Guan'ao Longfeng Temple ( zh, t=官澳龍鳳宮, s=官澳龙凤宫, first=t, p=Guān'ào Lóngfèng Gōng) is a temple located in Jinsha Township,

Kinmen County Kinmen, alternatively known as Quemoy, is a group of islands governed as a county by the Republic of China (Taiwan), only east from the city of Xiamen in Fujian, located at the southeastern coast of the People's Republic of China, from which ...

, Fujian. The temple's main deity is the sea goddess

Mazu Mazu or Matsu is a sea goddess in Chinese folk religion, Chinese Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. She is also known by several other names and titles. Mazu is the deified form of Lin Moniang (), a shamaness from Fujian who is said to ...

History

The temple was founded in 1611, making it one of the oldest Mazu temples in Kinmen; at the time, it only housed one

and was known as Tianfei Temple (天妃廟). A nearby temple named Fengshan Temple (鳯山寺), which was dedicated to , was initially located on a beach but collapsed from damage by the ocean. After being moved inland, Fengshan Temple was taken by ROC forces during the

Retreat of the Republic of China to Taiwan Following their defeat in the Chinese Civil War, the remnants of the Nationalist government of the Republic of China (ROC), alongside many refugees, retreated to the island of Taiwan (Formosa) beginning on December 7, 1949. The exodus is so ...

. Therefore, the statue was moved into Tianfei Temple in 1949, and the temple was renamed to Longfeng Temple. The new name, which translates to "

dragon A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...

- phoenix temple", is a reference to these two deities. On September 26, 2007, Longfeng Temple was protected as a county-level monument.

Worship

Longfeng Temple has three statues of

nicknamed Meili, Meihua, and Meilian; each has a different birthdate, but are collectively celebrated on the 23rd day of the third month in the

Chinese calendar The traditional Chinese calendar, dating back to the Han dynasty, is a lunisolar calendar that blends solar, lunar, and other cycles for social and agricultural purposes. While modern China primarily uses the Gregorian calendar for officia ...

. There are two statues of Guangze Zunwang. The smaller one is the one originally in Fengshan Temple. The larger one's base and hat is said to have floated to Kinmen from Mainland China and was worshipped without a statue. Then, a straw cape maker claimed that Guangze Zunwang wanted a "body", so a piece of camphor was taken from a dry well and carved into a statue. There is also a statue of Guangong, which used to be placed in another temple named Chicheng Temple (赤埕宮) that was abandoned. Other statues worshipped include

Baosheng Dadi Poh Seng Tai Tay (), also known as ''Taitokong'' (), is the God of Medicine worshiped among the Hoklo people in Fujian, Taiwan, and the Hokkien communities in Southeast Asia. Legends Early years Gô͘ Tho () was born in the year 979 in Pehta ...

Guanyin Guanyin () is a common Chinese name of the bodhisattva associated with Karuṇā, compassion known as Avalokiteśvara (). Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means " he One WhoPerceives the Sounds of the World". Originally regarded as m ...

, Zhusheng Niangniang, Shancai Tongzi,

Yunü Yunü ( zh, c= 玉女, p=Yùnǚ, l=Jade Girl, Jade Maiden) is a Daoist deity or goddess in Chinese mythology and Chinese traditional religion who, along with her male counterpart Jintong (mythology), Jintong "Golden Boy", are favored servants of t ...

, Liwangye (黎王爺), Xingwangye (邢王爺), Gaowangye (高王爺), Qiuwangye (邱王爺), Yajinggong (壓境公), and Yajingniang (壓境娘).

Architecture

Historically, Longfeng Temple was the primary temple in the area, so the temple was built extravagantly. The rectangular complex has two halls that are seven ''kaijian'' (eight columns) wide in a layout that is similar to

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

palace architecture. The central courtyard has a stage for plays, likely to protect it from marauding pirates. The interior has a variety of paintings and wooden sculptures of historic value. Most of the structural supports date from when the temple was reinforced in 1970.

References

{{authority control 1611 establishments in Taiwan Jinsha Township Mazu temples in Taiwan Religious buildings and structures completed in 1611 Temples in Kinmen County

History

Worship

Architecture

See also

References