Temple of the Five Immortals (Guangzhou)
| Temple of the 5 Immortals | |||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | |||||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | |||||||||
| Literal meaning | 5 Immortals Abbey | ||||||||
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| Grotto of the 5 Immortals | |||||||||
| Chinese | |||||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
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| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Wǔxiān Guàn |
| Wade–Giles | Wu-hsien Kuan |
| Transcriptions | |
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| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Wǔxiān Xiadong |
| Wade–Giles | Wu-hsien Hsia-tung |
The Temple of the Five Immortals, formerly translated as the Temple of the Five Genii, is a Taoist temple in Guangzhou, Guangdong, in China. It lies beside the junction of West Huifu Road and Liurong Rd. It is usually open to tourists daily from 9–12 in the morning and from 1:30–5 in the afternoon.
The five immortals honored by the temple are first attested in a passage of the 983 Taiping Imperial Readings () explaining Guangzhou's nickname "City of the Rams". One of the etiological myths given is that
At one time, Sun Hao made Teng Xiu a governor but, before reaching his prefecture, there were five immortals riding five colored sheep and bearing the five grains who came upon him and, after he received them, they left. Now the prefectural hall's beams bear the five immortals riding five colored sheep for good luck.
The other story, credited to the Records of Guangzhou () of Pei Yuan (), includes the rams and grain but omits the immortals and places the story in Chu during the ministry of Gao Gu.
Later accounts of the immortals' local cult made them culture heroes who introduced rice farming to Guangzhou around the time of its founding, which occurred historically by the Qin army under Zhao Tuo in 214 BC. The immortals' clothes and the sheep were now both said to be in difference colors, connecting them with the Five Chinese Elements. The immortals continued to be worshipped as protectors of the yearly harvest. The five goats they rode to the area were said to have turned to stone when they left, forming the statues which gave Guangzhou its nickname "Goat City" or "City of the Five Rams".
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Wikipedia