1405), the nearby Cheqiao Village built the “Laiyi Post” specifically to receive foreign envoys and guests. During the Qing Dynasty and the Republican period, the southern part of the city remained the center of Quanzhou’s economic, trade, and financial activities.

In the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty, Quanzhou suffered from various disasters, especially plagues. To combat these calamities, escape misfortune, and seek survival, people began establishing small shrines to worship guardian deities, conducting seasonal worship rituals in hopes that the deities would protect the land and its people. Along rivers and coastal areas, many of these small shrines enshrined the “Royal Lords,” believed to have the power to reward good and punish evil, control plagues, ward off epidemics, and bestow blessings or disasters. As a result, the Royal Lords were deeply revered by the public.

Passing the shrine of Xiao Wangfu and entering the rear hall, you’ll find an incense table at the center of the hall, upon which rests the plaque inscribed with “Imperial Edict · Patrol on Behalf of Heaven.” Behind the incense table, a shrine cabinet displays wooden statues of the Twenty-Four Department Lords and deities entrusted by other temples and worshippers. Couplets in the rear hall include: “Generals and ministers of the Lin Pavilion bring glory to the nation; the loyal souls of the Han Dynasty strengthen the universe,” and “Renowned for erudition across the world, virtuous governance and benevolent rule honored for a thousand autumns.” The wooden and stone carvings inside and outside Fu Mei Palace draw inspiration from folk tales of loyalty and filial piety, all exquisitely crafted.

Quanzhou’s Fu Mei Palace is the ancestral temple of Xiao Wangfu devotees in Taiwan, deeply rooted in the hearts of many Taiwanese believers. Every year, numerous religious groups from Taiwan visit Fu Mei Palace for worship, making it an important bond for cultural exchanges between Quanzhou and Taiwan.

Image source: Quanzhou Cultural Relics Protection Center

Further reading:

· Seventh Batch of Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units in Fujian Province