Structure Type: Village temple 村廟.
Location: Chaili Village, Ying County, Shanxi Province 山西省應縣釵里村. The village fortress had a gate facing east; the temple was located just outside of this, facing an opera stage to the south across a little square.
Period: Undated, 19th or early 20th century.
Artist: Unknown.
Mural Contents: As advertised, the temple contains five halls, each to a different deity. From left to right (west to east), these are the Dragon Kings 龍王, the Hudu God 胡神, Lord Guan 關公, the Horse King 馬王, and the Goddesses 娘娘.
The Dragon King hall is the most interesting of these halls. The left-hand wall shows the standard scene of the Dragon Kings processing out and back from the Crystal Palace 水晶宮. The right-hand wall, however, shows a unique and fascinating scene of the Five Kings in draconic form crossing a bridge. On the outer side of the composition is the Crystal Palace, while on the inner side is the small door which usually represents the South Gate of Heaven 南天門. Two messengers bearing scrolls ride down from this gate to meet the Dragon Kings and other deities. From a cloud above, a large roster of deities look on, including Fu Xi 伏羲, Confucius 孔子, the Buddha 佛, Laozi 老子, the Jade Emperor 玉皇, the Perfected Warrior 玉皇, and Tianpeng and Yisheng 天篷翊聖. This scene was originally common in the area south of Datong; I have seen heavily damaged versions at three other sites. However, this version at Chaili is now the only intact image known to me of this interesting variant Dragon King iconography. What the “bridge-crossing scene” means I have no idea – perhaps the passage between the yin world of the spirits and our yang world?
The other deity halls are somewhat more standard. The central room holds shrines to the Hudu God 胡神, Lord Guan 關公, and the Horse King 馬王. The side walls show paneled images drawn from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms 三國演義. The front-wall iconography of the Hudu God is now, so far as I know, the only intact example. I initially had some doubt about the correct identification, but his iconography matches almost exactly that found at Figure #36 in the rear appendix of Willem Grootaers, Li Shiyu 李世瑜, and Wang Fushi 王輔世, “Rural Temples Around Hsüan-hua (South Chahar): Their Iconography and their History.” Folklore Studies, vol.10, no.1 (1951), pp.1-116.
The final hall is devoted to the Goddesses 娘娘. The side-wall iconographies shos a composition common in this area, consisting of an inner “portico picture” of the Goddess seated in a house breast-feeding a child, with an outer panel narrative depicting the Goddesses’ exploits from the Romance of the Investiture of the Gods 封神演義.
Other Notes: This temple has been recently renovated. Locals did not initially allow me to enter the temple or photograph, but on the second visit I was permitted inside and given a relatively free reign. The two side-halls are very long and narrow and so I was only able to produce full-wall images by compositing vertical strips; I’m not totally happy with the results.
Highlight Gallery
Dragon King Hall Full Gallery
River God, Lord Guan, and Horse King Hall Full Gallery
Goddesses Hall Full Gallery
