Ruins of the Dragon Mother Temple

Ruins of the Dragon Mother Temple

The Dragon Mother Temple ruins are a cultural tourism attraction.

Ruins of the Dragon Mother Temple

The Dragon Mother was the guardian deity of the ancient Xijiang River basin. She healed the sick, led the people in flood control and disaster relief, and managed natural calamities, earning great merit for the nation and virtue among the people. With the highest ideal of “benefiting all under heaven,” she was revered and beloved by the masses. The ruins of the Dragon Mother Temple are located at her birthplace — Xiaotongfang on Shuidong Street, Yidu, in the ancient county of Teng (now Shengxi Village, Tengzhou Town, at the south end of the Xijiang River Bridge). The Teng County Dragon Mother Temple has a long history. In 1108, Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty bestowed upon it the name “Xiaotong Temple.” The Song-era national geography text “Taiping Huanyu Ji” also records the existence of the Dragon Mother Temple in Teng County. The Teng County Dragon Mother Temple is as renowned as the Dragon Mother Temples in Yuecheng Town, Deqing County, Guangdong Province, and Wuzhou Dragon Mother Temple. The current Dragon Mother Temple is a newly built structure on the original site. It houses cultural relics such as the temple’s official seal, a stone statue with a serpent body and lion head, a lotus-patterned stone column base, and an incense burner inscribed with the characters “Dragon Mother Goddess.” Temple fair events are held annually on the first day of the fifth lunar month (the Dragon Mother’s birthday) and the first day of the eighth lunar month (the anniversary of her passing). On the Dragon Mother’s birthday, the Yuecheng Dragon Mother Temple in Guangdong Province invites four virtuous women from Teng County to travel there to bathe and change the robes of the Dragon Mother. The departure ceremony for this event is held here and is rich in traditional folk flavor.