Guangrenwang Temple

　　  Era: Tang Dynasty

　　  Address: 4 km north of Ruicheng County, on the northern side of Zhonglongquan Village

　　  Due to the presence of Five Dragon Springs in front of the temple, and the worship of the water deity inside—bestowed the title “Guangrenwang” (Broad-Mercy King), locally revered as the “Five Dragon King”—the temple is also known as “Five Dragon Temple.” The exact date of its establishment is unknown. The existing main hall dates back to the fifth year of the Taihe era during the Tang Dynasty (833 AD) and is one of only four surviving wooden structures from the Tang Dynasty in China. The front theatrical stage was rebuilt during the Qing Dynasty.

　　  The temple faces south and is relatively small in scale, consisting of a theater stage, side rooms, and the main hall. The main hall has a five-bay-wide and three-bay-deep structure, topped with a single-eave hip-and-gable roof. It has a square floor plan, with a platform base 1.2 meters high. There is no terrace in front of the hall. The central bay of the facade features a plank door, the two side bays have lattice windows, and the two end bays are slightly smaller. Sixteen perimeter columns are embedded entirely into the walls. The columns are fitted only with architraves and lack an auxiliary plate; at the corners, the architraves do not extend beyond the columns. Only column-top bracket sets are used under the eaves, with no brackets on the purlins. The corner bracket arms do not protrude. Under the eaves, only column-top bracket sets are installed. The roof is supported by simple bracket arms. The interior of the hall preserves remnants of colored paintings, some of which are still faintly visible. The wooden structure is exposed, with simple carvings and minimal ornamentation, creating a rustic and ancient charm. The wooden columns and bracket sets are robust and well-preserved, exuding an enduring elegance.

　　  Four stone steles recording historical events are embedded in the walls of the two end bays of the front eaves of the main hall. Among them, two are from the Tang Dynasty: one is the “Record of Guangrenwang Dragon Spring Temple” by Pei Shaohui of Hedong in the third year of the Yuanhe era (808 AD), and the other is the “Record of the Dragon Spring” from the sixth year of the Dazhong era (832 AD). These are important historical materials for studying the history of Guangrenwang Temple and the development of ancient Chinese water conservancy.