The Tou Mu Kung Temple () is a

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 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 ...

situated on

Upper Serangoon Road Hougang is a planning area and mature residential town located in the North-East Region of Singapore. The town is the most populous in the region, being home to 247,528 residents as of 2018. Hougang planning area is bordered by Sengkang to th ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

. Worshipping the Empress Registrar of Birth or

Doumu Dǒumǔ (), also known as Dǒumǔ Yuánjūn ( "Lady Mother of the Chariot"), Dòulǎo Yuánjūn ( "Lady Ancestress of the Chariot") and Tàiyī Yuánjūn ( "Lady of the Great One"), is a goddess in Chinese religion and Taoism. She is also named ...

(斗母) and

Nine Emperor Gods The Nine Emperor Gods Festival ( zh, 九皇爺誕; ms, Perayaan Sembilan Maharaja Dewa; th, เทศกาลกินเจ) or Vegetarian Festival or Jay Festival is a nine-day Taoist celebration beginning on the eve of the ninth lunar month ...

(九皇大帝), the temple has both Taoist and

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 ...

influences. There are other temples dedicated to Tou Mu (Dou Mu) in many parts of China (e.g. on

Mount Tai Mount Tai () is a mountain of historical and cultural significance located north of the city of Tai'an. It is the highest point in Shandong province, China. The tallest peak is the '' Jade Emperor Peak'' (), which is commonly reported as being ...

History

The temple started as a home shrine by Ong Choo Kee, a Chinese merchant. Ong had vowed to

venerate Veneration ( la, veneratio; el, τιμάω ), or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Etym ...

the Nine Emperor Gods in exchange for successful business deals. He became successful and his home shrine became popular with an increase of worshippers. A Hokkien pineapple tycoon, Ong Chwee Tow (王水斗), donated a land parcel in

Hougang Hougang is a planning area and mature residential town located in the North-East Region of Singapore. The town is the most populous in the region, being home to 247,528 residents as of 2018. Hougang planning area is bordered by Sengkang to th ...

to build a proper temple for worshippers. The temple started construction in 1919 and completed in 1921. It caters to the Teochew community, and was one of two remaining temples in Singapore with a permanent Chinese opera stage until 1998. For eight decades, Chinese opera was performed there during religious and other festivals. The temple was

gazetted A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers ...

as a national monument, which was deemed to be of special historic and traditional value, on 14 January 2005.

Architecture

The temple has a symmetrical floor plan with a central air-well. Behind the main hall is a two-storey

pagoda A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...

. Single-storey quarters for the keepers of the temple are located at the rear of the temple. The roof of the temple is decorated with dancing dragons. There is also a ridge decoration in the main temple hall. The centre of the ridge has a blazing

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...

. Dragons and dragon fish are used to terminate the ridges. Hips are terminated by spirals. The roof

truss A truss is an assembly of ''members'' such as beams, connected by ''nodes'', that creates a rigid structure. In engineering, a truss is a structure that "consists of two-force members only, where the members are organized so that the assembl ...

es are typically

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 ...

, decorated with

carving Carving is the act of using tools to shape something from a material by scraping away portions of that material. The technique can be applied to any material that is solid enough to hold a form even when pieces have been removed from it, and ...

s and simple

brackets A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. Typically deployed in symmetric pairs, an individual bracket may be identified as a 'left' or ' ...

. The main doors are painted with pictures of the

Door God Menshen or door gods are divine guardians of doors and gates in Chinese folk religions, used to protect against evil influences or to encourage the entrance of positive ones. They began as the divine pair Shenshu ( ) and Yulü () under the ...

s. Its colour scheme of light blue and brown is rather subdued when compared to other temples. The main

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

is dedicated to the main deity (Nine Emperor). To the left of the main altar is an altar to '' Dou Mu'' (Tou Mu), and to the right, Guan Yin. An

inscription Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the w ...

on a wall

plaque Plaque may refer to: Commemorations or awards * Commemorative plaque, a plate or tablet fixed to a wall to mark an event, person, etc. * Memorial Plaque (medallion), issued to next-of-kin of dead British military personnel after World War I * Pl ...

above the main entrance shows the names of benefactors and the date of construction of the temple.

News articles

References

*Evelyn Lip (1983), ''Chinese Temple Architecture in Singapore'', Singapore University Press, {{Buddhism in Singapore Chinese-Singaporean culture National monuments of Singapore Taoist temples in Singapore Religious buildings and structures completed in 1921 Buildings and structures in Hougang Taoism in Singapore Tourist attractions in North-East Region, Singapore 1921 establishments in Singapore 20th-century architecture in Singapore