Penglai Tianhou Palace

Penglai Pavilion Tianhou Palace

synonym

Penglai Tianhou palace generally refers to Penglai Pavilion Tianhou palace

Penglai Pavilion in Shandong Province is famous for the legend of "Eight Immortals crossing the sea". However, the Tianhou palace in Penglai Pavilion is also famous for its long history and grand scale. Tianhou palace is located in the middle of the back of the "Danya fairyland" archway in Penglai Pavilion. Its forehead is called "Xianling", covering an area of more than 3000 square meters. The structure of the building is a courtyard with four entrances, facing north and south. From south to north, it is the main gate, the bell and Drum Tower, the theater tower, the front hall, the Chuihua gate, the East and West veranda, the East and West ear rooms of the main hall, and the back hall. According to historical records, the Tianhou palace of Penglai Pavilion was first built during the reign of song Chongning (1102-1106), with the temple's forehead of "Lingxiang". Lu Yundi was sent to Korea in 1122, the fourth year of Xuanhe of Song Dynasty. He was sheltered by Mazu after being drowned in eight boats by Lu Feng, but Lu Yundi was not in danger. Lu Yundi played the saint and expanded into 48 rooms. Daoguang 16 years (1826) destroyed by fire. In the second year, it was rebuilt, and the original "Lingxiang" was changed to "Xianling", becoming one of the largest Tianhou palaces in northern China.

Overview of Tianhou Palace

The design of Tianhou palace in Penglai Pavilion is similar to that of Tianhou palace in other places. Although the bell and Drum Tower is small, it is very unique. There are three valuable inscriptions in the passage on the north side of the bell tower, namely, the story of kunyao stone, the story of Basong stone pavilion and the story of rebuilding Baiyun palace, Haishen temple, Tianhou palace and Penglai Pavilion, which record the vicissitudes of Penglai Pavilion.

Structure of Tianhou Palace

As soon as you enter the courtyard, besides the bell and Drum Tower, there is a large theater building, which is a two-story Pavilion of wood and stone structure. It faces the front hall of Tianhou palace, facing the South and North. There are north-south passageways on the first floor, stage on the second floor and actors' activities on the second floor. There is a couplet on the stage, which is a true portrayal of the stage. Traditionally, this stage is a place for performing in temple fairs. Facing the temple of heaven, the stage means to perform for Mazu. Every year, on the 16th day of the first month of the lunar calendar, the temple fair of Hougong presents vulgar dramas on the stage, which has formed a specific folk custom.

After the stage, it is the front hall of Penglai Pavilion. The front hall is located at the north end of the Yijin courtyard, also known as the "horse hall". It is more than 11 meters wide and more than 6 meters deep. The front door is inscribed with the title "Tianhou Palace" and the couplet "You Yi Chao Ping, the shore is wide, the sea breeze is hanging". Inside, Jiaying and Jiayou protect the gods. Through the front hall, enter the two, three into the courtyard between the vertical gate. This chuihuamen is rare in other Tianhou palaces. The vertical flower gate is a single ridge and double eaves timber structure building. Both sides of the chuihuamen have inverted gold stamens, which are simple and chic. In feudal society, chuihuamen was a symbol of nobility and was not allowed to enter without permission.

Entering the chuihuamen is the courtyard of the three entrances of Tianhou palace. The main hall of Tianhou palace is located here. The main hall is more than 16 meters wide and 14 meters deep. There are four pillars in front of the hall, which are opposite each other. The forehead is inscribed with "immortals of morality". The walls on both sides of the hall are inlaid with stone inscriptions of "records of the restoration of the Queen's Palace" and "inscriptions of the restoration of the Queen's Palace". There are eight gold pillars in the hall, four of which are made of iron wood. The iron wood floor is hard and durable, which makes the main hall of Tianhou palace very strong. On the 1-meter platform in the center of the main hall are three large and small water grain wooden niches, in which a 3-meter-high statue of Empress Dowager is worshipped. There are two maids on each side. There are eight statues on both sides of the hall, including the Dragon King of the four seas, the civil official who conveys the will of the emperor, the civil official who holds the Wanfa sect, the civil official who conveys the will of the queen, and the civil official who is in charge of the seal. On this day, the dragon king stood for Mazu in the back palace because it is said that Lu Yundi once worshipped the Dragon King and asked for protection before he went to Korea in 1122, the fourth year of Xuanhe in the Northern Song Dynasty. As a result, he was drowned in eight boats in a strong wind. Later, Lu Yundi was saved from suffering only by praying for Mazu and showing his spirit. So the Dragon King was not as good as Mazu and had to stand for Mazu! The main hall of Mazu was burned out during the reign of Daoguang because of its strong incense. When it was rebuilt, it was engraved with "Wulong pressure town" on the back wall to suppress the fire.

The Sijin courtyard is the rear hall, which is the last building of Tianhou palace. It is also the Mazu dormitory. It has East and West ear rooms, which are small in shape and exquisite in materials. The two ends of the eaves are carved with brick, both pictures and texts. The characters of the brick carving are connected to form a five character quatrain: "straight up to Penglai Pavilion, the first floor of the world; the cloud mountain is thousands of miles away, the sea island is four seasons." The bottom floor of the back hall is more than 13 meters wide and 7 meters deep. The title of the forehead is "Fu CI Dan Ya", which means that Mazu can bless Dan ya. Dan Ya is another name for Penglai Pavilion, because the place is danse. In the hall, carved boards are used to divide two into three to carve various stories: "magpie climbing branches", "pine and crane greeting the new year", "blessing everywhere" and so on. The second floor is Mazu dressing house, which is more than 13 meters wide and 5 meters deep. It is equipped with all kinds of bedding.

The Tianhou palace in Penglai Pavilion is unique in architecture. More importantly, the eight immortals Taoism and the foreign immortals. The divine power of Mazu makes these immortals leave their territory and help Mazu.

Address: Northwest of Penglai City, Shandong Province

Longitude: 120.758848

Latitude: 37.810661