White Dragon Pool Temple

　　White Dragon Pool Temple is located in Bailongmiao Village, Longquan Town, 12 kilometers southwest of Anyang City. With convenient transportation, it sits against mountains and beside water, surrounded by lush forests and flowing streams. Above the strange rocks and deep pools, the ancient and exquisite architectural complex of White Dragon Pool Temple is nestled among verdant pines and cypresses.

　　Currently covering an area of 10,000 square meters, the temple complex consists of two courtyards, two main halls, four wing halls, four side rooms, one worship pavilion, and one theater stage. It includes a mountain gate, theater stage, worship hall, the main hall of the White Dragon King, the hall of the Black Dragon King, the Hall of the Three Grandmothers, the Dolls’ Hall, the Officials’ Reception Hall, with the West Courtyard housing the Scenic Tower and the East Courtyard the Central Tower. There are 56 rooms in total, including 45 ancient structures, and 15 surviving ancient stone tablets. According to the *Continued Annals of Anyang County*, “During the Yuan Dynasty’s Tai Ding era, Ma Hemu, the superintendent of the Governor’s Office, built a temple on the pool after his rain prayer was answered. The original Bailongmiao Village in the southwest of the county was one of the six Panliu settlements. Since the temple was built, the village took its name from the temple. In the 17th year of the Republic of China, the county magistrate Cui Xue... converted it into a public primary school.” It was renovated during the Ming Dynasty’s Chongzhen era, as well as the Qing Dynasty’s Qianlong, Jiaqing, and Yongzheng eras, making it one of the more intact ancient temples preserved in western Anyang. In April 1985, it was designated as a key cultural relic protection unit of Anyang City.

　　White Dragon Pool Temple is grand in scale with exquisite carvings, especially the theater stage, which is the most distinctive feature. Along the central axis from south to north are the theater stage, the main hall, the worship pavilion, and the bedroom hall.

　　The theater stage has three bays, faces south, and fronts the main hall, with the two structures directly aligned along the central axis. On both sides of the axis are side rooms, enclosing a courtyard-style performance space—a temple theater. The stage is built with brick, wood, and stone, measuring 8.20 meters in length from north to south and 6.65 meters in width from east to west. The middle bay’s lower part serves as the mountain gate, topped with wooden planks. The front stage is about 24 square meters, approximately 7 meters high, with a rolled-bracket gray-tiled roof. The backstage is about 12 square meters, with a gable-and-hip gray tubular-tile roof. Between the front and backstage, two vertical pillars support the backstage’s main beam, above which the front stage’s main beam is placed. The stage is about 2 meters high, with four square stone pillars at the front supporting it. The stone pillars bear a carved couplet: the eastern pillar reads “Songs and dances offer fragrant reverence, praying for boundless grace,” while the western pillar reads “Strings and melodies play through the seasons, beseeching timely sweet rains.” Each middle pillar base features a stone monkey carving in a pillar-embracing shape.

　　The theater stage faces the main hall. Performances in temple theaters were primarily for worship, with plays staged to honor the temple’s main deities. For this reason, to allow the “deities” to better view the performance, the stage is positioned directly facing the main hall. The courtyard between the stage and the main hall serves as the main audience area.

　　The basic structure of traditional Chinese theater stages can be divided into three main types: single-unit, double-unit front-to-back series, and triple-unit side-by-side. The single-unit type features a unified whole in terms of support structure, construction method, and roof design. The double-unit front-to-back series consists of separate front and backstage buildings combined in sequence. The triple-unit side-by-side type involves auxiliary rooms built on either side of the stage for use as backstage areas. Qing Dynasty theaters in Henan mainly adopted the single-unit and double-unit front-to-back series formats, which is the form used by the Bailongmiao Theater Stage.

　　In terms of roof styles, Qing Dynasty theaters in Henan were highly diverse, featuring hip-and-gable roofs, suspended eave roofs, flush gable roofs, rolled-bracket roofs, and sometimes combinations of these. The Bailongmiao Theater Stage employs both rolled-bracket and suspended eave roofs, creating a richer roof design. Additionally, Qing Dynasty theaters in Henan were often integrated with mountain gates. This is understandable, as temples face south, with the stage located south of the main hall, making it feasible to combine the stage and mountain gate. Furthermore, stages require elevated bases, and extending the base creates a mountain gate, saving temple space while expanding the performance area. Thus, the mountain gate-style stage has advantages. The Bailongmiao Theater Stage combines the mountain gate and stage into one structure.

　　The arrangement of the four stone pillars at the front of the stage meets the sightline needs of the audience. The center of the stage is covered with wooden planks, with a passageway below and the performance area above.

　　The theater stage is built opposite the main hall, with side rooms on both sides enclosing a courtyard-style performance space. The stage structure mainly adopts the single-unit and double-unit front-to-back series formats, with vertical pillars on the second floor supporting the front and backstage beams at different points, forming a single-pillar double-beam system. This creates two different roof styles—rolled-bracket and suspended eave—demonstrating innovative design. Clearly, the Bailongmiao Theater Stage, in terms of architectural layout and structure, fully represents the style of Qing Dynasty temple theaters in Henan and can be regarded as a quintessential example.

　　Even more precious, these Qing Dynasty theater structures are invaluable heritage of the Chinese nation, with very high preservation value. Unfortunately, these structures are rapidly disappearing. According to historical records, there were over 400 traditional theater structures in Henan during the 1980s. However, only about 100 remain today, just one-third of the 1980s count.

　　Gazing at these classic wooden beams and pillars, touching the dust-covered stage and the smooth, worn bluestones, can you hear the distant prayers for rain and the echoes of opera performances from ages past?

　　Opposite the theater stage lies the Hall of the White Dragon King, spanning five bays with a three-bay front porch. The hall enshrines the White Dragon King at its center, with statues of the Black Dragon King, White Dragon King, Yellow Dragon King, and Changlong King also displayed at the front.

　　Legend says the White Dragon King has four brothers, with the eldest being the Black Dragon King and the White Dragon King being the third. Hence, statues of the Black Dragon King, White Dragon King, Yellow Dragon King, and Changlong King are also enshrined here.

　　To the east of the Hall of the White Dragon King is the Hall of the Black Dragon King. To the west is the Officials’ Reception Hall.

　　In the second courtyard, the central hall is the Hall of the Three Grandmothers. The wing halls also include the Dolls’ Hall.

　　Exiting the temple gate and descending the stone steps leads to White Dragon Pool. This is a small valley surrounded by verdant mountains, with crystal-clear water, lush grass, and an idyllic scenery reminiscent of a paradise. Not far to the south lies a smaller pool known as “Black Dragon Pool.” Its waters are deep and dark, with a peculiar, rugged boulder standing prominently above it, attracting attention. The widely told legend of the White Dragon King outsmarting the Black Dragon unfolds here.

　　Legend has it that in ancient times, a black dragon from the South China Sea dwelled in this pool, bringing violent storms or prolonged droughts, causing great suffering among the people. Upon learning of this, the Jade Emperor promptly sent the White Dragon to subdue the malevolent creature. Brave, resourceful, and powerful, the White Dragon battled the Black Dragon in the pool for three days and nights, ultimately defeating it. To prevent the Black Dragon from causing further harm, the White Dragon brought a divine alchemy stone from Laozi’s furnace to press the Black Dragon beneath the pool. Since then, the region has enjoyed favorable weather and prosperous people. To commemorate the White Dragon’s deeds, the local people named the expansive waters “White Dragon Pool,” established a temple in his honor, and kept the incense burning continuously. The small pool beneath the massive boulder is known as “Black Dragon Pool.” To this day, that boulder still rests in the White Dragon Pool in front of the temple.