Dean Temple

　　Commonly known as Laoye Temple, Dean Temple was first built in 1927 and is located in the western suburbs of Taonan City. It comprises structures such as a mountain gate, main hall, rear hall, side halls, and bell and drum towers, with the entire temple complex laid out in a rigorous and well-organized fashion. Having suffered damage several times throughout history, it was approved for restoration by the Baicheng Municipal Government in 1996 and renamed to its current title. The present temple covers an area of 6,592 square meters, with a construction area of 865 square meters. It includes one main hall, as well as three other halls—the Kṣitigarbha Hall, Guanyin Hall, and Skanda Hall. There is also one east and one west wing room each. Within the temple stands a 2-meter-high, 1-ton bronze Buddha statue, along with over ten other 1-meter-high bronze Buddha statues.

　　Legend has it that in 1927, Zhang Haipeng (also referred to as Zhang-Zi), the military commander guarding Taonan, suddenly had a dream in which he saw Guan Yu standing heroically atop a horse, calling out to him, “Third brother!” Immediately, Zhang grabbed his spear, mounted his horse, and galloped westward after Guan Yu, all the way to the area where Dean Temple now stands—then just a wild, overgrown field—where his horse refused to go any further. Upon waking, he found the experience quite mystical. From then on, the rumor spread that “Zhang-Zi” was the reincarnation of Zhang Fei.

　　To express his deep gratitude for Guan Yu’s divine revelation about his true identity, Zhang Haipeng decided to build a Guan Di Temple at the location indicated in his dream, vowing to worship there for life. It is said that upon hearing of this, merchants and local residents all eagerly offered donations of money and materials in support of Zhang’s act of “loyalty and righteousness.” In truth, however, this was not the case. As the military overlord of 13 counties in Guandong and later a lackey of Japanese imperialism, the Han traitor Zhang Haipeng was originally a bandit. To gloss over his unsavory background, he had to fabricate an outlandish story to present his actions as charitable. Yet, as fate would have it, Wu Junsheng, who had by then been promoted to Governor of Heilongjiang Province, visited Taonan to inspect defenses and also had a dream that very night. In his dream, he saw himself transform into a golden-winged roc, sitting beside the Buddha, and later descending to earth to enjoy the incense offerings of mortals. When Wu the Marshal casually mentioned his dream in conversation, Zhang Haipeng and others took it as an auspicious sign that Wu was soon to rise even higher in rank. As a result, they expanded the planned Guan Di Temple into a Guan-Yue Temple, enshrining not only Guan Yu but also Yue Fei, to express their fraternal bond with Wu the Marshal and their “unswerving loyalty” in serving the nation.