Ruins of Xiao Gong Temple

Ruins of Xiao Gong Temple

Xiao Gong Temple is located near Xiao Gong Miao Village Group, Chengjia Village Committee, Dayangzhou Town, Xingan County. It enshrines the water god Xiao Yinghou Boxuan and his successive divine descendants. To the west, it borders the Gan River, with the renowned Red Tangerine Homeland and Little Nanjing Sanhu Street visible across the river. To the east lies the Gan River embankment.

The provincial-level cultural relic protection unit, Xiao Gong Temple, was first built in the seventh year of the Jingtai era (1456), over 500 years ago. It was rebuilt in 1993 and renovated in 2010. In ancient times, Xiao Gong Temple was described as having “magnificent architecture with carved beams and painted rafters, with boats and painted vessels constantly along the shore, and worshippers continually coming and going.” Many officials, gentry, and literati left behind poetic inscriptions in its honor. Today, the site still preserves ancient bluestone railings, a pair of stone lions, a large iron anchor, and ancient bricks and stones now used as a vegetable garden fence. The rebuilt temple consists of two structures: the main hall and the Guanyin Hall. The temple enshrines the following deities: Xiao Tianren, known as the “male Mazu,” along with his grandfather Xiao Boxuan, father Xiao Xiangshu, mother, as well as other water gods such as Nie Gong and Zhang Gong, and Guanyin Bodhisattva.

According to the *Reprinted Chronicles of Xiao Hou Temple in Dayangzhou* (first published in the Tianqi year 1621 during the Ming Dynasty, last edition in 1907 during the Qing Dynasty): Xiao Boxuan, a native of Xingan in the Northern Song Dynasty, was originally from Xiangfu County, Kaifeng, Henan. His ancestors were Yongkang Gong and Lanfang Gong. His father, Lanfang Gong, once served as the Prefect of Jizhou. Xiao Boxuan was fond of Taoist immortality practices and traveled to Linjiang to visit the immortal Xie Zhenren of Jinfengzhou. He was captivated by the beautiful landscape of Xingan and thus relocated from Jizhou to Dayangzhou in Xingan. In his later years, he was regarded as having divine powers and could foresee future events. In the tenth year of the Yuandade era (1306), he passed away in meditation. The local people revered him as a water god. In the second year of the Yuandazhong era (1309), he was posthumously honored as the “Manifest Response True Man of the Five Lakes.” His successor, Yingyouhou Xiao Tianren, was credited in the chronicles with secretly protecting Zheng He’s voyages to the Western Seas, as well as aiding Emperor Yingzong of Ming during his northern captivity and later helping restore him to power, for which he was honored as the “Manifest Response True Man of Spiritual Insight and Universal Relief.” In the 20th year of the Ming Chenghua era (1484), an imperial edict commanded the magistrate of Xingan County to conduct sacrificial ceremonies. His influence extended from Sichuan and Guizhou in the west to Huguang in the east, with temples dedicated to Xiao Gong erected along various river systems, making him, alongside Yan Gong of Qingjiang, a revered deity in water worship.

The faith in Xiao Gong spread nationwide with the development of the Jiangyou merchant group and the “Huguang Migration from Jiangxi,” leading to the establishment of temples or statues worshipping Xiao Gong in many regions.

In 2006, CCTV’s *National Treasure Archives* aired a two-part special titled *Chronicles of Xiao Hou Temple in Dayangzhou*. The *Chronicles of Xiao Hou Temple in Dayangzhou*, printed during the Tianqi era of the Ming Dynasty and now housed in the Library of Congress in the United States, documents the divine deeds of three generations of the Xiao family—referred to as the “Three Generations of Benevolent Lords”—during the Yuan and Ming periods. The chronicles contain numerous poetic inscriptions by officials, gentry, and literati, making them an invaluable resource for studying water god worship, folk deity veneration, and Taoist culture today.

Further Reading:

· Sixth Batch of Jiangxi Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units