Ganzhou Yuxu Taoist Temple

Ganzhou Yuxu Taoist Temple

Yuxu Taoist Temple was originally located in Shuidong Township, Ganzhou (now the site of Shuidong Primary School), also known as the Ge Xian Ancestral Hall. Historical records state that during the Chiwu era of the late Han Dynasty, Ge Xuan preached the “Four Essentials and Nine Precepts” on Mount Ehu, where he “carved a cave out of the rock and concealed himself at the ridge’s summit.” During the Tang Dynasty, Taoism flourished. In the Xiantong era (860–874), Emperor Yizong of Tang, in recognition of Ge Xuan’s dedication to spiritual cultivation and his contributions to society, decreed the construction of Zonghua Temple at the western foot of Mount Ehu to enshrine Ge Xuan. Built during the Kaiyuan era (713–741) of the Tang Dynasty, it was classified as a “Ten Directions Monastery.” The temple faces south with a slight westward orientation and was constructed at the convergence point of nine mountain ranges. It features a hip-and-gable roof style. The large worship plaza in front of the temple could accommodate a thousand people. The roof ridge is adorned with yellow glazed tiles, featuring three tiers of relief sculptures depicting nine golden dragons playing with a pearl, vividly crafted and facing each other. In the second year of the Zhiping reign of the Northern Song Dynasty (1065), Emperor Yingzong Zhao Shu renamed it Yuxu Taoist Temple, and in the early Yuan Dynasty, Yuxu Taoist Temple was destroyed in war. Hence, the origin of the name Ge Xian Ancestral Hall also being called Yuxu Taoist Temple stems from this history.

Legend has it that in the late Tang Dynasty, the Taoist priest Shi Jianwu (also known as the Huayang Zhenren, or True Man of Huayang) once traveled from Hongdu (present-day Nanchang)’s Western Hills to Ganzhou and stayed at this temple together with the True Man Liu Jixian. During the Zhiping era of the Song Dynasty (1064–1066), Emperor Yingzong bestowed a plaque for the temple. In the Yongle era of the Ming Dynasty (1403–1423), the Hanlin Academician Xie Jin inscribed the plaque reading “Yuxu Taoist Temple.” In the early Ming Dynasty, the eminent Taoist Liu Yuoran (a native of Ganzhou County) established this temple as a place for spiritual practice, leaving behind four generations of practitioners who contributed to its legacy — namely Liu Yuoran, Liu Jixian, Liu Mingqing, and Liu Ziying. Their practice was guided by the saying: “The superior practitioner ascends to the Heavenly Palace; the middling practitioner establishes immortality in the Southern Palace; the inferior practitioner prolongs life in the worldly realm.” The temple housed an alchemy furnace, an alchemy platform, and an alchemy well. At that time, Yuxu Taoist Temple was managed by Taoist officials appointed by the emperor and was under the jurisdiction of the Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain, Zhang Tianshi. In the Qing Dynasty, the Taoist priest Liu Ziying designated Yuxu Taoist Temple as the prefectural temple to oversee Taoist affairs in southern Jiangxi. He established the Yin-Yang Studies department to manage ritual doctrines, with Taoist priest Jiao presiding over the temple’s Yin-Yang rituals. During the Republican era, a primary school was established here. After liberation, it continued to be used as the site of Shuidong Primary School. In 1985, the Ganzhou Municipal Government decided to return the property through compensation, and in 1989, Yuxu Taoist Temple was rebuilt on Wansong Mountain (also known as Xian Shan) in Shuidong. The reconstruction was overseen by Taoist priest Fang Yeru. In June 1990, the temple was completed and approved for public access, with Fang Yeru serving as the abbot. On the seventh day of the seventh lunar month that same year, Abbot Fang Yeru presided over a grand consecration ceremony for Yuxu Taoist Temple, attended by more than 300 religious figures and devotees. Following the consecration, the temple received over 3,000 Taoist followers from Beijing, Shanghai, Fujian, Guangdong, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the United States, and other regions both domestically and abroad.

Source: Daoism Voice