Ng Shing Gung (Temple of Five Gods), San Jose圣何塞五圣宫

Type

Overseas Daoist Temples

Location

United States · California · San Jose · Within History San José in Kelley Park; now the Chinese American Historical Museum

Coordinates

37.350511, -121.893754 Map ↗

First built

1888 · Built in 1888 at the corner of Taylor Street and Cleveland Street in the Heinlenville Chinatown; demolished in 1949; rebuilt in History San José in 1991

Heritage status

Reconstruction and preservation project at History Park, San Jose

Overview

Ng Shing Gung was built in 1888 in Heinlenville, San Jose's fifth Chinatown — after the Market Street Chinatown burned down in 1887, the German immigrant John Heinlen leased land for the Chinese community to rebuild, and Ng Shing Gung was built there. The building is a two-story brick structure of about 23 by 42 feet, built under the direction of Yee Fook, with the two-thousand-dollar construction cost raised through public subscription. The temple enshrines five deities — Guanyin, the God of Wealth, the City God of Guangzhou, Guandi, and Mazu — making it a typical multi-deity temple of popular religion, while also serving as a meeting hall, a Chinese-language school, and a lodging house for travelers, with calligraphy and the classics and histories taught on the first floor and the shrine hall on the second. The original building was demolished in 1949; its altars, ritual implements, and some facade elements were salvaged by the community, and in 1991 the Chinese Historical and Cultural Project (CHCP) rebuilt it to its original appearance in Kelley Park's History San José, where it now serves as the Chinese American Historical Museum, displaying the history of the Chinese in the Santa Clara Valley.

Highlights

• Built in 1888 in the Heinlenville Chinatown
• Jointly enshrines five deities: Guanyin, the God of Wealth, the City God, Guandi, and Mazu
• Also served as a meeting hall, Chinese-language school, and lodging house for travelers
• Demolished in 1949, rebuilt to its original appearance as a museum in 1991