Short History of the Temple:

The dusky and incense-filled Wak Hai Cheng Bio Temple on the Central Business District (CBD) edge of Chinatown, is tucked away at the corner of Church Street and Phillip Street, beneath the towering banks. This Taoist temple is also known as the Yueh Hai Ching Temple, which translates as Calm Sea Temple.

The temple was built in the 1850s by the local Teochew community for the protection of traders travelling between Singapore and China. The temple, which combines the worship of both Buddhism and Taoism, has an ornately decorated roof that depicts Chinese village life, including ceramic shops, an opera stage and houses. In the courtyard is a furnace where paper money is burned to assist the deceased in their journey to the "west".

Dating from 1826, it's an atmospheric place, with giant incense coils smoking over its empty courtyard, and a whole village of tiny plaster figures populating its roof.

A Night in the Temple

One of the oldest temple, regardless of the old outlook and the old age, Yue Hai Qing Temple still carried on their custom on celebration Yuan Xiao/Tian Guan's birthday on every year, the 14th day of the 1st Lunar Month.

This year (2007), I was there ard 11.00pm on the 14th night. When I reach there, the temple was already "filled" with devotees from the Teochew and Cantonese Clans (this is the temple and the most important day for the 2 Clans) and of cos, some Hokkiens :P

Again, the same scene that you can see at all temples during big celebrations, small stalls are set-up outside selling flowers, fruits, incenses, joss-paper and peaches bun for paying-of-respect.

At the main entrance, it's divided into 2 ways, one In and one Out, I think this is quite good as so, the devotees who are coming out wont block the way for those who are going in :P

After entering into the temple, you can see lots of devotees squating down on the main plot outside the temple offering their incenses and burning of joss-paper. If I'm not wrong, in Spore, this is the only temple left with such practising.

Inside the temple, smoky as-ever, all devotees were there "fighting" for their way to the altar to offer their incenses. Eventhough it's hot & stuffy & smoky, but not much complaints or unhappiness could be seen on their faces, maybe most of them understand that this is a day that all Chinese must be happy in-order for the Deities to send out their "Blessing" :P

After paying my respect to the temple on the left-hand side - Ma Zu Temple, I proceed to the next-door temple - Xuan Tian Shang Di Temple. On the way, I was being greeted by the one of the temple keepers as "Master", I was shocked and immediately return my greeting (cos I'm wearing the traditional robe from my Organisation and I'm there str8 after my Ritual). Usually from comments from people in the Tao Circle that this temple always give people a very "cold" feeling, but on that night, my view changed.

After a short chat with some of the Temple-keepers, I went ard the temple to have a closer look, to my surprise, I found that in the temple, there's a side altar that being dedicated to the 60 Tai Suis, and the 2nd surprise that I had was, on each statue, the Chinese year and name of the Tai Sui were being carved on it. By observing the outlook of the statues, they did look old, so I'm sure they had been "living" in the temple for quite sometime.

Besides the normal offering sessions, the temple also engaged Cantonese Taoist Priests to conduct the "Tai Sui" Blessing Rituals, so next year, if you are interested to pay-your-respect to the Tai Sui under the cantonese chanting, you can proceed to this temple :P

Before I made my leave, I got one of my friends to "invite" a Flag from the temple home. Hope that by "inviting" the flag home, I can be blessed for good luck throughout the year.. hee hee.

~ Written on 9 Mar 2007 ~