Temple to Prince of Min

Temple to Prince of Min

The Temple to Prince of Min is a cultural heritage site protected by Fuzhou Municipality.

The Temple to Prince of Min is located on Qingcheng Road in the downtown area of Fuzhou. Historically, it boasted grand, sprawling architecture akin to "cloud-touching mansions," but over time, its estate gradually shrank. By the 1950s, only a two-courtyard, four-section structure remained. In front of the temple are ornamental archway-style walls spanning the street (commonly known as the East and West Gateways), featuring red walls and blue tiles; under the eaves of the walls were painted floral borders, all of which were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution.

The temple covers an area of more than 1,621 square meters. It faces south and consists of, in sequence, a stele courtyard, the main hall, and a rear courtyard. The gate wall is archway-style, with wide polychrome paintings of antique patterns along the eaves, red walls and blue tiles. There are three gates. In front of the central gate are a pair of drum-shaped stone blocks, former decorative elements symbolizing the high status of the household. Beside them are stone lions, and the gate is inlaid with a vertical stone tablet inscribed with “By Imperial Decree for Worship,” and a yellow tablet reading “Loyal and Benevolent Prince of Min Temple.” The left and right side gates are inscribed with “Venerate Virtue” and “Serve the Nation,” respectively. The main hall is wooden, with a width of three bays and a depth of two bays, featuring a post-and-lintel structure and a gabled and hipped roof. A wooden plaque hanging in the hall reads “Merits Echo Through the Min Mountains,” where “mountains” refers to lofty peaks, praising the achievements of Wang Shenzhi in governing Fujian. At the center is a statue of Prince of Min. Exhibited here are a set of the Prince’s epitaph and one epitaph of his wife, Lady Ren Neiming. The stone-paved courtyard in front of the hall has corridors on both sides. In the western courtyard of the temple is a Sword-Worshiping Platform and the Hall for Empress Dowager Dong. The hall is three bays wide and two bays deep (with five pillars). The Sword-Worshiping Platform was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution.

The eastern section of the Temple to Prince of Min is the main hall area, consisting of four courtyards. The main gate is a traditional screen-wall type common in Fuzhou temples, with three arched entrances. Above the central gate are two vertical stone tablets: the upper one inscribed with “By Imperial Decree for Worship,” indicating that it is an officially sanctioned place of worship, and the lower one reading “Tang Dynasty Temple to Loyal and Benevolent Prince of Min.” The left gate (east) has a horizontal tablet inscribed with “Venerate Virtue,” while the right gate (west) has one reading “Serve Merit.” In front of the gate are drum stones, stone lions, and stone railings. The first courtyard features a flat-faced wall with three arched gates corresponding to those of the temple gate. In the past, this was where the spring ritual of “begging for soil” was held. On the east wall is embedded a small stone tablet inscribed with “Begging Soil Sacred Site.” This tablet was erected by the people of Fujian to commemorate Prince of Min’s achievements in expanding territory. During Wang Shenzhi’s governance, he emphasized agricultural production, earning great gratitude from the people of Fujian. From the Song to the Qing dynasties, on the day of Lichun (Beginning of Spring) each year, the Fuzhou prefect, accompanied by officials, would worship at the temple, beg for a lump of soil in front of it to mold a “Spring Ox,” then parade the ox around to encourage spring plowing — the origin of Fuzhou’s “Welcoming the Spring Ox” custom. A poem by Qing Dynasty’s Yang Qingshen reads: “In spring, they beg soil before the temple; the news spreads with the east wind to every household,” depicting the lively scene. This white granite tablet records the historical fact of the temple’s reconstruction by imperial decree in the 29th year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty (1601 AD).

Passing the flat-faced wall leads to the second courtyard. The front wall now only has side gates, as the central gate has been blocked. On the left side of the front yard is a stele pavilion housing the “Imperial Bestowed Stele of the Virtuous Rule of Prince of Langya,” commonly known as the “Prince of Min Stele.” The stele is 4.90 meters tall and 1.87 meters wide, erected in the third year of Tianyou of the Tang Dynasty (906 AD) by decree of Emperor Ai Li Cunxu. It was composed by Yu Jing, Vice Minister of Rites, and inscribed by Wang Ti of the Hongwen Pavilion. The material is carbonaceous shale, black in color and suitable for making inkstones, commonly called “Jiangle Stone.” Due to its high flexibility, the inscriptions remain clear without any cracks around the characters. The stele is gui-shaped (a type of ancient jade), with solemn wording and dignified calligraphy. It documents Wang Shenzhi’s family background and his political, military, economic, cultural, and foreign trade achievements in the early period of governing Fujian, as well as records of exchanges between Fujian and Sumatra at the time. It is a vital cultural relic for studying the history of the Min Kingdom and the Five Dynasties. The stele’s impressive size and exceptional calligraphy make it a highly valuable artifact for research into Five Dynasties history and calligraphic art. The Qing Dynasty’s Guo Baicang referred to it as “one of the Four Great Steles under Heaven” in his book “Ten Days Among Bamboo.”

During the 1960s–70s, when Qingcheng Road was widened, the first courtyard of the Temple to Prince of Min was demolished, and nearly half of the yard was occupied by the road. The original stone slabs, drum stones, lions, and railings were preserved by the cultural relics department. In 1982, the temple was restored, the flat-faced wall was removed to combine the first and second courtyards, the temple gate was rebuilt to its original design, and the drum stones, lions, and railings were restored. The central gate between the second and third courtyards was blocked, leaving only the side gates. Inside the yard, the red wall features four stone tablets inscribed with “Inherit and Expand the Territory,” written by Shen Jingshou. “Inherit” refers to Wang Shenzhi being another great figure, after the Han-era King of Minyue Wuzhu, who expanded Fujian’s territory. The halberd stands in front of the wall were honors bestowed by emperors upon top military commanders, symbolizing authority.

The third courtyard is the main hall, a five-bay structure with a single-eave gabled and hipped roof supported by post-and-lintel beams. It enshrines Prince of Min, Wang Shenzhi. The main hall has been converted into an exhibition room, with a 1982 clay statue of Wang Shenzhi made by folk artist Chen Shishan at its center. Surrounding exhibits include epitaphs unearthed from Wang’s palace ruins and tomb, as well as Tang Dynasty ceramics. On both sides of the front yard are side rooms, which were once used as the Fuzhou Ancient Architecture Design Research Institute.

The fourth courtyard is the Sword-Worshiping Pavilion, a modern two-story brick-and-wood structure with seven arched bays. The rear yard is very small, and the back wall contains a stele from the seventh year of the Kaibao reign of the Northern Song Dynasty (974 AD), inscribed with “Restoration Inscription of the Loyal and Benevolent Prince of Min Temple.”

To the west of the Sword-Worshiping Pavilion is the Hall for Empress Dowager Dong, a single-story, five-bay structure with a single-eave hipped roof, now restored.

In front of the Hall for Empress Dowager Dong, at the location west of the main hall, there used to be the ancient Sword-Worshiping Platform, now gone, with a three-story residential building built on its site.

Leading from the Sword-Worshiping Platform to the streetfront was once an auxiliary garden. The streetfront had a temple-style gate wall inscribed with “Sword-Worshiping Platform Historical Site.” Now, the western garden is filled with illegal structures, and the gatehouse and stele inscription on the gate wall have been destroyed.

In 1961, the Temple to Prince of Min was designated by the Fuzhou People’s Committee as one of the first municipal-level cultural heritage sites; the associated inscriptions were listed by the Fujian People’s Committee as among the first batch of provincial-level cultural relics.

Wang Shenzhi, courtesy name Xintong, also known as Xiangqing, was from Gushi in Guangzhou (present-day Gushi County, Henan Province). He was born in the third year of Xiantong of the Tang Dynasty (862 AD). Of three brothers, Wang Shenzhi was the youngest, known as the Third Younger. In his youth, Wang Shenzhi loved reading and had great ambitions.

In the first year of Zhonghe (881 AD), Wang Xu, a butcher from Shouzhou (present-day Shouxian, Anhui), raised an army and captured Guangzhou. The Wang brothers joined Wang Xu’s rebel forces. Soon after, Qin Zongquan, military governor of Caizhou under the Tang, attacked Wang Xu. Leading his troops south across the Yangtze River, Wang Xu entered Fujian, successively capturing Tingzhou, Zhangzhou, and other areas. The Wang brothers followed into Fujian. Wang Xu was naturally suspicious... (Detailed information about Wang Shenzhi++)

Dongjie Subdistrict: Located east of Bayiqi Bei Road, it is the only subdistrict in the district without an urban-rural fringe. It is named after its main thoroughfare, Dongjie. The subdistrict borders Guide East Subdistrict to the north (starting from Xian South Road, Qingcheng Road), An Tai Subdistrict to the south (up to Zhuzi Fang and Aofeng Fang), Wenquan Subdistrict and Shuibu Subdistrict to the east (at the intersection of Wuyi Road and Wusi Road), and Nanjie Subdistrict to the west (connected to Bayiqi Bei Road). It covers an area of 0.82 square kilometers, with a population of 22,900. The subdistrict office is located at No. 9 Huaxiang. It administers Shijing, Nanying, Junmen, Jintai, Aofeng, Huayuan, Dagen, Xianta, and Zhulinjing... (Detailed information about Dongjie Subdistrict++)