The temple of the warlord and warrior with a red face guan yu. History of China (55): Guan Yu - a faithful and righteous warrior of the Middle Kingdom Chinese god of war guan yu
This attraction appeared on Koh Samui not so long ago, and at first it was perceived by the guests of Koh Samui as just another Chinese temple. Moreover, the temple of non-standard architecture and incomprehensible composition, where there are many steps, a strange red-faced head on a pedestal, and when visiting this place, there is a feeling of some kind of incompleteness in general. But with a detailed study of the issue, you can find out that the idea of \u200b\u200bthis temple has a deep meaning, and the incompleteness is quite understandable.
Guan Yu Sanctuary was conceived not just as a place to worship the god Guan Di (this is the same uncle with a red face and a green robe). Everything you see here was built with donations from Thai descendants of immigrants from Hainan. Hainan, as you remember, is the southernmost island of China, it is also a resort and a province rolled into one. In the 15-16 centuries, the first Hainanese settlers began to arrive on Koh Samui, who were not met with such hostility here, as happened in other states in the neighborhood of China. In order for you to understand the depth of centuries, I will remind you that at the same time Yermak conquered Siberia and annexed it to the Russian state.
The Hainanese settled down on Koh Samui, which at that time was a fairly isolated and self-sufficient community that had little contact with mainland Thailand. They got married to the local population, gave birth to children, and in general began to feel much better than in Hainan. But in order not to lose the connection of generations, and not to forget about their roots, rich descendants decided to create a place on Koh Samui that would combine a sanctuary, a cultural center, and shopping malls. Practical and meaningful.
Guan Di, also known as Guan Yu, was chosen as the god for the sanctuary. By the way, a very real character, a respected Chinese military leader who lived in 160-219 AD. Despite his valiant and faithful service to the emperor, he was unjustly accused of some crime, and executed along with his son and squire. However, over time, his name began to acquire legends, Guan Yu himself was credited with exploits and inhuman characteristics, gradually canonizing a person and transferring him to the host of the gods of China. For example, the red color of his face is explained by a fairy tale that he stained his face with red clay from the river in order to pass unrecognized by the guards who were looking for him for the murder of some unjust and greedy judge.
A little over a thousand years after his death, Guan Yu became the god of war, the god of rain, the god of something else, and, well, the patron of a lot of professions. He is revered in various religions of Asia, thousands of temples were built in his honor, where Guan Di invariably stands in green clothes, with a red face, along with his son, a squire and with a guan-dao in his hand. Guan dao is a pole with a sword at the end, as the legends say, it is his personal invention.
As for the cultural center, you will find it behind the huge statue of Guan Yu. The statue appeared in 2016, instead of a lonely red head that had lain there for many years, frightening and delighting passing tourists. Immediately after the statue there will be a small chapel, and now after it, in a building with doors on which the Chinese gods of the Door Guards are depicted, there is a large room with high walls. The walls are covered with photographs of people. You will be interested to know that these are all just people. Not some heroes of war or labor, not representatives of rich families, but simply people. Parents, grandparents, great-grandmothers and great-great-great, in general - ancestors. All these photographs were brought by the inhabitants of Koh Samui, whose history goes back to the moment their Hainanese ancestors arrived on the island.
The idea of the cultural center is for people to share their photos, letters, notes, in short, everything that will help future generations to come here, see, listen and touch. In addition, the center plans to open a Chinese (Mandarin) language school for children. Wedding ceremonies are held here, though not for free, but all the proceeds go to the further development of the sanctuary. After all, there is still a huge wasteland behind the entire building, on which it is planned to build a shopping center, along which it will be possible to move around on golf carts. By the way, they have already been purchased and are gathering dust in the backyard of the Guan Di temple.
Visiting Information
Entrance to the attraction is free, from 8 am to 6 pm, donations in the temple are voluntary. When entering the main buildings, you must take off your shoes, and in general, follow the dress code for such places (covered shoulders and knees), although there are never any permanent clergymen or controllers. The entire territory of the courtyard along the edges of the parking lot is shops and cafes with Chinese and Thai food. I won’t recommend any separate place for a snack, they cook mediocre, but the prices are quite touristic. The parking lot is very large, and at the time of my visit it was free. The sanctuary is located in the large Muslim village of Hua Thanon, which is famous for its sea food market and mosque.
A huge statue of the ancient Chinese warrior Guan Yu was recently unveiled in a park in Jingzhou City, Hubei Province. The statue depicts the great hero of the 3rd century BC, holding a formidable weapon in his hands - the legendary Green Dragon Sword. The 48-meter giant stands on a 10-meter support and weighs more than 1,320 tons.
General Guan Yu lived during a turbulent period in Chinese history, the so-called era of the Three Kingdoms. It has also been immortalized in one of China's most famous historical novels. Ultimately, Guan Yu was named a god and is now worshiped, especially in southern China. The true biographies of Guan gave way to legends and rumors. Small shrines and statues praising his loyalty and justice can be found everywhere in traditional Chinese shops and restaurants. Besides the last statue in Jingzhou, there is another large statue in his hometown of Guan in Shanxi Province. It reaches 61 meters in height and stands on a 19-meter support. This is definitely one of those places worth visiting in China.
Driving around the island of Koh Samui, I paid attention to the big head of a man standing right on the temple. And so I went purposefully to her to find out who she was and why she was standing there.
A whole diaspora of Chinese turns out to be on Koh Samui, which has been living for a long time not only on the island, but also in Thailand as a whole, because. Thai Buddhists are very loyal to other religions, and for this reason the Chinese have more than one temple on the island. And the temple with the head of the warrior Guan Yu is of Chinese origin.
Who is Guan Yu
Not just a warrior, he is a military leader and a revered noble warrior even in a medieval novel, the basis for this was the loyalty of the warrior to his emperor. Although the reality was different from the novel and the warrior even served for some time the sworn enemy of his emperor, he was later executed and deprived of his head, although the head was buried with honors.
The people needed a hero, and after centuries, many legends and fictions developed from the life of a warrior, and gradually he became a folk hero and even a god of war with thousands of built temples in China. In each of these temples, a sword is kept, with which criminals were executed.
Statue of a warrior on Koh Samui with a red face
His face is red and this is also connected with the legend, when he killed a dishonest judge, passed by the guards, but the guards did not recognize him, because. his face changed color in an incomprehensible way, perhaps after washing in the river. The statue is being built in parts and will rise above the temple, now only the head stands, but the body and sword will soon be brought. Behind the temple, there is a redeemed territory and the Chinese plan to establish a small Chinatown there.
Guan Yu Temple and its decoration
Inside the temple there are many photographs of people, these are just ordinary people from the Chinese community, their ancestors and relatives, the photographs are brought to the temple so that descendants will remember. The temple will become not just a place of worship for a warrior, but also a kind of Chinese community club, because. free Chinese language courses for children are planned, there is already a place for tea drinking and even several electric cars that will run around Chinatown.
three kingdoms
A novel about the events of the 3rd century, in which Guan Yu plays one of the key roles, which describes the division of China into three kingdoms and the main characters of the novel, warriors - fighters for justice.
“Leaving wealth, the seal and the Han throwing cheng-hsiang,
He went on a long journey, jealous of his brother.
On a tireless horse he flies thousands of miles,
Outposts one by one opens with his sword.
His courage and honesty, like a spirit, hover in the universe,
And his glory, as of old, fills the earthly space.
He bravely passed five outposts, defeated six generals,
And all this has served as a theme for brush and ink ever since.”
In the south of Koh Samui, a Chinese temple was built in honor of the warrior Guan Yu.
It is impossible to miss it, a huge statue of a stern reading man with a spear behind his back is clearly visible right from the ring road.
Who is Guan Yu
Guang Yu is a Chinese warrior who lived about 2,000 years ago. Many legends are associated with his name, he is revered by the Chinese as the god of war and protection.
He is often referred to as Lord Guan, and a statue of him is placed in almost every Confucian or Taoist temple. This is always a man with a red face and a long black beard, it is quite easy to recognize. Small statues can be found in Chinese restaurants and shops around the world.
What's inside the temple
The temple is brand new. Judging by the layout, some additional buildings have not yet been built, but it is operational and open to visitors.
Walking around the territory is interesting, even if you are far from Chinese culture and don’t know who Guang Yu is. All buildings are bright, colorful both outside and inside.
The interior is made in red and gold tones, dragons, dolls, Chinese paintings are everywhere.
In short, fun and festive, a lot of interactive.
As in, here you can tell fortunes for yourself on special sticks.
The ceiling deserves special attention. Although besides him, there are interesting things in the temple.
For example, a sharp dagger (I apologize if it is called differently).
Even the door handles are very impressive.
There are souvenir shops and cafes on the territory.