Temple of General Yang Si

Temple of General Yang Si

The Temple of General Yang Si is a protected cultural heritage site of Guangzhou.

The Temple of General Yang Si is located within the DanShuiKeng Scenic Area in Guangzhou. Built in the 31st year of the Guangxu reign during the Qing Dynasty (1905 AD), it boasts distinctive Lingnan architectural features. It was rebuilt in 1995. The scenic area spans 1,200 acres and is one of Guangzhou’s emerging tourist destinations, boasting a prime location.

Yang Si (also known as Yang Si) was a native of Changsha, Hunan during the Song Dynasty. Legend has it that he became a deity at the age of seven after slaying a vicious, ungrateful dragon, and was thereafter revered as a general capable of subduing floods and driving away plagues. He is widely worshipped along the Yangtze River basin. During the late Qing Dynasty, an epidemic broke out in Guangzhou, affecting the CaiGang area. Xu Jingliang from HongGang Village led thirteen villagers on a more than ten-day trek to Jiangxi Province to invite General Yang Si back to ward off the plague — and the epidemic ceased immediately. Thereafter, the villagers built a temple in his honor, praying for good fortune, longevity, and health. The temple also enshrines Lüzu (Chunyang), Yunshan Immortal Sister, and Jinshan Immortal Maiden.

If you’ve seen the statue of General Yang Si, you’ll be surprised to find that he clearly appears as an eight- or nine-year-old child. That’s right — General Yang Si became a deity at the age of nine.

Legend has it that General Yang Si lost both parents at a young age and lived with his elder brother and sister-in-law. He was the fourth child in the family, hence everyone called him Yang Si (Yang the Fourth).

From childhood, Yang Si was playful and often shirked household chores assigned by his brother and sister-in-law, preferring instead to go outside and play — much to their frequent chagrin.

When he was nine years old, while playing outside, he picked up a dragon king’s fallen horn and became so fond of it that he carried it around with him all the time.

One day, when the weather was clear, his sister-in-law took out the family’s grain to dry in the sun to prevent spoilage. To keep the chickens from spoiling it, she asked Yang Si to watch over it. But Yang Si had no interest in staying put and just wanted to go out and play.

So, as soon as his sister-in-law left, he shouted loudly, “Sister-in-law, it’s going to rain — come quickly and get the grain!” Because he was holding the dragon king’s horn, the moment he shouted, the sky immediately darkened with thick clouds as if rain were truly imminent. His sister-in-law hurried out of the house, but by the time she reached the drying ground, the weather had cleared again.

Seeing the sky had brightened, she left the grain out to continue drying. After she left, Yang Si pulled the same trick again. After repeating this several times, his sister-in-law finally lost her temper. She accused Yang Si of being lazy and deliberately causing trouble.

She then grabbed the grain rake and struck Yang Si. Caught off guard, he fell to the ground and died on the spot.

After Yang Si’s death, the Jade Emperor, seeing that he had died so unfairly — and that such a young child had the fate to pick up the dragon king’s fallen horn — appointed him as a minor general. Since his name was Yang Si, everyone began calling him General Yang Si.

General Yang Si was not originally from Guangzhou. He was originally a deity in a temple in Hunan. At that time, ShenShan Temple did not have its own patron deity. The arrival of General Yang Si at ShenShan Temple is also surrounded by myth.

About two hundred years ago, most people from ShiDiYuan made a living selling lamp wicks. Once, a man from ShiDiYuan went to a place to sell lamp wicks.

Selling lamp wicks was a small business, earning little money. By the time he arrived, it was already evening, so he decided to spend the night in a temple.

In the middle of the night, a deity appeared to him in a dream, saying that he was not faring well in this temple, receiving no incense offerings and having no status. He expressed willingness to follow the man back to ShenShan Temple in ShiDiYuan.

Early the next morning, after waking up, the man bowed to all the deities’ statues placed on the altar and said: “Which deity spoke to me in my dream last night? If you are willing to come with me to ShenShan Temple in ShiDiYuan...”

“Please fall into my basket, and I will take you along.” No sooner had he spoken than a deity statue toppled straight into the basket — it was General Yang Si.

He then quietly carried the statue back home in the basket. When the villagers discovered a deity statue was missing, a crowd quickly gave chase. Just as they were about to catch up, the sky suddenly darkened with thick clouds, and heavy rain began to pour — but only above the villagers’ heads. The sky ahead remained bright and sunny. Realizing this was the deity’s own doing, the villagers gave up the pursuit. And so, General Yang Si successfully arrived in ShiDiYuan and became the “head deity” of ShenShan Temple.

After General Yang Si arrived in ShiDiYuan, legend says he indeed brought a period of favorable weather and prosperity. At that time, if people wished for rain, all they had to do was bathe the statue of General Yang Si in the reservoir — and their wish would be granted immediately.