Thursday, August 14, 2014

Revisit X on Own Feet: Wong Tai Sin Temple 嗇色園黃大仙祠

decided to pay another visit

since when I was here 3 summers ago

the temple was under massive renovation

so here I am, once again

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next up..

my first ever experience with

the fortune-telling stick and

the one think I enquired about is

LOVE & RELATIONSHIP

hehehe…

Wong Tai Sin Temple 嗇色園黃大仙祠

 

p.s.

you just have to believe that

this is my lucky day

because it was pouring heavily

during my way to the temple

dear rain, go away.. please

 

黃大仙祠是香港最著名的廟宇之一,

崇奉儒、釋、道三教。

據說黃大仙「有求必應」,簽文靈驗,

常年吸引無數善信到來膜拜求簽,香火鼎盛。

 

每年的農曆年大年初一,

有不少善信爭相到來搶頭香,

成為香港賀歲習俗之一。

 

據祠內的《赤松子自述》所載,

黃大仙原名黃初平,

約於公元328年於浙江省金華縣蘭溪市出生,

15歲開始學道,

40年後,他的兄弟到山中尋找他時,

見他能指石變羊,

從此,兩兄弟一起修煉,雙雙為仙。

 

由於黃初平隱居於赤松山修煉,

故又稱「赤松仙子」。

 

黃大仙祠內最具特色的,

是其「五形」建築佈局,

祠中的飛鸞台、經堂、

玉液池、盂香亭及照壁,

各代表金、木、水、火、土五行。

 

另外,祠內還有其他富中國傳統色彩的

建築如三聖堂、大殿及從心苑等。

Credit: Discover Hong Kong

Brief facts about Master Huang Tai Sin

he was born in Zhe Jiang Province on 328 A.D.

he picked up Taoism since 15

and 50 years later when

his brother went into the mountain

looking for him, he could actually

turned a stone into a goat

 

therefore the brother decided to

stay and practice with him

in the mountain and both of them

achieved immortality

 

Brief facts about the Temple

built in 1921, it’s famous for

fortune-telling practice

via the random stick picking

which is known to be very accurate

(that’s why I decided to give it a try)

 

elements of 3 religions under 1 roof

Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism

since there are 2 separate smaller hall

for Confucius and Buddha

 

5 elements  of

metals, fire, water, soil and wood

can be traced via

the different setup and building materials

surrounding the main praying hall

eg: the pool well represents water

 

so basically it’s a

compact yet complex temple

well representing the belief of a

typical Chinese community

oh no

I found that I can actually

choose the English version

instead of manually translating


The Wong Tai Sin Temple’s claim to

‘make every wish come true upon request’

might have something to do with its popularity.

Home to three religions

(Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism)

its natural setting and

beautifully ornamented buildings make it

as much a scenic attraction as

an important religious centre.

 

The temple commemorates the

famous monk of yore,

Wong Tai Sin (also known as Huang Chu-ping),

who was born in the 4th century and

became a deity at Heng Shan (Red Pine Hill).

 

In 1915, Taoist priest Liang Ren-an

carried a sacred portrait of

Wong Tai Sin from Guangdong in

southern China to Hong Kong.

 

Now housing this precious portrait,

the Wong Tai Sin Temple is where

worshippers pray for good fortune through

offerings, divine guidance and fortune telling.

Feng Shui enthusiasts may

notice structures representing the

five geomantic elements:

the Bronze Pavilion (metal);

the Archives Hall (wood);

the Yuk Yik Fountain (water);

the Yue Heung Shrine (fire); and

the Earth Wall (earth).

 

Other areas of the complex include

the Three Saints Hall,

the Confucian Hall and

the extravagantly colourful Good Wish Garden that is lavishly decorated with chinoiserie.

Source: Discover Hong Kong