deasf

Vlog check-in in Guangzhou丨Behind the South China Sea Temple with a history of more than 1,400 years: The ancient and mysterious Babaylan’s sea sacrifice story

Next to Miaotou Village in Huangpu District, Guangzhou, there is a temple of worship for more than 1,400 years. It is the largest and most complete sea temple among the four major sea temples in China. It is the important place for emperors to worship the sea. It is also one of the birthplaces of the ancient Maritime Silk Road. It is the South. href=”https://funnybookish.com/”>KomiksSea Temple. 

The entrance of the Nanhai Temple Scenic Area

The Nanhai Temple was built in the 14th year of Kaihuang in the Sui and the 594th year of the Sui and Tang Dynasties and is located at the mouth of the Pearl River. Since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, all emperors have sent important officials here to worship the sea. href=”https://funnybookish.com/”>KomiksThe inscriptions of the imperial calligraphy of Kangxi and Hongwu, and Su Shi and Han Yu left behind a thousand-year-old poem here. There are 47 inscriptions in the temple that have been inscribed in history, which are later called “Southern Stele Forest”. For thousands of years, Chinese and foreign ships have come to the temple to worship the South China Sea God and pray for peace. The Temple of the South China Sea Komiks thus witnessed the glorious history of ancient maritime trade and became one of the birthplaces of the ancient Maritime Silk Road.

South China Sea TempleCinemaScenic Area Information List

Now, the South China Sea God Temple has become a national key cultural relics protection unit and a national 4A-level tourist attraction. The “Balo Dan” temple fair from the 11th to the 13th of the lunar calendar every year has also become a national intangible cultural heritage. The “Sea Don’t Rise” archway stands in front of the temple, inheriting the prayers and blessings of the South China Sea God Temple for thousands of years.

The Legend of the “South China Sea God”

The name of the South China Sea God is Zhurong, and some historical books call it Zhuchi. There are many legends about who Zhurong was. Some legends Zhurong was a Chinese emperor and a musician; some legends Zhurong was a Situ who specialized in identifying directions during the Huangdi era, and was the ancestor of the Chu people.Komiks There is also a legend that Zhurong was originally a god of fire, and the south was also a god of fire, so Zhurong was also a god of the south.

Babaylan

Scenery of the Temple of the South China Sea

The Temple of the South China Sea is located in Fuxu Town (now Huangpu Templetou) on the estuary of the Pearl River, on the north bank of the Pearl River, facing the Fuxu River (a section of the Pearl River). It is connected to the Lion Ocean in the east, and the Humen in the bottom, and is backed by Guangzhou. It is a major sea transportation area for traveling to Guangzhou in ancient times. After traveling to the ocean, you can reach various countries in the South China Sea. Fuxu Town has a very superior geographical location, and is called “only a hundred steps to get to the sea, and it has always been windy and waves, and the shore is facing an unexpected abyss.” The ancients believed that this was an ideal place for building the Temple of the Sea.

The main entrance of the Nanhai Temple

The tenth year of Kaihuang of the Sui Dynasty (594), Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty issued an edict to build the Four Seas Temple to worship the Four Seas Temple, and built the Nanhai Temple in the Nanhai Sea in Guangzhou. He also invited a wizard to preside over the sweeping of the temple and worship the Nanhai God. The temple was also planted in the temple, and the South China Sea Temple was established.

Da XiSikong and the Temple of the South China Sea

The Temple of the South China Sea is also known as the “Polu Temple”. This alias is related to a Gentile Da Xi Sikong.

The statue of Da Xi Sikong in the South China Sea Temple

It is said that during the Tang Dynasty, there was a tribute envoy named Da Xi in the Ancient Polo Kingdom (Ancient India). After coming to Beijing to pay tribute, he came to Guangzhou South China Sea Temple to visit and sacrifice, and planted two Polo tree seeds brought from the Ancient Polo Kingdom in the temple. Because he was obsessed with the exquisiteness in the temple, he missed his return journey, so he looked at the sea all year round and cried, raised his left hand in front of his forehead to look at the sea, and finally stood on the beach. Later generations therefore worshipped statues in temples, commonly known as “Fan Guiwang Polu”, and the temple is also called “Polu Temple”.

“Balo Dan” Temple Fair

Balo Dan is also known as the Birth of the South China Sea God. The session is from the eleventh to the thirteenth day of the second lunar month every year, and the thirteenth is the birthday. The Polo Dan Temple Fair is a very grand folk event in the Lingnan region. Traditional sacrificial activities such as the antique sea sacrifice ceremony and the BabaylanFive Sons and Kings of the Five Sons were held during this period.

The grand scene of the Polo Day temple fair by Liang Yitao

At that time, a long stall outside the temple will be set up with a long row of stalls filled with Polo chickens, Polo rice dumplings and other delicacies. The people in the temple will pray for blessings. Young men and women dig love beans under the red bean tree and pray for beautiful love. Therefore, the common saying “The first trip to Polo and the second marriage to marry a wife” is circulated among the people.

The Polo Dan temple fair is rich in content and contains the most representative traditional folk culture and profound marine cultural heritage in the Lingnan region. In 2011, “Polo Dan” was included in the national intangible cultural heritage list project. The sun bathing pavilion on Zhangqiugang, Zhangqiugang, the former name of “Eight Scenerys in Yangcheng” is now a good place to watch the sunrise on the sea in the past. It is facing water on three sides, with vast smoke and waves, and the scene is extremely spectacular. It is called “Fu Xu Bathing Sun”.

Under the Sun Pavilion

In the early years of Shaosheng in the Northern Song Dynasty (4 years of 109Cinema), the great writer Su Dongpo came to worship the god of the South China Sea. He climbed to the Sun Pavilion, marveling at the magnificence of the sunrise on the sea, and wrote the poem “The Sun Pavilion in the South China Sea” with emotion. As soon as this poem was released, the Sun Pavilion became famous and attracted countless literati and poets to visit. During the Song and Yuan dynasties<a During the period, the eight scenic spots in Yangcheng were selected for the first time, and the "Fu Xu Bathing Day" was named the first scenic spot, which lasted for a hundred years. Where did the "Southern Stele Forest" come from? The temple of the God of South China SeaBabaylanThere are many precious materials on the Silk Road and Guangzhou history in the Babaylan. Emperors of all dynasties often send officials to come to worship. The South China Sea God repaired the Sea God Temple and erected a monument. The South China Sea God Temple has 47 steles inscribed in the record (1 Tang stele, 3 Song stele, 3 Yuan stele, 17 Ming stele, 4 Qing stele, 10 copy stele, and 9 current dynasty poem stele), the Tang Hanyu stele, Song Kaibao stele, and Ming Hongwu stele are all very precious cultural relics. Therefore, the South China Sea God Temple is also known as the “Southern Stele Forest”.

The inscription in the South China Sea Temple

It is worth mentioning that in front of the main entrance of the South China Sea Temple, there is an ancient stone archway. The archway is a Qing Dynasty building with four big words “The sea is not risingBabaylan wave”.For “the mouth of the Xu, the bay of the yellow wood”, it is a must-pass place for Chinese and foreign merchants to enter and exit Guangzhou. The four words “The sea does not rise and fall” represent the most sincere wish for peace and good fortune when emperors, merchants, and helmsmen walked out of this prosperous ancient port for thousands of years.

The Qing Dynasty archway “The sea does not rise”

Some sources: South China Sea Temple

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *