Fenyang Guan Yu Temple

Fenyang Guan Yu Temple

Fenyang Guan Yu Temple is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Guan Yu Temple

Era: Ming Dynasty

Address: East side of South Gulou Street, Fenyang City

Originally named Guan Wang Temple, it was commonly called Iron Horse Old Master Temple due to an iron statue of Guan Yu on horseback originally housed inside. According to inscriptions in the temple, it was first built during the Zhengde and Jiajing reigns of the Ming Dynasty, with renovations carried out in subsequent dynasties.

The temple faces south and its extant main structures include: the Hall of Guan Yu and its side halls, the central hall and its flanking wing rooms, the offering hall, east and west side halls, the scripture depository, the vegetarian dormitory courtyard, and the screen wall, covering a total area of 5,500 square meters.

The main hall sits on a brick-and-stone platform, with a width of three bays and a depth of three bays, featuring a single-eave gable-and-hip roof. In front is a three-bay-wide, three-bay-deep wraparound porch with a hip-and-gable roof. The roof is covered with tubular and flat tiles, and both the main ridge and the hip ridges are adorned with lotus-patterned glazed ridge tiles. The ridge beasts, hanging beasts, and upturned beasts are all well-preserved, and the ridge ornament depicts a beast carrying a precious pearl, with an inscription on the back reading: “Built in the 24th year of the Jiajing reign of the Great Ming, in the fifth month.”

The central hall and the offering hall are connected using an interlocking construction method, with a width of three bays and a depth of four bays. The central hall has a single-eave gable-and-hip roof, while the offering hall has a single-eave hip-and-gable roof. The spandrel panels are inlaid with glazed pieces featuring vividly carved dragon and phoenix designs. The ridge ornament of the central hall is inscribed at the back with: “Rebuilt in the 15th year of the Zhengde reign of the Great Ming.” The side halls are corridor-style with a width of seven bays and a depth of two bays, measuring a total width of 25.4 meters and a total depth of 6 meters.

The temple houses one stone stele recording its renovation in the 9th year of the Wanli reign of the Ming Dynasty.

On October 7, 2019, Fenyang Guan Yu Temple was included in the eighth batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Guan Yu (162?–220), of Han ethnicity, was born during the Yanxi era of Emperor Huan of the Eastern Han Dynasty. His courtesy name was Yunchang, originally Changsheng, and he was a native of Xieliang in Hedong (present-day Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province). A renowned general of the Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period, serving as General of the Vanguard and Marquis of Hanshou, as well as a military strategist. After his death, he was revered by the people and honored by successive imperial courts, eventually being worshipped as Guan Sheng Di Jun (Lord Guan the Saint), referred to as Sangharama Bodhisattva in Buddhism, and respectfully called “Guan Gong.” Later rulers revered Guan Yu as the “Military Sage,” equal in stature to Confucius, the “Civil Sage.”

Following Liu Bei

Guan Yu’s original courtesy name was Changsheng, later changed to Yunchang. In his early years, he fled his hometown to You… More details about Guan Yu++

Further Reading:

· Third Batch of Shanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Units

· Eighth Batch of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units