zh, 觀音亭 , image = Kong Hock Keong Penang Dec 2006 002.jpg , caption = Front view of Goddess of Mercy Temple , map_type = Malaysia Penang George Town streets , map_size = 275px , location = George Town , coordinates = , religious_affiliation =

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

, district =

Northeast Penang Island District The Northeast Penang Island District ( ms, Daerah Timur Laut Pulau Pinang) is a Districts of Malaysia, district within the States and federal territories of Malaysia, Malaysian state of Penang. The district covers the northeastern half of Penang I ...

, state =

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...

, country =

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 ...

, established = 1728 , architecture_type =

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 ''di� ...

, construction_cost = $4,000 (

Spanish dollar The Spanish dollar, also known as the piece of eight ( es, Real de a ocho, , , or ), is a silver coin of approximately diameter worth eight Spanish reales. It was minted in the Spanish Empire following a monetary reform in 1497 with content ...

) The Goddess of Mercy Temple ( zh, t=觀音亭, poj=Koan-im-têng) (also known as Kuan Im Teng or Kong Hock Keong) is a

in the city of George Town in

. Situated at

Pitt Street Pitt Street is a major street in the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. The street runs through the entire city centre from Circular Quay in the north to Waterloo, although today's street is in two disjointed sec ...

, it was first built in 1728, making it Penang's 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 ''Tao'' ...

temple. The temple is dedicated to the Buddhist Bodhisattva of Mercy,

Guan Yin 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 w ...

. However, the temple had been originally established for the worship of

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 ...

, a sea deity. Following an influx of

ethnic Chinese The Chinese people or simply Chinese, are people or ethnic groups identified with China, usually through ethnicity, nationality, citizenship, or other affiliation. Chinese people are known as Zhongguoren () or as Huaren () by speakers of s ...

into George Town after the founding of the settlement in 1786, the temple transitioned into one dedicated to Guan Yin in 1800; by then, it also began to function as a neutral mediator between the rival

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 ...

and

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 ...

communities. While the temple's more secular functions have since been passed on to the

Penang Chinese Town Hall The Penang Chinese Town Hall was established in 1881.Re-examination of the “Chinese nationalism” and Categorization of the Chinese in Malaya: The Case of the Chinese in Penang, 1890s-1910s by SHINOZAKI Kaori, Ph.D. student, Graduate School of A ...

, it retains its religious significance and remains popular amongst Penangites of Chinese descent. It becomes a focal point for Chinese festivities such as the annual feast days for Guan Yin and the

Jade Emperor The Jade Emperor or Yudi ( or , ') in Chinese culture, traditional religions and myth is one of the representations of the first god ( '). In Daoist theology he is the assistant of Yuanshi Tianzun, who is one of the Three Pure Ones, the three ...

's Birthday, attracting devotees from across

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

History

The temple was founded in 1728. Built at a cost of $4,000

s, it was dedicated to

, a

sea goddess A water deity is a deity in mythology associated with water or various bodies of water. Water deities are common in mythology and were usually more important among civilizations in which the sea or ocean, or a great river was more important. Anoth ...

worshipped by the

Hokkiens The Hoklo people or Hokkien people () are a Han Chinese (also Han Taiwanese) subgroup who speak Hokkien, a Southern Min language, or trace their ancestry to Southeastern Fujian, China and known by various endonyms or other related terms such a ...

as a patron for seafarers. At the time,

Penang Island Penang Island ( ms, Pulau Pinang; zh, 檳榔嶼; ta, பினாங்கு தீவு) is part of the state of Penang, on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It was named Prince of Wales Island when it was occupied by the British Ea ...

was sparsely populated and the temple, built by the seafaring Hokkiens was located relatively closer to the sea. The temple was renovated in 1800, during which the temple's main deity was changed from Mazu to

. Other Chinese deities, including

Guan Yu Guan Yu (; ), courtesy name Yunchang, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Along with Zhang Fei, he shared a brotherly relationship with Liu Bei and accompanied him on ...

and

Tua Pek Kong Tua may refer to: * Tua River, a river in Portugal * Tua (Papua New Guinea), a river in Papua New Guinea * Tuʻa, also known as Alo, a chiefdom in Wallis and Futuna in Oceania * Tua line, a railway line in Portugal * Tua railway station, in Portug ...

, were also added into the temple, reflecting the more diverse

Chinese community The Chinese people or simply Chinese, are people or ethnic groups identified with China, usually through ethnicity, nationality, citizenship, or other affiliation. Chinese people are known as Zhongguoren () or as Huaren () by speakers of s ...

in George Town by that point. Decades of Chinese immigration since the founding of George Town by Captain

Francis Light Captain Francis Light ( – 21 October 1794) was a British explorer and the founder of the British colony of Penang (in modern-day Malaysia) and its capital city of George Town in 1786. Light and his lifelong partner, Martina Rozells, were th ...

in 1786 had resulted in several Chinese dialect groups establishing themselves within the new settlement, including the

. The temple began to play the role as a mediator site in the increasingly frequent disputes between the Hokkiens and the Cantonese. In its early years, it was run by a committee that consisted of equal numbers from the two ethnic groups. Thus, the temple was able to serve as a council and a tribunal for Penang's Chinese community up until the mid-19th century. The worsening feud between the various Chinese ethnic groups in George Town, which culminated in the Penang Riots of 1867, eventually led to the establishment of the

in 1881 to take over the temple's more secular role as an arbiter for the local Chinese community. From then on, the temple serves a more religious purpose amongst the local Chinese. The temple has been rumoured to possess magical qualities, as it miraculously survived the several attacks on the temple since its inception in 1728. For instance, the temple remained unscathed when the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

(IJA) bombed and invaded Penang in December 1941, and survived a handful of other attacks before and during the 1960s. The temple was last renovated between 2012 and 2017.

Features

Steeped in

Chinese architecture Chinese architecture (Chinese:中國建築) is the embodiment of an architectural style that has developed over millennia in China and it has influenced architecture throughout Eastern Asia. Since its emergence during the early ancient era, the ...

, the temple features sweeping roofs typical of

s and has gigantic doors adorned with paintings of Taoist and Buddhist deities.

Dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

-entwined pillars support the high roof as well, which is decorated with more dragon figurines at its top ridges. The temple is fronted by a large courtyard that faces

to the east. It was built according to '' feng shui'' principles; it has three wells - one to the right of the main shrine, another at the front courtyard and the third hidden under the main altar of Guan Yin. The courtyard well is for public use, while the one beside the main shrine is reserved for monks. Urban legend has it that the water from the hidden well has medicinal properties.

Gallery

File:Kong Hock Keong Penang Dec 2006 001.jpg, Roadside stalls selling prayer paraphernalia beside the Goddess of Mercy Temple. File:Kong Hock Keong Penang Dec 2006 003.jpg, Southern Chinese architectural influences can be seen on the roof, which is adorned with various figurines. File:Kong Hock Keong 2010 Innen.JPG, The temple praying hall. File:Kong Hock Keong Penang Dec 2006 006.jpg, The temple's main altar to

References

External links

* {{Malaysian historical architectures and sites Chinese-Malaysian culture Religious buildings and structures in Penang Taoist temples in Malaysia Tourist attractions in George Town, Penang Guanyin temples Religious buildings and structures completed in 1728