The main deity worshipped at Hong San See Temple is Guang Ze Zun Wang, also known by his mortal name, Guo Zhongfu.
The Story of Guo Zhongfu
Guang Ze Zun Wang, whose mortal name was Guo Zhongfu, was born on the 22nd day of the second lunar month in the first year of Tongguang during the Tang dynasty (923 AD). As a mortal, he was exceptionally intelligent since young and very filial to his parents. In his youth, in order to have a proper burial for his father, he sold himself to the Yang family as a servant. He herded the sheep for the Yang family so as to supported his mother. The villagers were touch by his filial to his parents, and called him “Filial Piety Guo”.
Three years later, following the advice of a geomancy master, Guo Zhongfu and his mother left the Yang family and found a place to live at the foot of Guo Mountain in Shishan, Nan’an. One day, while searching for medicine for his mother, Guo Zhongfu attained enlightenment and passed away while sitting on an ancient vine. He was only sixteen years old then. The day of his enlightenment was the third year of Tianfu during the Late-Jin dynasty (938 AD), on the 22nd day of the eighth lunar month.
Moved by his filial piety, people built a temple at the place of his enlightenment, which became known as “Hong San See Temple.” They venerated him as a deity, respectfully calling him “Guo Sheng Wang”.
Demonstrating deep respect and care for parents and elders.
Valuing wisdom and knowledge from a young age.
Willingness to give up personal comforts for the well-being of loved ones.
Earning the respect and admiration of the community through noble deeds.
Pursuing spiritual growth and understanding.
Inspiring others and leaving a lasting impact through virtuous actions.
The Lord was born in China, Fujian Province, Nan’ An County
on the 22nd Day of the 2nd Lunar Month, in Year A.D. 923. He was named as Guo Zhong Fu (Kwek/Quek Tiong Hock). The baby was blessed with divine and radiant looks.
Since young,Guo Zhong Fu was an intelligent and filial child. His father passed away due to an illness when he was young. In order to earn a living, Guo Zhong Fu worked for a rich family, under Elder Yang, as a shepherd while his mother was a seamstress under the same family. They depended on each other.
The Yang family was desperately looking for a piece of auspicious
land that could bring prosperity to the family. They hired a geomancer called Master Cui. Guo Zhong Fu was very respectful towards Master Cui and he often delivered meals to him. Master Cui was also very fond of Guo Zhong Fu. Sometimes, Master
Cui would coach Guo Zhong Fu to read and write in private. (In the olden days, servants were not allowed to learn reading and writing due to the caste system.)
One day, Master Cui fell ill and required some meat for his recuperation. Despite having many goats, Elder Yang was stingy and refused to slaughter one for Master Cui. Instead, he ordered the chef to cook the goat that had drowned in the manure pit and served it to Master Cui. When Guo Zhong Fu learnt about it, he immediately informed Master Cui secretly and Master Cui vomited out the food.
Master Cui was disappointed with the Yang family for not being magnanimous to others and felt that they did not deserve to possess the auspicious land which he had found for them. He was grateful to Guo Zhong Fu for his courage to expose the Yang family. He called upon Guo Zhong Fu and asked, “I am going to offer you a piece of auspicious land which will bring you fortune. Do you want to enjoy endless fortunes in your lifetime or be respected and worshipped for generations?” Without hesitation, Guo Zhong Fu chose the latter.
Master Cui instructed Guo Zhong Fu to mix his late father’s ashes into a basin of water. He then pretended to be angry with Guo Zhong Fu and scolded him for bringing chalky water to clean his face. Upon hearing the commotion, Elder Yang rushed over and punished Guo Zhong Fu, leaving him wailing in sadness. Master Cui took the chance and poured the basin of chalky water into the goat yard – the auspicious land.
The second morning, Guo Zhong Fu walked into the goat yard and was shocked to find out that a huge beehive had protruded the place where the ashes were poured yesterday. All the goats were stung to death by the bees. Since Elder Yang no longer had any sheep, he dismissed Guo Zhong Fu as he no longer require his service. Master Cui, Guo Zhong Fu, and his mother, then decided to leave the Yang family.
When Guo Zhong Fu left, he bade farewell to Master Cui. Master Cuithen left Guo Zhong Fu with this advice,“ Head in the east direction. If you see the following:
1. A cow riding on a boy. 2. A man wearing copper over his head. 3. Water turning red. 4. Koi jumping up the tree.
It will be the place for you and your mother to settle down.”
True enough, during their journey, it was raining heavily. A shepherd was hiding under a cow from the rain; a monk was putting his copper bowl over his head; the muddy red soil seeping into the river stream; a koi flying out from the old man’s fishing rod and got hooked onto the tree. Indeed, Master Cui’s advice came true and Guo Zhong Fu decided that Shan Tou Castle (Shi Shan, Nan’ An) would be their residing place.
Guo Zhong Fu and his mother settled at the foot of the mountain in Shan Tou Castle (The current site is known as Shi Shan Town, Nan’ An City, Fujian Province of China) in a dilapidated house (The current site is named as “Long San Temple”). His mother helped the villagers with chores while Guo Zhong Fu went to chop firewood for the villagers to earn a living. Despite the hardships, Guo Zhong Fu had been serving his duties as a son and attending to his mother’s daily needs. His act of filial piety was renowned in the village.
On the 22nd Day of the Lunar 8th Month of the Year A.D. 928. Guo Zhong Fu became a deity at the age of 16. The villagers decided to build a temple to honor the deity. (The current site is named as Feng Shan Temple).
The Lord decided to reincarnate to the mortal realm once again as he could not bear to see the mortals suffer. He was reborn in a family who had come a long way to the Lord’s temple to beg for a son. During the wife’s labor, she vaguely heard a voice, “Your son will return to heaven when he wears black.” At the age of 16, the family’s son was bestowed the title of an imperial scholar and had to don the official black robe. With that, the Lord returned to the immortal world after his duties in the mortal realm had been completed.
The Lord had once given instructions to his worshippers that he would want to return to his parent’s grave every 8th month of the lunar calendar to pay his respect. Till today, thousands of worshippers have followed the Lord’s instructions and return yearly with their Lord’s statues and offer their respect to the Lord’s parents. People have also witnessed a miraculous phenomenon where the eyes of the Lord’s statues would be filled with tears during the ceremonies.
Priest Huang, who was living near. Feng Shan Temple, had a beautiful daughter named Yi Niang. Yi Niang, followed her mother to the Lord’s temple to offer their prayers. Yi Niang’s mother was captivated by the magnificent look of the Lord’s statue, and exclaimed, “If only the Lord was a mortal, I would have betrothed my daughter to you!” Yi Niang looked away in shyness.
One day, Yi Niang was doing her laundry by the river when a gift box unknowingly floated upstream toward her. She used a stick to push it away from her. However, for the next few days, the box constantly floated toward her when she was doing her laundry. Finally, with her mother’s advice, she picked up the box and saw a golden hairpin in it. She put it on and realized that it couid not be removed. It turned out that the hairpin was a betrothal gift from the Lord.
Priest Huang had the intention to betroth her daughter to the Lee family. Yi Niang had no choice but to abide by her father’s instructions. The day of the marriage arrived. When the bridal sedan procession entered the vicinity of the Lord’s temple, there were strong winds and beautiful music could be heard. People in the procession witnessed a miracle where the Lord and Yi Niang rose to the sky in their wedding robes and turned into deities.
Needless to say, Priest Huang was furious that the Lord had snatched his daughter away. He decided to flood the Guo Shan temple (Feng Shan temple) using his magical chants. The Lord won the battle with wisdom and the Guo Shan temple (Feng Shan temple) was saved. The statues of the Lord and the divine Lady (Yi Niang) were since consecrated in the temple.
Once, the Divine Lady had appeared in the dream of the abbot (who was in charge of the Feng Shan Temple). She informed the abbot that whenever he hears a baby crying, he should enter the inner chamber of the temple. He will see a lump of red soils under the divine bed of the Lord and the Lady. Each of these lumps represented the birth of each prince. This was recorded in the history of Feng Shan temple. Since then, the abbot had collected 13 lumps of red soil and made them into statues of the 13 Princes.
During the Song Dynasty, imperial official Goh returned to the capital with a bag of holy ash from the Lord’s ancestral temple. One night, the imperial palace caught fire. Many witnessed a young man adorned in white robe, riding on a white horse and waving the white flag. Instantly, the enraging fire was put out. The Emperor credited the Lord for preventing the tragedy and hence bestowed the Lord an official title – The Lord of Divine Piety and Benevolence. The Lord’s temple was also titled as the temple of Magnificent Blessings (Wei Zhen)(A.D. 1131).
In the Year A.D. 1259, pirates were rampant along the South-Eastern coastal lines of the Fujian Province. The Lord demonstrated his divine powers to defeat the pirates and chase them away from the province. To express his gratitude to the Lord, the Emperor sent an imperial decree to the Lord’s temple, bestowing upon the Lord and his parents with official title.
In the Year A.D. 1259, Empress Dowager fell ill and the imperial doctors were not able to cure her. The Emperor decided to look for capable doctors from the country. The Lord transformed himself into a young man in white scholarly robe, and entered the imperial palace. He prescribed Empress Dowager with some medicine and she recovered miraculously in 7 days.
The Emperor was grateful to the Lord for curing the Empress Dowager. The Lord left the palace by just revealing that he was from the Guo Shan (Feng Shan temple) of Nan An City. The Emperor ordered his imperial officials to trace the young man’s whereabouts. Soon, he was surprised that the young man was the Lord. The Emperor bestowed the Lord with the official title, pairs of imperial weapons, and 13 golden gongs to guard the temple (A.D.1159).
Thousands of worshippers visited the ancestral temple of the Feng Shan Mountain to celebrate the Lord’s birth (on the 2nd month of the lunar calendar) and the day he became a deity (on the 8th month of the lunar calendar). Many had received blessings by the Lord after their sincere prayers and they returned back to express their gratitude.
A more renowned story about the Lord occurred in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. Back then, officials were riding on horses as a mode of transportation. Whenever they passed by the Lord’s temple in the town, the horse would come to a stop, stand on two rear legs, and bow in the temple’s direction for three times. Since then, Chinese pioneers who came to the town, would offer heir prayers in the temple and ask for blessings from the Lord.
Many worshippers have since experienced the divine blessings from the Lord. The belief has spread across China and even to countries such as Singapore and Malaysia. The Lord has also been receiving numerous official titles from the Emperors of the different dynasties, for their miraculous encounters. Indeed, The Lord of Divine Piety and Benevolence shall bless us with happiness and health for as long as our faith remains strong in him!
