Ruins of the Eight Chieftains Temple

Ruins of the Eight Chieftains Temple

The Eight Chieftains Temple ruins are a cultural tourism attraction.

On the northern bank of the You River beneath Qian Mountain in Shuiba Village, Bamao Township, Baojing County, there remains the site of the Eight Chieftains Temple built before the second year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1737), also known as the Shouba Dong site. This is the only Eight Chieftains Temple site in Xiangxi Prefecture.

The ruins still hold a broken stone stele with faintly visible inscriptions on its reverse side: "Shouba Dong, through the Han, Jin, Six Dynasties, Sui, Tang, Five Dynasties, Song, Yuan, and Ming, was the upper reaches of southern Chu... Hence the name 'Eight Chieftains' refers to the eight chieftains who guarded the eight dong (valleys), with each dong representing a tribe... 'Dong' was the name of the administrative division in the Tujia region at that time, and the eight dong referred to eight such regions. The eight sons of the Tujia ancestors each led one dong as chieftains, and Shouba Dong was the first among them. Later generations built the Eight Chieftains Temple to commemorate them."

The ruins of the Eight Chieftains Temple are well preserved, and the foundation of its regular hexagonal structure can still be clearly seen. Why the temple had a hexagonal shape remains a mystery. A pair of stone lions still stands in their original place in front of the temple. Their rustic and primitive design is unique in the world. The stone couplet carved on both sides of the temple gate is also preserved at the site. Written in semi-cursive script and incised, the upper line reads: “Meritorious deeds recorded in history, honored across the Eight Chieftains”; the lower line: “Divine presence blesses this land, worshipped for a thousand autumns.” A blue stone tablet originally embedded in the temple’s lintel, measuring 1.51 meters in height and 0.81 meters in width, features the four characters “Ba Da Wang” (Eight Great Kings) in semi-cursive script incised vertically among three relief-carved coiling dragons and cloud patterns. It is now housed in the Xiangxi Prefecture Museum.

According to *A Brief Study of the You River*, the Eight Chieftains once led the indigenous ancestors to defend the Eight Man Dong Pass — the birthplace of the Tujia people — guiding them from a primitive, hunter-gatherer existence into a settled agricultural era. For the Tujia, the contributions of the Eight Chieftains were akin to those of Yao, Shun, and Yu for the Huaxia people. Shouba Dong was the homeland of the leader of the Eight Chieftains — Nie Kelai. Legend has it that Nie Kelai could pass through mountains and seas, summon wind and rain, and turn beans into soldiers. He led his tribe to defeat river demons, defend mountain strongholds, and resist the imperial court, becoming a leader passed down through generations of Tujia people. After Nie Kelai’s death, the elders of Shouba Dong buried him atop Sha Wan Temple Mound and built a shrine, enshrining his clay statue for worship, turning him into a semi-divine idol venerated by Tujia generations. Later, other tribes followed suit, building temples along the You River basin to worship wooden spirit tablets of the Eight Chieftains.

The Eight Chieftains Temple of Shouba Dong is located on Temple Mound opposite Sha Wan Village by the You River, with the tomb of Nie Kelai situated behind the temple. It is the oldest of the Tujia Eight Chieftains Temples, though its exact age is unknown. The main structure was destroyed in war, leaving only the platform ruins and a pair of archaic-looking upward-facing holes. The temple once held a coiled dragon stone stele, now housed in the Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture Museum. According to local elders, the original temple had three sections. The first was the Hand-Waving Hall, where people performed the Hand-Waving Dance during rituals, with horse stables on both the east and west sides and a pair of upward-facing mythical beasts guarding the gate. Adjacent to the first section was a two-story theater used for Nuo opera performances during sacrifices, with a white horse statue on each side and the second section — an open-air theater — to the north where audiences watched the plays. East and west wing rooms provided rest areas for women and children. The final section was the Eight Chieftains Shrine, with Nie Kelai’s spirit tablet enshrined at the center for incense offerings and prayers, while bells and drums used by priests stood on either side. Elders recall that before the founding of New China, ritual activities here were especially vibrant. Every Lunar New Year, Tujia people from dozens of nearby villages would come to worship and burn incense. They carried Tujia specialties such as glutinous rice cakes, deep-fried dough twists, and cured meats as offerings to pray for favorable weather. These rituals also featured uniquely Tujia elements: the Hand-Waving Dance, also called the New Year Adjustment Dance, was rhythmic, vigorous, and possessed an unsophisticated beauty. When the ritual drums sounded, people of all ages joined in the dance to celebrate the New Year Festival in a lively scene. Other distinctive ceremonies included worshipping the Eight Great Deities, dragon and lion dances, and Nuo opera performances. Today, locals still maintain sacrificial customs during the Lunar New Year.

The Eight Chieftains Temple holds irreplaceable value for studying the culture of the You River basin and the ancient political, economic, and cultural aspects of the Tujia people.