Chengdu Sanyi Temple

Chengdu Sanyi Temple

Chengdu Sanyi Temple is a Chengdu Municipal Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Sanyi Temple is located within the Wuhou Shrine in Chengdu. Originally named Sanyi Shrine, it was first constructed on Tidu Street in Chengdu by Sichuan Governor-General Zheng Jiaolin in the early years of the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty. In 1784 (the 49th year of Qianlong), it was burnt down due to a fire started by incense burning, and was rebuilt in 1787 (the 49th year of Qianlong). In 1842 (the 22nd year of Daoguang), it was extensively renovated again. The currently visible buildings and plaques mostly date back to the Daoguang period. The structure is of mixed construction, covering an area of 569 square meters, featuring four courtyards and five halls, and is of a grand scale. Later, it gradually deteriorated and collapsed, leaving only a small portion of the buildings still relatively intact. In 1981, it was announced as a Chengdu Municipal-level Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

In 1998, due to urban development needs, Sanyi Temple was relocated to the Wuhou Shrine. The temple now consists of a single-courtyard quadrangle, comprising a worship hall, the main hall, and corridors on both sides. The worship hall is five bays wide and five meters deep, featuring a lifted-beam roof structure with exposed rafters, carved eave brackets, and wooden fence panels instead of walls at the front, leaving only a central opening as the entrance. On the east side inside the gate hangs a large bell approximately two meters high, which is a ritual instrument installed according to the traditions of Chinese temples. This bell has a perfectly round cross-section, a flared mouth, and is decorated near the rim with square cloud patterns, while the middle and upper parts feature twenty horizontal rectangular stud patterns and four vertical rectangular patterns. Among them, the vertical rectangular patterns are inscribed with the texts “Sanyi Temple Bell of Loyalty Through the Ages” and “Made in the Gengchen Year, Early Autumn, at Wuhou Shrine, Chengdu.”

Inside the worship hall, there are two sets of black marble relief carvings, each measuring 2.2 × 2.3 meters. On the south end of the eastern wall is the scene “The Oath of the Peach Garden,” and on the south end of the western wall is “The Three Heroes Battle Lu Bu.” Behind these marble reliefs are four bluestone pictorial steles with line engravings. On the eastern side, in sequence, are: “Zhang Fei Angered and Whips the Imperial Inspector,” “Guan Yu Executes Wen Chou at Yunjin,” “Guan Yu Spares Cao Cao Out of Loyalty,” and “Liu Bei Ascends as King of Hanzhong”; on the western side: “Guan Yu Treats His Poisoned Arrow Wound,” “Guan Yu Attends the Meeting with a Single Sword,” “Liu Bei Cleverly Marries Lady Sun,” and “Zhang Fei Spares Yan Yan Out of Righteousness.” The main hall has five bays and is 8.5 meters deep, also featuring a lifted-beam roof structure. Its ceiling is not painted, but the eave brackets are adorned with carved floral decorations. In the middle three bays at the back wall of the main hall is a shrine, housing statues: Liu Bei is in the center, standing 2.8 meters tall; to the east is Guan Yu and to the west is Zhang Fei, both 2.6 meters tall. The designs of the three statues are based on descriptions from Romance of the Three Kingdoms, portraying them as younger and full of vitality, dressed in plain cloth garments, representing their image during the entrepreneurial period after forming the brotherhood — very fitting for the folk-custom temple nature of “Sanyi Temple.”

The original temple complex had four courtyards and five halls; now only the worship hall and the main hall remain. The main hall is a two-story building with five bays, constructed of wood and stone, with a glazed tile roof. The stone pillars in the hall are inscribed with seven pairs of couplets, all finely written and carved, making them highly valuable for appreciation. Inside the main hall are clay statues of Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei. If the original statues at Wuhou Shrine were more historically referenced in design, then the statues at Sanyi Temple mainly reflect literary and folk representations. At the center of the main hall, in front of Liu Bei’s statue, hangs a large plaque inscribed with “Sacred Ones Gather Here.” The inscription at the top reads “Dingwei Day, Auspicious Morning, Yisi Year of Daoguang,” and the bottom reads “Erected by Disciples of the Shoemaking Trade.” Liu Bei lost his father at a young age and came from a poor family, having once “sold straw sandals.” The Records of the Three Kingdoms · Biography of the Former Lord states: “The Former Lord lost his father in childhood, and he and his mother made a living by selling straw sandals and weaving mats.” In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Yuan Shu once insulted Liu Bei as a “straw-sandal-weaving commoner,” and Cao Cao called him a “sandals-selling brat.” In response, Zhuge Liang once specifically refuted this, saying: “In the past, Emperor Gaozu began as a mere local official at Sishang, yet ultimately unified the realm. What shame is there in weaving sandals or selling shoes?” Among ancient Chinese texts, Liu Bei is the earliest historically named figure associated with “selling shoes,” and he also had significant influence. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, as folk guilds emerged, just as carpenters revered Lu Ban as their patron, all trades related to shoes — making, repairing, and selling — revered Liu Bei as their patron saint. During the Qing Dynasty, the Chengdu shoemaking guild would annually gather at Wuhou Shrine or Sanyi Temple for meetings, worshipping Liu Bei, coordinating relationships, negotiating business, setting terms, and mediating disputes. According to relevant sources, the main base of the Chengdu shoemaking guild at that time was located around the southern gate of Chengdu. To this day, the footwear industry in Chengdu’s Wuhou District is well-developed, and the rise of the “Western Shoe Capital” is not unrelated to this tradition.