Sin Sze Si Ya Temple () (also called as Sze Yah Temple) is a

Chinese temple Chinese temple architecture refer to a type of structures used as place of worship of Chinese Buddhism, Taoism or Chinese folk religion, where people revere ethnic Chinese gods and ancestors. They can be classified as: * '' miào'' () or '' ...

located at 14A Lebuh Pudu, close to the Central Market of

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. It was built by Yap Ah Loy for two deities who guided him in the

Selangor Civil War The Klang War or Selangor Civil War was a series of conflicts that lasted from 1867 to 1874 in the Malay state of Selangor in the Malay Peninsula (modern-day Malaysia). It was initially fought between Raja Abdullah bin Raja Jaafar, the admini ...

. The temple is the oldest

Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Ta ...

temple in the city.

History

The information board at the front entrance says the temple site was founded in 1864 by ''

Kapitan Capitan and Kapitan are equivalents of the English Captain in other European languages. Capitan, Capitano, and Kapitan may also refer to: Places in the United States *Capitan, Louisiana, an unincorporated community * Capitan, New Mexico, a villag ...

'' Yap Ah Loy, dedicated to

patron deities A tutelary () (also tutelar) is a deity or a spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept of safety and ...

of Sin Sze Ya and Si Sze Ya. The deities has guided Yap to defeat the enemies and defend the town of Kuala Lumpur during the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

from 1870–1873, with the two patron deities are actually based on two real persons of Sheng Meng Li (''Kapitan'' of Sungai Ujong) and Chung Lai (Yap loyal lieutenant). The temple structures was finally built in 1883.

References

External links

* Chinese-Malaysian culture in Kuala Lumpur Taoist temples in Malaysia Religious buildings and structures in Kuala Lumpur Religious buildings and structures completed in 1883 {{Malaysia-religious-struct-stub