Northwest Five Provinces (Regions) Autumn Self-Driving Tour (72): Revisiting Guandi Temple in Jiezhou

On the morning of October 16, 2023, at 7:30, we went to the restaurant for breakfast together. The two young ladies at the restaurant door couldn't find our names on the guest list. After asking the relevant leaders, they let us in for breakfast. My sister said, it seems that we didn't spend any money for our stay here. The director is a retired military officer, now he and his wife are lawyers in a law firm in Taiyuan, and his younger brother is a leader of the Yuncheng Tourism Bureau. He told us that his friends don't need to pay for their trips and accommodations in Yuncheng. After breakfast, Yuanyuan went downstairs to clean the car, and we waited in the guest room. At 9:45 in the morning, the director and his wife brought their relatives, including his elder aunt, second aunt, and fourth aunt. Later, the fourth aunt called her son to come and see my sister for treatment. It wasn't until nearly 11 o'clock that the director took us to the Guandi Temple. We visited Yuncheng Guandi Temple in the summer of 1999 when we returned from a trip to Shaanxi. This is my second visit. Jiezhou Guandi Temple was first built in the Sui Dynasty, later destroyed by a big fire, and was rebuilt in the 52nd year of Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty (1713). It is the earliest, largest, highest-ranking, and best-preserved Guandi Temple. The total area of Guandi Temple is 220,000 square meters, divided into the main temple and the Jieyi Garden. The Jieyi Garden, first built in the 48th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1620), was presided over by Zhang Qilong, the then prefect of Jiezhou. In the 27th year of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty (1762), Yan Rusi, the prefect of Jiezhou, presided over a large-scale construction, and named it 'Jieyi Garden', composed of archways, Junzi Pavilion, Jieyi Pavilion, rockeries and other buildings. The Jieyi Garden archway is tall and majestic, with four pillars and three floors. The archway is the most spectacular wooden structure in the Guandi ancestral temple. The Jieyi Pavilion is the main building in the garden. In front of the pavilion, there are two ancient pines, with strong branches and lush greenery. The pavilion is 5 rooms deep and 5 rooms wide, with a single-eave roll-top and hip roof, surrounded by corridors. Inside there is a stone stele, 2 meters wide and 1 meter high, with the story of Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei's oath of brotherhood in the Peach Garden engraved on it. The ancient trees are twisted, the bamboo branches are sparse, and the peach blossoms are blooming, as if it were the scene of that year. The Four Dragon Wall is located to the south of the main gate of the Guandi ancestral temple. It is a glazed shadow wall made during the Xuande period of the Ming Dynasty (1426-1435). From an architectural point of view, it has the effect of blocking sight and enriching the layers of the landscape; from a cultural perspective, it belongs to the 'Fu Rui' category of traditional Chinese Feng Shui, with the function of eliminating disasters, bringing blessings, and protecting living beings. The picture is divided into three realms from top to bottom: heaven, earth, and sea. The main body is four dragons flying and swimming, with phoenixes, kirins, jade rabbits and other auspicious birds and beasts, giving this Four Dragon Wall a lot of traditional cultural connotations. The Chongning Hall is the main hall of the Guandi Temple, named after Guan Yu was sealed as 'Chongning Zhenjun' by Song Huizong. On the moon platform in front of the hall, there is a bronze incense burner and a rectangular offering table, which were cast by the Qing people in imitation of ancient styles. On the stone steps in front of the moon platform, there are carvings of rolled grass, flowing clouds, and two dragons playing with a pearl, imitating the rules of the imperial palace. The main hall is 7 rooms wide and 6 rooms deep, with a double-eave hip roof. There are 26 huge stone-carved dragon pillars around the hall. The dragon pillars have ascending dragons, descending dragons, auspicious clouds, etc. The rough and powerful carvings contrast sharply with the delicate carvings on the pillar heads and eaves, complementing each other and each with its own beauty. As the inscription in the temple says: 'The temple steps and stone pillars, with dragons flying and soaring, the temple is magnificent, and it is the best in the world.' At 12:10 noon, after we entered the Guandi Temple, the director specially invited a tour guide to take us into the scenic area, gave us a lecture, and took us to the Spring and Autumn Tower to worship the life-size statue of Guan Gong reading the Spring and Autumn Annals. We left at 1:30 in the afternoon.