Chinatown Walking Tour – Thian Hock Keng Temple

Well, I finally got Paul out today for a walking tour, but OH! what a day – humidity like you wouldn’t believe and it was so HOT! We did have a very interesting tour and didn’t get back to the hotel until 3:30pm or so, and man, we’re both exhausted tonight! It was a 4-hour tour of Chinatown and for this post, I will just give you a glimpse and focus on the Thian Hock Keng Temple (oldest Hokkien-Chinese temple in S’pore) meaning “Temple of Heavenly Blessings.”
It was a beautiful temple but our first introduction to it was tempered by the fact that there were tour buses blocking a view of the whole temple (I’ll have to go back and get some photos once all of the tourists leave next week! Those darn tourists – LOL).
Helena (pronounced like the capital of Montana), our tour guide today, was fantastic and is a direct descendent of a Chinese migrant worker who ended up staying in S’pore. Her knowledge was just tremendous and I don’t think I’ll be able to do it justice; needless to say, you’ll have to come here and take the tour yourself!
Above you see her leaning against a lion – this is at the entrance to the Temple. Additionally, you have to step over an 18” threshold to enter the Temple. Helena said that some believe it was to keep the sea water from coming into the temple but actually all Chinese Temples like this have the threshold because it forces you, by stepping over, to bow when you enter.

For the carpenters reading this, you’ll be interested to know that the Temple was constructed using Tongue and Groove joints. In Chinese heritage and architecture, nails are only used for the dead. The Temple was renovated in 2000 and you see it in the vibrant colors. The Dragons on top of the Temple symbolize power and the Ying/Yang. Dragons with 5 Claws are a symbol of the Emperor. The “pearl” in the middle of the two dragons below is the “blazing pearl of mortality.” It is put in the mouth of the deceased; it gives the deceased light in which to see the path to “heaven.”
Interestingly enough, the picture below of the “Gold Tablets” are markers for the deceased; if a person wanted a better place in the “cabinet” they would buy his or her tablet ahead of time. In that case, a red piece of paper would be placed over it until he or she died. I’ll have more to post later on how the Chinese used to treat the dying and the dead. The symbols that Helena is pointing to are the Crane meaning Long Life; the four Bats for Luck; and a Vase meaning peace.

Guan Shi Yin Pu Sa is the Goddess/God who has stayed behind in between life and death to help people reach Nirvana (see below). One interesting aspect of Guan is that women (in the past) never exposed their bare feet to another except their husbands. You’ll note that Guan has her feet bare – the shortest reason I can give is that Guan originally started as a man but through different legends has become a woman, thus the reason for the exposed bare feet. I would have never picked up on that nuance if Helena hadn’t pointed it out.
Last but not least, Confucius. There was a shrine to him in the Temple and I was reading in a recent newspaper article that his teachings are gaining in popularity again.
Here is Helena’s version of his teachings:
1. Absolute obedience for Rulers
2. Absolute obedience for Parents
3. Be Kind for Kindness Sake
4. Be Moral for Morality Sake
Confucius’s teachings were approximately 500 years before Christ and his version of the Golden Rule was first but somewhat long: do not do unto others as others would not do unto you. Christ’s version was a little simpler, but now you see how the teaching had been in the works for awhile.
This is only Part I of Chinatown…come back later for info on the Chinese Migrants Workers, Chinatown Wet Market, Burning Artifacts, Nutmeg and Cinnamon Trees, etc.