#thunder rites

Ancestral Hall of the Tiger Talisman in Fujian

One of those architectural gems that are scattered throughout the Chinese countryside: the Ancestral Hall of the Tiger Talisman (虎符祖殿) aka Huyan Ancestral Hall (虎岩祖殿) or Hufuyan (虎符岩) in Nanfeng (南豐村), Xinqiao, Fujian.

Built in the Song dynasty and rebuilt in the 16th year of Jiajing in the Ming dynasty (1537), the complex covers an area of about 1800 square meters. This temple is dedicated to the Taoist Leifa deity Zhang Shengjun (張聖君), the Master of Five Thunders. The papers with talismanic inscriptions are stuck under the ceiling.

I promised to demystify, but now I’m going to obscure the issue. Mystic is such an elusive substance: always appears where there is no place for it and disappears from where it should be experienced. This is also the case of jian. The practice of the Taoist sword is immersed in childish fantasies, while its true magic is almost lost.

Wan'an Palace (萬安宮), a cozy and old rural temple in Dehua village (德化仙境村), Fujian, dedicated to Thunder deities. Natural detail of the fairy landscape.