Xiangyuan Guanyue Temple

Xiangyuan Guanyue Temple

Guanyue Temple is a cultural relic protection unit of Changzhi City.

Guanyue Temple is located on North Street in Xiangyuan County. It faces west and is oriented east, stretching 40 meters from east to west and 20 meters from north to south, covering an area of approximately 800 square meters. The year of its establishment is unknown. The temple has a single-courtyard layout, with a central axis featuring a mountain gate (above which is a reverse-facing theater stage), an offering hall, and the main hall. On either side are eastern and western dressing towers, as well as eastern and western side halls. The existing main hall is a remnant of the Yuan Dynasty, while the other structures date back to the Qing Dynasty. The main hall features a stone-paved platform base, 0.38 meters high. The hall has five bays in width and six rafters in depth, with a front porch and a single-eave hanging gable roof. The beam structure consists of a six-rafter house with five purlins arranged in a certain way at the central bay, and various other traditional timberwork arrangements. The bracket sets are well-preserved. The interior murals are not extant. The ceiling beams and roof structures are visible. In 2007, it was designated as a municipal-level cultural relic protection unit by the People’s Government of Changzhi City.

Guanyue Temple enshrines Guan Yu and Yue Fei. Guan Yu, whose given name was Yu and courtesy name Yunchang, was of Han ethnicity and originally from Xia in Hedong, Taiyuan (present-day Yuncheng, Shanxi). He was a renowned general in the late Eastern Han Dynasty of China. From the time Liu Bei raised troops locally, Guan Yu followed him and was one of Liu Bei’s most trusted commanders. After Guan Yu's death, his image gradually became deified and he has been a longstanding subject of folk worship, revered as “Guan Gong.” Over successive dynasties, he received imperial accolades, and during the Qing Dynasty, was honored as the “Loyal, Righteous, Divine, Martial, Spirit-Blessed, Benevolent, Brave, Majestic Duke Guan, the Great Saint,” revered as the “Martial Saint,” on par with the “Civil Saint” Confucius. Yue Fei, courtesy name Pengju, joined the army to resist the Jin invaders at age 20. In the 11th year of the Shaoxing era (1141), Prime Minister Qin Hui charged Yue Fei with the crime of “unspecified wrongdoing,” and he was tortured to death by prison guards in the Lin’an Supreme Court prison (some say he was forced to drink poison), at the age of 39. In the 32nd year of Shaoxing, after Emperor Gaozong abdicated and Emperor Xiaozong ascended the throne, Yue Fei was posthumously vindicated. In the 5th year of Qiandao (1170), Emperor Xiaozong of Song reinstated Yue Fei’s official titles, gave him a proper burial, and built a temple for him in Ezhou. In the 6th year of Qiandao, Yue Fei’s temple was honored with the title “Loyal and Heroic.” In the 6th year of Chunxi (1180), he was posthumously given the title “Martial and Solemn.” In the 4th year of Jiatai (1204), Emperor Ningzong of the Song Dynasty posthumously granted the title of king to seven generals who fought against the Jin, and Yue Fei was titled the King of E. In the 1st year of Baoqing of Emperor Lizong of Song (1225), his posthumous title was finalized as “Loyal and Martial.”