Chengde Guan Yu Temple

Chengde Guan Yu Temple

Chengde Guan Yu Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

The deity worshipped in the Guan Yu Temple is Guan Yu, also known as Guan Sheng, or the Holy Guan. The Chengde Guan Yu Temple scenic area is located about 20 meters outside the western palace wall, southwest of the Lizheng Gate of the Mountain Resort. It was first built in the 10th year of the Yongzheng reign during the Qing Dynasty (1732), and is China's only imperial Guan Yu Temple.

The Guan Yu Temple was expanded with side courtyards in the 25th year of the Qianlong reign and underwent renovation in the 43rd year of the Qianlong reign, resulting in its final layout. This transformation made the temple more in line with the architectural scale and hierarchical standards of an imperial temple. Upon the completion of the new temple, Emperor Qianlong inscribed the imperial plaque “Loyalty Subduing Demons,” erected two imperial stelae, and personally visited the temple to offer incense and pay homage. The renovated Guan Yu Temple became even more magnificent and grand, with more complete facilities. From then on, it served not only as an important site where imperial officials, ethnic leaders, and foreign envoys came to pray in Rehe, but also as a temporary imperial command post. After centuries of vicissitudes, the temple had fallen into ruins, but it was rebuilt and restored in 2002, with over 20 halls reconstructed and more than 40 statues reinstated. The main deity worshipped is Guan Sheng Di Jun (Lord Guan), and the temple complex includes halls such as the Three Pure Ones Hall, the God of Wealth Hall, the Medicine King Hall, and the Goddess Hall.

The two imperial stelae in the Guan Yu Temple are both made of Yingwu rock. Each stele is topped with four coiled dragons, with their heads descending to the four corners. The center of the stele top is inscribed with “Imperial Brush.” The body of the stele is carved with twelve dragons, featuring inscriptions on both sides, and the sides are adorned with a sea-and-mountain motif featuring a single ascending dragon holding a jade bead.

Guan Yu (162?–220), of Han ethnicity, was born during the Yanxi era of Emperor Huan of the Eastern Han Dynasty. His courtesy name was Yunchang, originally Changsheng, and he was a native of Xieliang in Hedong (present-day Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province). He was a renowned general of the Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period, serving as General of the Vanguard and Marquis of Hanshou, as well as a military strategist. After his death, he was revered by the people and honored by successive imperial courts, eventually being worshipped as Guan Sheng Di Jun. In Buddhism, he is known as the Sangharama Bodhisattva and respectfully called “Guan Gong.” Later rulers revered Guan Yu as the “Martial Saint,” placing him on par with Confucius, the “Literary Saint.”

Following Liu Bei

Guan Yu’s original courtesy name was Changsheng, which he later changed to Yunchang. In his early years, he fled his hometown to You… More details about Guan Yu++