Shangqing Palace in Yingtan

Shangqing Palace in Yingtan

Shangqing Palace is two li from the Tianshi Mansion, located at the eastern end of Shangqing Town. It is flanked by Elephant Mountain on the left, faces the Luxi River at its gate, overlooks the Cloud Forest, and nestles against the Terrace Stone. As the sacred site where generations of Tianshis worshipped deities, it has been honored as the "Capital of Immortals" and the "Place Where All Deities Receive Their Mandates."

Shangqing Palace was first built during the Eastern Han Dynasty as the Taoist practice site of Zhang Daoling, then known as the "Tianshi Thatched Cottage." In the late Han Dynasty, Tianshi Zhang Sheng relocated from Hanzhong back to Longhu Mountain and renamed the "Tianshi Thatched Cottage" to the "Transmission Altar." During the Tang Dynasty's Huichang era, Emperor Zhenzong bestowed the name "True Immortal Temple" upon the Transmission Altar. In the Dazhong Xiangfu era of the Northern Song Dynasty, Emperor Zhenzong decreed the renaming of the site to Shangqing Temple. In the third year of the Zhenghe era (1118 AD), it was named Shangqing Zhengyi Palace, commonly referred to as Shangqing Palace or Great Shangqing Palace. "At that time, thousands of Taoists studied here," making it a "Land of Feathered Immortals Illuminated Day and Night."

Due to successive feudal dynasties constructing and rebuilding the site, Shangqing Palace once boasted numerous halls, including the Three Pure Ones Hall, Jade Emperor Hall, Purple Star Hall, Heavenly Emperor Hall, Earth God Hall, Doumu Palace, Thunder Ancestor Hall, Liao Tang Hall, Southern Dipper Hall, Northern Dipper Hall, Demon-Subduing Hall, Three Pure Ones Hall, Three Officials Hall, Wenchang Hall, Four Saints Hall, Five Sacred Peaks Emperor Hall, Four Rivers Hall, True Wind Hall, Marquis of Liu Hall, Twelve True Lords Hall, Kuige Pavilion, Xu Jing Shrine, Scripture Repository, Drum Tower, Fudi Gate, Dragon-Tiger Gate, Lingxing Gate, Dismounting Pavilion, and more. Nearby, there were also thirty-six Taoist monasteries and various auxiliary structures. It was originally one of China’s largest and oldest ancient Taoist palaces. Compared to imperial palaces, it was built just one foot shorter to distinguish it from the royal residence. The classic Chinese novel *Water Margin* provides a vivid and splendid description of Shangqing Palace’s celestial beauty, further enhancing its mystique and allure.

The entire complex of Shangqing Palace is centered around the Three Pure Ones Hall and Jade Emperor Hall, arranged with eight gates and four directions. Most of the halls have been destroyed (the last destruction occurred in the 19th year of the Republic of China, 1930, when a fire started by beggars warming themselves inside). By the time of liberation, only the Great Shangqing Palace gate tower, bell tower, Meridian Gate, and Dismounting Pavilion remained. Yet, the reputation of this ancient Taoist palace remains legendary and widely known. Existing cultural relics such as the East Hidden Courtyard, Good and Evil Well, Dream Bed, Divine Tree, and the legendary Demon-Suppressing Well continue to captivate domestic and international visitors.

The East Hidden Courtyard is located on the eastern side of the Shangqing Palace complex and is a renowned Taoist monastery within Longhu Mountain’s Shangqing Palace. It is also the only remaining Taoist courtyard in the palace today. Established during the Southern Song Dynasty, it gained prominence after Kublai Khan of the Yuan Dynasty held the monastery’s Taoist priest Zhang Liusun in high esteem, leading to extensive renovations and heightened fame.

The current East Hidden Courtyard is a Ming-Qing transitional structure, featuring one gatehouse, three main halls, four Taoist practice rooms on each side, three rear halls, and one wing room on each side. Its architectural style is simple and classic. Outside the courtyard walls are historical relics such as the "Good and Evil Boundary Well" and the "Divine Tree." Though vastly changed from its former appearance, the site remains embraced by mountains, shrouded in mist, and exudes an ethereal charm, allowing visitors to still sense the lingering aura of a celestial realm.

A particularly noteworthy feature is the Demon-Suppressing Well of the Demon-Subduing Hall, vividly described in the opening chapter of *Water Margin* by Shi Nai’an. Though the Demon-Subduing Hall no longer exists, the well remains at its former site, with stone railings intact. The mouth of the well resembles a winnowing basket, its depths pitch black, surrounded by moss and grass—truly a dark void. Visitors peering into the "Open When Flooded" cave entrance can’t help but feel a chill, fearing they might witness, as described in *Water Margin*, "a black vapor bursting forth, toppling half the hall’s corner, soaring into the sky and scattering into hundreds of golden beams," leaving them "unable to sleep at night or eat during the day." Of course, visitors know *Water Margin* is fiction, a product of Shi Nai’an’s imagination. Yet his descriptions of Shangqing Palace’s grandeur and atmosphere, and his creative portrayal of the 30th Tianshi Zhang Jixian as a shepherd boy, carry a touch of realism. Thus, tourists flock to the well, imagining how the Thirty-Six Heavenly Generals and Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends emerged to become the 108 Heroes of Liangshan, disrupting the world.

Surrounding Shangqing Palace are numerous cultural and natural attractions. Upstream along the Luxi River lies the forest area of the Shangqing Forest Farm, which could be developed into a forest park. Across the river, a camphor forest marks the historic meeting site of the Red Tenth Army and the Central Red Army. To the south of the palace, across the river, Guizhou was the hometown of Xia Yan, the Chief Grand Secretary of the Wuying Hall during the Ming Dynasty and a prominent statesman and prime minister of the Jiajing era. He was persecuted by the treacherous Yan Song for supporting the recovery of the Ordos region. The tomb of his father, Xia Ding, is located two li south of Shangqing Palace and offers a site for commemoration. Additionally, around Longhu Mountain’s Shangqing Palace, there are remnants of eighteen palaces, eighty-one Taoist temples, thirty-six Taoist monasteries, and tombs of the Tianshis.

Shangqing Town: A town under the jurisdiction of Guixi City. The birthplace of the Orthodox Unity sect of Taoism. In 1958, it was established as Shangqing Commune, renamed Shangqing Reclamation Farm in 1960, reinstated as Shangqing Commune in 1968, and rebuilt as Shangqing Town in 1984. Located in the southwestern part of the city, along the middle reaches of the Shangqing Stream, it is 31 km from the urban area. Covering an area of 87 square kilometers with a population of 18,000, it is traversed by the Yingxia Railway and the Gong (Dian) Zi (Xi) Highway. The town administers the Fuguan Neighborhood Committee and ten village committees: Shangqing, Hanpu, Jianpu, Guizhou, Chengmen, Shawan, Lishan, Quanyuan, Niwan, and Tongqiao. The main agricultural products are rice and the famed Tianshi Chestnuts. Township enterprises include... Detailed information about Shangqing Town++