Tam Kung () or Tam Tai Sin () is a sea deity worshiped in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

and

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...

. In Chinese folk legends, Tam Kung was one of gods who could forecast the weather. He was born in

Huizhou Huizhou ( zh, c= ) is a city in central-east Guangdong Province, China, forty-three miles north of Hong Kong. Huizhou borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the west, Shenzhen and Dongguan to the southwest, Shaoguan to the north, Heyu ...

Prefecture. It was said that he could cure patients in his childhood. Tam Kung became an immortal in heaven at the age of twenty in the Nine-dragon Mountain in Huizhou. He was officially deified during the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

. People whose ancestral home are in Huizhou or

Chaoshan Chaoshan or Teoswa (; peng'im: ''Dio5suan1'' i̯o˥˥꜖꜖.sũ̯ã˧˧ is a cultural-linguistic region in the east of Guangdong, China. It is the origin of the Min Nan Chaoshan dialect (). The region, also known as Chiushan in Cantonese, c ...

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020 ...

province worship Tam Kung most sincerely.

Temples in Hong Kong

Shau Kei Wan

The Tam Kung Sin Shing Temple () is located along Tam Kung Temple Road, at the northern end of Shau Kei Wan Main Street East, in

A Kung Ngam A Kung Ngam () is a village and an area in northeast Shau Kei Wan in the northeast of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. It contains a fish terminal market, several temples and the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence. Name ''A Kung'' literally ...

Shau Kei Wan Shau Kei Wan or Shaukiwan is a neighborhood in the Eastern District of Hong Kong Island. The area is bordered by Chai Wan to the east, Mount Parker to the south, Sai Wan Ho to the west, and Victoria Harbour to the north. Shau Kei Wan is cons ...

.Chinese Temples Committee - Tam Kung Temple, Shau Kei Wan
/ref> It was originally a small shrine. Local people raised money to construct it in 1905 and reconstructed it many times afterwards.Brief Information on proposed Grade III Items
. Item #1053. The statue of Tam Kung, which was first worshipped among the other gods in the temple, was formerly positioned in the Tam Kung Temple in Tam Kung Road () in

Kowloon City Kowloon City is an area in New Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is part of Kowloon City District. Compared with the council area of Kowloon City District, the Kowloon City area is History As early as in the Qin dynasty (221 BCE – 206 BCE), ...

. There is a big rock in front of the temple and is believed to be Tam Kung's magic stamp. Local residents and fishermen are the sincere worshippers. On the birthday of Tam Kung (8th day of the 4th month in

Chinese calendar The traditional Chinese calendar (also known as the Agricultural Calendar ��曆; 农历; ''Nónglì''; 'farming calendar' Former Calendar ��曆; 旧历; ''Jiùlì'' Traditional Calendar ��曆; 老历; ''Lǎolì'', is a lunisolar calendar ...

), they will have a celebration and play a so-called "kung fu" show which is a major part of the celebration. A parade and

dragon dance Dragon dance () is a form of traditional dance and performance in Chinese culture. Like the lion dance, it is most often seen during festive celebrations. The dance is performed by a team of experienced dancers who manipulate a long flexible ...

are also held on this occasion. The temple has been managed by the

Chinese Temples Committee The Chinese Temples Committee () is a statutory body in Hong Kong established in 1928 under the Chinese Temples Ordinance () (Cap. 153). It is mainly responsible for the operation and management of twenty-four temples directly under its management ...

since 1928. The temple is a former Grade I historic building. It is a Grade III historic building since April 2013.

Southern District

The Tam Kung Yea Temple () is located along Shek Pai Wan Road, in Tin Wan, Southern District.

Happy Valley

A Tam Kung Temple is located on a small hill at No.9

Blue Pool Road Blue Pool Road is a road linking Happy Valley and Wong Nai Chung Gap on Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong. Location Blue Pool Road is divided into two sections. The first and longest section starts at Wong Nai Chung Road, opposite the southeas ...

, Happy Valley, at the intersection with Ventris Road. This temple was built in 1901 after the previous one located on a slope near the

Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital, or HKSH, is a private hospital established in 1922 in Happy Valley, Hong Kong. The hospital has more than 500 beds and various room types and facilities. It also has a 24 hours outpatient consultation service. ...

in Happy Valley, in the former Wong Nai Chung Village,Brief Information on No Grade Items
. Items #1404 and #1413. was demolished during urban development. According to a story, Tam Kung appeared to a young boy in a dream and guided him to the present site, which was regarded as selected by the deity for the new location of the temple. A Tin Hau Temple, also relocated in 1901, is situated at the back of this temple. The temples have been managed by the

since 1929.

Ping Chau

The Tam Tai Sin Temple (), in Sha Tau,

Tung Ping Chau Tung Ping Chau () is an island in Hong Kong, part of Hong Kong UNESCO Global Geopark. It is also known as Ping Chau (). ''Tung'' (, meaning ''east'') is prepended to the name at times so as to avoid possible confusion with '' Peng Chau'' ...

was built around 1877.Brief Information on proposed Grade III Items
. Item #800. Many early residents of Tung Ping Chau were from

Shantou Shantou, alternately romanized as Swatow and sometimes known as Santow, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern coast of Guangdong, China, with a total population of 5,502,031 as of the 2020 census (5,391,028 in 2010) and an administrative ...

and they kept the tradition of worshipping Tam Kung after they settled on the island. The Temple celebrates the Tam Kung Festival on the 8th day of the fourth Lunar month.

Other places

Macau

There is also a Tam Kung Temple at Rua de Cinco de Outubro in

Coloane Coloane (Cantonese: Lou Wan) is a former island in Macau that is united with the island of Taipa by an area of reclaimed land known as Cotai. It is located at the southern part of Macau. Administratively, the boundaries of the traditional civil pa ...

. It was built in 1862.

Canada

Victoria, BC Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. The ...

, Canada, there is also a temple to the Deity, Tam Kung. The temple was erected in 1876. At 1713 Government Street is a tall, slim building established by the Yen Wo Society. Fifty-two steps up to the top floor is the oldest Chinese Temple in Canada. The statue you will find there was originally kept in a wooden box at Market Square, and it was moved to the temple by its keeper after Tam Kung appeared to him in a dream. Visitors are welcome most days, and visitors can make donations for good health and the upkeep of the shrine.

Malaysia

There are several Tam Kung temples in Malaysia and these temples were mainly established by the Hakka community in Malaysia. One of the prominent temples is Tam Kung Temple, which is located at Mile 1.5 of North Road in

Sandakan Sandakan (, Jawi: , ) formerly known at various times as Elopura, is the capital of the Sandakan District in Sabah, Malaysia. It is the second largest city in Sabah after Kota Kinabalu. It is located on the Sandakan Peninsula and east coast ...

Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

. The temple was established in 1894 by

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...

immigrants in Sandakan.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Tam Kung
Tam Kung Temples of Hong Kong
;Tam Kung Temple, Shau Kei Wan
The Temple Trail entry on Tam Kung Temple, Shau Kei Wan

Pictures of Tam Kung Temple, Shau Kei Wan

;Tam Kung Yea Temple, Southern District * Pictures

Chinese gods Sea and river gods Taoism in Hong Kong A Kung Ngam Kowloon City Religion in Macau Coloane Taoism in Guangdong