The Shizhushan Taoist Temple is located within the Shizhushan Scenic Area in Fuqing City, Fujian Province. Shizhushan is renowned for its unusual rocks, beautiful bamboo, famous Taoist mountain, and dream-seeking holy site, often referred to as a “fairyland on earth, a world of dreams,” and is a national 4A-level tourist scenic area, one of the first ten major scenic areas in Fujian Province.
The Shizhushan Taoist Temple was initially built in the first year of the Dazhong era during the Tang Dynasty (847 AD), originally named Lingbao Guan, later renamed Lingbao Taoist Temple and Shizhu Temple, and is now officially known as “Shizhushan Taoist Temple.” Constructed halfway up the cliff on the side of ZHUANGYUAN Peak, it leans against the mountain on one side and hangs over space on three sides, resembling a pavilion in the sky, a celestial garden. Behind the temple, peaks are rugged, green bamboo stands tall around, red walls and blue tiles create an elegant and serene atmosphere. Within the temple, in addition to various types of bamboo such as Shizhu, Leigong Bamboo, Buddha Belly Bamboo, Square Bamboo, there are also a large number of Taiwan Acacia trees, Chinese Fir, Cypress, Japanese Cedar, Rice Paper Plant, Silk Oak, Banyan, and precious ancient trees like Red Sandalwood.
The main deity enshrined in the Shizhushan Taoist Temple is the Nine Immortals of the Han Dynasty. The temple consists of six main hall areas: Xianjun Pavilion, Lion Rock Hall, Hall of All Deities, Hall of the Three Pure Ones, Hall of the Immortals, and Xianjing Palace. Ascending from the temple gate on the east side of Dongzhang Reservoir, you can reach the Great Saint Hall of Sizhou, Hall of the Immortals, Guanyin Cliff, and the main deity hall, Xianjun Pavilion. Among these: The Xianjun Pavilion area includes Xianjun Pavilion, Guanyin Hall, Jade Emperor Pavilion, Jade Emperor's Imperial Palace, Earth God Hall, Wenchang Pavilion, Yanchen Hall, Doumu Hall, etc.; The Lion Rock Hall area is made up of Cihang Palace, Wuxian Palace, Liantianju, Guanyin Pavilion, and the temple administrative office; The Hall of All Deities comprises the Hall of Guanyin Bodhisattva, the Hall of the Three Heavenly Generals, the Hall of the God of Blessings, the Hall of the Nine Celestial Eastern Hua, the Hall of the Jade Emperor, and the Hall of the Five Blessing Gods; The Hall of the Three Pure Ones is situated at the highest point of the temple, with the entire hall consisting of the main hall of the Three Pure Ones and the Merit Hall; The under-construction Xianjing Palace area is located on the eastern side of Shizhushan, with the entrance near the water company.
The Shizhushan Taoist Temple is not only a famous Taoist mountain but also a renowned humanistic tourist destination in Fujian. According to records, Zhu Xi, a famous Song Dynasty scholar of Neo-Confucianism, once visited here for sightseeing and lecturing. Ye Xianggao, the first assistant in the Ming Dynasty, not only came here to seek dreams and divine fortunes but also studied scriptures. After obtaining his official rank, he revisited the Shizhushan Taoist Temple in the forty-fourth year of Wanli (1616) and inscribed two poems on the sheer cliffs at “Xie'er Spring” and “Niu's Hoof Cave.”
Flu Xiake, a famous geographer and traveler of the Ming Dynasty, visited Shizhushan after touring Jiulilake in Xianyou in early summer of the forty-eighth year of Wanli (1620). The “Travel Notes of Xu Xiake” meticulously documents his journey through Shizhushan. Chen Ruolin, Minister of Criminal Affairs during the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, and Chen Baochen, Grand Tutor, both visited here and left behind inscribed plaques. Inscriptions by Zhenbing Sa, a famous naval commander in modern times, still remain in the temple. It is recorded that inscriptions by officials and literati throughout the ages still exist at dozens of locations on Shizhushan.
As a renowned Taoist holy site, Shizhushan has had an unbreakable bond with “dreams” since the Western Han Dynasty, and as a folk phenomenon, “Dream Seeking at Shizhu” contains a wealth of information about traditional Chinese culture.
In Fuqing, along with the development of folk customs of seeking dreams and interpreting dreams, stories of dream-seeking like Ma Duo, the imperial scholar of the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, Ye Xianggao, the first assistant of the cabinet in the Wanli period, and Chen Baochen, the Hanlin scholar of the late Qing Dynasty, as well as folk tales of “moonset sunrise” and “river without talent” have been widely spread.
These stories are not only well-known throughout the Fuzhou region but have also been carried to more than 110 countries and regions worldwide by overseas compatriots. As the inheritance place of “Chinese Dream Culture,” Shizhushan attracts many incense burners and tourists every year to visit and seek dreams, especially becoming a place of longing and reverie for overseas descendants of Fuqing.
The custom of “Welcoming Spring” at the Shizhushan Taoist Temple can be traced back to the second year of the Jingyou era in the Northern Song Dynasty (1035), and the proverb “Spring arrives on Shizhushan, Autumn reaches the threshold of Longmen” is still popular among the people. The “Welcoming Spring” at Shizhushan includes a series of folk activities such as “Spring Procession,” “Burning Firewood to Welcome Spring,” “Furnishing the Golden Bucket for Welcoming Spring,” and “Taoist Ritual to Ward off the Grand Duke of Age.”
In the past 40 years since the reform and opening-up, the Shizhushan Taoist Temple, through the tireless efforts of Daoist Master Xie Rongzeng and other Daoists, has inherited, promoted, integrated, and reshaped the Shizhushan Taoist culture centered on the faith in the Nine Immortals, dream-seeking customs, and the “Welcoming Spring” folk customs, making this Taoist sacred mountain even more renowned worldwide.
Currently, the “Dream Culture” of Shizhushan, including the custom of “Welcoming Spring,” has been included in the list of intangible cultural heritage protection in Fujian Province. In 2010, the Shizhushan Taoist Temple was rated as an advanced collective in the creation of harmonious temples, monasteries, churches, and mosques nationwide by the United Front Work Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Administration for Religious Affairs. (Compiled by Li Fengsen and Qingye, Photographed by Xu Fan)