Temple of Guan Yu at Mount Tai

Temple of Guan Yu at Mount Tai

The Temple of Guan Yu at Mount Tai is located on the western side of the starting point of the ancient hiking trail up Mount Tai. It is classified as a sacrificial hall among ancient architecture and was originally built during the Ming Dynasty. It is part of the Ancient Architectural Complex of Mount Tai, which was included in the sixth batch of Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level.

The Temple of Guan Yu was built by Shanxi merchants doing business in Tai’an during the Ming Dynasty. It was expanded and renovated multiple times during the reigns of Emperors Kangxi, Qianlong, Xianfeng, Guangxu, and Daoguang of the Qing Dynasty. The courtyard is 74 meters wide from east to west and 80 meters long from north to south, covering an area of 5,920 square meters. It is divided into eastern and western sections: the eastern part is the Temple of Guan Yu, and the western part is the Shanxi Guild Hall.

The eastern courtyard consists of the mountain gate, theater stage, worship shed, east and west side halls, Chongning Hall, and Holy Mother Hall. The main structure of the eastern courtyard, the Chongning Hall, is a flush-gable roof building. Its plaque, inscribed with the words “Divine Might, Mighty Guardian,” was written in the 13th year of Emperor Qianlong’s reign (1748). The hall enshrines Guan Yu, with Guan Ping and Zhou Cang as accompanying deities. To the east of the hall is a connecting hallway, with east and west wing rooms on both sides. Passing through the hallway to the north leads directly to the rear courtyard. Ascending the steps, in the first section of the rear courtyard, there is an ancient cypress tree on the eastern side. Although its trunk is only 0.8 meters tall, its diameter reaches 1.1 meters. It is said to have been planted by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. The lush branches of the ancient cypress stretch out beyond the eastern wall onto the ancient hiking trail. A square stele embedded in the outer wall of the courtyard is inscribed with the words “The Finest Han Dynasty Cypress.” On the western side of the rear courtyard is a wall enclosing a dense bamboo grove. There is a moon gate in the wall that leads to the western courtyard. The second section of the rear courtyard contains the Holy Mother Hall, which houses the deity Bixia Yuanjun of Mount Tai.

The western courtyard, the Shanxi Guild Hall, was originally a gathering place for Shanxi merchants in Tai’an. It consists of the main hall, east and west side rooms, Spring and Autumn Tower, and Eclipsed Moon Pine Tower. Beneath the Eclipsed Moon Pine Tower stands an ancient pine tree with a canopy like an umbrella, standing gracefully and upright. It is named the “Eclipsed Moon Pine.”

South of the mountain gate of the Temple of Guan Yu stands a screen wall inscribed with the words “Divine Might, Mighty Guardian.” Stone lions flank the entrance. Within the courtyard are 23 stone tablets and steles, including the “Poem Tablet of Zhang Yixian on Ascending Mount Tai” from the Chongzhen era of the Ming Dynasty, the “Record Tablet of the Expansion of the Theater Stage of the Temple of Guan Yu” from the 10th year of Emperor Kangxi’s reign (1671), the “Record Tablet of the Initial Construction of Side Halls of the Temple of Guan Yu” from the 22nd year of Emperor Kangxi’s reign (1683), and the “Record Tablet of the Renovation of the Bell and Drum Tower, Theater Stage, and Walls of the Temple of Guan Yu” from the 9th year of Emperor Xianfeng’s reign (1859).