Before going into the grand hall, you can see a plaque on the gate with the name “City God Temple”. This is written by Zhao Puchu, former vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. The couplet here, be written by scholar Mo Bingqing of the Qing dynasty, are quite famous. It says:
Be a good person, and hence win mental and physical health;
Do decent things, hence win the respect of the gods.
The couplets here shows the common aspect of Taoism: it teaches people to be decent in simple words and promised them rewards.
The main deity of the grand hall is Jin Shan God Huo Guang, as Shanghai was originally named as Jin Shan, which means Golden Mountain. Huo Guang was a government official and a politician from the Han Dynasty. Huo used to serve Emperor Hanwu the Great. According to the record, when the pirates attacked the Golden Mountain at Shanghai, the Chinese army were able to drive them away under Huo’s protection. The local residents built the Golden Mountain Temple in memory of Huo; when the temple was renamed City God Temple, people still offered sacrifices to Huo, who guards Shanghai as a City God.
In front of Huo’s statue, there are two assistant officials: the one with the white face records the good things people have done and take charge of the good ghosts; the black-faced one records the bad things people have done, taking charge of the bad ghosts.
On each side of the grand hall, there’s a patrol officer: one patrol in the day, the other one at night. There are also four officers on each side of the hall. Two of them take down information and requests; two of them transfer the information; two give the information to the City God; two deal with the response.
The City God of Shanghai takes care of the Shanghai residents and their progenies. His officers will take record of people’s behaviors and then report to the two main officers. White assistant officer keeps records of the good things, while his black comrade keeps records of the bad things. When people die, City God will be involved for the judgment. Those whose beneficences outweigh their sins are sent to heaven to receive all the rewards; those whose evildoings outweigh their kind deeds are dispatched down to hell to be punished.
The plaque hanging in the grand hall is written by former Shanghai Library manager, calligrapher Gu Tinglong. It says“to shepherd the people”, meaning the City God takes charge and teaches the local residents. There are also two couplets in the grand hall. The one on the front was written after 1994, donated by Zhao Zhendong of the Hong Kong Yuen Xuan Institute. It reads:
The gods protect the people and bring harmony and peace to the country;
The gods follows the wise path, deposit sweet rain to the land and save the people.
The couplet inside has been at City God Temple for a long time. It is written in the time of the Republic of China, by the famous Shanghai philanthropist and calligrapher
Wang Zhen. The couplet reads:
If you gather your wealth by exploiting others, your children will devour your wealth;
If you commit adultery, others will do the same to your wife and daughter.
This couplet serves as a paean for the glory of the City God as well as a warn against committing crimes.
The paintings on the walls are the works of famous artist Dai Dunbang. The name is “A Happy Gathering of the Deities.” It has more than 100 Taoist deities in it, including San Qing, the Taoist trinity which is the highest and absolute truth of the universe, and Yu Huang, the Jade Emperor who is the Lord of the world; and Mother Dou Mu, who is the mother of all the stars on the heaven; and Emperors of Sky, Land and Water who are in charge of the daily records of people’s behavior on the earth; and Dragon Kings of the four oceans who in charge of the raining and snow; and God of Wealth; God of War (or Lord Guan); God of Literature (Wen Chang) who in charge of all the academic issues; and Master Zhang the founder of religious Taoism. These Taoist deities are gathering together with delight. It’s a sacred picture. Dai’s painting inherits the tradition of the grand paintings at the Yong Le Palace of the Yuan Dynasty. It has strong lines, rich colors, and the god’s expressions are vivid. Standing in the grand hall with eyes fixed upon the painting, you’ll feel surrounded by the gods in a celestial atmosphere.