The Wong Tai Sin Temple
There are myriad temples in Hong Kong and Wong Tai Sin is namely the most-visited temple in all of Hong Kong. I have been there once during January, a time when many of the faithful worshippers would visit the temple to seek fortune reading and pray for health, prosperity and happiness for the year, and it is quite a scene at that time of the year.
The Legend of Wong Tai Sin
Wong Tai Sin, named Huang Chuping (Mandarin pinyin) was a real person that lived during the ancient times circa 328 or so. He was a shepherd but reached the ultimate enlightenment and became immortalized.
In 1897, the 23rd year of the Guangxu Reign, the spirit of Wong Tai Sin manifested itself in a spirit writing session (like Ouija), and the people began to recognize how accurate the fortune readings were and how much this deity would grant legitimate prayers. The first Wong Tai Sin Temple was built in Guangzhou in 1899. Soon enough, the Wing Tai Sin Temple in Guangzhou became a sacred religious site, with many followers visiting its grounds.
The political unrests that soon followed in China necessitated a move of Wong Tai Sin to Hong Kong. A disciple of Wong Tai Sin received the sign that Wong Tai Sin must be moved southward. He brought with him the portrait of Wong Tai Sin and set up the new temple ground in Chuk Yuen in Hong Kong, the area now known as Wong Tai Sin.
The History of the Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple in Hong Kong
The Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple was built in 1921. At first, the temple was the home for proper monks and it was only open to the monks and their families. For a few decades the temple grounds were open to followers only on the very first day of the year. Only in 1956 did the temple finally open its doors for public service and worship. In 1969, the Hong Kong Government named the area of Chuk Yuen, where the temple stands, into Wong Tai Sin.
In terms of layout, the temple grounds consists of the patterns of the Five Elements: metal, wood, water, fire and earth. This philosophy was shown in the various different sections of the temple that were designed to express the element forms. This was an instruction that the monks received after another spirit writing session.
The Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple is a Grade 1 Historic Building.
The Reasons for Wong Tai Sin’s Popularity
Wong Tai Sin has always been exceedingly popular in Hong Kong, first and foremost because of its reputation of answering all of its followers’ legitimate wishes, as well as telling fortunes accurately.
Furthermore, one unique feature of the Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple is that there are different chambers there serving the deities of Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism and more. This is unusual even in Hong Kong. Wong Tai Sin himself is a deity of Taoism. For Confucianism, Confucius is revered. For Buddhism, there is a Kwun Yam statue in the respective temple space. This feature likely serves all purposes for the many Hong Kong people that abide by the different schools of traditional Chinese and folk religions.
The Ritual of Thanking the Taisui
I grew up Christian and therefore the practices of folk religions and Buddhism in Hong Kong always baffled me. I have a whole lot of friends who practices this as their faith, so I will briefly discuss this idea of “thanking the Taisui” as I have learned from them. The Taisui is a deity that originated from a fictious star in Chinese astrology. If during the year a follower has solicited favors from Taisui, he or she is obligated to “thank the taisui” at the beginning of the following year.
The ritual for thanking the Taisui involves sacrificial goods and paper rites. On certain dates and at certain times (there is a way of finding the date), the followers would go to the temple, write their names on the paper rites, burn joss sticks and then say a prayer before the deity. They will thank the deity for a good year lived.
My Thoughts on the Wong Tai Sin Temple
I had a fun day with my friend touring the Wong Tai Sin Temple. There were many people there and a whole lot of interesting rituals taking place at every corner of the temple grounds. I thought it was alright to experience the cultural aspect there, but I would not go again because I found the kind of superstition being practiced there distasteful. The place did not convey a sense of calm and peace that, even as a Christian, I enjoyed and did usually find in most other temples in Hong Kong.
How to Get There
The Sik Sik Yuen Wong Tai Sin Temple can be reached by getting off at the Wong Tai Sin MTR Station.
Sources
The Wikipedia on Huang Chuping (Chin).
The Wikipedia on the Wong Tai Sin Temple (Chin).