The Temple of the Five Immortals, formerly wrongfully translated as the Temple of the Five Genii, is a former

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 ...

Guangzhou Guangzhou (, ; ; or ; ), also known as Canton () and alternatively romanized as Kwongchow or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of Guangdong province in southern China. Located on the Pearl River about north-northwest of Hong Kon ...

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

, in China. It lies beside the junction of West Huifu Road and Liurong Rd.

Legend

The five immortals honored by the temple are first attested in a passage of the 983 ''

Taiping Imperial Readings __NOTOC__ Taiping, Tai-p’ing, or Tai Ping most often refers to: Chinese history * Princess Taiping (died 713), Tang dynasty princess * Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864), civil war in southern China ** Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (1851–1864), the re ...

'' () explaining

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

"City of the Rams". One of the

etiological myth An origin myth is a myth that describes the origin of some feature of the natural or social world. One type of origin myth is the creation or cosmogonic myth, a story that describes the creation of the world. However, many cultures have sto ...

s given is that

At one time,
Sun Hao Sun Hao (243 – January or February 284), courtesy name Yuanzong, originally named Sun Pengzu with the courtesy name Haozong, was the fourth and last emperor of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the son ...
made
Teng Xiu Teng Xiu (died 288), courtesy name Xianxian, was a military general of the state of Eastern Wu during the late Three Kingdoms period (220–280) of China. After the fall of Wu in 280, he continued serving under the Jin dynasty. He is sometimes ...
a governor but, before reaching his prefecture, there were five
immortals Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film '' The Wisdom of ...
riding five colored sheep and bearing the
five grains The Five Grains or Cereals () are a grouping (or set of groupings) of five farmed crops that were all important in ancient China. Sometimes the crops themselves were regarded as sacred; other times, their cultivation was regarded as a sacred boo ...
who came upon him and, after he received them, they left. Now the prefectural hall's beams bear the five immortals riding five colored sheep for good luck.

The other story, credited to the ''Records of Guangzhou'' () of Pei Yuan (), includes the rams and grain but omits the immortals and places the story in Chu during the ministry of Gao Gu. Later accounts of the

immortals Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film '' The Wisdom of ...

' local cult made them culture heroes who introduced

rice farming Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly '' Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domestica ...

around the time of its founding, which occurred historically by the Qin army under Zhao Tuo in 214 BC. The immortals' clothes and the sheep were now both said to be in difference colors, connecting them with the

Five Chinese Elements (; Japanese: (); Korean: (); Vietnamese: ''ngũ hành'' (五行)), usually translated as Five Phases or Five Agents, is a fivefold conceptual scheme that many traditional Chinese fields used to explain a wide array of phenomena, from cosmi ...

. The immortals continued to be worshipped as protectors of the yearly harvest. The five goats they rode to the area were said to have turned to stone when they left, forming the statues which gave Guangzhou its nickname "Goat City" or "City of the Five Rams".

History

An abbey and shrine to the five immortals is first attested during the early

Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...

( century), with rulers making sacrifices and locals offering prayer to them.. The present temple was erected under the

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...

in the 10th

year A year or annus is the orbital period of a planetary body, for example, the Earth, moving in its orbit around the Sun. Due to the Earth's axial tilt, the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons, marked by change in weather, the hou ...

of the

Hongwu Era The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328 – 24 June 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang (), courtesy name Guorui (), was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1368 to 1398. As famine, plagues and peasant revolts i ...

,. either AD 1377 or 1378. Under the Qing, the site was also known as the . Shortly after the installation of the temple's high, 5- ton bell in 1378, there was an outbreak of plague in the city. Considered unlucky ever afterward, the "Forbidden Bell" has not been rung since. In the 19th century, the guardian lions at the entrance to the temple were venerated by local women seeking to give birth to sons.. The original temple on Great Market Street burnt down in 1368. It was moved rebuilt in 1377, with its main hall devoted to the five immortals. By 1923, the temple grounds covered ; that year, Sun Yat-sen ordered seven local temples include it to be auctioned to raise revenue for their war effort against the

Beiyang government The Beiyang government (), officially the Republic of China (), sometimes spelled Peiyang Government, refers to the government of the Republic of China which sat in its capital Peking ( Beijing) between 1912 and 1928. It was internationally ...

. It was purchased by a local club, who deposed the residing Taoist clergymen, but its site was given special protection by the municipal government and was eventually converted into a school. Following the opening up of China in the 1980s, the temple was renovated but no longer operate as a Taoist temple.

Grounds

The huge

bell A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inte ...

tower dates to the

and the main hall before it is still done in the Ming style. The guardian lions at the entrance are centuries old and there are stylized Ming-era sculptures in back as well. A pond to the east of the hall includes a very large foot-shaped depression in red sandstone said to be the mark of one of the temple's immortals. The present statues depict the immortals as three men and two women, all astride their goats. A back room holds a large 1907 map of Guangzhou, showing interesting details of the imperial city and illuminating that most of the city was, at that time, still rural.

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography

* . * . * . * . * . * . * . {{coord, 23.1231, N, 113.2546, E, source:wikidata, display=title Taoist immortals Taoist temples in Guangdong Tourist attractions in Guangzhou