Structure Type: Village temple 村廟. There is also an old opera stage 樂僂 across from the temple.
Location: North Tower Valley-Mouth Village, Ying County, Shanxi Province 山西省應縣北樓口村. The temple is located within the walls of the old fort, down a side-street.
Period: According to a 1752 plaque on the wall, the temple was originally founded during the Jiajing reign (1521-67), and heavily repaired in 1608. One heavily damaged strip of mural in a side hall seems from the style to date from this 16th or early 17th century period. The murals inside the main building were repainted in 2008, but the format, composition, and figure-painting seem very traditional to me. I suspect that a 20th century artist simply painted over faded Ming-dynasty murals to arrive at the murals as they now exist.
Artist: The artist of the original Ming-dynasty murals is unknown. The artist of the 2008 repainting is listed as Yang Haojia 楊浩嘉.
Mural Contents: The Ming-dynasty murals in the side-hall display the deeds of Lord Guan, drawn from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms 三國演義.
The 2008 murals within the main hall display the relatively rare scene of Lord Guan processing out with his attendants. On the two panels to either side of the central altar are scenes of Lord Guan in civil 文 and martial 武 attitudes, a relatively common image in these locations. Again, the relatively traditional format and line-work of these paintings suggests to me that they may have been painted over Ming-dynasty originals.
Other Notes: The village also contains the ruins of a Temple to the Northern Marchmount 北岳廟, which has some old steles still extant.
Full Gallery
