Chow Sue Kong Shrine, Talat Noi, Bangkok曼谷顺兴宫清水祖师公庙

Type

Overseas Daoist Temples

Location

Thailand · Bangkok · Talat Noi, Samphanthawong District · 758 Soi Phanurangsi, Khwaeng Talat Noi

First built

1804 · Buddhist Era 2347, founded by a wealthy Su-clan merchant from Quanzhou

Overview

Chow Sue Kong Shrine was founded in 1804 on the initiative of a wealthy merchant of the Su clan from Quanzhou, and is dedicated chiefly to Master Qingshui (清水祖师, the "Patriarch of Clear Water"), the guardian deity of migrants from Anxi in southern Fujian. Originally built of wood, the shrine was later rebuilt in brick and wood as a three-hall complex in the southern Fujian style, featuring swallowtail ridges, wood carving, and cut-porcelain mosaic (jianci) decoration; it is the religious center of Bangkok's Hokkien community, and is now managed by the Thai Hokkien Association. Master Qingshui (the eminent Song-dynasty monk Chen Zhaoying) was originally a Buddhist monk, who entered the Chinese pantheon through long-standing popular worship in southern Fujian; this kind of cult is a typical case of Buddhist-Daoist popular syncretism, and should not be simplistically classed within the institutional system of Daoism. Coordinates have not been corroborated by two or more reliable sources, and are therefore omitted.

Highlights

• The religious center of Bangkok's Hokkien community
• Founded in 1804 by a wealthy Su-clan merchant from Quanzhou
• Three-hall southern Fujian-style building with swallowtail ridges and cut-porcelain decoration
• Managed by the Thai Hokkien Association