Rushan Yuxu Temple

Rushan Yuxu Temple

Yuxu Temple, also known as Shengshui Palace, is located in Fengjia Town, Rushan City. It is a provincial-level key cultural relic protection unit and is listed in the "Dictionary of Scenic Spots in China." Surrounded by continuous mountain ranges, with peculiar peaks, secluded valleys, and dense forests, it has long been praised as "Little Kunyu" and has been renowned since ancient times for its extraordinary mountains and magical waters.

According to historical texts and inscribed tablets, a temple called "Shengshui Palace" was built here during the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty. Its heyday was during the Jin and Yuan dynasties when it was one of the three major Taoist sacred sites in China. Originally, there was a hermitage here named "Shengshui Hermitage." A fragmented stele unearthed in 1987 on the west side of the current Yuxu Temple site records that Shengshui Hermitage dates back to the Han and Jin dynasties, nearly two thousand years ago. Another legend says that Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty once sent Yu Chijingde to supervise the construction of palaces and temples here. According to the surviving "Yuxu Temple Stele," in the Dading year of Dingwei (1187) during the Jin Dynasty, Wang Yuyang, one of the Seven True Masters of the Quanzhen School of Taoism, and his disciples took up residence in a thatched hut here. In the Cheng’an year of Dingsi (1197), an imperial decree bestowed upon it the name "Yuxu Temple." The following year, after lecturing on Taoism to Emperor Zhangzong, Wang Yuyang returned here with imperial gold, silk, and a collection of Taoist scriptures. He gathered followers and disciples to "donate timber," "donate grain," "cut brambles and clear grass," and "level steep hills and fill valleys" to expand the halls, pavilions, towers, and bridges. In the first year of Zhi Ning (1213) during the Jin Dynasty, it was again granted the name "Yuzhen Palace," also known as "Wanshou Palace." By this time, Wang Yuyang had founded the Yushan Sect of the Quanzhen School here, widely spreading teachings and benefiting society, making the site famous throughout the world. At that time, Yuxu Temple featured "ancient pines casting shade, old cypresses twisting like dragons, green tiles layered like scales, and crimson gates shining brightly. Immortals and extraordinary beings appeared, while the natural qi of celestial spirits converged. Visitors flocked here, and incense burned through the night." With such grandeur, along with scenic spots like "Spring Clouds in Tiger Valley," "Imperial Stele Bathed in Rain," "Stone Pillars Piercing the Sky," "Bamboo Grove Retaining Its Verdure," as well as attractions like Purple Qi Valley, Stone Swallow Slope, Bell-Ringing Rock, Buddha Summit Peak, and Second Aunt Summit, it became one of the most renowned Taoist sacred sites in the world at that time. Yuan Haowen, a great literary figure of the Yuan Dynasty, wrote in "Record of Qingzhen Temple in Huai Prefecture": "Among the Taoist temples in the world, Wuguan ranks first, Bindu second, and Shengshui third." This shows the immense fame of Yuxu Temple at the time.

From the Jin Dynasty through the Ming and Qing dynasties, Yuxu Temple underwent multiple renovations, continuously expanding in scale. According to the "Ninghai Prefecture Annals," the last major renovation took place in the fourth year of the Xianfeng era of the Qing Dynasty (1854). After the renovation, Yuxu Temple boasted solemn halls and numerous stone tablets. Major structures included the Ancestral Hall, Goddess Mother Hall, Three Pure Ones Hall, Three Officials Hall, Three Brothers Hall, Jade Emperor Pavilion, and Wanshou Palace. The most magnificent was the Jade Emperor Pavilion, commonly known as the Octagonal Glazed Hall. It had two levels, supported by twelve eight-sided stone pillars on the lower level, and featured a bracket-and-bracket roof structure on the upper level, housing a statue of the Jade Emperor. The roof was covered with green glazed tiles. Its unique structure, grand design, and luxurious decoration were unmatched among Taoist temples worldwide. Wanshou Palace was one of the main buildings of Yuxu Temple, housing statues of the founders of the Quanzhen School and the Seven True Masters, adorned with carved beams and painted rafters, resplendent in gold and brilliance. However, due to historical and natural factors, Yuxu Temple suffered multiple fires and destructions. Today, over 80% of these ancient buildings have been lost.

The present-day Yuxu Temple has been rebuilt under the leadership of the Yuxu Temple Management Committee, with the support of leaders at all levels, the expectations of the Rushan Taoist Association, and fellow practitioners. As one of Rushan City’s key leisure and wellness tourism projects, Shengshui Palace combines natural landscapes with rich cultural heritage: featuring both the miraculously shaped mountains and sacred waters crafted by nature, and serving as a natural cultural treasure trove. Without even mentioning its significant place in Taoist history as the birthplace of the Yushan Sect of the Quanzhen School, the cultural imprints left behind by literati, Taoists, poets, inscribed stone tablets, cave dwellings, and hermitages are treasures in themselves. The reconstructed Yuxu Temple includes structures such as the Mountain Gate, Jade Emperor Hall, Seven True Masters Hall, Salvation Hall, Three Officials Hall, Wanshou Palace, and Three Pure Ones Hall. Outside the temple are the God of Wealth Palace and Laojun Cave. The main building of the newly built Yuxu Temple is the Jade Emperor Hall, dedicated to the Supreme Jade Emperor of the Golden Palace, serving as one of the principal structures. The original Wanshou Palace, which housed statues of the founders and Seven True Masters of the Quanzhen School, has been repurposed to enshrine the Pure Brightness Master Xu, while the Seven True Masters Hall now honors the Seven True Masters. Although the once-rich Taoist atmosphere has gradually faded, visitors to this site, while paying homage to the immortal traces and listening to myths, can’t help but feel a deep sense of reverence and lingering awe.

According to the plan, the renovated scenic area will consist of a Cultural Heritage Tourism Zone and a Natural Ecology Tourism Zone. The Cultural Heritage Tourism Zone, based on the original site of Shengshui Palace, will restore ancient structures such as the Ancestral Hall, Three Brothers Hall, Jade Emperor Pavilion, and Wanshou Palace according to historical records. It will also renovate relics such as Shengshui Rock, Yuyang Cave Heaven, and White Tiger Valley, and install new bronze and fiberglass statues of Wang Chongyang, the founding patriarch of the Quanzhen School, and the Seven True Masters atop the mountain. The Natural Ecology Tourism Zone will feature a botanical garden and flower garden, significantly increasing the greening rate of the scenic area. Planned cultivation of rare trees and flowers suited to northern climates, as well as fruit varieties like peaches, plums, pears, and nuts such as walnuts, chestnuts, and ginkgo, will create distinct plant zones, ensuring the area remains vibrant with peach blossoms and willows year-round, truly becoming a utopian-style historical and cultural tourism destination.

One of the well-preserved landscapes — "Yuyang Cave Heaven" — bears a stone inscription personally carved by Wang Yuyang reading "Shengshui Palace." Among the "Seven True Masters of the Quanzhen School," the Yuyang Zhenren (True Man) spent his life wandering and preaching, and Shengshui Palace was his primary site for spreading Taoism.