Geomantic Architecture Theory: Geomantic Layout of Macau Land Temple

In the past, the topography of Macao was quite special. It is semi-connected by three continents, namely Macau Island, Taipa

Geomantic Architecture Theory: Geomantic Layout of Macau Land Temple

In the past, the topography of Macao was quite special. It is semi-connected by three continents, namely Macau Island, Taipa Island and Coloane Island. Because these three lands are distributed in different shapes, they look like a lotus and a small crab in the water from the air. Therefore, in Feng Shui, Macao is also called "Lotus Land" or "Crab Land".

More than 400 years ago, Macao's local residents mainly came from Guangdong and Fujian. The indigenous people preach and believe in Buddhism, and everyone lives in harmony to build Macao's prosperity. The author Xiong Jinshen made a statistic and found that Guanyin, Guandi, Land God, Kitchen God and Mazu are the most frequently worshipped by Macao residents, among which Guandi and Land God are the main business people. So Guanyin, kitchen god and land god are the main living places.

The streets of Macao crisscross. According to the previous Portuguese street management law, it can be roughly divided into: street (such as Moshan Street), lane (such as Canyon Lane), road (such as Putin Road), road (such as Guanzha Road), lane (such as Watermelon Lane), enclosure (such as elbow enclosure), square (such as Bapo Shafang), city (such as Xiahuan small city) and exit. Basically, you can see the land temple in three streets, two lanes and one lane. Some land temples in Australia conform to the layout of geomantic omen, and some are built by pilgrims.

There are three famous land temples in Macau: 1) Shalitou Land Temple (the oldest), 2) Quezaiyuan Land Temple (the most pilgrims) and 3) Xiahuan Fude Temple (the most plaques). In addition, Chai Earth Temple, Ash Burning Furnace Earth Temple and Dadun Earth Temple have a long history, and most of them were built in Tongzhi or Guangxu years. In fact, there are also many believers in the Land Temple and Jinghu Road Land Temple in the middle section of Baposha Road in Taishan.

The land temples in Macao have their own unique feng shui pattern, which can be simply divided into:

1) Temple

The status of the land god is relatively low. Although it is euphemistically called "land god", it is actually not a land god, but a Buddha all over the sky. The most typical example is the Shalitou Earth Temple, which enshrines the Virgin, Guanyin, Medicine Fairy, General Horsehead and so on. The Fude Temple in Riverside Street is dedicated to the Land Lord, Guanyin, Guan Gong, Mazu, Northern Emperor and so on. The construction technology of the land temple in Macao is simple, and the gables are mostly simple, giving people a feeling of simplicity.

2) Temple niches

This kind of land temple has three walls with golden roof, which can be divided into two types: large and small. Large-scale land is placed on the roadside to worship pilgrims, mostly with single-slope roofs and walls painted red. The roof is mainly red and green, and there is a smoke pipe next to it, which is used for smoking. Small-scale land is land provided by people in front of houses/shops to protect houses.

3) Sacred status

Most of the land temples are in the form of memorial tablets, which are simple in construction, about 1.6 meters high and vertical. They are surrounded by brick walls or cement stones on three sides and are mostly distributed in streets, among which the land god in Ziyi Street is a pilgrim.

This memorial tablet has one characteristic. When burning incense, believers should bend over 90 degrees to burn incense, which is a worship ceremony.

4) Trees

Macao was a fishing village more than 400 years ago with narrow village roads. Many villagers will put the land god under the banyan tree to pray for peace. The ancients thought that trees were attached to gods, so the streets regarded trees as "social gods", and the villagers could be safe under the protection of "social gods" The land god is the local protector. Land supply under trees is also related to geomantic omen. It is not suitable to build a village at the source and inlet, because the gas can't gather together, which is not good for people. A memorial archway is built at the entrance, and a temple is built at the end of the estuary. You can return to the hall and people will come up. Therefore, a land temple will be built at the entrance or end of the village, which is called "Tian Tou Tian Wei Land Lord" and has the mission of guarding the village.

5) Graveyard

The ancients believed that after death, the land god led the way to the underworld, and the land god was the Yin god. Providing land at the entrance to the cemetery has two main responsibilities. First, guarding the tomb; Second, take care of the dead.

6) Landing at the entrance

Doorway refers to the land sign in front of a house or shop, which has many forms. Common ones are: small triangle, semicircle and feldspar, some on the left and some on the right.