Lin Fung Temple, Macau澳门莲峰庙

Type

Temples and Abbeys (Gongguan)

Location

Macau, China · Macau · Macau Peninsula · Avenida do Almirante Lacerda, near Areia Preta; also known as Lin Fung Temple (Si), Tianfei Temple, and Cihu Palace

Coordinates

22.2098, 113.5478 Map ↗

First built

One account gives the 20th year of the Wanli reign of Ming (1592); the Macau Cultural Heritage website, based on a temple stele, gives the 1st year of the Yongzheng reign of Qing (1723) · Two accounts of the founding date coexist; the temple underwent five major renovations during the Qing, taking its present form in 1876

Heritage status

Macau Classified Immovable Property — Monument MM024 (1992)

Overview

Lin Fung Temple is one of the 'Three Ancient Temples of Macau' (together with A-Ma Temple and Kun Iam Tong), though accounts of its founding date differ: Wikipedia and similar sources give it as first built in the twentieth year of the Wanli reign of the Ming (1592), while the Macau Cultural Heritage website, based on the temple's stele, gives the first year of the Yongzheng reign of the Qing (1723) as the year the main structure was completed, with legend tracing it back further to the end of the Ming. It underwent five major renovations during the Qing, taking its present form in 1876. The temple was built with joint funding from Chinese officials, gentry, and merchants, and has a layout of three sections and two courtyards, with the front hall dedicated to Tianhou (Mazu) and the rear hall to Guanyin, while Guandi, the Medicine God, Cangjie, and others are worshipped alongside them, in a blending of Buddhism and Daoism. In the Qing, the temple served an official function, and the Assistant Magistrate of Xiangshan County and the Deputy Prefect of Macau frequently conducted negotiations between Chinese and foreign parties there. In the nineteenth year of the Daoguang reign (1839), the Imperial Commissioner Lin Zexu and the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Deng Tingzhen, toured Macau and received Portuguese officials at Lin Fung Temple, issuing a proclamation banning opium — a major event in the modern history of Macau; a statue of Lin Zexu was erected in the square in front of the temple in 1989, and a Lin Zexu Memorial Hall was established in 1997. The temple was designated a Monument (MM024) in 1992.

Highlights

• The site where Lin Zexu received Portuguese officials
• The Lin Zexu Memorial Hall
• A three-section, two-courtyard layout housing multiple deities
• One of the Three Ancient Temples of Macau