Structure Type: Urban temple.
Location: The temple is located at the northern end of the main axial road of the old city of the Yu County Seat 蔚州城. From his commanding perch on the northern wall of the city, the god can see out across the entire settlement and the countryside beyond.
Period: The temple has a complicated history, the early part of which is not entirely clear. Reading through the temple steles (found in 蔚縣碑銘輯錄, pp.72-128), it seems that some temple must have existed at the north part of the city during the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368). When the walls were rebuilt at the start of the Ming (1368-1644), the site was simply a tall watchtower. The present temple dedicated to the Jade Emperor was first established atop the wall during the Zhengde reign (1505-21), a period when north China was suffering repeated raids from the Mongols, and tall, axial wall-temples to martial gods were being built in all the settlements north of Beijing (see ibid, p.100). The temple was then repaired many times after this date – in 1614, 1683, 1761, 1781, 1845, and 1897. A ceiling-plaque extant from the 1683 lists a group of seven artists, consistent with the massive scale of the paintings now extant. Another group of four artists is listed under the 1845 stele, which makes it clear that this was likewise a major renovation of the temple’s appearance. I’m a little agnostic about which renovation to credit with the murals as we now see them – it strikes me that the 1845 artists probably seriously altered and recolored but did not completely erase the earlier images.
Artist: A group of seven artists are listed on the 1683 ceiling plaque: Wang Jiayou 王家有, Zhang Huai 張懷, Wang Ying 王穎, Wang Jinbao 王進寶, Wen Minggao 溫名高, Wang Yindou 王銀斗, and Li Kui 李奎. There’s no indication whether or not the artists of the surname Wang represent a family atelier. Interestingly, a work by the artist Zhang Huai, together with his son or brother Zhang De 張德, is attested elsewhere in this collection. For the 1845 stele, the painters are Yan Jiahui 閻嘉會, Li Yiwan 李億萬, Wang Huisheng 王惠生, and Li Qiji 李起基.
Mural Contents: I’m not sure of the identities of many of the deities or the ultimate meaning of this assemblage. Six civil 文 officials are seated on the rear flanking walls surrounded by attendants, facing the worshipper. On the side walls are thirty-six martial 武 deities, whose identities are labeled in cartouches; many but not all of these come from the Daoist ‘thunder bureau’ 雷部. None of these deities are common in the normal north-Chinese popular pantheon, thus presumably they are drawn from some Daoist text – I would be curious to hear if anyone knows what this is.
Another unique feature of this room is the dragon flying among clouds painted on a large, monochrome panel to the left as one enters. This may have something to do with the belief (and in some cases, ritual practice) that drawing a dragon can bring rain.
Other Notes: My photographs of this site are very bad. I always thought these murals were sort of unattractive, but their size, central location, and unusual pantheon makes them important.
Full Gallery
