the God of Literature, Man Cheung, and the God of War, Kwan Yu.
| Man Mo Temple | |
| The
temple was built on
Hollywood Road in
1847. Like all other Man-Mo Temples found in China and all over the world,
it was dedicated to two of the most worshiped gods in ancient China:- the God of Literature, Man Cheung, and the God of War, Kwan Yu. |
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Pertaining
to the Cantonese pronunciation of the following Chinese words, the temple
is therefore called the "Man-Mo Temple".
 , or literature,
is pronounced as "Man";  ,
or art of war, is pronounced as "Mo". |
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In
this temple, Man
Cheung is dressed in green
and Kwan
Yu is dressed in red (however,
there are literature saying that "Emperor" Kwan liked wearing
green. So you will also find many porcelain figures of Kwan in green robes).
Inside the temple, there
are figures depicting other Chinese gods like Bao-gong, the God of Justice
with his face painted in black. About 150 years ago, when disputes could not be settled by British laws, the local people (plaintiffs and defendents) would come to the Man Mo Temple and solve their problems the Chinese way. According to the legal system of the Qing Dynasty, the plaintiff and the defendent would make a promise (and curse) in the temple, then wrote it on a piece of yellow paper. They then killed a chicken, chopped off its head, let the blood run on the yellow paper, and burned it. The Chinese people believed that since the promises were made before the gods in the temple, if they broke these promises, they would suffer dearly from the curses (or the form of punishment) they too have casted previously upon themselves. Hence, the Man Mo Temple was once the Court of Law for the local people many many years ago. |
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 Note:
There are in fact many smaller temples and culture spots around the area.
We will definitely add them onto our content in due course. But if you are
really interested in viewing them earlier, please tell
us your wish and our team of reporters will work a few more
sleepless nights to fulfill your wishes. |
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| Some background for the two Gods | |
Man
Cheung ( ,
Wen-chang in Putonghua), a Taoist deity who is said
to have lived as a handsome man in Szeshuan province during the Tang Dynasty.
He was reincarnated several times, and was finally deified in the Yuan period,
A.D. 1314.He is said to have transformed himself 98 times, and to have wrought numerous wonderful effects. He has promoted all the three national religions (Confucian, Buddhism and Taoism). He equals in authority the three rulers of heaven, earth, and the sea, and assists those who are seeking office, or testing their abilities in the public examinations. |
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Kwan
Yu ( ,
Guan-yu), was a native of Shandong province. He became a general under the
Posterior Han dynasty over 2,000 years ago. He is one of the most popular
of the Chinese divinities and is worshipped in all over the country.
He has also been accepted as patron saint of various trades and professions
(policemen and thieves too!). This has led to his being regarded
as the tutelary deity of money-making enterprises in general. Click here for to Man Mo Temple, Hollywood Road. |
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Hollywood
Rd | Western Mkt | Historical
Buildings
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