Cui Fu Jun Temple in Zhangzi

　　From the Tang Dynasty onward through the Ming and Qing dynasties, a type of temple rarely seen elsewhere — known as the “Cui Fu Jun Temple” — was commonly found among the folk in the Shangdang and Zezhou regions of southeastern Shanxi (today’s Changzhi and Jincheng). Few people today know the background or reasons behind it. The so-called “Cui Fu Jun” was originally named Cui Jue, with the courtesy name Yuanjing. He was a native of Leping (present-day Xiyang County, Shanxi Province) during the late Sui and early Tang dynasties. In the seventh year of the Zhenguan era (633 AD) of the Tang Dynasty, Cui Yuanjing served as the magistrate of Zhangzi County. During his tenure, he upheld justice, punished evil, and promoted good, earning a formidable reputation. Cui had strictly prohibited the killing of living beings, but one day, it was reported that a fierce tiger was injuring people around Mount Fajiu. Consequently, Cui Yuanjing sent officers to capture the tiger. Upon seeing the officials, the tiger obediently followed them to the county yamen. Cui Yuanjing then lectured the tiger in court, enumerating its crimes of harming people, whereupon the tiger immediately confessed its guilt, knocked itself against the steps, and died. From then on, the fame of Cui Fu Jun spread even more widely. Although Cui Jue was the magistrate of Zhangzi County during the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang (Li Shimin), over a hundred years later during the An Lushan Rebellion, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang (Li Longji) actually dreamed of him. Upon waking, the emperor immediately posthumously conferred the title of “Manifest Saint, Protector of the Nation, Auspicious Response Marquis” upon Cui Jue, who had died a century earlier. This may be the reason why “Cui Fu Jun Temples” are commonly found in southeastern Shanxi.

　　Walking Through the Land of Shanxi: Touching and Sensing One Hundred and Twenty-Eight (Main Hall of Cui Fu Jun Temple in Zhangzi)

　　Facing south. According to the “Luan Prefecture Annals,” surviving editions of the Zhangzi County Annals, and inscriptions preserved within the temple, the construction of Cui Fu Jun Temple dates no later than the second year of Daguan during the Northern Song Dynasty (1108 AD), and it has been repaired and renovated in successive dynasties since then. The original complex included a mountain gate, dance tower, offering pavilion, main hall, and bedroom palace, but only the main hall remains today. After the liberation, it has been used by Zhangzi Middle School.

　　The main hall is situated on a high platform, with a width of five bays and a depth of four bays, featuring a hip-and-gable roof covered with cylindrical tiles.