Guangrenwang Temple in Ruicheng, Shanxi
In Ruicheng County, Shanxi Province, 4 kilometers north of the county seat, the Guangrenwang Temple rises on a raised mound in Longquan Village, right next to the present-day Yongle Palace. This spot marks the ancient Wei city of the Rui State. The temple's foundation occupies the northern corner of the old city ruins, backed by ancient ramparts and facing clear springs and ponds, with willows lining the banks—a scene of tranquil garden beauty. The temple is dedicated to a water deity honored as 'Guangrenwang' (King of Broad Benevolence), hence its name. The Wu Long Spring (Five Dragon Spring) gushes from beneath the temple's foundation, giving it another popular name: the Five Dragon Temple. This building is the second-oldest surviving Tang Dynasty wooden structure in China, after the Main Hall of Nanchan Temple in Wutai County, Xinzhou, Shanxi (built in 782 AD).
The temple complex is a classic courtyard design, comprising a stage, side rooms (now lost), and the main hall, all enclosed by walls with a gate at the southeast corner.
The main hall is a wooden structure dating from the fifth year of the Taihe era of the Tang Dynasty (831 AD). It spans five bays wide and four rafters deep, topped by a single-eave hip-and-gable roof, with a rectangular floor plan. The capitals carry only architraves (horizontal beams that link and bear loads at column tops) without pu bai fang (the additional blocks that usually sit on architraves between columns to help support the bracket sets). The hall features column-top bracket sets (dougong placed directly above columns, taking the main loads) but no intercolumnar bracket sets, a distinct Tang-era construction method. The platform stands 1.2 meters high. Sixteen perimeter columns support the eaves, while the interior is completely column-free, leaving all roof beams exposed. The structure is elegant and simple, the roof slope gentle, and after more than a millennium, it still stands imposingly.
Embedded in the main hall's walls are two Tang Dynasty stone steles. One is the 'Record of the Guangrenwang Dragon Spring,' erected in the third year of the Yuanhe era under Emperor Xianzong (808 AD), with calligraphy by Pei Shaowei of Hedong—bold and graceful. It tells how the county magistrate, Lord Yu, channeled the spring water to irrigate the fields, enlivening the account by citing the ancient story of Ximen Bao diverting the Zhang River to bring prosperity to Ye, thus highlighting Lord Yu's achievements in Ruicheng. The second stele, the 'Record of the Dragon Spring,' set up in the sixth year of the Taihe era under Emperor Wenzong (832 AD), records the full story of the temple's expansion and renovation.
Facing the main hall to the south stands a north-facing stage. Though added in the Qing Dynasty, it blends seamlessly with the Tang-era architecture.
