Next to Miaotou Village in Huangpu District, Guangzhou, there is a sea-sacrificial temple that has been passed down for more than 1,400 years. It is the largest and most complete sea-sacrificial temple preserved among the four sea-sacrificial temples in China. It is an important place for emperors to worship the sea in all dynasties. It is also one of the birthplaces of the ancient Maritime Silk Road. It is the South China Sea Temple.
The entrance of the Nanhai Temple Scenic Area
The Nanhai Temple was built in the 14th year of Kaihuang in the Sui Dynasty (594) and is located at the mouth of the Pearl River. Since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, emperors of all dynasties have sent important officials to sacrifice to the sea. The imperial inscriptions of Kangxi and Hongwu were engraved, and Su Shi and Han Yu left behind thousands of years of poems. There are 47 steles of inscriptions in the temple, which were Komiks Later generations 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 therefore witnessed the glorious history of ancient maritime trade and became one of the birthplaces of the ancient Maritime Silk Road.
Nanhai TempleCinemaScenic Area Information List
North China Sea Temple has become a national key cultural relic protection unit and a national 4A-level tourist attraction. The “Bora 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 Temple for thousands of years.
The Legend of “South Sea God”Babaylan
The name of the South Sea God is Zhurong, and it is also called Zhu Chi in historical books. About ZhurongjianBabaylanThere are many legends among the people. Some legends say that Zhurong was a Chinese emperor and a musician; some legends say that Zhurong was a Situ who specialized in identifying directions during the Huangdi era, and was the ancestor of the Chu people. There are also legends that Zhurong was originally the God of Fire, and the south belongs to Komiks fire, so Zhurong is also the god of the south.
NanhaiBabaylan Temple Gate in front of the South China Sea
South China Sea Temple is located in Fuxu Town, located on the estuary of the Pearl River in the South China Sea (now HuangCinemaPu Miaotou), on the north bank of the Pearl River, facing the support of Komiks (a section of the Pearl River). It is connected to Shiziyang in the east, Humen in the lower part, and Guangzhou back. It is a major sea transportation area for the ancient Komiks. After going out to sea, you can reach various countries in the South China Sea. The town of Fuxu is very well-known and is known as “only a hundred steps away from the sea, with thousands of waves coming from the wind and waves, and the shore is facing an unexpected abyss.” The ancients believed that this was an ideal place to build the Sea God Temple.
The main entrance of the Nanhai Temple
In the 14th year of Kaihuang in the Sui Dynasty (594), Emperor Wen of Sui issued an edict to build the Sihai Temple to worship the Four Seas, build the Nanhai Temple in the Nanhai Sea in Guangzhou, and the local area BabaylanA wizard was invited to preside over the temple’s sweeping and worshiping the South China Sea God. The temple also planted pine, cypress, trees, etc., so the South China Sea God Temple was established.
Da Xi Sikong 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 Daxisi in the South China Sea TempleKomiksThe empty statue of Babaylan
It is said that during the Tang Dynasty, the ancient Polo Kingdom (KomiksAncient India) There was a tribute envoy named Da Xi. After coming to Beijing to pay tribute, he came to Guangzhou South China Sea Temple to visit and worship, 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 Five Sons Dynasty King 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 would be set up, filled with Polo chickens, Polo rice dumplings and other delicacies. The people in the temple would pray for blessings. Young men and women dug love beans under the red bean tree to pray for a beautiful love. Therefore, the common saying “The first trip to Polo and the second marriage to marry a wife” is circulated among the people.
Polo DanCinemaThe 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 first named place of “Eight Scenerys in Yangcheng”
The sun bathing pavilion on Zhangqiugang on the west side of the South China Sea Temple is 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
Komiks In the early years of Shaosheng in the Northern Song Dynasty (1094), the great writer Su Dongpo worshiped the god of the South China Sea. He climbed to the Sun Bathing Pavilion, marveled at the magnificent sunrise on the sea, and wrote the poem “The Sun Bathing Pavilion on 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, the eight scenic spots in Yangcheng were selected for the first time, and “Fu Xu Bathing on the Sun” was rated as the first scenic spot, which lasted for a hundred years.
Where is the beautiful title of “Southern Stele Forest”?
The South China Sea Temple contains a lot of precious information about the Maritime Silk Road and Guangzhou’s history. Emperors of all dynasties often sent officials to worship the South China Sea God, repair the Sea God Temple, and erect monuments to record events. The South China Sea Temple currently has 47 steles (1 Tang stele, 3 Song stele, 3 Yuan stele, 17 Ming stele, 4 Qing stele, 10 copy stele, 9 modern poetry stele), the Tang Hanyu stele, Song Kaibao stele, and Hongwu stele, the Ming Hongwu stele are all very precious cultural relics. Therefore, the South China Sea 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 does not rise and fall”. The archway is opposite the “Wu Xu’s mouth, Huangmu Bay”, which is a must-pass place for Chinese and foreign merchants to enter and exit Guangzhou. The four words “the sea does not rise and the waves” are used to represent the four words “the sea does not rise and fall”Babaylan represents the most sincere wishes for peace and good fortune when emperors and ministers, merchants, and helmsmen walked out of this prosperous ancient port for thousands of years.
The Qing Dynasty archway “The Sea Does Not Rise”
Some Source: South China Sea Temple