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Man Mo temples in Hong Kong

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Wenchang Wang ( Chinese : 文昌王 ; pinyin : Wénchāng Wáng ; Pe̍h-ōe-jī : Bûn-chhiong Ông ), also known as Wenchang Dijun ( Chinese : 文昌帝君 ; pinyin : Wénchāng Dìjūn ; Pe̍h-ōe-jī : Bûn-chhiong Tè-kun ), is a Taoist deity in Chinese mythology , known as the God of Culture and Literature. He is also at times referred to simply as Wen Qu, or Wen. The literal translation of his name would be King ( 王 ) of Flourishing ( 昌 ) Culture/Language ( 文 ). Wenchang Wang is physically represented by a constellation of six stars near the Big Dipper . The stars all had names of their own: Shangjiang ( 上將 ), Cijiang ( 次將 ), Guixiang ( 貴相 ), Siming ( 司命 ), Sizhong ( 司中 ), and Silu ( 司祿 ). Wenchang Wang is often depicted as an elderly scholar accompanied by two attendants, Tianlong ( 天聾 or Heaven-Deaf) and Diya ( 地啞 or Earth-Mute). He sometimes holds a pen and a book that says "Heaven determines literary achievement". He has historically been called upon by scholars and writers who need inspiration or help right before an exam.

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48-510: A Man Mo temple , or Man Mo Miu , is a temple for the worship of the civil or literature god Man Tai ( 文帝 ), or Man Cheong ( 文昌 ), and the martial god Mo Tai ( 武帝 ), or Kwan Tai ( 關帝 ). The two deities were popularly patronized by scholars and students seeking progress in their study or ranking in the civil examinations in the Ming and Qing dynasties. There are several Man Mo temples in Hong Kong,

96-483: A man by the name Zhang Yazi ( 張亞子 ), of a county in Sichuan Province called Zitong . A particular account cites him as a war hero, having died an honorable death in a rebellion against Emperor Fú Jiān in 374. Other accounts of Wenchang Wang appear rather sporadically at different time periods; he has been given seventeen reincarnations over a period of 3,000 years. A notable account of an appearance of Wenchang Wang

144-464: A powerful, evil entity had the ambition to conquer the immortals and gods in heaven and proclaim sovereignty over the entire universe. This evil entity also went into retreat and meditation to expand its power, though later than the Jade Emperor did. He passed through 3,000 trials, each trial lasting about 3 million years. After its final trial, it felt confident that no one could defeat it. It re-entered

192-421: A respected warrior, Wenchang Wang was well respected as a model for filiality. The Book of Emperor Zi Tong records: "Wenchang was had a mature mind at birth. His mother breastfed him even though she was perilously ill and malnourished. In the middle of the night, Wenchang cut flesh from his own thighs and fed it to his mother. She was then cured of her illness." Wenchang Wang also appears in other texts, where he

240-408: A stream. Niu Lang fell instantly in love with her and stole her magic robe which she had left on the bank of the stream, leaving her unable to escape back to Heaven. When Zhinü emerged from the water, Niu Lang grabbed her and carried her back to his home. When the Jade Emperor heard of this matter, he was furious but unable to intercede, since in the meantime his daughter had fallen in love and married

288-455: A traditional figure among the White Lotus secret society. It was said that Jade Emperor was originally the crown prince of the kingdom of Pure Felicity and Majestic Heavenly Lights and Ornaments. At birth, he emitted a wondrous light that filled the entire kingdom. When he was young, he was kind, intelligent and wise. He devoted his entire childhood to helping the needy (the poor and suffering,

336-485: A year on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar , he allows them to meet on a bridge over the river. The story refers to constellations in the night sky. Zhinü is the star Vega in the constellation of Lyra east of the Milky Way, and Niu Lang is the star Altair in the constellation of Aquila west of the Milky Way. Under the first quarter moon (7th day) of the seventh lunar month (around August),

384-457: Is a temple in A Kung Ngam , Hong Kong , dedicated to the Jade Emperor. In the mid 19th century, people from Huizhou and Chaozhou mined stones in the hill for the development of the central urban area. They set up a shrine to worship Yuk Wong. At the beginning of the 20th century, the shrine was developed into a small temple and was renovated many times. The latest renovation was in 1992. Early Catholic missionaries to China wrote often about

432-456: Is called Chilseok . In Vietnam , it is called Thất Tịch and if it rains on that day, it is said to be Zhinü crying tears of happiness for being reunited with her husband. There are several stories as to how the twelve animals of the Chinese zodiac were chosen. In one, the Jade Emperor, although having ruled Heaven and Earth justly and wisely for many years, had never had the time to actually visit

480-596: Is for the worship of all heavenly gods. Kung So ( 公所 ), to its west, was an assembly hall where community affairs and disputes were settled. In 1908, the temple was officially entrusted to Tung Wah Board of Directors. The temple has since been managed by the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals . It was graded as a Grade I historic building in 1993 and it is now a declared monument . It is open from 8:00am to 6:00pm daily. The Man Mo Temple in Fu Shin Street ( 富善街 ), Tai Po ,

528-554: Is located at the foot of Penang Hill at the Air Itam suburb near George Town , Penang 's capital city. Aside from Thni Kong Tnua , the Chew Jetty in the heart of George Town is another focal point of the Jade Emperor's Birthday celebrations; the festivities in this particular location was captured for a 2014 Malaysian film, The Journey . Yuk Wong Kung Tin (Cantonese romanisation) ( 玉皇宮殿 ) also known as Yuk Wong Po Tin ( 玉皇寶殿 )

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576-603: Is located) is mainly in the south, there is a saying, "In the North there is Confucius and in the South there is Wenchang." There are also two notable temples dedicated to worshiping Wenchang Di Jun in Taichung: one is in the Beitun District of Taichung , apparently constructed in 1863 as a means of facilitating learning in the developing groups of people there. The other temple is in

624-503: Is now. People had to deal with a variety of monstrous beings, and they did not have many gods to protect them; in addition, many powerful demons were defying the immortals of heaven. The Jade Emperor was an ordinary immortal who roamed the earth helping as many people as he could. He was saddened because his powers could only ease the suffering of humans. He retreated to a mountain cave to cultivate his Tao. He passed 3,200 trials, each trial lasting about 3 million years. On earth at this time,

672-506: Is often called upon by scholars and students for academic help. There are many different temples and shrines dedicated to worshiping Wenchang Wang, the most notable being the Wenchang temple of Zitong, located at modern-day Qiqu Mountain ( 七曲山 ). This famous mountain is both the location of the largest cypress forest in China as well as the origin of the Wenchang culture. As Sichuan (where Qiqu Mountain

720-512: Is praised for other noble virtues. The book Wenchang Emperor and the States He Stabilized states: "He descended into the mortal world seventy-three times as a shidafu " (a scholar-bureaucrat position in the emperor's government of feudal China). Wenchang was uncorrupted, upright and just, and never dealt out harsh punishments to the people. He allegedly helps people when they have hardships, saves those who are in trouble, has compassion for

768-578: Is the assistant of Yuanshi Tianzun , who is one of the Three Pure Ones , the three primordial emanations of the Tao . However, some Taoists in history were skeptical of his benevolence because his buildings and infrastructure in heaven and earth were sometimes seen as interfering with the many natural laws or dao . He is often identified with Śakra in Chinese Buddhist cosmology and identified with Yu

816-522: Is the birthday of Wenchang. People generally celebrated his birthday by visiting his temples, the officials and scholars of the county all had to go to the Temple of Wenchang to make offerings, sacrifices or recite poems. Jade Emperor In the myths and folk religion of Chinese culture , the Jade Emperor or Yudi is one of the representations of the primordial god . In Taoist theology , he

864-481: The Dreamcast and Xbox consoles. The temple and its grounds can be explored. However, its location in the video game is different from its actual place. The temple also appeared in the series' anime adaptation . 22°17′02″N 114°09′01″E  /  22.283982°N 114.150239°E  / 22.283982; 114.150239 Wenchang Wang There are quite a few accounts of Wenchang Wang; most depict him as

912-514: The Nantun district of Taichung, built in 1825. Both temples face south, which is apparently due to a principle of feng shui . The practice of worshiping Wenchang Wang has a long history; it was popular in the past because he was allowed to be venerated by the rich and poor alike. He is still often worshiped now for essentially the same reasons. The third day of the second month of the Chinese lunar calendar

960-540: The Cat missed the meeting with the Jade Emperor and was replaced by the Pig . The Jade Emperor was delighted with the animals and so decided to divide the years up amongst them. When the cat learned of what had happened, he was furious with the Rat and that, according to the story, is why cats and Rats are enemies to this day. The Cat can be seen as the domesticated Tiger or leopard the third of

1008-492: The Earth personally. He grew curious as to what the creatures looked like. Thus, he asked all the animals to visit him in heaven. The Cat , being the most handsome of all animals, asked his friend the Rat to wake him on the day they were to go to Heaven so he wouldn't oversleep. The Rat, however, was worried that he would seem ugly compared to the Cat, so he didn't wake the cat. Consequently,

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1056-734: The Goddess Weaver, daughter of the Jade Emperor and the Celestial Queen Mother, who weaves the Silver River (known in the West as the Milky Way ), which gives light to heaven and earth. In other versions, she is a seamstress who works for the Jade Emperor. Every day Zhinü descended to earth with the aid of a magical robe to bathe. One day, a lowly cowherd named Niu Lang ( Chinese : 牛郎 ; pinyin : niú láng ) spotted Zhinü as she bathed in

1104-595: The Great in Chinese mythology . The Jade Emperor is known by many names, including Yu, Heavenly Grandfather ( 天公 , Tiāngōng ), which originally meant "Heavenly Duke", which is used by commoners; the Jade Lord; the Highest Emperor; Great Emperor of Jade ( 玉皇上帝 Yu Huang Shangdi , or 玉皇大帝 Yu Huang Dadi ). There are many stories in Chinese mythology involving the Jade Emperor. He can also be regarded as

1152-584: The Heavenly Master of the Dawn of Jade of the Golden Door ( 金闕玉晨天尊 ). The characters for both are stamped on the front of the arms of his throne. In two folk automatic writing texts produced in 1925 and 1972, Guan Yu became the 18th Jade Emperor in about 1840 AD; however, some have disagreed that Guan Yu has succeeded, and thus the Jade Emperor and Guan Yu are often worshiped separately. In Tienti teaching,

1200-412: The Jade Emperor. (Using the given figures, this period before his becoming the Jade Emperor lasted for a total of about 327 million years.) One of the myths describes how the Jade Emperor became the monarch of all the deities in heaven. It is one of the few myths in which the Jade Emperor really shows his power. In the beginning of time, the earth was a very difficult place to live, much harsher than it

1248-457: The Jade Emperor. They noticed that, "The stories of Jesus and the Jade Sovereign are, in certain aspects, quite similar. In both cases it is claimed that a god incarnated as a human being." On the other hand, they denounced the cult of the Jade Emperor as "superstitious," and compared unfavorably the "legends" about the Jade Emperor with what they claimed was a solid historical record documenting

1296-409: The actual position of Wenchang, despite common practice of attributing him to Zhang Yazi. Many point out that the stories on Zhang Yazi are attributed mainly to honor and heroism, having nothing to do with actual literature. In his Myths and Legends of China , E.T.C. Werner points out that "Wherever Wenchang is worshiped there will also be found a separate representation of Kui Xing , showing that while

1344-476: The animals in the classical Chinese Zodiac text. Once a great drought had spread across the land. Four dragons from the sea noticed the plight of the people and traveled to beseech The Jade Emperor in the Heavenly Palace to bring the rains to the people. He was very busy ruling the heavens, earth, and sea and distractedly agreed to send the rains on the next day if they would return to the sea, but soon after

1392-551: The best known of which is the temple in Sheung Wan. The largest Man Mo temple in Hong Kong is on 124–126 Hollywood Road , in Sheung Wan . It was built in 1847. It is part of a complex that comprises three adjacent blocks: Man Mo Temple, Lit Shing Temple (No. 128 Hollywood Road), and Kung So. The Man Mo Temple, the main building of the complex, is dedicated to the civil god Man Cheong and the martial god Kwan Tai. Lit Shing Kung ( 列聖宫 )

1440-474: The cowherd. As time passed, Zhinü grew homesick and began to miss her father. One day, she came across a box containing her magic robe which her husband had hidden. She decided to visit her father back in Heaven, but once she returned, the Jade Emperor summoned a river to flow across the sky (the Milky Way ), which Zhinü was unable to cross to return to her husband. The Emperor took pity on the young lovers, and so once

1488-568: The deserted and single, the hungry and disabled). Furthermore, he showed respect and benevolence to both men and creatures. After his father died, he ascended the throne. He made sure that everyone in his kingdom found peace and contentment. After that, he told his ministers that he wished to cultivate Tao on the Bright and Fragrant Cliff. After 1,750 eons, each eon lasting for 129,600 years (360 years), he attained Golden Immortality. After another one hundred million years of cultivation, he finally became

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1536-415: The dragons departed, he forgot his promise. After ten days, the rains still did not come and the people began to die of starvation. The dragons could not simply stand by and do nothing, and so they decided to use their bodies to capture great masses of water from the sea, taking it upon themselves to bring the rain. The people were grateful and prayed their thanks to the Jade Emperor, who soon discovered what

1584-535: The dragons ensuring that the people of China would never be without water again. The Jade Emperor was originally the assistant of the Divine Master of the Heavenly Origin, Yuanshi Tianzun . Yuanshi Tianzun is said to be the supreme beginning, the limitless and eternal creator of Heaven and Earth, who picked Yu-huang, or the Jade Emperor, as his personal successor. The Jade Emperor will eventually be succeeded by

1632-709: The dragons had done, and became angry that they intervened without his blessing. The Jade Emperor ordered Mountain God to trap the four dragons. However, from each mountain that trapped a dragon there sprang a new river. From Yellow Dragon came the Yellow River , from Long Dragon the Yangtze River , from Black Dragon the Amur River , and from Pearl Dragon the Pearl River . The rivers thereafter flowed from west to east and north to south,

1680-492: The figures, which gave rise to human sickness and physical abnormalities. (The most common alternative Chinese creation myth states that human beings were once fleas on the body of Pangu .) In another myth, Nüwa fashions men out of the mud from the Yellow River by hand. Those she made became the richer people of the earth. After getting tired of it, she dipped her scarf into the mud and swung it around. The drops that fell from

1728-404: The five sacrifices and wines) to honor the deities below the Jade Emperor. The household then kneels three times and kowtows nine times to pay homage and wish him a long life. In Penang , Malaysia , a focal point of the Jade Emperor's Birthday celebrations is Thni Kong Tnua , which gained worldwide fame as one of the featured locations for The Amazing Race 16 . The temple, built in 1869,

1776-409: The gods, immortals, and humans proclaimed the Jade Emperor the supreme sovereign of all. The world started with wuji ( 無極 , nothingness) according to the Chinese creation myth . The Jade Emperor was the head of the pantheon, but not responsible for creation. In another creation myth , the Jade Emperor fashioned the first humans from clay and left them to harden in the sun. Rain deformed some of

1824-461: The lighting condition in the sky causes the Milky Way to appear dimmer, hence the story that the two lovers are no longer separated on that one particular day each year. The seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar is a holiday in China called Qixi Festival , which is a day for young lovers much like Valentine's Day in the West . In Japan , it is called Tanabata (star day). In Korea , it

1872-400: The lonely, forgives people's mistakes, and leaves peace and stability everywhere he goes. Because of this, the Jade Emperor put him in charge of the elections of village leaders. Besides that, structures dedicated to the high god Wenchang and his subordinate Kuixing were a pervasive feature of cityscapes in late imperial China, as represented in local gazetteers. There is controversy over

1920-736: The ninth day of the first lunar month. On this day, Taoist temples hold a Jade Emperor ritual ( 拜天公 , Mandarin : bài Tiāngōng ; Hokkien : pài Thinn-kong , literally "heaven worship") at which priests and laymen prostrate themselves, burn incense and make food offerings. In the morning of this birthday, Chinese, Taiwanese as well as Hokkien and Peranakan Malaysian Chinese and Singaporean Chinese who practice Buddhism , Taoism and other traditional Chinese religions set up an altar table with 3 layers: one top (containing offertories of six vegetables ( 六齋 ), noodles, fruits, cakes, tangyuan , vegetable bowls, and unripe betel , all decorated with paper lanterns) and two lower levels (containing

1968-688: The ocean, and ascended into the heavens as a star. Initially, scholars worshiped this star, Kui Xing, as the God of Literature, but with time, he was eventually linked to the Dipper (constellation) or Great Bear, and assimilated into Wenchang Jundi. Wenchang has had various titles, but was officially apotheosized by Yen Yu of the Mongol Dynasty in 1314 A.D as the Supporter of the Yuan (Mongol) Dynasty, Diffuser of Renovating Influences, Ssu-lu of Wenchang, God and Lord. He

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2016-462: The official deity has been allowed to 'borrow glory' from the popular god, and even to assume his personality, the independent existence of the stellar spirit is nevertheless sedulously maintained." The story being that Zhang Kui (Kui Xing) was a brilliant scholar who was, because of his unsightly face, not recognized by the Emperor when he passed the top examinations. Feeling dejected, he threw himself into

2064-400: The reigning Jade Emperor has 55 predecessors. However this is from the point of view of Chinese Folk religion , and many orthodox Taoists do not believe these claims to be true. Elements from the supreme god Shangdi and his worship were incorporated into theology about the Jade Emperor and the two were often thought to be the same being. The Jade Emperor's Birthday ( 天公誕 ) is said to be

2112-401: The scarf became the poorer humans. In another story, popular throughout Asia and with many differing versions, the Jade Emperor has a daughter named Zhinü ( simplified Chinese : 织女 ; traditional Chinese : 織女 ; pinyin : zhī nǚ or Chih'nü, literally: weaver girl). She is most often represented as responsible for weaving colorful clouds in the heaven. In some versions, she is

2160-461: The world and recruited an army of demons with the purpose of attacking heaven. The immortals, being aware of the threat, gathered themselves and prepared for war. The gods were unable to stop the powerful demon and it defeated them all. The Jade Emperor finished his cultivation during this war. When he was changing the land to make it more liveable for men and repelling a variety of monsters, he saw an evil glow radiating from heaven and knew something

2208-418: Was amiss. He ascended and saw that the evil entity was too powerful to be stopped by the gods. He challenged it, and they fought. Mountains shook and rivers and seas toppled. Due to his deeper and wiser cultivation, his benevolence instead of his might, the Jade Emperor won the battle. After the evil entity was defeated, its army was scattered by the gods and immortals. Because of his noble and benevolent deeds,

2256-513: Was as the Spirit of Zitong, during the suppression of a rebellion in Chengdu , Sichuan, in 1000 A.D. A man allegedly climbed a ladder in midst of battle and declared that the Spirit of Zitong told him the "town [of rebels] would fall on the twentieth day of the ninth moon." The town fell on the day indicated, and the general in charge of repressing the rebellion had the temple repaired. In addition to being

2304-467: Was built in 1893 to mark the founding of Tai Wo Shi (Tai Wo Market Town, now commonly known as Tai Po Market ). It has been listed as a declared monument of Hong Kong . At Pak Ngan Heung ( 白銀鄉 ), in Mui Wo , Lantau Island , this Man Mo temple underwent a major renovation in 1960 and was rebuilt in 2001. It is not graded. The Hollywood Road temple made an appearance in the video game Shenmue II for

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