Han Shrine and Its Oak Trees

Han Shrine and Its Oak Trees

Han Shrine and Its Oak Trees is a cultural tourism attraction.

The Han Wengong Shrine was first built during the Northern Song Dynasty at a location seven li south of the city. Su Shi once composed the famous “Inscription for the Temple of Lord Han in Chaozhou.” Over the Yuan and Ming dynasties, the shrine underwent no fewer than 20 renovations and expansions. Perched on high ground, the structure boasts an elegant and classic design. It is divided into a front and a rear section, both flanked by corridors. The rear section is built on a raised platform several meters higher than the front and houses a statue of Han Yu. A couplet on the hall reads: “Thousands of words spoken against Buddhism, amid the cold snow at Lan Pass, from here Confucian teachings spread across the lofty ridges; serving just eight months as prefect, taming the crocodiles of the tide flats, to this day incense smoke rises across the isles.” The shrine houses 36 stone tablets from various dynasties, the oldest being Su Shi’s “Inscription for the Temple of Lord Han in Chaozhou,” which was relocated here from the south of the city and placed beneath the southern wall of the main hall. The beams and pillars in both the front and rear sections also display plaques inscribed by modern individuals in commemoration of the shrine’s renovation. Nestled against the hillside and overlooking the water, the shrine exudes solemnity and dignity. In 1988, the “Shilang Pavilion” was newly constructed on the former site of the Shilang Pavilion, covering an area of 328 square meters. It is a two-story building with double eaves. The lower level serves as an exhibition hall, while the upper floor has been turned into the “Han Yu Memorial Hall.” At the center of the stone-paved platform in front of the pavilion stands a more than two-meter-tall standing statue of Han Yu.

The original Han Shrine was first established in the second year of the Chéngpíng era of Emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty. Chen Yaozuo, the prefectural judge of Chaozhou, built the “Han Sima Shrine” in the eastern wing of the main hall of the Confucius Temple at the foot of Mount Jinshan. In the fifth year of Yuanyou, Prefect Gong Di relocated it to a spot seven li south of the city. Su Shi wrote the “Inscription for the Temple of Lord Han (Changli Bo) in Chaozhou” for it. In the sixteenth year of Chunxi during the Southern Song Dynasty, Ding Yuyuan, the military governor of the region, believed that Han Yu often visited this area and personally planted oak trees here, so the shrine dedicated to him should be built in this location. As a result, the Han Wengong Shrine, originally located seven li south of the city, was moved to its current site.

Legend has it that the oak trees planted by Han Yu himself once stood right in front of the shrine. According to descriptions in Wang Dabao’s “Ode to the Han Tree” from the Song Dynasty’s Ministry of Rites, the oak trees resembled canopies, shading the eaves. Their bark was scaly like fish scales, their leaves were long and slender, with prominent, angular veins. They bloomed in colors of red and white around the turn of spring and summer, presenting a strikingly beautiful sight. However, the trees did not bloom every year. The people of Chaozhou held Han Yu in such high esteem that they sought omens from the tree he planted. “They divined the rise and fall of scholarly success by the abundance or scarcity of its blossoms.” Even the “Chaozhou Prefecture Records” noted: “In the ninth year of Qianlong, when the Han trees in the hall blossomed, there was a great flourishing of scholarly success.” Thus, revering the sage before the shrine and divining academic fortunes through the tree made “Han Shrine and Its Oak Trees” one of the Eight Scenic Spots of Chaozhou.

Location

North Dongxing Street, Qiaodong, Chaozhou City