Fuzhou Mituo Temple

Fuzhou Mituo Temple

Mituo Temple is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Mituo Temple is located in the eastern part of Wushan in Fuzhou. The only remaining structure is the main hall, which features five bays and five frames, faces south, and stands as an independent courtyard with three bays in width and a double-eaved hip-and-gable roof. The Red Rain Study, once inhabited by Huang Zongyi, no longer exists.

Mituo Temple was first built during the Qianlong era (1736–1795) and covers an area of 1,200 square meters. Huang Zongyi, a well-known cultural figure in Fuzhou, resided in the temple for nine years. He exchanged poems and studied with fellow poets such as Guo Baicang, Wu Bojing, and Dai Chengfen. Several hundred peach trees were planted around the temple, and every February and March, the blossoms would bloom vibrantly. Inspired by the line from the Tang Dynasty poet Li He — “Peach and plum blossoms fall in a riot of red rain” — Huang named the rooms to the left of the temple where he lived “Red Rain Study.” He stored thousands of rare books there, many of which were unseen elsewhere, and took great pleasure in his scholarly pursuits, stating that even the joy of ruling as a king could not compare.

Mituo Temple was later abandoned.

In the 30th year of the Daoguang era (1850 AD), Christian Anglican missionaries R.D. Jackson and William Welton, under the guise of British Consulate translator Jin Zhier, rented two rooms from the monks of Shenguang Temple on Wushan Mountain to store luggage. However, they soon moved in illegally, sparking public opposition and were forced to vacate the following year. Citing the difficulty of finding housing “outside the city at short notice,” they relocated temporarily to Daoshan Guan.

In the 5th year of the Xianfeng era (1855 AD), William Welton and Fearnley rented a piece of vacant land at Daoshan Guan from the Taoist priest Chen Yuancheng to build houses. The next year, Welton returned to Britain due to health issues and soon passed away in London.

In the 5th year of the Tongzhi era (1866 AD), missionary John Richard Wolfe came to Fuzhou to oversee church affairs. Wolfe induced the rickshaw puller Wang Shangsheng and his son to forge a fake deed for the public land of Wenchang Palace at Daoshan Guan and "sold" the land to Wolfe to build a church school, triggering another dispute. After mediation, it was agreed to lease the land officially for 20 years, with the condition that any buildings had to be in traditional Chinese style, not exceed boundaries, or be built higher than allowed.

In the early years of the Guangxu era, John Richard Wolfe violated the agreement by constructing a Western-style building on Wushan Mountain that exceeded the height limit set previously. The public believed the excessive height of the foreign-style building disrupted Fuzhou’s feng shui, leading to renewed conflict. After negotiations involving Fujian Governor Ding Richang and the British consul Charles Wylde Sinclair, and with input from the London Missionary Society, it was decided to exchange the original Telegraph Bureau building and surrounding land at Xiadu, Nantai, outside the city, with the church and Western buildings at Daoshan Guan. An additional compensation of 5,000 silver dollars was provided for reconstruction. Wolfe rejected this settlement and in the 4th year of Guangxu (1878 AD), again violated the agreement by constructing three more buildings. He also refused mediation by the Fujian local government and the British consulate, provoking public outrage. Crowds tore down the newly built Western structures and set them on fire, with the flames spreading to the older ones. This incident became known as the “Wushan Incident.”

After the incident, the Chinese government suppressed the public unrest while negotiating with the British side. Despite repeated discussions with British Consul Charles Wylde Sinclair and British Minister to China Thomas Francis Wade, John Richard Wolfe repeatedly went back on his promises, angering both the minister and the consul. The case was later tried under the presiding judge Chief Justice French in the highest British court in China. The judgment allowed the owner of Daoshan Guan to reclaim the leased land. In March of the 6th year of Guangxu (1880 AD), the church was forced to relocate from Daoshan Guan on Wushan Mountain to the former Telegraph Bureau site at Xiadu.

After the church vacated the site, the government used the land to rebuild Mituo Temple.

In 1992, Mituo Temple was listed as a Fuzhou Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Nanjie Subdistrict: Located in the central-western part of Gulou District. It borders Dongjie Subdistrict to the east along Bayi 7th North Road, neighbors Antai Subdistrict to the south at the foot of Wushan Mountain, connects to Hongshan Town to the west via Xiaoliu and Henan Xincun, and adjoins Huada Subdistrict and Guxi Subdistrict to the north along Hujie Road, Xiannan Road, and Yangqiao Road. It covers an area of 1.56 square kilometers, with 16,000 households and a population of approximately 50,000. The subdistrict office is located at No. 28 Huangxiang. In 2000, the area housed 338 collective enterprises and 1,147 individual businesses, and included the communities of Wenru, Nanjie, Taxiang, Nanhou, Anmin, Mingshan, and Yi... More details about Nanjie Subdistrict ++