Ancestral Temple of Guan Yu

Ancestral Temple of Guan Yu

The Ancestral Temple of Guan Yu is a cultural tourism attraction.

The family temple of Guan Yu, also known as the Ancestral Temple of Guan Yu, is located in Changping Village, Changping Township, about 20 kilometers southwest of Yuncheng City. It lies to the south of the Zhongtiao Mountain and north of the Salt Lake. The temple still preserves clay sculptures, and its architectural complex is well-preserved. With convenient transportation, it is an ideal destination for visitors.

Guan Yu, courtesy name Yunchang, was born in Changpingli, Jieliang, Hedong during the Three Kingdoms period. Legend has it that after he killed a ruthless local tyrant named Lü Xiong, he went into hiding. The tyrant and the authorities colluded to capture Guan Yu and sought to exterminate his entire family. At the time, many people surnamed Guan in Changpingli fled to what is now Gucun for refuge, but Guan Yu’s elderly parents, unable to escape due to their age, committed suicide by jumping into a well. To commemorate them, later generations built a pagoda over the well. After Guan Yu passed away, the local people, in admiration of his virtue, built a temple to worship him. By the Jin Dynasty, a formal temple complex was constructed and named the “Guan Sheng Family Temple.”

Historical records indicate that the temple was first built during the Sui Dynasty and became a proper temple complex in the Jin Dynasty. As Guan Yu was posthumously honored in successive dynasties, the temple was renovated or expanded accordingly. Since the 34th year of the Jiajing era in the Ming Dynasty (1555), there have been as many as 16 instances of renovation or expansion of the Guan Sheng Family Temple. Therefore, most of the existing structures date back to the Qing Dynasty. The temple complex covers a total area of over 60,000 square meters, featuring a grand scale, rigorous layout, and architecture characterized by brick-and-wood construction with glazed tiles. The temple boasts magnificent halls and ancient cypresses that create a majestic atmosphere. In front of the temple are three archways: the central one is carved from stone, while the left and right ones are wooden structures. The left archway is named “Graceful Beauty of Zhongtiao Mountain,” and the right is called “Spirit Resounding Over the Salt Sea.” On both sides are bell and drum towers, with iron statues of ancient figures leading lions in front of the stone archway pillars. Along the central axis of the temple, from front to back, are six courtyards: the Mountain Gate, Wumen (Noon Gate), Enjoyment Hall, Guan Yu Hall, Goddess Hall, and Sacred Ancestors Hall. Flanking these are side rooms, auxiliary halls, and corridors arranged in a clear hierarchical order. The overall layout follows the traditional “front court, rear palace” structure. The Guan Yu Hall is five bays wide, surrounded by corridors, with a double-eaved roof of nine ridges. In front of the hall, ancient cypresses stand majestically on either side. Inside, the wooden shrine is exquisitely decorated, with Guan Yu wearing an imperial crown and robes, sitting solemnly on a dragon throne. Four attendants, humble and respectful, stand inside and outside the shrine. In front of the Goddess Hall is a hanging flower gate, with auxiliary halls on both sides forming their own courtyards. The hall itself is five bays wide and deep, with a front corridor, and houses a shrine where Lady Guan, wearing a phoenix coronet and ceremonial robes, sits gracefully. Attendants holding handkerchiefs or ceremonial tablets stand respectfully. The statues are proportionate and naturally expressive, representing some of the finest Qing Dynasty clay sculptures. The Sacred Ancestors Hall, located at the very rear of the temple complex, consists of five bays and features statues of Guan Yu’s earliest ancestors: the loyal and outspoken Duke, the great-great-grandfather Zhaoming Duke, the grandfather Yuchang Duke, the father Chengzhong Duke, as well as the wives of these ancestors—figures not found in other Guan Yu temples. The Chongning Hall enshrines a statue of Guan Yu, with auxiliary halls featuring statues of Guan Ping and Guan Xing. Within the Guan Yu Family Temple, there is also an octagonal seven-story brick pagoda, said to be the tomb of Guan Yu’s parents. To the south of the temple are ancient cypresses and a forest of stone stelae, marking the ancestral burial ground of Guan Yu. While the temple contains many statues, the most exquisite and lifelike are the Qing Dynasty polychrome sculptures of Lady Guan, considered masterpieces of Qing Dynasty sculpture art. Additionally, in the southeast corner of Wumen stands an octagonal seven-story brick-and-stone pagoda built in the 17th year of the Dading era of the Jin Dynasty (1177). Legend says it was erected in memory of Guan Yu’s parents. It is said that beneath the pagoda was once a well. After Guan Yu angrily killed a local tyrant and fled to Zhuojun, the authorities pursued him relentlessly. His entire clan relocated in haste, and his parents died by suicide in the well. To commemorate them, later generations built the pagoda. South of the temple, in Shipangu, lies the ancestral burial ground of the Guan family, with rows of stone stelae and ancient cypresses. There are also remnants of offering pavilions and sacrificial altars built in various dynasties. Currently, the Changping Guan Yu Temple houses 22 stone steles, including one from the Jin Dynasty, seven from the Ming Dynasty, 13 from the Qing Dynasty, and one from the Republic of China. Some of these steles recount legends about Guan Yu, serving as valuable resources for studying the history of the Three Kingdoms period. Moreover, the Guan Sheng Family Temple is home to tall, vigorous ancient cypresses and pines, full of life. Many of the trees have unique shapes and an extraordinary aura, possessing a spiritual and legendary quality not found in ordinary old trees. They turn the Guan Sheng Family Temple into a “Garden of Exotic Trees.” Among the most famous are the Five Generations Under One Roof Mulberry Tree, the Snow-Melting Cypress, the Twisted Cypress, the Cracked Cypress, and the Dragon and Tiger Cypresses—six remarkable trees in total. One of them, the Five Generations Under One Roof Mulberry Tree, has five roots exposed on the surface and five thick branches reaching the sky. Legend says it bears mulberries and apricots five times a year, each ripening in succession, and is offered as a tribute to Guan Yu’s five generations of family. This ancient mulberry tree in front of the Guan Yu Goddess Hall is said to have been honored as the “Tree King of the Temple” by Emperor Liu Xiu. Though not everyone believes this, how else could it have secured a place among the pine and cypress grove of the Guan Sheng Family Temple? Another is the Snow-Melting Cypress, also called the Cloud Cypress, located in the northwest corner of the Guan Yu Goddess Hall. Its leaves cluster together, resembling clouds. The tree trunk leans at a 45-degree angle, pointing directly toward the Jiezhou Guan Yu Temple over 10 kilometers away. Legend says Guan Yu would ride the clouds from this tree every morning to “go to work” at the Jiezhou temple, and return to the family temple by nightfall. In winter, while snow covers the branches of other trees in the temple, the snow melts instantly on this cloud cypress—hence its other names, the Warm Cypress or Snow-Melting Cypress. A third tree, also in the Guan Sheng Family Temple, reflects the jealousy of the evergreen cypress: why should the mulberry tree, honored as the Tree King, get all the glory? Unable to accept this, the cypress twisted its trunk over centuries so it no longer had to look at the arrogant Five Generations Under One Roof Mulberry Tree. Over time, its twisted form became permanent. The fourth is the Cracked Cypress, also called the Phoenix Cypress. Its shape resembles a phoenix with a long tail, and its trunk is thick and straight. A greedy landlord once tried to buy it to make a coffin, but as soon as he cut off a branch, red sap flowed from the wound. Then, with a loud crack, the tree split open. Seeing it was useless for a coffin, the landlord gave up. Thus, it earned the name “Cracked Cypress.” The fifth is the Dragon Cypress, one of the most revered ancient trees in the Guan Sheng Family Temple. Its mighty trunk reaches skyward like a dragon’s head. Locals often bring their sons, tie a red string around the trunk, and cut off a small piece to make a necklace for their child—a ritual called “recognizing a godfather.” The sixth is the Tiger Cypress, located opposite the Dragon Cypress. It earned its name from a large “tiger head” growth on its trunk. Sturdy and imposing, it is considered the “alpha male” among the temple trees. Locals wrap red strings around it to “recognize a godfather” for their daughters, believing the “Tiger Cypress Godfather” will protect their girls.

Source: Yuncheng City Local Chronicles Compilation Committee