Mansion of the Celestial Masters (Tianshi Fu)嗣汉天师府
- Type
- Temples and Abbeys (Gongguan)
- Location
- China · Jiangxi · Guixi, Yingtan · In the center of Shangqing township, Mount Longhu.
- Coordinates
- 28.098, 117.07 Map ↗
- School
- Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) Daoism
- First built
- the fourth year of the Chongning era of the Northern Song (1105) · Built by imperial decree of Emperor Huizong of Song at Guanmenkou, Shangqing township; moved to its present site during the Yanyou era of the Yuan; repeatedly rebuilt through the Ming and Qing; restored in the 1990s.
- Heritage status
- Ancient Building Complex of Mount Longhu, Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level (2013)National Key Daoist Temple (1983)
Overview
The Mansion of the Celestial Masters was the residence and seat of authority of successive generations of the Celestial Master Zhang. It was built by imperial decree at Guanmenkou, Shangqing township, in the fourth year of the Chongning era of Emperor Huizong of Song (1105), moved to its present site during the Yanyou era of the Yuan, and granted the title ‘Mansion of the Great Perfected’ by the Hongwu Emperor of the Ming in the first year of his reign (1368); it continued to be called the Mansion of the Perfected under the Qing. The mansion faces south, with a front gate, a ceremonial gate, and the Jade Emperor Hall at its entrance; at its center is the Sansheng Hall, where the Celestial Master lived and conducted affairs; behind lie the private residence, the Lingzhi Garden, and the Hundred Flowers Garden. Covering an area of about 40,000 square meters and built to a scale approaching that of a princely residence, it earned the reputation of being ‘unrivaled in the south, the foremost household west of the river.’ The mansion preserves stelae from the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties and groves of ancient camphor trees. In 1983 it was designated a National Key Daoist Temple; it now serves as an important site for the conferral of registers by the Zhengyi tradition under the Chinese Taoist Association, and the Jiangxi Taoist Association is also headquartered here.
Highlights
- Sansheng Hall
- Jade Emperor Hall
- Private Residence and Lingzhi Garden
- Yuan and Ming Stelae
- Zhengyi Conferral of Registers