Famous Chengdu Wuhou Temple

When I was in college, I was familiar with the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and it was one of the four Chinese famous classic books. So I had firm interests to the Wuhou temple. Last year summer, my friends and I drove to Chengdu, and we experienced many beautiful scenic spots, Wuhou temple was no an exception. The tour guide conducted us round the temple and it was swarmed with visitors. He told us that there were 47 clay figures and 40 tablets, 30 inscribed boards and couplets. This temple was much related to the Kingdom of Shu and was a commemorative museum to Zhuge Liang who was a prime minister of this kingdom and a famous strategist as well as statesman. Zhuge Liang had made great contributions in history and his thoughts of military strategies and management practices of national affairs were very important and valuable, it cast a long shadow for many centuries. Actually, Zhuge Liang was a hero in my mind.



The guide told us that the extensive compound covered a wide area of 37,000 square kilometers, comprised five main buildings. They were: the First Gate and the Second Gate, Liu Bei’s Hall, Zhuge Liang’s Hall and Liu Bei’s tomb. On the top of the main entrance gate, there was a horizontal inscribed board and it read “Han Zhaolie Temple”. Han indicated the Shu State, and Zhaolie was the posthumous name of Liu Bei. The yard between the first and the second gates, there were six big stone tablets and among four of them were originated from Qing Dynasty. The other two also could date back to Ming or Tang Dynasty.

Liu Bei’s statue stood in Liu Bei Hall, behind the front altar, companied his son and grandson both sides. His ears were long and the lobes touched his shoulders, hands hung down on his knees. The lifelike statue remained solemn. To the left, was a figure of Zhang Fei, a black-faced general, looked fierce and he was a sworn brother of Liu Bei and Guan Yu. He had large eyes, bristling and luxuriantly bearded. In history, he was a good and brave man, spoke in loud voice and roared angrily. According to the record, he was murdered at 54, by his two men when he was sleeping. To the right of the main hall was a figure of Guan Yu, he was red-faced, long beard and red lips. There were two galleries, which contained 28 terracotta figures originated from the Qing Dynasty. Pang Tong was a leader of civil official, and Zhao Yun took over military official.

Zhuge Liang’s Hall was behind the second yard. Inside the hall, horizontal inscribed boards and couplets posted up on the walls, some of the couplets reflected real stories. I visited all places in this temple and the guide gave me and other tourists a real knockdown. This scenic spot attracted many visitors every day, and they frequently revisited. The temple helped me to better comprehend the history of the Three Kingdom which was rich in strategies and wisdom.