Kong Chow Temple () is a temple dedicated to

Guan Di 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 m ...

, located in the

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Aust ...

neighborhood of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

History

The temple was founded, in 1849, by members of the

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 a ...

population of San Francisco. In 1854, the temple was renamed Kong Chow Clan Association, to stress the social activities planned by the temple. The Association provided

social welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...

and religious needs for the community. Like many buildings in the area, it was destroyed in the

1906 San Francisco earthquake At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensity ...

, and the community worked together to rebuild it at its original location, 520 Pine, near St. Mary's Square. The Los Angeles branch of the Kong Chow Family Association and Temple was designed by architect

Gilbert Leong Gilbert Lester Leong (1911-1996) was a Chinese-American architect who designed churches and public buildings in the Los Angeles area. He was the first Chinese-American to graduate from USC with a degree in architecture. His designs helped shape t ...

and opened in 1960.

Bess Truman's visit

Bess Truman Elizabeth Virginia Truman (''née'' Wallace; February 13, 1885October 18, 1982) was the wife of President Harry S. Truman and the first lady of the United States from 1945 to 1953. She also served as the second lady of the United States from Ja ...

visited the temple in 1948, where she prayed for positive results for her husband, Harry S. Truman's presidential run. While there, she also asked for a prediction about the results, due to the public's prediction that he would lose. While there, she held a container of

Kau cim ''Kau Chim'' or ''Kau Cim'', also known as Lottery poetry (), is a fortune telling practice that originated in China in which the querent (person asking the question) requests answers from a sacred oracle lot. The practice is often performed in ...

sticks, and shook them until one of the sticks fell to the ground. This stick was then exchanged for a piece of paper, which told a story, offering insight to her question. The prediction was favorable, and Truman would go on to win the presidential election. The prediction slip that was given to her is displayed in the temple.

Protests

In 1968 and 1969, while in her nineties, Charlotte Ah Tye Chang led protests against plans to demolish the old Kong Chow Temple. Her niece, artist Nanying Stella Wong, joined her efforts. Chang did not live to see the old temple demolished, or the new Kong Chow Temple erected at another location in 1977.

Today

In 1977, the temple moved to its current building on Stockton Street in Chinatown, known as the Kong Chow Building. The association works closely with the elderly population, offers scholarships and other charitable projects for the neighborhood. They also organize prayer sessions, and participates in the Qing Ming Festival. Inside of the temple is a statue of

, which is worshipped in the main altar.

References

{{Chinatown, San Francisco Taoist temples in the United States Religious buildings and structures in San Francisco Chinatown, San Francisco Harry S. Truman Divination Religious organizations established in 1849 1849 establishments in California Guandi temples Buildings and structures destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake Temples in California