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Temple to Lord Guan at Hemp Town (Ma zhen Guan gong miao 麻鎮關公廟)

From the Ground Up: Buddhism & East Asian Religions (FROGBEAR Project)

Hemp Town is a large walled settlement on the Ming-dynasty Great Wall in Fugu County, northern Shaanxi province (Shanxi sheng Fugu xian Ma zhen 陝西府谷縣麻鎮). Most of the town’s religious buildings are found in a sprawling complex in the north-western part of the walled area, known simply as the “Big Temple” (damiao 大廟). While the complex contains dozens of large and small shrines, the main hall is dedicated to Lord Guan (Guan gong 關公). The early history of this complex is unclear. As a Great Wall garrison, the town presumably had temples since at least the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), but no records appear to survive from this period. A stele set into the wall of one of the buildings records land grants to the Lord Guan Temple in 1770. Another highly-effaced stele records the new foundation of temples at this site in 1788, and a plaque hung from the rafters of a side-hall corroborates the “raising of the beams” (fu liang 扶樑) in this year. The central Lord Guan temple itself has a similar rafter-panel, which gives a rather pompously astrological date: “昔嘉慶九年歲次甲子律中林鐘日躔鶉火之次扶樑功德主 甄月見借男成貴孫三小子 / 根意子 / 滿意子 叩立 “Previously, treading upon the “quail-fire” sequence of the “forest-bell” harmony day of the jia-zi cyclical year, or the ninth year of the reign of the Jiaqing Emperor (1804), the beam-raising meritorious donor Zhen Yuejian, his adopted son Chenggui, and their grandchildren Third Little Master, Master Root-Intent, and Master Intent-Fulfilled, worshipfully erected this.” Finally, another stele records the repairs to the city environs and the stationing of soldiers after the destruction of the Great Northwestern Rebellion (Da xibei qiyi 大西北起義, 1862-1877). Whatever the exact dates, the murals in all of the different structures of the complex are stylistically consistent with a late 18th- or early 19th-century origin. In the main hall, the statue to Lord Guan is set into a square niche in the north wall, and partially occulted by a hanging cloth. Although difficult to photograph effectively, the interior walls of this niche have trompe-l’œil images of folding screens. The two walls that flank this niche have heavily damaged images of Lord Guan seated in state, approached by mortal supplicants. The east and west side-walls have massive images of Lord Guan and his retinue riding out on the east and back on the west. Although highly eroded and scored by vertical cuts, these procession paintings are still quite majestic. Outside of the main hall are two flanking side-halls. The eastern side-hall was open at the time of visit. This contains panel images of scenes from the Three Kingdoms cycle. The walls are now heavily damaged and almost impossible to photograph in full due to the tall and narrow space, as well as beams projecting out over parts of the image. A full transcription of all visible captions reads as follows: Central wall, top row, right to left: 劉關張平原赴任, 助公孫本初大敗, 陶公祖初讓徐州, 關公一怒劈旬正, 郭嘉定計淹下邳, 青梅會失筯驚雷, 求?鄭玄河比借兵, 關公奉命守下邳; second row from top, left to right: 雲長大戰夏侯敦, 關公一怒拉王忠, 奉☐命兵☐袁術, 白門樓奉先絕命, 呂奉先轅門射戟, 全眾?意暫守小沛, 斬管玄比海解圍 [sic], 劉公義接公孫贊; third row from the top, right to left: [...], [...], ☐☐☐得☐☐, ☐☐☐袁術大敗, 關公義救張文遠, ☐命喝退☐☐, ☐☐☐☐☐劉代, ☐☐☐大戰徐晃; fourth row from top, left to right: 屯土山公約三事, [...], [...], ☐遠☐設☐晏, [...], ☐☐東義?☐高見, [...], [...]; bottom row, right to left: [...], [...], [...], [...], ☐許田三☐☐☐, [...], [...], 回下☐☐☐☐☐. North wall, bottom row, right to left: ☐☐節秉?☐☐旦, [...], 夢皇叔?關?某解夏?, 念☐☐☐☐☐; second row from bottom, left to right: ☐☐☐曹☐☐, 曹公奉送☐☐, [...], 降漢君公☐許☐; top row, right to left: 入大營轅☐☐, [...], ☐☐曹公厚待?, [...].

Shaanxi Sheng (China); Fugu Xian (China); 39.374421; 111.049352

chi

North China Mural Survey

Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library

10.14288/1.0421809

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