Maxiang Qingju Hall

Maxiang Qingju Hall

Maxiang Qingju Hall, commonly known as Cai Tang, is located at No. 29, Wugu Market, Wuja Street, Maxiang. It is the only Cai Gu Hall in the Xiang’an area. The hall enshrines the Sakyamuni Bodhisattva and the Thousand-Armed Guanyin, and is managed by nuns who conduct Buddhist rituals. At its peak, there were twelve nuns. On the second and sixteenth days of each lunar month, the Cai Gu (ladies who observe a long-term vegetarian diet) and devout women from the Maxiang area would gather at Qingju Hall to chant scriptures and worship the Buddha, a tradition that has continued unabated over the years.

The original founder of Qingju Hall was an Upasika, whose secular name was Lin Zhaihua, dharma name Lianguo Gu, born in the eleventh year of the Guangxu reign (1885), hailing from Diantou She in Neicuo Town. In her youth, she traveled south to Penang, Malaysia, to run a small business. Later, she took refuge at Genzong Temple in the local area, becoming a disciple of Venerable Guangtong. Venerable Guangtong had previously ordained at Hening An of Putuo Mountain in the South China Sea and was a realized Zen master. During the Anti-Japanese War, Lianguo Gu returned to her hometown, ordained and practiced in Maxiang Street, received precepts at Meifeng Temple in Putian, and upon returning, invested her savings to purchase land and build Qingju Hall. Completed in the 1940s, it was a two-courtyard earthen structure with tiled roofs, covering approximately 250 square meters, and was the largest Buddhist hall in Maxiang at the time. In 1954, Venerable Houxue, the newly appointed abbot of Fan Tian Temple, was invited to also serve as the head of Qingju Hall, making it a subordinate temple of Fan Tian Temple. To strengthen the management of Qingju Hall, Venerable Houxue also appointed Wang Huangu from Zhanglin She in Houbin Village to act as the temple’s caretaker and donated ten thousand yuan for renovations. Lianguo Gu passed away on July 7, 1959, and her ashes were interred in the Haihui Pagoda at Fan Tian Temple, with a memorial tablet enshrined in the memorial hall.

Her successor was Venerable Huimu. Venerable Huimu, secular name Chen Xi, was from Xinyan Village, Neicuo Town, and a returned overseas Chinese from Malaysia. She had a deep affinity for Buddhism. In the early days of the Anti-Japanese War, she went to Sunlight Rock on Gulangyu Island to become a disciple of Venerable Qingzhi, serving as a patron of Miaoshi Temple and devoting herself to studying Buddhism under Master Shanqi. In 1945, she received the Bodhisattva Precepts at Nanputuo Temple. Venerable Houxue specially appointed her to succeed as the head of Qingju Hall, overseeing daily temple affairs. Venerable Huimu passed away in 1989 at the age of ninety.

Before her passing, Venerable Huimu earnestly hoped that Venerable Houxue would oversee the renovation of Qingju Hall. She appointed Xu Shuixin, Wu Dazhen, and Hong Huimin as patrons, forming a reconstruction committee for Qingju Hall. To fulfill Venerable Huimu’s long-cherished wish, Venerable Houxue actively mobilized the community for donations. He personally donated twenty thousand yuan, and Fan Tian Temple contributed ten thousand yuan. Devotees such as Lin Jianzhu from Tianbian She and Chen Meijin from Lailaiwei She also generously contributed, pooling resources to raise a total of five hundred thousand yuan. The renovation began on the ninth day of the leap fourth lunar month in 2001 and was completed and consecrated in December of the same year. The ceremony was presided over by Venerable Houxue, with representatives from both the district and town in attendance.

The rebuilt Qingju Hall is a two-story, three-bay palace-style pavilion with red walls and green tiles, featuring exquisite carvings that rival the newly built “Buer Tang” (i.e., Guanyin Palace), adding another splendid landmark to Maxiang Street. It now enjoys flourishing incense offerings and the constant sound of wooden fish, attracting numerous devotees from both home and abroad.

A gilded plaque inscribed with the characters “Qingju Hall” hangs high above the main gate. The rear hall on the first floor enshrines the Thousand-Armed and Thousand-Eyed Guanyin, flanked by the attendants Shancai and Yu’niang. The Guanyin stands atop a lotus, hands clasped at her chest, with 1,080 arms in varied postures, each palm delicately painted with an all-seeing eye. The Thousand-Armed Guanyin’s Sanskrit name is “Pāraśvasa,” and her honorific title is “Mahākaruṇā Vajra.”

The upper floor houses the Mahavira Hall. The main hall enshrines the Sakyamuni Bodhisattva, flanked by the guardian deities Putila and Skanda, who ride a lion and an elephant respectively and wield divine swords. In front of the hall is the Maitreya Bodhisattva, smiling with an exposed belly, welcoming visitors from all directions. The side walls are embedded with ceramic bas-reliefs of the Eight Hundred Arhats. Today, Qingju Hall has become a sacred site for Cai Gu and devotees in the Maxiang area to worship the Buddha.

Source: People’s Government of Xiang’an District, Author: Hong Shuxun