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

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

and

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

. 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 east-central 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, Hey ...

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 Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

. People whose ancestral home are in Huizhou or

Chaoshan Chaoshan or Teoswa ( zh, s=潮汕, p=Cháoshàn, cy=Chìusaan; peng'im: ) is a cultural-linguistic region in the east of Guangdong, China. It is the origin of the Teochew Min language. The region, also known as Chiushan in Cantonese, consists of ...

Guangdong ) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...

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,

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

.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 (221–206 BCE), Kowloon ...

. 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, 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 ...

), 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 China, Chinese culture of China, culture. Like the lion dance, it is most often seen during festive celebrations. The dance is performed by a team of experienced dancers who man ...

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 managemen ...

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

Happy Valley

A Tam Kung Temple is located on a small hill at No.9 Blue Pool Road, 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 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.

Southern District

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

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.

Antiquities Advisory Board The Antiquities Advisory Board (AAB) is a statutory body of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region with the responsibility of advising the Secretary for Development, Antiquities Authority on any matters relating to antiquities and monum ...

. Historic Building Appraisal
Tam Tai Sin Temple, Shau Tau, Tung Ping Chau
/ref> Many early residents of Tung Ping Chau were from

Shantou Shantou, Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanization of Chinese, 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 20 ...

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 ( Chinese: 路環, Portuguese: ''Coloane'') is the southernmost area in Macau, connected to Taipa through the area known as Cotai, which is largely built from reclaimed land. Known as “''Lou Wan''” in Cantonese, Coloane forms the sou ...

. It was built in 1862.

Canada

In Victoria, BC, 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 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 from 10 to 4, 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 () 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 of the sta ...

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. The temple was established in 1894 by

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...

immigrants in Sandakan.

References

External links

* {{cite news , last=Billinge , first=Tom , date=27 April 2017 , title=Tam Kung: Hong Kong's Seafaring Child God , url=https://zolimacitymag.com/tam-kung-hong-kongs-seafaring-child-god/ , work=Zolima CityMag , location= , access-date=
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

;Tam Tai Sin Temple, Ping Chau * Pictures

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