Penglai Tianhou Palace

Penglai Tianhou Palace

The Tianhou Palace is located within the Penglai Pavilion and is dedicated to the female sea goddess, Lin Mo. Legend has it that she was the daughter of Lin Yuan, a patrol inspector from Putian in Fujian during the early Song Dynasty. In her lifetime, she often rescued ships and fishermen in distress at sea. However, at the age of 28, while aiding a distressed vessel, although the merchant ship was able to reach shore thanks to her help, she was struck on the head by a falling rudder from the ship and fell into the sea, losing her life. Legend says she was deified after death. She was first honored as Lady Linghui during the Song Dynasty, and a temple was bestowed upon her during the Chongning era, inscribed with the plaque “Lingxiang.” During the Tianshi era of the Yuan Dynasty, it was renamed “Lingying,” and in the second year of the Yuantong era (1334), she was further granted the title of Fuguo. In the Zhizheng era (1341–1368), she was elevated to “Ganying Shenfei” (Responsive Divine Consort). In the 23rd year of the Kangxi reign during the Qing Dynasty, she was honored as “Tianhou.” Since the Ming and Qing dynasties, she has replaced the Dragon King and exclusively received the reverence of seafarers, which is why the Tianhou Palace is particularly splendid. The current structure was built in the 17th year of the Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty, in 1837. The original statue was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, and the current one was created in recent years. Because Lin Mo never married and remained a maiden, the shrine is adorned with latticed windows resembling those of a boudoir, signifying that Mazu was an unmarried young woman waiting for marriage.

The Tianhou Palace at Penglai Pavilion is one of the largest temples dedicated to the goddess in northern China. At the center sits the deified Tianhou, recreated in gold. Tianhou is a sea goddess devoutly worshipped by people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait; in the north, she is referred to as the “Goddess of the Sea.” In her hometown of Putian, Fujian, people affectionately call her “Mazu,” hence many temples dedicated to her are called “Mazu Temples.”

Compared to the accompanying deities found in Tianhou Palaces across China, those in the Penglai Pavilion’s Tianhou Palace are quite unique — the Four Sea Dragon Kings serve as standing officials to the goddess. The rear hall is the bedroom of Tianhou. The plaque above the door, inscribed with the four characters “Fu Xi Dan Ya” (“Blessings Bestowed on Red Cliff”), was written by the renowned Chinese calligrapher Fei Xinyue, meaning that the Heavenly Goddess bestows blessings upon everyone who visits Danya Mountain. The east and west rooms contain the goddess’s bed. In the courtyard of this sleeping quarters, there is a very special feature: hidden under the eaves of the east and west wing rooms are four lines of poetry — the first four verses of a poem composed by Chen Baoguang, the prefect of Dengzhou during the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty: “Straight up to Penglai Pavilion, the foremost tower on earth. A thousand-mile view of clouded mountains, and the taste of autumn on the isles all year round.”

Address: Within the Penglai Pavilion Scenic Area, No. 7 Yingbin Road, Penglai City, Yantai, Shandong Province