Chinese Temples Research Articles

Connecting the Chinese Diaspora: See Boon Tiong and His Temple Networks in Singapore and Malacca

This study examines the temple networks of the 19th-century Chinese community leader See Boon Tiong （薛文仲） in Singapore and Malacca in order to cognize his rising influence in both places. In the early years of his career in Singapore, See Boon Tiong expanded his social networks by founding the Keng Teck Whay （庆德会）, as well as through his active involvement in the affairs of Chinese temples. In 1848, the Keng Teck Whay, represented by See Boon Tiong, precipitated the establishment of the Cheng Wah Keong Temple （清华宫） in Malacca and the organization of the “Wangchuan” （王船） Ceremony, thereby consolidating See’s leadership in the local Chinese community. This also provides insights into the process of the reconstitution of power by the Malaccan Chinese merchants in their hometown after forging social networks in Singapore. In the 1850s, See’s influence, exerted through these networks, further penetrated Cheng Hoon Teng Temple （青云亭）in Malacca, outstripping the authority and influence of Tengzhu （亭主） Tan Kim Seng （陈金声）, and engendered the dominance of the Hokkien Zhangzhou （漳州） group to which he belonged. The biography of See Boon Tiong is a microcosm of the strategies which ethnic Chinese leaders in Southeast Asia in the 19th Century deployed to amalgamate and cement their power and influence in society. This also exemplifies the interplay and inseparability between the leadership of the Chinese communities in Singapore and Malacca, and highlights the influential role and agency of these power networks behind the temples in transforming the power structure of the Chinese community in that era.

A Study of Song Dynasty Polychrome Statue-Making Techniques and Materials in the Sage Mother Hall of the Jinci Temple, Shanxi, China

The polychrome statues of the Sage Mother Hall at the Jinci Temple in Taiyuan city are recognized as one of the three masterpieces of the Jinci Temple. They are also regarded as an outstanding representative of ancient Chinese temple statues. These statues possess great historical, artistic, scientific, cultural and social values, and they are an important physical material for the study of ancient Chinese history, culture, religion, politics and economy, as well as science and technology. The internal structure, plaster layer samples and surface pigments of the polychrome statues of the Sage Mother Hall were analyzed by optical microscope (OM) scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM–EDS), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy (Raman), X-radiography and other analytical methods in order to gain an understanding of the production process and pigment composition of the polychrome statues of the Sage Mother Hall. According to the findings, the following steps were taken during the production of the polychrome statues that decorate the Sage Mother Hall at Jinci Temple: building a wooden skeleton, fixing the skeleton with rivets or twine, shaping the clay form with coarse clay, shaping the appearance with fine clay, refining the molded appearance, and white substrate layer painting. The majority of the pigments are inorganic mineral pigments: the red pigments include cinnabar and minium; the blue pigments include ultramarine; the green pigments include lavendulan; the yellow pigments include yellow ochre; the black pigments include carbon black; and the white pigments and substrate layers include white lead and lead sulfate. Some of the pigment layers can be seen in multiple layers, which indicates that over the history of the painted statues of the Sage Mother Hall, they have been subject to a series of repainting, with the more recent repainting time perhaps having taken place during the late Qing Dynasty and the following time period.

What drives pilgrims' experiential supportive intentions and desires towards religious destinations?

This study examines the role of pilgrim's experiential risk, experiential motivation, and experiential loyalty towards the experiential relationship quality, supportive intentions, and desires at religious destinations. For Study 1, data were collected from 374 pilgrims (Sikh community) who visited Pakistan during their religious event (Vaisakhi). For Study 2, data were collected from 381 pilgrims (Malaysian Chinese) who visited Chinese temples in Kedah, Malaysia. PLS-SEM is employed to analyze the data. The findings revealed that experiential risk, motivation, and loyalty significantly impact experiential relationship quality, experiential supportive intentions, and experiential desire. Moreover, experiential relationship quality also plays a pivotal role in increasing the pilgrims` experiential supportive intentions and desires to visit the pilgrimage destination. This study contributes to the existing literature and will be helpful for the tourism authorities to reduce the consumer's experiential risk and enhance their loyalty and intention towards the holy destinations.

Architectural language of the Southern Fujianese traditional Chinese temple timber frame structure in West Malaysia: a cultural semiotics analysis

PurposeThis paper examines the relationship between traditional timber frame structure and the diasporic identity of the Southern Fujianese Chinese community in West Malaysia. It analyses the cultural semiotics of Southern Fujianese traditional Chinese temple timber frame structure architectural language. This study addresses the under-examined domain of Chinese cultural identity representation through the architecture of traditional Chinese temples in Malaysia. It seeks to understand its underlying structure and process involved in revealing its disposition within the cultural phenomena from the perspective of Chinese cultural semiotics.Design/methodology/approachSelected Southern Fujianese traditional Chinese temples in West Malaysia built between the 18th to the 19th century that retain the traditional timber frame structure were investigated through field survey and focused publication review. Historical interpretive analysis and typological analysis supplement the cultural semiotics analysis to assess the timber frame structure attributes concerning architectural language expressions.FindingsFindings reveal that the architectural language signifiers of the structural disposition of the timber framework and its corresponding formal articulation establish a clear statement of the Southern Fujian Chinese cultural identity.Originality/valueThe evaluation of the cultural identity signifiers helps to understand the underlying structure and process of the Chinese cultural semiotics in architecture. Results of this research substantiate the significance of timber frame structure in preserving the architectural heritage of the Southern Fujianese traditional Chinese temples. They provide important references for conservation and cultural studies of such building typology.

Saussure Theory to Determine the Relationship between Sacred Space and Multicultural Community Node. Case Study: Gereja Ayam, Pasar Baru, Jakarta

Many aspects of the Pasar Baru community were influenced by the mixed ethnicity. Churches, Chinese temples, Sikh temples, and mosques, as well as architectural, gastronomic, and religious institutions, expanded across the Pasar Baru, resulting in a multicultural existence. The goal of this research is to see if there is a link between sacred space and community nodes as a signifier/signified of diversity in a multicultural community in order to enhance sustainable urban life. Also, based on the discovery of similar impacts, see if there is a strong recommendation to use the relationship between religious buildings and multicultural ethnic as a basis to construct a multicultural collaboration space. Pasar Baru and Geraja Ayam served as the case study. The semiotic theory of Ferdinand Saussure is employed as an analytical tool in this work. Gereja Ayam has become an icon of Pasar Baru district. Religious sites and community hubs have a strong association. While liveliness and livability can be improved, the (social) sustainability of tourism must be considered. The collaborative venue, which incorporates multicultural arts and designs, is proposed as a means of bringing those many traits to life and strengthening the concept of “Bhinneka Tunggal Ika” to generate income and employment.

Making the local and the decentralized governable: a study of the implementation of the Chinese Temples Ordinance

PurposeThis paper aims at illustrating how the local and the decentralized temple management bodies were made governable and governed through law.Design/methodology/approachThis paper examines the implementation of Chinese Temples Ordinances (the Ordinance) and the activities of the Chinese Temples Committee (the Committee) in Hong Kong during colonial times by analyzing official archival records from 1920s to 1970s.FindingsThis paper delineates how the local and decentralized temple management bodies were made governable under the Ordinance. The Ordinance and the Committee translated Chinese temples into financial resources for Chinese charity activities managed by the elite merchant class. Chinese temples were also sometimes translated as obstacles for land development. Though there existed different representations of Chinese temples in practices, the Committee and related officials provided legal reasons under the same legal framework suggested by the Ordinance.Originality/valueThis paper suggests that folk religion as a research topic is not only relevant to studies of religious doctrine, belief and ritual performances. A study of the history of temple management bodies is also highly relevant to the study of colonial governance in Hong Kong. It adds value to the discussion on the trajectory of the development of local communities.

Religious performance in Malang, Indonesia: Linguistic landscape on worship sign

The name of worship place is closely related to history, ideology, power, and social. Naming a worship place is a symbol of how power represented through text in public spaces. This study aims to look at an environmental print by investigating the performance of religions in Malang, Indonesia, through the use of language in the names of worship places. Data was taken through photography totaling 157 names of worship place including mosques, churches, Buddhist temples, Hindu temples, and Chinese temples. Linguistic landscape analysis carried out to investigate information and symbolic functions. The results show that writing the name of a place of worship involves seven languages, namely Bahasa Indonesia, Arabic, English, Javanese, Sanskrit, Dutch, and Chinese. Monolingual, bilingual, and multilingual forms emerge with Bahasa Indonesia involvement in all patterns. These findings indicate that Bahasa Indonesia has a high level of language competence in society, in addition to language policy, power, and prestige. Bahasa Indonesian used in all places of worship. It also found in English. These two languages combine to support the existence of religious ideologies in the region. Other languages are only able to characterize religious and ethnic identities.

Experimental and Numerical Analysis of Fire Risk in Historic Chinese Temples: A Case in Beijing

ABSTRACT To analyze the extent of fire risk in historic Chinese wooden structure buildings, the fire load characteristics of a historic temple in Beijing were studied. In this paper, thermogravimetric and cone calorimeter experiments were conducted on raw wood collected from historic Chinese buildings. Based on the experiment results, temple fire experiments were conducted in a full-scale model temple with high fire load in a historic Chinese wooden structure temple. FDS software was used to explore the characteristics of fire growth and spread in the initial fire. The results demonstrated that the pyrolysis kinetics parameters of historical wood were smaller than those of fresh wood. The reference temperature at 150°C with wood density of 410 kg/m3 in wooden structure building fire simulation was relatively credible. Flashovers are more likely to occur in historic wooden structure buildings of lower wood density and pyrolysis parameters.

Opium for the Gods

In China, as in India, ritual roles are distributed across the entire social field, rather than being confined to a religious field that is competed over in a quest for the monopolization of its powers. This essay explores the ritual roles of a leader of the Chinese diaspora in Singapore in the second half of the 19th century, drawing on stone inscriptions he wrote in several temples he built or restored, and his burial record, composed by the Chinese Consul General to Singapore, Huang Zunxian (1848-1905). These sources reveal how intricately entangled were the secular, commercial, political and religious realms at the end of the golden age of the Chinese temple network in Southeast Asia.

A Study on the relationship between the formation of “Kobe Chinatown” and Kobe overseas Chinese

The purpose of this study is to understand the relationship between the residential area and “Kobe Chinatown” and surrounding areas of overseas Chinese in Kobe since the opening of Japan and the business area, and to clarify how to get involved with Kobe overseas Chinese that led to the current “Kobe Chinatown”. As for the living area of overseas Chinese in Kobe, we revealed the range of today's Kobe Chinatown area and the surrounding Chinese-related building use, the distribution of Chinese gates and temple, and the location environment from the residential map. In addition, from the literature, we revealed the Kobe Chinatown district and its surrounding areas related to overseas Chinese, and festivals and events related to Kobe overseas Chinese. The results of this study indicate that in Kobe, the residential area of overseas Chinese near the Chinese temple and Kobe Chinatown, which directs Chinese culture, have different aspects in buildings and events, and have a dual structure of Chinese culture. This is related to the history of the city of Kobe, and it can be said that it is a characteristic of Kobe city that aims to become an urban tourist site by using its image while accepting overseas Chinese as residents.

Rock-Carved Buddhas at Ch’ilburam Hermitage in Namsan Mountain, Kyongju

On the Namsan Mountain of Kyongju, can be found the Ch’ilburam rock-carved Buddhas. The seven Buddha and bodhisattva images are significant because of their coexistence in one space and their unique arrangement. The Ch’ilburam sculptor was inspired by the Chinese central pillar caves that the sculptor had knowledge of, and the opportunity to visit. These archetypes of the ‘central pillar cave’ layout exhibit sutra-inscribed walls. By adopting and adapting these architectural elements, Ch’ilburam replicates the primary function of the Chinese cave temple. Ultimately, the Ch’ilburam site is a compromise between the desire for a rock cave temple, and the intractable geology of Korea, which is unsuitable for these purposes. As for the production period, there is a strong case for the view that the Ch’ilburam Buddha triad and four-sided stone pillar were created simultaneously in the early eighth century.

Technologies of the Hungry Ghosts and Underworld Gods

During the seventh lunar month, many Chinese believe that the gates of the underworld open and the spirits return to dwell with the living. During this month, concerts and performances, colloquially known as getai (English: a stage for songs) or kuatai, are staged for both the dead and the living in Singapore and Malaysia. Many Chinese temples and professional videographers in Singapore now provide live streaming of getai performances and spirit possessions during the Hungry Ghost Month. These videos are hosted on Facebook, such as on ‘Singapore Getai’, ‘Singapore Getai Fans Page’, ‘Lixin Fan Page’ and ‘LEX-S Watch Live Channel’. Temples also create Facebook pages where posts of video recordings and live streams of spirit possessions appear. Conventionally, hell and its inhabitants are transported during the seventh month to confined spaces such as private temples, factory sites, ‘void decks’ (a colloquial term for the ground floor of a public housing block), basketball courts or open grass fields where a makeshift stage is erected for the getai performance. Now, with the increasing use of digital technology, deities and spirits perform to the digital camera in ways that extend the performance stage to the digital platform. This suggests that ‘hell’ can shift from a vertical axis (Chinese: 天地人; the realms of heaven, hell and human) to a material stage, where performances of hell percolate as digits on a network that consists of nodes, machines and technologies that mediate the spiritual.

Transformation of the sacred and the profane in space and time case study Chinese ritual in Chinese temple in Bekasi, West Java, Indonesia

Transformation of the sacred and the profane in space and time case study Chinese ritual in Chinese temple in Bekasi, West Java, Indonesia

Religion and the Chinese Diaspora in Southeast Asia

Abstract This paper uses three case studies—(1) community building by Methodist Chinese in Sibu, Sarawak; (2) the construction of transnational temple networks originating in Chinese temples in Sibu; and (3) hybrid spirit medium processions in Kalimantan—to explore aspects of the role of religion within the Chinese diaspora in Southeast Asia. Analytic approaches to Chinese religion proposed by Weber and Mauss are discussed, and an argument is made in favor of following the spread of civilizational techniques into hybrid social and ritual formations.

템플스테이 감각유산체험이 참여 동기와 트랜스포메이션 및 만족도에 미치는 영향: 중국인 템플스테이체험 경험자들을 중심으로

템플스테이 감각유산체험이 참여 동기와 트랜스포메이션 및 만족도에 미치는 영향: 중국인 템플스테이체험 경험자들을 중심으로

템플스테이 감각유산체험이 트랜스포메이션과 행동의도에 미치는 영향 관계에서 몰입의 조절효과 연구 : 중국인 템플스테이 체험자들을 대상으로

본 논문 에서는 템플스테이 감각유산체험이 트랜스포메이션과 행동의도에 영향을 미치는 지를 실증적으로 규명하고, 이러한 영향관계에서 몰입이 조절역할을 수행하는지를 확인하고자 진행되었다. 중국에 위치한 설두사(雪窦寺), 불광산사(佛光山寺), 동화선사(东华禅寺)에서 템플스테이를 체험한 대상자들에게 설문조사를 진행하여 총 342부의 자료를 실증분석에 사용하였으며, 가설검증을 위해 다중회귀분석 및 조절회귀분석을 이용하였다. 분석결과를 살펴보면 첫째, 템플스테이 감각유산체험이 트랜스포메이션(자아인식감, 자아성취감)과 행동의도에 유의한 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 둘째, 템플스테이 체험자들의 트랜스포메이션이 행동의도에 유의한 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 셋째, 템플스테이의 감각유산체험과 행동의도 간에 몰입이 조절효과를 갖는 것으로 나타났다. 넷째, 트랜스포메이션의 하위변수인 자아인식감과 행동의도 간에 몰입이 조절효과를 갖는 것으로 나타났다. 본 연구 결과를 바탕으로 템플스테이의 활성화 측면에서 행동의도를 강화하기 위한 템플스테이 감각유산체험 관점의 시사점과 일상생활에 잃어버린 감각을 되찾는 것, 심신의 안정과 자신의 내면을 돌아보는 트랜스포메이션 등을 위한 시사점을 논의하였다.

Live Streaming and Digital Stages for the Hungry Ghosts and Deities

Many Chinese temples in Singapore provide live streaming of getai (English: a stage for songs) during the Hungry Ghost Month as well as deities’ birthday celebrations and spirit possessions—a recent phenomenon. For instance, Sheng Hong Temple launched its own app in 2018, as part of a digital turn that culminated in a series of live streaming events during the temple’s 100-year anniversary celebrations. Deities’ visits to the temple from mainland China and Taiwan were also live-streamed, a feature that was already a part of the Taichung Mazu Festival in Taiwan. Initially streamed on RINGS.TV, an app available on Android and Apple iOS, live videos of getai performances can now be found on the more sustainable platform of Facebook Live. These videos are hosted on Facebook Pages, such as “Singapore Getai Supporter” (which is listed as a “secret” group), “Singapore Getai Fans Page”, “Lixin Fan Page”, and “LEX-S Watch Live Channel”. These pages are mainly initiated and supported by LEX(S) Entertainment Productions, one of the largest entertainment companies running and organising getai performances in Singapore. This paper critically examines this digital turn and the use of digital technology, where both deities and spirits are made available to digital transmissions, performing to the digital camera in ways that alter the performative aspects of religious festivals and processions. In direct ways, the performance stage extends to the digital platform, where getai hosts, singers, and spirit mediums have become increasingly conscious that they now have a virtual presence that exceeds the live event.

Chinese Temple Networks in Southeast Asia: A WebGIS Digital Humanities Platform for the Collaborative Study of the Chinese Diaspora in Southeast Asia

This article introduces a digital platform for collaborative research on the Chinese diaspora in Southeast Asia, focusing on networks of Chinese temples and associations extending from Southeast China to the various port cities of Southeast Asia. The Singapore Historical Geographic Information System (SHGIS) and the Singapore Biographical Database (SBDB) are expandable WebGIS platforms gathering and linking data on cultural and religious networks across Southeast Asia. This inter-connected platform can be expanded to cover not only Singapore but all of Southeast Asia. We have added layers of data that go beyond Chinese Taoist, Buddhist, and popular god temples to also display the distributions of a wide range of other religious networks, including Christian churches, Islamic mosques, Hindu temples, and Theravadin, which are the Taiwanese, Japanese and Tibetan Buddhist monasteries found across the region. This digital platform covers a larger area than the Taiwan History and Culture in Time and Space (THCTS) historical GIS platform but is more regionally focused than the ECAI (Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative) By incorporating Chinese inscriptions, extensive surveys of Chinese temples and associations, as well as archival and historical sources, this platform provides new materials and new perspectives on the Chinese diaspora in Southeast Asia. This paper: (1) outlines key research questions underlying these digital humanities platforms; (2) describes the overall architecture and the kinds of data included in the SHGIS and the SBDB; (3) reviews past research on historical GIS; and provides (4) a discussion of how incorporating Chinese epigraphy of Southeast Asia into these websites can help scholars trace networks across the entire region, potentially enabling comparative work on a wide range of religious networks in the region. Part 5 of the paper outlines technical aspects of the WebGIS platform.

Respecting silence: Longing, rhythm, and Chinese temples in an age of bulldozers

ABSTRACT This essay distinguishes the silence that makes rhythm (and thus ritual) possible, and the silence of loss and longing. It argues that both, as they intertwine, are crucial parts of the adjustment to traumatic change. The interaction between these two kinds of silence offers an alternative to theories that focus primarily on speaking as a way of overcoming trauma, or on silence as antisocial. The ethnographic evidence comes from a surgical case that illustrates the basic approach, followed by a case of rapid urbanization on the outskirts of a large Chinese city, involving the resettlement of 100,000 people. Both cases show the two kinds of silence as they resonate with each other. The analysis argues that silence is not just the absence of sound, but a necessary part of all the rhythms of life, not replaced but invoked by speech.

A historical comparative analysis of the community transformation of Tin Hau temples in Sai Kung and Shaukiwan

PurposeThis article investigates social history in Hong Kong and compares their community transformation with two Tin Hau temples in Hong Kong, namely the Sai Kung Tin Hau and Hip Tin Temple and Shaukiwan Tin Hau Old Temple.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is conducts a historical comparison to evaluate the vitality of traditional regions in Hong Kong with particular attention to the extent and intensity of its religious practice.FindingsThe paper fills a gap in the literature by comprehensively investigating Chinese temple related societies and communities. Most previous studies of Chinese temples and their rituals have treated them in isolation from their political contexts, emphasizing topics such as iconography over details of temple communities and their relationships with other elements of the social structure.Originality/valueThe research works from the point of view how the religious situation reflects important social characteristics and transformation of Shaukiwan and Sai Kung which were contemporary urban communities.