The Kheng Hock Temple, also known as the Kheng Hock Keong (慶福宮), is the largest and oldest
temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
to the
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
sea-goddess Mazu
Mazu or Matsu is a Chinese sea goddess also known by several other names and titles. She is the deified form of the legendary figure Lin Mo or Lin Moniang, a Fujianese shamaness whose life span is traditionally dated from 960 to 987. Re ...
in
Yangon
Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...
,
Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
. It is located on the corner of Sintodan Street and Strand Road in
Latha Township
Latha Township ( my, လသာ မြို့နယ်, ) is located in the western part of downtown Yangon, and shares borders with Lanmadaw township in the west, Pabedan township in the east, Seikkan township and Yangon river
The Yangon Ri ...
. Kheng Hock Keong is maintained by a
Hokkien Chinese
The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages in ...
clan association.
The temple attracts mostly
Hokkien
The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages in ...
and
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 ...
worshipers, while the other temple in Latha Township, called the
Guanyin Gumiao Temple
Guanyin Gumiao Temple (, also known as the Guangdong Guanyin Temple) is one of two major Chinese temples located within Latha Township in Yangon's Chinatown. It was founded by the Cantonese community of Yangon in 1823, but was destroyed by a fir ...
, attracts
Cantonese
Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...
worshipers.
Establishment
It was originally built as a wooden temple in 1861 and completed in 1863, built in the Fujian style, on a tax-exempt plot of land granted by the British authorities.
The founding Kheng Hock Keong Trust Committee was composed of Rangoon's largest Hokkien clans, representing the
Chan
Chan may refer to:
Places
*Chan (commune), Cambodia
*Chan Lake, by Chan Lake Territorial Park in Northwest Territories, Canada
People
*Chan (surname), romanization of various Chinese surnames (including 陳, 曾, 詹, 戰, and 田)
*Chan Caldwel ...
-
Khoo,
Lim,
Tan
Tan or TAN may refer to:
Businesses and organisations
* Black and Tans, a nickname for British special constables during the Irish War of Independence. By extension "Tans" can now also colloquially refer to English or British people in general, es ...
,
Yeo
Yeo is a Chinese, English, and Korean surname.
Origins
As an English surname, Yeo is a toponymic surname meaning "river", either for people who lived near one of the Rivers Yeo, or any river in general. The word comes from Old English , via sou ...
,
Lee
Lee may refer to:
Name
Given name
* Lee (given name), a given name in English
Surname
* Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee:
** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname
** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese ...
, and
Su clans.
At the temple's founding, the primary deity was
Guanyin
Guanyin () is a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokiteśvara ( sa, अवलोकितेश्वर) and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She ...
. A new brick building was completed in 1903, costing over 153,000 rupees.
Gallery
References
See also
*
Fushan Temple
Fushan Temple (; my, ကုက္ကိုင်းဘုရားကျောင်း; also called Fu Shan Si or Fu Sun Si), located on Kaba Aye Pagoda Road in Bahan Township, Yangon, is a Chinese temple founded in January 1875 by overseas Chi ...
*
Guanyin Gumiao Temple
Guanyin Gumiao Temple (, also known as the Guangdong Guanyin Temple) is one of two major Chinese temples located within Latha Township in Yangon's Chinatown. It was founded by the Cantonese community of Yangon in 1823, but was destroyed by a fir ...
*
Long Shan Tang Temple Long Shan Tang Temple () is a Hokkien Chinese clan temple (also called Kongsi) located on Anawrahta Road in Latha Township, part of Yangon's Chinatown. It was founded by members of the Tseng and Khoo clans from Fujian province in 1877. This templ ...
*
Qianliyan
Qianliyan is a Chinese sea and door god. He usually appears with Shunfeng'er as a guardian of the temples of the sea goddess Mazu.
Name
The name "Qianliyan" literally means "He of the Thousand-Mile" or "League Eyes" but may be taken more genera ...
&
Shunfeng'er
Shunfeng'er is a Chinese sea and door god. He usually appears with Qianliyan as a guardian of the temples of the sea goddess Mazu.
Name
The name "Shunfeng'er" literally means "Wind Accompanying Ears" in reference to his ability to hear any sound ...
Buildings and structures in Yangon
Hokkien place names
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