Location info and some photos withheld. As of my last visit, this mural site is vulnerable to theft or destruction. I have withheld the location beneath the county level and any photographs (of steles, signs, scenery, etc.) that might identify the place. If you are an accredited scholar and you have a good reason to want to see this information, email me and we’ll talk about it.
Structure Type: Village Temple 村廟.
Location: Yu County, Hebei Province 河北省蔚縣. The temple is located at a small crossroads outside of the west-facing gate of the fort.
Period: Undated. 19th Century by style.
Artist: Unknown.
Mural Contents: The front wall shows the Gods of the Five Ways enthroned with the God of the Earth 土地神 and the God of the Mountains 山神. The side walls show their exorcistic procession. On the right-hand wall they ride out. Below, the God of the Mountain’s tiger pounces on a snake. Above, the Gods of the Five Ways approach a mountain cave, where a monkey wearing long quail-feathers dines with a woman. On the opposite wall, the same pair are seen being led back in chains. This is presumably the “chicken-feather monkey” 雞毛猴 who is exorcised in winter rituals in this region. See: David Johnson. Spectacle and Sacrifice: The Ritual Foundations of Village Life in North China. Cambridge & London, Harvard University Press, 2009. pp.69-74.
Other Notes: These little shrines to the Gods of the Five Ways 五道廟 were once ubiquitous across north China; in many regions they were the most common single type of temple. Now they are extremely rare. This is by far the most intact and attractive example I’ve seen.
Full Gallery
