Chaoyang Guan Di Temple

Chaoyang Guan Di Temple

Chaoyang Guan Di Temple is a cultural relic protection unit of Liaoning Province.

Chaoyang Guan Di Temple is located on the north side of the eastern section of Yingzhou Road in Shuangta District, covering an area of 3,700 square meters. It is the only surviving ceremonial building in Chaoyang City. According to the "Preface to the Stele Record of the Newly Built Guan Di Temple at the Three Pagodas Outside the Western Border of Yizhou, Fengtian Prefecture, Qing Dynasty," this temple was rebuilt in the 8th year of the Qianlong reign during the Qing Dynasty.

The main structures of Chaoyang Guan Di Temple include the opera tower, Lingxing Gate, memorial archway, Divine Horse Hall, Ceremonial Guard Hall, Guan Di Hall, Medicine King Hall, God of Wealth Hall, and east and west side halls; auxiliary structures include the bell tower, drum tower, east and west side rooms, Buddha hall, and wing rooms—all built with brick and wood. Additionally, there are three pairs of stone lions, one pair of stone flagpoles, seven Qing Dynasty stone steles, two stone pagoda pillars, two carved stone floral entrance gates, two sets of carved stone railings, one pair of glazed skyward-looking beasts, one bronze tripod, one pair of iron lions, and one bronze bell. The opera tower, located 100 meters in front of the temple, has now been destroyed. The Lingxing Gate is made of wood, with exterior stone pillars, a horizontal stone lintel, and carved "Avalokitesvara" figures on top of the pillars.

Upon entering the ceremonial gate, you will see a 10-meter-high, four-pillar, three-door carved decorative archway. In the center hangs a horizontally inscribed plaque with a gold border and black background, featuring four golden characters: “Haoran Zhengqi” (Lofty and Righteous Spirit). Above the horizontal plaque is a vertical plaque inscribed with three golden characters: “Guan Di Miao” (Guan Di Temple).

The archway is a four-pillar, three-story structure with double eaves and tiled roofing. The central two pillars feature parallel couplets written in regular script on both sides, while the drum stones are carved with relief designs of mythical creatures and honeysuckle patterns. Moving north from the archway, there are three courtyards aligned along a central axis. The first courtyard has a three-bay mountain gate, with a pair of stone lions on either side of the courtyard. Passing through the mountain gate leads into the second courtyard, where the front features the Zhi Shi Hall, which displays various ceremonial objects. On either side of the Zhi Shi Hall are the bell and drum towers, both in the hip-and-gable style. The bell tower houses a thousand-jin (approximately 500 kg) bronze bell cast in the 7th year of the Jiaqing reign. From the central passage of the Zhi Shi Hall, you enter the third courtyard.

In the third courtyard, on a 50-centimeter-high moon terrace facing north, stand three main halls, with the central one being the Guan Di Hall. The Guan Di Hall is built in the yingshan-style with a rolled shed roof, covered with green tiles, and features a width and depth of three bays, with a front corridor. Below the outer eaves of the corridor is a horizontally inscribed black plaque with golden characters reading “Wanshi Renji” (The Greatest of All Ages), which is the imperial calligraphy of Emperor Jiaqing of the Qing Dynasty. Inside the hall, the central statue depicts Guan Yu seated, flanked by two seven-foot-tall standing statues on each side: on the left are Guan Ping and Wang Fu, and on the right are Zhou Cang and Zhao Jing. The walls of the hall feature large murals depicting key episodes from Guan Yu’s life. On the brick-and-stone pedestal in the center of the pathway under the terrace stands a 2.7-meter-high bronze tripod weighing over 2,000 jin (approximately 1,000 kg). On either side of the tripod are carved stone pedestals, each topped with a one-meter-tall, bean-green glazed skyward-looking beast. These are said to have been specially transported from the south during the Jiaqing to Daoguang reigns, with only two such pairs existing nationwide—making them extremely precious.

On either side of the Guan Di Hall are the Medicine King Hall and the God of Wealth Hall. The stone railings on both sides of the floral entrance gates in front of the halls consist of column pillars and panels. The column pillars are square, with carved seated beasts on top. Each panel features a relief design of a auspicious animal, accompanied by Buddhist Eight Treasures and Eight Auspicious Symbols, totaling eighteen panels. The east and west side halls each have three bays with a depth of two bays, also in the yingshan style. The bell tower no longer exists. One flagpole remains, though it was damaged during the 1976 Tangshan earthquake and now only the base survives. The eastern pagoda of the Three Pagodas of Chaoyang still has its base preserved in the eastern part of the temple grounds. The shape of the base indicates that the eastern pagoda was also square. The "Wu Mei Jing Guang Da Tuo Luo Ni Fa De De Ta Jing Ji" pagoda pillar unearthed from the pagoda’s underground chamber is still kept in the temple. According to inscriptions, the site of Guan Di Temple was originally a temple during the Liao Dynasty, known as “Linggan Temple,” and called “Datong Fa Si” during the Yuan Dynasty. After being abandoned in the Ming Dynasty, it was rebuilt as Guan Di Temple in the early Qing Dynasty. During the Jiaqing, Daoguang, Tongzhi, and Guangxu reigns, renovations and repairs were carried out. In the 22nd year of the Republic of China (1933), a memorial tablet for “Marshal Wumu” was added in the temple, and its name was changed to Guan Di Temple. The "Chaoyang County Annals" recorded: “Ancient trees in the courtyard reach the sky, with many crows and magpies nesting in them. Their morning and evening calls sound like celebrations of the divine blessings.”

Chaoyang Guan Di Temple is a well-preserved ancient building with high historical and artistic value. It was listed as a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit of Liaoning Province in 1988.

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). He was a famous 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 dynasties, eventually being worshipped as Guan Sheng Di Jun (Divine Lord Guan). In Buddhism, he is known as Sangharama Bodhisattva and respectfully called “Guan Gong.” Later rulers revered Guan Yu as the “God of Martial Valor,” placing him on par with Confucius, the “God of Literature.”

Following Liu Bei

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

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Cultural Relic Protection Units of Liaoning Province