Lo Pan Temple is a temple located in

Kennedy Town Kennedy Town is at the western end of Sai Wan on Hong Kong Island in Hong Kong. It was named after Arthur Edward Kennedy, the 7th Governor of Hong Kong from 1872 to 1877. Administratively, it is part of Central and Western District. Due to its ...

Hong Kong Island Hong Kong Island is an Islands and peninsulas of Hong Kong, island in the southern part of Hong Kong. Known colloquially and on road signs simply as Hong Kong, the island has a population of 1,289,500 and its population density is 16,390/km ...

, Hong Kong dedicated to Lo Pan (; also transliterated as "Lu Ban"), the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of Chinese builders and contractors. First built in 1884, it is now classified as a Grade I historic building, and is also part of the

Central and Western Heritage Trail The Central and Western Heritage Trail is a Heritage trails in Hong Kong, Heritage Trail in Hong Kong, that was designed by the Antiquities and Monuments Office of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. It covers the Central and Western Dist ...

-The Western District and the Peak Route.

Lo Pan (Lu Ban)

Lu Ban Lu Ban (–444BC). was a Chinese architect or master carpenter, structural engineer, and inventor, during the Zhou Dynasty. He is revered as the Chinese Deity (Patron) of builders and contractors. Life Lu Ban was born in the state of Lu; a few ...

was a Chinese carpenter, engineer, philosopher, inventor, military thinker, statesman who lived during the

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period was a period in Chinese history from approximately 770 to 476 BC (or according to some authorities until 403 BC) which corresponds roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou period. The period's name derives fr ...

of China. Lo Pan was deified as a god, and is the

patron deity A tutelary () (also tutelar) is a deity or a spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept of safety and ...

of Chinese builders and contractors. According to folk legend, he was born with a huge flock of cranes spiralling above his home and his room full of a special fragrance. He was therefore conceived as a celestial being. His festival falls on the 13th day of the sixth month of the

Lunar Calendar A lunar calendar is a calendar based on the monthly cycles of the Moon's phases (synodic months, lunations), in contrast to solar calendars, whose annual cycles are based only directly on the solar year. The most commonly used calendar, the Gre ...

Temple history

Located at 15 Ching Lin Terrace, the temple is the only urban temple in Hong Kong erected to commemorate Lo Pan. It was built by the Contractors Guild in 1884 with donations from many people connected with the trade. According to the record of a stone curving inside the temple, over 1172 people from different towns in

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) ...

joined together to donate money for the establishment of Lo Pan Temple. The ownership of the land on which the temple was built has changed several times over the years, and in 1921 it was acquired by the Kwong Yuet Tong, which is currently the management body of the temple. In 1949, Kwong Yuet Tong was registered as a legal entity to manage the Temple. The staff of Kwong Yuet Tong mainly consists of the builders in Hong Kong. Although there are several temples on the mainland China that are dedicated to Lo Pan, they are usually dedicated to Lo Pan along with other

deities A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...

; Lo Pan Temple in Hong Kong pays tribute solely to Lo Pan. Although repair and maintenance work is often carried out, the Temple generally remains as its original appearance and structure. In 1949, an office of Kwong Yuet Tong and Hong Wah Secondary School were built on the vacant land next to the Temple.

Architectural style

The Temple is a two-hall structure, with an unusual jagged roof, elaborate "fire" type

parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). Whe ...

walls, clay sculptural figures, relieves and paintings inside and outside the Temple. It is the Chinese temple with the largest number of wall-paintings on Hong Kong Island.

Wall-paintings

Lo Pan Temple is known for its diverse

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

s filled with traditional Chinese Cultural style depicting different people, insects, animals, flowers and landscapes such as butterflies and

narcissi ''Narcissus'' is a genus of predominantly spring flowering perennial plants of the amaryllis family, Amaryllidaceae. Various common names including daffodil,The word "daffodil" is also applied to related genera such as '' Sternbergia'', ''I ...

(), rowing a boat (), Chibi night map (), visiting friends (), ladies next to the rock (), etc. Different styles of calligraphy are incorporated into the wall-paintings to serve as captions.

Clay sculpture

Having different clay sculpture on the walls is one of the unique characteristics of Lo Pan Temple since it is difficult to find clay sculptures in the temples on Hong Kong Island. Those sculptures can be found on the wall and gable of the Temple. The theme of the sculptures are mainly about some Chinese history and mythology. For example, inside the Temple, there is a clay sculpture of one famous Chinese mythology "Historical Romance"() on the left wall. There are also clay sculptures of plants, animals, etc. around the Temple.

Stone carvings

Inside the temple, there is a stone curving which is the oldest antique established in the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

. It records the purpose of building this temple – to commemorate Lo Pan as the god of Chinese Architecture and to remind descendants to think of the origin.

Autography

On the two sides of the main door, there are engravings of Chinese poems which praise the contribution of Lo Pan in Architecture and wish his spirit can last forever.

Lo Pan Festival

On the 13th day of the sixth month of every Lunar Calendar, the birthday of Lo Pan, Kwong Yuet Tong celebrates Lo Pan Festival. Meals () are distributed to celebrate the Festival. Many builders participate in the pilgrimage up the 200 steps from Belcher's Street to pray for working safely and smoothly. Builders and the Government also donate money for the upkeep of the Temple. Besides,

Lion dance F Lion dance () is a form of traditional dance in Chinese culture and other Asian countries in which performers mimic a lion's movements in a lion costume to bring good luck and fortune. The lion dance is usually performed during the Chinese New ...

and

dragon dance Dragon dance () is a form of traditional dance and performance in Chinese culture. Like the lion dance, it is most often seen during festive celebrations. The dance is performed by a team of experienced dancers who manipulate a long flexible ...

are performed outside the Temple for entertainment and a ceremony is held by the

Labour and Welfare Bureau The Labour and Welfare Bureau () is an executive agency of the Government of Hong Kong responsible for employment, labor-development, manpower, human resources management, poverty-reduction, and social welfare in Hong Kong. The bureau is mana ...

to award the builders with outstanding performance to encourage the improvement of skills within the construction industry. Apart from the celebration, Taoist priests are invited to comfort the deceased by chanting prayers inside the Temple.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Lo Pan Temple
Hong Kong Temple-Lo Pan TempleThe 125th Anniversary of Lo Pan Temple
* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20121012093023/http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/Monument/en/trails_west1.php?tid=25 Lo Pan Temple on Heritage Trialbr>Lo Pan Festival

The Temple Trail entry about Lo Pan Temple
including
floor plan
*

Antiquities Advisory Board The Antiquities Advisory Board (AAB) is a statutory body of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region with the responsibility of advising the Antiquities Authority on any matters relating to antiquities and monuments. The AAB was establish ...

. Historic Building Appraisal
Lo Pan Temple, No. 15 Ching Lin TerracePictures
Taoist temples in Hong Kong Grade I historic buildings in Hong Kong Kennedy Town