Thursday, October 7, 2010

City God temple and Yuyuan in Shanghai (城隍廟 and 豫園)

Was sick... and really sick when I was in Shanghai...  Yet, I was determined to be a tourist however sick I was, I went out to visit Yuyuan (豫園) and 城隍廟 (City God temple) in Shanghai one afternoon... after 3:00 o'clock when it was less likely for me to get an additional sickness called heat stroke...  8-X

The view of 豫園 from the street
If my understanding is correct, and, correct me shall I be wrong, 豫園, today, refers to the garden hidden behind the gated door in the center of the shopping area, which you need to pay to get in and closes at 5:00 o'clock at least during the summer time.  By the time I got there, it was already after 5.  I did see 豫園.. although only the walls and the roof... 8-O lol

Accordingly, 豫園 was built by 潘允端 to please his father in Ming dynasty.  Apparently, when the 潘 family was at its heights, they might have owned about half of the Shanghai.  Unfortunately, after the passing of 潘允端, the family declined rapidly and eventually sold out the majority of the family properties...

How sad.

Another reason I did not pursuit further was that I had intended to go to Suzhou (蘇州)... though... where there are quite a few huge pavilions alike...

Never though I would live to see myself to be too sick to even take that trip and didn't make it back to 豫園 as well... 8-O lol

沉香閣
天王殿of 沉香閣
The roof view of 沉香閣
Thereafter, however sick I was...

I decided to go on searching for da temple... 城隍廟...

I asked people... "Where is 城隍廟 (the city God temple)?"

They mostly gave me a strange look and said.. "This is 城隍廟."

As if... Duh...

I then asked again, "If there is 城隍廟, there's gotta be a temple.  Where is the temple?"

Most people went... 8-O

I did find a temple and thought this might be that 城隍廟 they were talking about... Again, after 5, even if I wanted to pay that 5-Chinese-dollar worth of cover charge, the door already closed.

All that I could do was trying to take some pictures from outside of the metal gate... while wondering to myself...

I saw the word "沉香閣" or "天王殿," but, how come I don't see the word 城隍廟 at all?

Regardless, I came for a temple and I found a temple with a cover charge.  This gotta be the temple I was looking for?  Right?

With the temple found, I felt really settled and went back to look around the shopping areas where I was before.

It was not until after I went home and did some googling did I find out that... apparently, there is a good reason...

Simply 沉香閣 is 沉香閣 and 城隍廟 is 城隍廟.  Two different things... 8-O lol

沉香閣 is a Buddhist temple and remains to be a temple today.

In other words, what I found was the Buddhist temple of 沉香閣 but not the Taoist temple of 城隍廟.

On the other hand, 城隍廟 today seems to be synonymous to a shopping district.  The reason why people were staring at me as if I were such a retard was because... I was in 城隍廟, they told me it was 城隍廟 where I was and I insisted to have not found 城隍廟.



Yet... today still I say...

"How would I know? For... Where is the 廟?" 8-O lol

Speaking of cognitive inflexibility and script or mental model? lol

Then, just when I am absolutely convinced that there exist no 廟 and it is all me and my cognitive inflexibility...

I did some googling around to look at some other picture of上海城隍廟..

And... ちょっと まって... wait a minute...  

So they say... hidden in the entire area... there really is a .... (Don't tell me that its the City God tell me to not spread no rumor based on my own ignorance... oops... 8-O lol)




I was right all along... there is a 廟 in 城隍廟... or there really is a temple... 8-O

This is when I came to ponder... then... why did those people look at me as if I were crazy?


 Unless.. for them.. the concept of 城隍廟 no longer associate with 廟?  Or... for them... the tourist's concept of 城隍廟 associate only with the shopping district? 8-O

To date, I still have no inkling about where this 廟 part of 城隍廟 is.

Ain't no biggie anyways...

Maybe you can find out for me when you go visit 城隍廟 and 豫園 in Shanghai...


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