Haifeng Chenghuang Temple

Haifeng Chenghuang Temple

Haifeng Chenghuang Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

Haifeng County boasts a long history and is renowned for its rich cultural relics, among which the ancestral Chenghuang Temple in the county town is one. The “0” Chenghuang Temple was once severely damaged and left unrecognizable. However, after years of reconstruction and renovation, it has now been completely revitalized.

Haifeng County was established in the sixth year of the Xianhe era during the Eastern Jin Dynasty (331 AD). The construction of the county town has been relocated several times. The earliest county town was located one li to the east of the city, with an earthen wall, but it was abandoned by the end of the Yuan Dynasty's Zhi Zheng era. Next, in the third year of the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty (1370 AD), Chen Gui, who served as the county magistrate, built the town walls in the north of the city (now the site of Pengpai Hospital), spanning 40 zhang in both length and width. Twenty-four years later, in the 27th year of Hongwu (1394 AD), Ma Tiemu, serving as a military commander under orders from Commander Hua Mao, rebuilt the new town. The new town walls were 2 zhang high, stretched 396 zhang around, had 781 crenellations, and featured four gates, each with watchtowers; a moat encircled the walls, 1 zhang deep and wide. The four gates refer to the establishment of four main gates for the entire town. The ancestral Chenghuang Temple was situated at the west gate, believed to be the entry point for all imperial decrees, government orders, and commendations, also known as the Ying’en Gate.

Legend has it that in ancient times, a supervisory official tasked with protecting a county in the Central Plains was known for his uprightness and loyalty, fearlessly combating corruption and vice. Through his hard work, he transformed a poor county, riddled with corrupt officials, rampant lawlessness, social disintegration, and a population struggling to survive, into a prosperous one governed by clean politics where people lived in peace and contentment. Tragically, this good man did not live long — the supervisory official fell ill due to overwork and passed away at a young age. To honor his achievements, the people petitioned the imperial court to recognize his merits. Moved by his contributions to the people, the emperor issued an edict posthumously honoring him as the “Chenghuang Ye” (City God). To commemorate this upright and honest official, wherever town walls were built in later generations, an ancestral Chenghuang Temple was erected to worship him.

Historical records state that from the Yongjia Rebellion of the Western Jin Dynasty to the period between the Song and Yuan Dynasties, three major waves of population migration occurred over the span of a thousand years, bringing the refined culture of the Central Plains to various parts of southern China. This beloved City God also found a place of worship in Haifeng County at the southern edge of the nation, once the town walls were established there. As a result, in the past, any newly appointed county magistrate coming from the south to Haifeng would, on the first day of taking office, bathe and visit the Chenghuang Temple in sincere reverence to pray for favorable weather, abundant harvests, and peace throughout the region.