March 01 (Lunar calendar: February 10), 2023 Wednesday | Dawnxisoul393art

  

《Golden Flower Goddess》, painted by dawnxisoul393

First Part: Goddess of Golden Flower, Peng Chau, Hong Kong

It is difficult to express in words the destiny we have with Peng Chau Island，and our experience of living on the beautiful island of Peng Chau is unforgettable! Although Peng Chau Island is small in size, we still found many rich traditions of different religions and cultures here. There are many temples in Peng Chau, which shows the sincere worship of the people of Peng Chau to the gods. According to local folklore, the Goddess of Golden Flower is one of the nine deities.  These nine great gods are Guanyin Bodhisattva, Compassion Bodhisattva, and “Yuanjun （Primordial Lady）”, the protector of the country and the people, etc. The Goddess of Golden Flower of Ping Chau, also known as the Holy Mother of Golden Flower of Peng Chau, specializes in heirship, fertility, and protection of the fetus. It is a popular temple for singles seeking marriage，or married couples seeking children, and many couples who have been married for many years and have no children at all are fond of worshipping the goddess, hoping to get a son, a daughter，or a grandchild.

Illustrated by dawnxisoul393

It is said that the Golden Flower goddess was the daughter of a military general in ancient times. She was talented, versatile in ancient Qin, chess, calligraphy, and painting, filial to her parents, reasonable, and enthusiastic. Golden Flower secretly learned his father's martial arts from an early age and had exquisite skills. It could be called a combination of literature and martial arts. At that time, corrupt officials were in power, and people's life was very difficult. Golden Flower was famous for her martial arts skills, she often helped the poor by upholding justice. Her deeds were widely praised among the people. One day, Golden Flower was chased by government soldiers while performing a chivalrous act and fled to a cave on the mountain to hide. When his father learned that his beloved daughter was missing, together with many people who love Golden Flower, he found a cave in the mountain，it was found that there was no trace of her daughter in the cave, only a stone similar to her daughter's shape. People immediately worshiped her in front of the human-shaped stone, reverently calling her "Goddess of Salvation". Then, about 500 years ago [around 1500 AD], a fisherman fished in the waters near Peng Chau and found a humanoid wood with the words "Golden Flower Sacrifice （金花禡）". The fisherman placed the humanoid wood in the bow of the boat.

Illustrated by dawnxisoul393

From then on, the fisherman's catch was better than other fishermen's, and he was still loaded with fish when other fishermen had no catch. Later, this fisherman told all the fishermen about this, and the fishermen wrote the words "Golden Flower Sacrifice （金花禡）" on the red papers and put them on the bows of the boats like him. From then on, the fishermen had a rich harvest and everything went smoothly on every fishing trip. As the story spread around, many people came to worship. They built a simple Golden Flower Temple in Peng Chau Island and started to worship the Goddess of Golden Flower, which has been passed down to this day. In 1762, a pharmacist named Lai Kwok-man was looking for herbal remedies to treat his wife, who was very sick, but repeated treatments did not work.

When he came to the shore of what is now Peng Chau Island, he found a shrine to the Goddess of Golden Flowers worshipped by fishermen. Although the shrine was small, the pharmacist knelt down and prayed to the Goddess of Golden Flower to bless his wife with a cure for her illness. Upon his return, his wife recovered miraculously. In order to thank the Goddess, the pharmacist returned to Peng Chau and established the first formal temple of the Golden Flower Temple in Peng Chau Island. In 1978, when the temple fell into disrepair, some kind of people raised money to rebuild the temple， the temple was reborn. The temple has an ancient banyan tree, an ancient well in the shape of eight trigrams, and The shrine of the Goddess of the Golden Flower, known as the "Upper Garden", was set up behind the temple to provide a place for the gods and goddesses who came to see the Goddess of the Golden Flower. Next to the statue of the Goddess of Golden Flowers, there is a statue of the Master Kwan Tak Hing. The disciples of Master Kwan Tak Hing come to celebrate the birthday of the Golden Flower Goddess every year with a lion and golden dragon procession.

In addition to the blessing ceremony on the birthday of the Goddess of Golden Flower, the temple also arranges a ceremony to “wake up the lions”, distributes peace rice and gifts and hosts a banquet for the volunteers in the evening. It is said that Golden Flower Temple is very effective in seeking children and marriage, and this can be seen from the couplet in front of the temple, which reads: "Whether you want children or grandchildren your requests will be fulfilled。 Whether you want boys or girls your wishes will come true." It is said that no matter what wishes people have if they sincerely pray to the Goddess of Golden Flower, they will be answered. Every year on the 17th day of the 4th month of the lunar calendar, the temple welcomes all believers to come and pray for the blessing of the Goddess of Golden Flower. On the day before the birthday of the Golden Flower Goddess (April 16 on the lunar calendar), the director of Peng Chau Golden Flower Temple will hold a ceremony in front of the temple and on the east, south, west, and north sides of Peng Chau Island.

Illustrated by dawnxisoul393

At 10:00am on the day of the Golden Flower Goddess' birthday, Mr. Kwan Han-chuen, son of Kwan Tak-Hing, and his friends led the Golden Dragon and Lion Dance team to parade around the island to celebrate. Both Mr. Chris Patten, the last Governor of Hong Kong, and Mr. Tung Chee-hwa, the first Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, visited the temple and signed the temple's VIP book. In the back of the temple, the "upper garden" is dedicated to the idol of Tai Shang Lao Jun. The word "upper garden" was inscribed by Master Kwan Tak Hing himself during his lifetime. the "upper garden" is open for worship on the birthday of the Goddess of Golden Flower, the birthday of Master Kwan Tak Hing  and the first day of the New Year.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, the faithful can receive a profit letter for the blessing of the year. All of the volunteers who participate in the celebrations, the daytime cleaners, and all of the volunteers who attend the activities do so on a voluntary and volunteer basis, we admire their devotion and dedication. People who come to the Golden Flower Temple to ask for a child put up incense and fruit offerings, kneel and pray, and ask the Goddess of Golden Flower to give them a child, and it is said that it always works. After having children or having a happy marriage, people will come back to thank the Golden Flower Goddess. The Goddess of Golden Flower is a symbol of the working people's love, aspiration, and pursuit of a better life. People from everywhere to the temple to worship the Goddess of Golden Flower, and we were very impressed by the bustling scene. 

Last year our daughter was born. Except for the two or three days when we gave birth to our daughter in the hospital, we went back to live with the Golden Flower Goddess for several months each before and after the birth of our daughter in order to be grateful to her and to receive her blessing.

Second Part: The General Protector of the Golden Flower Temple

Master Kwan Tak Hing, known as the "modern martial arts master Wong Fei Hung", was a Hong Kong film and television actor (born in Guangzhou in 1905 during the late Qing Dynasty, who died in Hong Kong in 1996 due to illness). When he was two or three years old, he was carried away by an abductor on the road. When he passed the government gate, he suddenly burst into tears. The abductor was frightened, put him down, and ran away. The officials of the government sent him home. At the age of 12, Kwan began to earn money by his physical strength, working as a construction worker, and at the age of 13, Kwan went to Singapore, where he worked as a waiter in a restaurant and began to study theatre. In his 60 years of acting, Kwan has starred in 130 films, 77 of these movies are about Wong Fei Hung (Wong was a famous martial arts master in the late Qing Dynasty). In the spring of 1996, Kwan received an honorary doctorate in humanities from Armstrong University in San Francisco, USA.

Illustrated by dawnxisoul393

In 1981, a few days before the birthday of the Goddess of Golden Flowers in Peng Chau, Hong Kong （17th day of the 4th lunar month）, Kwan was on a business trip in Japan, and while sleeping at night, he received a dream from the Goddess Golden Flower. The Golden Flower Goddess instructs Kwan to go to the Golden Flower Temple in Peng Chau to celebrate her birthday. In the dream, the Golden Flower Goddess asked Kwan what he wished for and stated that she would grant all of Kwan's wishes. Kwan replied in the dream that he wouldn't have any wishes, but only asked for good health. Kwan also stated that he did not know before that there was a Golden Flower Temple in Peng Chau. On the same night, the director of the Golden Flower Temple in Peng Chau also met the Golden Flower Goddess in a dream and said that she wanted Master Kwan Tak Hing to help repair the Golden Flower Temple. At the same time, Goddess Golden Flower said that when Master Kwan came to Peng Chau to celebrate her birthday, the director had to welcome him personally.

The next day, the director told the neighbours of Peng Chau, but many people did not believe it at that time. On her birthday, Master Kwan brought his disciples to Peng Chau to celebrate the goddess' birthday, while the director and many people greeted them warmly in front of the temple. With such an experience, Master Kwan began to bring his disciples to the Golden Flower Temple in Peng Chau every week to pay homage. But every time he came home from Peng Chau, he would be sick for a long time, and then Master Kwan informed the director about it. When the director learned of this, he immediately reported it to the Goddess of Golden Flower. That night, Master Kwan dreamed that the Goddess Golden Flower explained to him that he had been sick during this time was actually the Goddess testing his sincerity and said that if Master Kwan continued his pilgrimage, he would be cured and would be healthier and have a higher reputation. So Master Kwan continued to worship the Goddess at Peng Chau and became healthier and healthier. After that, Master Kwan worshipped the Goddess as his teacher.

Illustrated by dawnxisoul393

A few months later, Master Kwan was awarded the MBE by the Queen of England. The following year, in 1982, on the birthday of the Goddess of Golden Flower, Master Kwan together with other friends and disciples, led a team of golden dragons and lions into the Golden Flower Temple in Peng Chau on a special boat to celebrate the birthday of the Goddess, which became an annual event. In the middle of the same year, Master Kwan initiated a fund-raising activity for the restoration and expansion of the Golden Flower Temple in Peng Chau to thank the Goddess for her kindness. At this time, the director received a dream from the Goddess of Golden Flower that she did not want to expand the temple because she wanted the people to come to the temple out of sincerity, not because of the splendour of the temple. So finally, Master Kwan only repaired and renovated the temple. Since then, every year on the 17th day of the 4th month of the lunar calendar, Master Kwan always led the lion dance team to Peng Chau to celebrate the birthday of the Goddess of Golden Flower.

To show his respect to the Goddess of Golden Flowers, Every year, at the birthday party held in his honour by his disciples, Master Kwan would make offerings to the Goddess of Golden Flower and instructed his disciples to pay homage to the Goddess of Golden Flower before wishing him a happy birthday. All the money received from the birthday banquet was donated to charity. Thereafter, he would seek advice from the Goddess of the Golden Flower on every important matter. In the second half of 1995, when Master Kwan went to Peng Chau to say goodbye to the Goddess of Golden Flower before he left for his vacation in the United States, the Goddess of Golden Flowers appeared in his dreams and asked him if he was willing to help all sentient beings, and Master Kwan immediately said yes. The following year, 1996, the second day after the death of Master Kwan, the director of the Golden Flower Temple in Peng Chau and the many people were instructed by the Goddess of Golden Flower that since Master Kwan was a heavenly deity in his previous life, and in this life, he was also kind and respectful to his teachers and elders, and he has accumulated a lot of merits and virtues, so he can return to the immortal world, and he has been appointed by the Goddess of Golden Flower as a General Protector to assist the Goddess of Golden Flower to help all beings.

One hundred and three days after the death of master Kwan Tak Hing (i.e. August 27, 1996), the General Protector Kwan Tak Hing's statue was escorted to Peng Chau by his son, Mr Kwan and friends, and the lion dance team. Then, all members of the Board of Trustees of the Golden Flower Temple in Peng Chau, together with the former Chairman of the Hong Kong Islands District Council and Chairman of the Peng Chau Rural Committee, Mr Lam Wai Keung, J.P., and all the village gentry admitted the Protector General Kwan Tak Hing's statue into the Golden Flower Temple in Peng Chau., placed on the left of the Golden Flower goddess for people to worship. Since 1997, the 27th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar is the anniversary of the immortalization of the Protector General Kwan Tak Hing, Mr Kwan, son of Master Kwan Tak Hing, and his friends lead the Golden Dragon and Lion Dance Team into Golden Flower Temple in Peng Chau to celebrate this day.

Lion Dance, Illustrated by dawnxisoul393

Since the 1950s, Master Kwan Tak Hing has been a household name in Hong Kong, but the most unexpected thing is that after his death, Master Kwan was ordained by the Golden Flower Temple in Peng Chau, Hong Kong, and became the "Protector General" of the Golden Flower Temple, and his statue was placed on the left side of the Golden Flower Goddess and worshipped by the people. After Mr Kwan Tak Hing became the Protector General, at first his statue was a 13-inch high wooden statue, which was transformed into a gold body after 5 years.

Third Part: The Golden Flower Goddess in Guangzhou

The Goddess of the Golden Flower of Peng Chau Island in Hong Kong is revered by all and her fertility and child delivery culture has spread all over the world, however, in Guangzhou City of Guangdong Province and Lanzhou City of Gansu Province in China, there is also a tradition of belief in the Goddess of the Golden Flower. Moreover, the Golden Flower Goddess of Guangzhou is also famous for her fertility and child delivery, and coincidentally, the birth date of the Golden Flower Goddess of Guangzhou is the same as that of the Golden Flower Goddess of Peng Chau Island in Hong Kong, which is also the 17th day of the 4th lunar month. It's just that they were born from different backgrounds, which aroused our great interest. According to the locals in Guangzhou, their ancestors told them that during the Ming and Qing dynasties, there were many temples of the Golden Flower Goddess in the Guangdong region of southern China, especially in Guangzhou, and they were scattered in and around the city. 

The Golden Flower Goddess of Guangzhou, also known as the Golden Flower Lady of Guangzhou, is a local deity that belongs to neither Buddhism nor Taoism, but has a wide and deep faith base among the people, forming a regional worship activity and social custom. However, there are various legends about the origin of the Goddess of Golden Flower. One says that she grew up as a witch, and was accidentally drowned while watching dragon boats in Fairy Lake at the Dragon Boat Festival. People then took it as the idol of the Goddess of Golden Flower and set up a shrine to worship. Another legend says that the Goddess of Golden Flower was originally a folk virgin, and the wife of an inspector had a difficult delivery, and the gods told her in a dream that if she invited a girl named Golden Flower to the government office, she could help her give birth to her baby. The inspector sent a secret visit, finally found the Golden Flower, and brought her to the magistrate's office.

The inspector's wife did give birth to a son without any problems. From then on, everyone treated Golden Flower as a god and no one dared to talk about marriage with her. Golden Flower was so ashamed and angry that she threw herself into a lake called Fairy Lake and killed herself. The people of Guangzhou built a temple on Fairy Lake Street by Fairy Lake and set up a portrait of Golden Flower to commemorate her, named Golden Flower "Huifu （Benefit and Blessing）" Goddess. There is a Huifu Lane on the north side of Fairy Lake, which is said to be the place where Golden Flower was born. Whether Golden Flower Huifu Goddess is because of Huifu Lane and the name, or Huifu Lane is because of Golden Flower Huifu Goddess and the name, because of the age, there is no way to verify. Over the years, Huifu Lane next to the temple of the Goddess of Gold Flowers Huifu temple of Fairy Lake Street gradually dilapidated, and finally destroyed. In the fifth year of Chenghua of the Ming Dynasty (1469), the governor, Chen Lian, rebuilt the temple in Huifu Lane, calling it "Golden Flower Temple" or "Huifu Shrine", and there were many pilgrims.

Illustrated by dawnxisoul393

During the period of Ming Zhengde and Jiajing (around 1522), Wei Xue, deputy envoy of Guangdong, ordered the destruction of all "obscene shrines" (i.e. shrines not included in the official rituals) in Guangzhou, included in the Golden Flower Shrine on Huifu Lane. Later, the Golden Flower Temple was rebuilt on Fairy Lake Street, and the rebuilt temple was still thriving. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty (1736~1795), Weng Fanggang, a Bachelor of the Cabinet, inspected the eastern part of Guangdong and passed by Fairy Lake Street when he encountered the street crowded with worshippers of the Goddess of Golden Flower. The palanquin in which Weng was riding could not pass Fairy Lake Street, and in his anger, he ordered the local officials to destroy the Golden Flower Temple. The temple was later rebuilt in another part of Fairy Lake Street until it was demolished again in the second half of the 20th century.

The Golden Flower Temple in Changzhou Town, Huangpu District, Guangzhou City, is the most complete temple of the Goddess of Golden Flower ever found in Guangzhou. The Goddess of Golden Flower is so famous that folk not only pray for the birth of children but also seek to cure the children's illnesses. Every year, on the 17th day of the 4th month of the lunar calendar, the Golden Flower Festival is held, and the folk performs plays to reward the gods. Women formed the "Golden Flower Association", collect money to celebrate, prepare offerings, invite the opera troupe, painting boats, and singing, the event is extremely grand. Every time when the event is in progress, a local bridge is always filled with women who come to ask for children, and even gave rise to the name "Goddess Child Bridge". The main reason for the prevalence of the cult of the Goddess of Golden Flower is the importance that folk attaches to the succession of the family. According to Confucianism, the meaning of life is to have an inheritance before and a continuation afterward, and to be humane is to be connected with all things in heaven and earth.

Illustrated by dawnxisoul393

It is a traditional cultural mentality and pursuit to have many children and grandchildren. Guangzhou people regard ancestral worship and succession as the most important thing, and through the inheritance of the incense of the ancestors, they will never cease to worship, so that the limited life can reach the realm of infinite meaning. The folklore of the worship of the Goddess of Golden Flower reflects this folk psychology. During the Republic of China, the worship of the Goddess of the Golden Flower began to decline, and in the second half of the 20th century, after several purges, the worship of the Goddess of the Golden Flower became extinct, and most of the temples of the Goddess of the Golden Flower were demolished or converted to other uses. However, as a historical city, Guangzhou still retains many traces of the Golden Flower Goddess. The Golden Flower Goddess in Guangdong Province is different from the traditional Goddess of Mercy, which is a local characteristic of Guangzhou City and Guangdong Province.

In order to worship the gods and pray for heirs, many child-bringing goddesses have been created. There are many different names for these gods, and they are generally called "gods of offspring". In the temple of the Goddess of Golden Flower in Guangdong Province, the Goddess of Golden Flower is accompanied by many other deities. Many of the names in the old city of Guangzhou are very characteristic of the Guangzhou people, that is, they are concerned with "meaning", auspiciousness and good fortune, and Huifu Road is such. In 1919, Huifu Lane was expanded into a road, and Huifu Lane was renamed Huifu Road. Looking at the past and present life of Huifu Road, besides the fabulous legend about the goddess of golden flowers, it also has a deep relationship with the gene of gathering popularity and food.

The food street of Huifu Road is connected to another road, Beijing Road, and the pedestrian street format makes the two streets naturally blend into one. In addition to traditional Cantonese cuisine, there are also dishes from Asian countries. At mealtime, hundreds of people wait for a table on the roadside, which has become a unique scenery on the Huifu Road Food Street adjacent to the Beijing Road Pedestrian Street. After eating the food, it is easy to follow the history of Guangzhou City as one walks west along Huifu Road and through the small alleys on the left and right sides of the avenue. In 2009, the city resumed the traditional folklore event of the "Golden Flower Festival", when believers from all over the city go to the temple to worship the Golden Flower. It is a very lively event.

Illustrated by dawnxisoul393

The arrangements for the "Golden Flower Festival" have been the same over the years, with the usual incense offerings, lion dances and dragon dances, and the performance of the "eight tones". Afterward, representatives of the villagers, men, and women in costume, men, women, and children take turns offering incense in front of the ancient temple as a ritual of the festival. After the ritual, the host announced that "the ritual is over", the crowd moved to the small square next to the temple to listen to the "ancient storyteller" to tell the stories of the Goddess of Golden Flower. The Goddess of Golden Flower, named after the beautiful legend of Guangzhou people's desire for happiness, also exists and changes with Guangzhou people's belief in a beautiful life in the future ...

《Golden Flower Goddess》, painted by dawnxisoul393

Fourth Part: The Golden Flower Goddess of Lanzhou

A beautiful legend of the Golden Flower Goddess in Lanzhou, Gansu Province, China. The Goddess of Golden Flowers in Lanzhou, also known as the Golden Flower Fairy, has had her story passed down in folklore for hundreds of years. An ancient legend, five hundred years ago, the Goddess of Golden Flowers was born in Lanzhou Well Street. Her mother dreamed of the sun and moon shining on her body at night, so she became pregnant and gave birth to a daughter named Golden Flower. At the age of 17, her parents betrothed her to a villager，Golden Flower insisted on not obeying. The night before the wedding, she left home with a fire stick. The next morning, her parents and elder brother found that Golden Flower was missing and searched everywhere. The brother caught up with his sister and urged her to go home. Golden Flower bluntly said: "I was a fairy in a previous life, now I'm going back to the world where I belong".

The brother did not believe the words of Golden Flower and said, "If you are really a fairy, please show your divine power in front of me." Golden Flower put the fire stick in her hand on the boulder beside the road, and the fire stick instantly grew branches and leaves and turned into a green pine. The brother was dumbfounded and had to return with a long sigh of pain. When he was leaving, Golden Flower promised: "In the future, if people encounter a year of great drought, you can ask me for rain and water to solve the emergency of the drought in the countryside". The Golden Flower continued to travel westward and reached a high mountain called Black Mountain. When she climbed to the top and looked down, she saw that Black Mountain was a peculiar mountain with dense forests and beautiful grass and flowers, so she returned to the heavenly realm there. On their way to find Golden Flower, Golden Flower's parents met an old monk, the old monk told them that the Golden Flower had gone to heaven，and would help the locals in the future.

Illustrated by dawnxisoul393

Some years later, Lanzhou was in a severe drought and the people were starving. At this time, someone found that the black mountain where the Golden Flower had become immortal was not only green but also full of edible wild grain. The people flocked to the place and harvested it to survive the famine. Thinking of the monk's past warning, people understood that it was the Golden Flower's spirit that saved everyone, so they began to burn incense and worship to express their gratitude, and a temple was built at the place where Golden Flower rested on her way to Black Mountain to pay tribute to her. Thereafter, whenever the people encountered disasters, plagues or emergencies, their prayers were always answered, and the influence of the Goddess of the Golden Flower expanded rapidly. The Goddess of Golden Flower is not just a beautiful legend, but in history, there are many stories of people who asked the Goddess of Golden Flower for rain due to drought and were officially rewarded by the government.

Legend has it that Zuo Zongtang, an important minister of the late Qing Dynasty, was the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu and was stationed in Lanzhou when he was temporarily besieged by enemy troops in a battle to recover lost territory. Late at night, Zuo Zongtang saw a goddess in his dream and told Zuo Zongtang that she was the Goddess Golden Flower. Goddess Golden Flower told Zuo Zongtang that it was a good time to break out of the siege and defeat the enemy, Zuo Zongtang's army should act quickly and she would do her best to help. When the army returned to Lanzhou after victory, she would wash the dust for the army with a breeze and drizzle. Zuo Zongtang woke up and prayed silently that if he won the battle, he would recreate the golden body for the Goddess of Golden Flower. Zuo Zongtang led his army to attack in the night, and the enemy army was unable to fight and collapsed, and the Qing army won a great victory and successfully recovered all the lost territory. When Zuo Zongtang returned to Lanzhou, the sky was really windy and rainy.

Illustrated by dawnxisoul393

Zuo Zongtang sent people to understand carefully and was very happy to learn that there was indeed a female Bodhisattva, the Goddess of Golden Flower, in Lanzhou. So he raised money to arrange for the restoration of the temple of the Goddess of Golden Flower and the rebuilding of her golden body. In the early years of the Republic of China, the people of Lanzhou asked Zhang Guangjian, the Governor of Gansu, to hold a ceremony to ask the Goddess for rain. Governor Zhang had some doubts, then he said that if people could really get rain within three days, he would worship the goddess of golden flowers and raise the rank of the goddess. The rainfall activity continued into the third day, and it really poured down from the sky, and the drought was swept away everywhere. Governor Chang invited the statue of Goddess Golden Flower into the governor's residence and awarded the title of "Presidential Goddess of Rain" to Goddess Golden Flower, which gave her high status.

Later, Zhu Shaoliang, the military governor of the northwest of the Republic of China, and Gu Zhenglun, the provincial chairman, also supported or participated in the activity of asking the Goddess of Golden Flower for rain. In addition, the Goddess of Golden Flower has also been known to relieve the people of Lanzhou and the surrounding areas of plague and disease, pray for future generations, and solve family emergencies. Therefore, in the people's mind, the Goddess of Golden Flower is a bodhisattva of great compassion, answering all requests and helping all beings. In May every year, the people of Lanzhou invite the goddess from the distant Black Mountain to return to Well Street to visit their relatives, which is a very spectacular scene. In Lanzhou City, there are more than 70 temples of the Goddess of Golden Flower, making the worship of the Goddess of Golden Flower a unique folk cultural scenery in Lanzhou.

Lanzhou and the surrounding areas are located in the hinterland of the Loess Plateau in the Northwest, with an arid climate and scarce rainfall, so folk pray for rain has a long history. As a folk cultural phenomenon, rain praying activities originate from the collective primitive beliefs and original customs. An ordinary folk girl born in the people's home, in order to defy the orders of her parents and matchmakers and break free from the shackles of feudal marriage, chose a tragic and unusual path of escaping marriage at the cost of her life to realize her pursuit and desire and achieved a sublime and image of infectiousness in the docking of humanity and divinity. Over the centuries, the Goddess of Golden Flower has become psychological support and spiritual deposit for folk women to aspire for a better life, sublimated in people's worship and veneration into a bodhisattva who answers all requests and sends rain to the people. 

Illustrated by dawnxisoul393

The legend of the Goddess of Golden Flower evolved from a true story that happened in Lanzhou in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, and the incomparable intimacy created the prerequisites for the legend to spread in the hometown of the Goddess of Golden Flower. The story of the Goddess of Golden Flower and her folk worship were also spread to the surrounding areas, and a large number of temples of the Goddess of Golden Flower were built in various places. Various rituals and temple festivals of various scales are held regularly every year and continue to this day to honor this goddess who has benefited the area. From the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, many plaques dedicated by local officials and social sages were hung on the Golden Flower Temples in Lanzhou City and the surrounding areas. In the case of drought, the prayer to the Goddess of Golden Flower for rain is even greater, and the temples of the Goddess of Golden Flower are inundated with visitors. At the end of the Ming and early Qing dynasties, with the propagation of the goddess of the Golden Flower and the divine activities of the water meeting, besides the numerous temples built in Lanzhou City, some remote villages and towns have also built temples of different scales, forming the temple group of the goddess of the Golden Flower.

- The End

Golden Flower Goddess (one of our spiritual healing thoughts) Dawnxisoul393