Quang Trieu Assembly Hall, Hoi An会安广肇会馆（广东会馆）

Type

Overseas Daoist Temples

Location

Vietnam · Da Nang City · Hoi An · 176 Trần Phú, Hội An, near the Japanese Covered Bridge

Coordinates

15.8773, 108.3266 Map ↗

First built

1885 · Built by overseas Chinese from Guangzhou and Zhaoqing prefectures; after 1911 its principal worship was changed to Guandi

Heritage status

Core Zone of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Hoi An Ancient Town (1999)

Overview

Quang Trieu Assembly Hall in Hoi An was built in 1885 by overseas Chinese from Guangzhou and Zhaoqing prefectures, and stands on Tran Phu Street in Hoi An's "heritage street," near the Japanese Covered Bridge. It originally enshrined the Empress of Heaven (Mazu) and Confucius as its principal deities; after 1911 it changed its principal worship to Guandi, while also honoring worthies of Guangdong's past — a change of worship reflecting the shift in overseas Chinese identity around the time of the 1911 Revolution, from a center of maritime deities and symbols of learning to one drawing the community together around a loyal and righteous martial deity and a genealogy of native worthies. The building follows a layout shaped like the character for "nation" (国), combining wood and stone, and includes three gates, a courtyard, a square pavilion, east and west wings, a main hall, and a rear courtyard; the hall's collection includes a pair of celadon vases, square plaques, and a bronze incense burner 1.6 meters tall. The assembly hall stands within the core World Heritage area of Hoi An Ancient Town (inscribed in 1999); no clear record exists of the year in which it was individually ranked as a national relic. It is a native-place assembly hall that also serves as a site of popular religion, not a Daoist organization.

Highlights

• Changed its principal worship from the Empress of Heaven to Guandi in 1911
• A layout shaped like the character for "nation" (国)
• A bronze incense burner 1.6 meters tall
• Within the core World Heritage area of Hoi An Ancient Town