A-Ma Temple, Macau澳门妈阁庙（妈祖阁）
- Type
- Temples and Abbeys (Gongguan)
- Location
- Macau, China · Macau · São Lourenço Parish, Macau Peninsula · Barra Square, on the western slope of Ma Kok Hill; also known as Zhengjue Chanlin and Hoi Kok Temple
- Coordinates
- 22.1861, 113.5311 Map ↗
- First built
- One account gives the first year of the Hongzhi reign of Ming (1488); another holds it already existed before Portuguese settlement (before c. 1553–1557) · Founding date disputed: tradition and most mainland sources give 1488, with the Hall of Benevolent Fortune as the earliest structure; mainstream scholarship holds that a Mazu temple predated the Portuguese arrival in Macau, the exact date remaining uncertain
- Heritage status
- Macau Classified Immovable Property — Monument MM020 (1992)Part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site 'Historic Centre of Macau' (2005)
Overview
The A-Ma Temple is Macau's oldest surviving temple and the one whose original structures have stood the longest, dedicated primarily to Mazu (Tianhou). Its founding date is disputed: tradition and most mainland sources give the first year of the Hongzhi era of the Ming (1488), with the Hall of Benevolent Fortune (Hong Iam Tong) as the earliest structure, while mainstream scholarship holds that a Mazu temple already stood here before the Portuguese settled Macau (c. 1553–1557), the exact date remaining uncertain. Built against the hillside facing the sea, the temple comprises four groups of buildings erected at different periods and scattered among the huge boulders — the First Hall of the Sacred Hill, Zhengjue Chanlin, the Hall of Benevolent Fortune, and the Guanyin Pavilion. Some twenty-four rock inscriptions survive in and around the temple, including a poem inscribed in 1738 known as the 'First Poem,' along with the Foreign Junk Rock (carved with a seagoing ship and the phrase 'may the journey across the great river be smooth') and the Sea-Awareness Rock, among others. Tradition holds that when the Portuguese first landed here and asked the name of the place, they were told 'Ma Kok,' from which the name 'Macau' derives. The temple combines elements of Daoism, Buddhism, and popular religion. It was classified as a monument (MM020) in 1992 and inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2005 as part of the 'Historic Centre of Macao.' It suffered fires in 1988 and 2016.
Highlights
- First Hall of the Sacred Hill and Hall of Benevolent Fortune
- About twenty-four rock inscriptions
- Foreign Junk Rock
- The origin of the name Macau