Sanjie guild hall

Sanjie guild hall (also known as Guandi Temple) is a temple located in front of the conference hall of Macao Special Administrative Region. It was a meeting place for Chinese businessmen in early Macao.

Sanjie guild hall

Sanjie guild hall (also known as Guandi Temple) is a temple located in front of the conference hall of Macao Special Administrative Region. It was a meeting place for Chinese businessmen in early Macao. "Three streets" refers to the earliest three streets in Macao: Camp Street, Guanqian Street and caodui street, while "guild hall" is composed of three commercial streets. Sanjie guild hall became the meeting place for the Chinese in Macao, and later the Macao Portuguese government also used the guild hall as an organ to contact the Chinese.

Historical evolution

The guild hall appeared in the late Ming Dynasty, and was named "Three Street guild hall" after the opening and closing of Yuehai in the Qing Dynasty.

Sanjie guild hall was built in 1750 and has a history of more than 260 years.

There is no textual research on the building of the Sanjie guild hall, but according to the records of the rebuilt stele, the Sanjie guild hall was first built in 1792, the 57th year of the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty.

The second overhaul was carried out in 1804.

In the 10th year of Jiaqing period (1805), when the medical technology of vaccinating vaccinia was introduced into Macao, Sanjie guild hall was the earliest one in China;

The third maintenance was carried out in 1835.

At the beginning of the opening of the Sanjie guild hall, the meeting hall was integrated with the temple; later, in the last overhaul, an additional public office was built beside the building, which was separated from the temple.

In 1912, the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce in Macao was founded, and the Sanjie guild hall lost its original function. Later, it became a temple with a plaque of "Guandi ancient temple" because of the exquisite carved statue of Guandi and the numerous worshippers.

The building of the three streets guild hall has been unable to be verified. After several major repairs, it has become the present appearance. At the beginning of the guild hall, there was a statue of Guandi. At first, the meeting hall and the temple were integrated, but later the function of the Sanjie guild hall disappeared, and the temple became the main function of the guild hall, so it was called "Guandi Temple".

In 2005, part of Macao's historical city was listed in the world cultural heritage list.

Reasons for establishment

Macao's early businessmen like to gather together to communicate business. Most of the meeting places chosen by merchants were important temples, initially in mage temple and Lianfeng temple. Later, someone took the lead to set up a guild hall, ending the habit of deliberating in temples.

When Sanjie guild hall was first set up, it was a place for businessmen to discuss business affairs. The merchants in Macao contacted and communicated with each other. It was also an important place for the Qing government to issue announcements. After a long time, the Sanjie guild hall became a meeting place for the Chinese in Macao, and the Macao Portuguese government also used the guild hall as an organ to contact the Chinese. Sanjie guild hall, as a merchant guild hall, has surpassed the functions performed by general industrial and commercial organizations.

With the development of modern industry, the expansion of Macao market and the establishment of a new Chinese business organization, the original function of Sanjie guild hall gradually disappeared and eventually became a pure Temple Guandi temple. The property is managed by the Charity Club of Jinghu hospital.

building structure

The three streets guild hall, as the name suggests, is an organization composed of people on three streets. According to the literature, the campsite street, Guanqian Street and caodui street were the ancient and prosperous commercial centers of Macao, where all the Chinese merchants concentrated to trade. In order to stabilize the business order, the merchants of the three streets often gathered here to communicate business conditions and stabilize prices, and gradually formed the three streets guild hall. In addition, according to historical records, in those years, most of the local merchants' meeting places were selected in important temples, such as the famous mage temple and Lianfeng temple, while few of them set up Guildhall. The historical records record the background of the establishment of the three streets guild hall in Macao: "in the west of Lianfeng, Yima pavilion was built, in the east of Lianfeng, a new temple was built. Although the merchants met and discussed business, they often suffered a lot, but did not attend the meeting." and "the Chinese merchants who made money, level the competition, and united with the masses, could not have no place to meet. This is the reason for the establishment of the three streets guild hall."

Sanjie guild hall is a small Chinese building with two rooms and three rooms. In the center of the building, there is a statue of the emperor. There is a table in front of the statue. There are Chinese murals on both sides of the wall. On one side of the wall, there are two steles of merit and virtue erected during the third overhaul of Sanjie guild hall in Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty.

Worship the throne

At the beginning of the guild hall, there was a statue of Guandi. At first, it was called "Guandi Temple" because the meeting hall and the temple were integrated. After the 1920s, the Sanjie Guildhall gradually declined, and temples became the main function of the Guildhall. Because the Sanjie guild hall has been dedicated to Guandi, it has evolved into an ancient temple of Guandi. In addition to the worship of Guandi, there are also deities of wealth, silk, Xingjun and Taisui. On both sides of the temple are displayed a variety of ancient silver weapons, which are not found in other temples in Macao. The former bustling scene of Sanjie guild hall can only be reproduced when the birthday of Guandi God and the birthday of Caibo Xingjun are performed.

Hold activities?

On the eighth day of the lunar new year, dancing drunk dragon, festival parade and distributing longevity rice (dragon boat head rice) will be held in front of the Third Street guild hall.

Sanjie guild hall celebrates Guandi's birthday on May 13 of the lunar calendar every year. At that time, a stage is set up in front of the gate with bamboo sheds to perform wonderful magic plays. People and gods are entertained together, and the message of respecting benevolence and righteousness and not forgetting tradition is conveyed.

Get honor

Sanjie guild hall, also known as Guandi temple, has become one of the world cultural heritage sites in Macao. It was originally located in "rongning square" in the prosperous urban area of Macao in the past, so the Social altar in front of the guild hall is still engraved with the words "rongning club", and a couplet of "rongjukang happy land, Ningxiang taipingnian".

Address: xinshinan street, Macao Public Bureau

Longitude: 113.539505

Latitude: 22.1940548