Town God's Temple

Town God's Temple

Town God's Temple, located in Mingyue lane, Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province, was founded in the first year of the Northern Song Dynasty (1064 AD). The City God is an important deity in ancient Chinese religious culture. It is often played by famous officials and heroes who have contributed to the local people. It is the God of protecting the city believed by Chinese folk and Taoism. Town God's Temple is located in the south of the city, with a layout of courtyard style group buildings, with an area of 3610 square meters and a building area of 2096 square meters.

Architecture Overview

The first entrance along the central axis is a five bay gate with a wide face. On the right side of the gate, there are civil and military official hall and Luban Xianshi temple. The second entrance is the stage, which is convex in shape. There are three rooms on each side. The protruding part is the Xieshan stage, which is used for band and performance makeup. The third entrance is the main hall (louwu), with a five bay wide surface. Between the stage and the main hall is a wide patio, with exquisite carvings of beams, sparrows and corbels. It has high historical and artistic value.

Temple tradition

Town God's Temple, built in 23 years in Ming Yongli (1669), ranks first in Town God's Temple in Taiwan, ranking two in antiquities. Because of the City God's role in the Hades, its spatial arrangement and cultural relic display are quite different from the ordinary temples.

The original meaning of the City God was the city wall and moat, and later evolved into the patron saint of the city, specializing in the judicial affairs of the underworld. The City God in different places, just like the local chief executive, has different titles and configurations according to their jurisdiction and rank.

Town God's Temple, the building of three progressive double protection, has a narrow and long dark, a statesmanship, a formidable statues, a shackle torture device, a powerful plaque, a big calculating abacus, and everywhere reveals the gloomy and treacherous atmosphere. With the "hanging" plaque in the Sanchuan gate, it is very simple and profound, with a pregnant meaning. The main entrance is the Sanchuan gate, the worship hall, the main hall and the back hall in sequence; the left and right chambers are divided into offices and cultural relics exhibition rooms. The main hall is dedicated to the Duke of Wei Ling, accompanied by the civil and military judges, the seventh, the eighth and the 24th division. They are the gods and staff who assist the City God in handling cases. Among the 24 divisions, the most popular are the "xuezhengsi" and "kaogongsi" who are in charge of their studies and fame.

It is believed that the soul must first report to Town God's Temple after being dead, accept the first instance, decide whether to go to heaven or go to hell on top of its merits and demerits, and therefore fear the City God. Because of his understanding of the people in the area, he will often ask for clues if he has any whereabouts of his family.

Every year, on May 11 of the lunar calendar, the City God's birthday. As a rule, the City God goes to visit the people on the night before his birthday, which is the most lively temple fair of the year.

Address: No.202, Zhangye Road, Chengguan District, Lanzhou City, Gansu Province

Longitude: 103.82245306994

Latitude: 36.059962589056