Barn View Taoist Temple

Barn View Taoist Temple

Barn View Taoist Temple: At the mountaintop of Gucang Village in Tuanjie Township stands the widely renowned Taoist temple called Barn View. It is said that the temple was built during the Ming Dynasty and flourished in the Qing Dynasty. The temple is grand in scale, featuring three main halls, two courtyards, and floors paved entirely with bluestone. The main halls are typical examples of palace-style architecture, and the temple also houses symmetrically designed bell and drum towers. The construction is exquisite. It is said that the temple has an antique charm and maintains a serene, tidy, and solemn atmosphere all year round. There is an ancient, clear well within the temple, with sweet-tasting water that is just enough for the residents of the temple. The successive generations of Taoist priests here were highly skilled in Taoist arts, capable of observing celestial phenomena at night and well-versed in Taoist practices. Behind the main hall lies a rock shell, beneath which there is a stone crevice resembling a funnel. Whenever guests arrived, the old Taoist master would ask a young disciple to take a “sheng” (a traditional measuring container) to the “Rice-Leaking Rock” to collect rice. The amount of rice collected was always just enough to serve the guests. Whenever poor locals came to ask for help when they had no food, the Taoist master would generously provide some grain. This continued for decades until one year, a poor villager with no food came to collect rice. Being lazy yet gluttonous, he grew greedy and intentionally chiseled the funnel-shaped opening of the “Rice-Leaking Rock” wider with a chisel, hoping to get more rice. Not only did he fail to receive any rice, but he also destroyed the feng shui of the “Rice-Leaking Rock.” From then on, the rock stopped producing rice. It is said that the rice from the “Rice-Leaking Rock” was actually the Taoist master using magic to transport grain from the Fu family’s storage in the county’s main hall courtyard.

It is said that during the Xianfeng era of the Qing Dynasty, a Taoist priest at Barn View had a deep love for his cat. When he passed away, he had his beloved cat by his side and they were both cremated together with firewood in the temple. Several years later, people claimed to have seen the old Taoist master and his cat together again in Hanzhong. It is said that because the cat had not achieved sufficient spiritual advancement, it held back the Taoist master from ascending to immortality. Also, because the master forgot to bring the key to the bedroom in the temple when ascending to heaven, he could not return. He could only wander outside, continuing his spiritual journey.

Barn View Taoist Temple enjoys flourishing incense offerings year-round, with an endless stream of worshippers. The surrounding temples and nunneries, such as Leiyin Temple, Fuyun Nunnery, Baiyun Nunnery, Chonglin Temple, Stone Temple, and New Temple, have all been influenced by it.