Yueh Hai Ching Temple — Attraction in Singapore

interesting place; replete with restored timber back in the 1990s, bas reliefs and murals are authentic and quite old as well as the effigies of gods used in worship, all beautifully and intricately carved altars in gold paint and the whole outfit is still being looked after by the Ngee Ann Kongsi in Singapore.

I went there to take a look because local internet gossip claimed it as the efficacious "Temple Of Love" after a thai national woman said she found her Singaporean husband by appealing to the God of Matchmaking "月佬“ for supernatural assistance.

My profound respects to the Taoist Belief system, and those who venture to these holy places with sincerity with their hearts for a loving worthy mate, BUT i think these people should ask themselves what are they willing to do for such a prospective mate. What are their motivations for wanting such a mate and if they themselves are truly worthy of their ideal mates ( i overheard iterations of Singaporean "高富帅" for husbands, but statistically not that many around).

I witnessed fathers and mothers with exasperated looks trying to ask the gods to help palm their lacklustre daughters ( check her dress, attitude, mannerisms, rudeness, and sheer callousness to other worshippers and tourists around them) off on some prospective guy, maybe should pray for gods to make their daughters become "virtuous wife" material first as a fair match.

I am also unsure if their daughters prefer partners of a more Sapphic nature -- maybe they should save up a trip to New Taipei City to WeimingTang and ask the Rabbit God for help😅😁🌈. There are also many other foreign women wanting to find a local guys as husbands, and one wonders would any local guys do for them as prospective mate, as long as they hold a Singapore Passport?

We can see how it's a tough gig for a God of Matchmaking to balance between fairness for the unwitting prospective mates out there being strung up by YueLao at the behest of these women.

And on behalf of Objectivity and Fairness and every unwitting guy and gal out there, my ardent prayer for all is this:

May 月佬 find for each and everyone the mate that they deserve, and not necessarily the one that they think are the one that they want!

Perhaps it is better to let genuine values and truth be the basis of true happiness for a relationship be built upon, because i don't think there is a Taoist God of Fair Divorce!

(except maybe the tough and non-bribery accepting Justice Bao -- you need to go to Paya Lebar Road for that, so good luck trying to appeal to him with bribes of gold joss paper! 😂😂😂😉)

Back to Yueh Hai Ching Temple, The Left shrine is dedicated to Mah Zhu, Patron Goddess of Fisherfolk and Sailors, and Early Straits Chinese Migrants would pray for aid in their businesses and sea expeditions. Do check for her holy days and feasts days to experience the pomp and circumstance of taoist celebrations.

On the Right is Heavenly King of the Cardinal North XuanTianDaDi, also a prominent Deity of the North to surpress calamities, even dark forces ( provided you are not guilty or at fault for your own predicament!), Both are given equal stature hence the shrines and gates.

There is much of straits chinese temple culture to research, and sadly Google doesn't allow me space to go into details!

But do go and pay attention to details, the temple custodians are helpful, and please tip them if you ask for a tour and also intersession...

Yueh Hai Ching Temple (Traditional Chinese 粵海清廟, Simplified Chinese 粤海清庙), also known as the Wak Hai Cheng Bio from its Teochew pronunciation, is a Chinese temple in Singapore located in Raffles Place in Singapore's central business district. The temple, whose name literally means "Temple of the Calm Cantonese Sea", was the first stop for Chinese immigrants to Singapore in the early 19th century.

The early history of Yueh Hai Ching temple is obscured. Multiple narratives provide conflicting accounts on the date the temple was first constructed. Some traced the history of the temple to as far back as to 1738. The general consensus is that the temple was first put up in 1820 as a simple wood and attap temple. In 1826, pioneer of Man Say Soon Company, Lim Poon erected a shrine on the same site on Phillip Street with a 999-year lease. It was managed by a board of trustees consisting of 14 members. The shrine was constructed so that sailors sailing between Singapore and China during the 19th century could offer their prayers and gratitude for their safe journey. This is reflected in the temple’s name, which translates as “Temple of the Calm Sea Built by the Guadong People”. Phillip Street was once near the sea, so that sailors could head to the temple immediately after docking. Due to land reclamation, the temple was effectively distanced from the shore.

When Ngee Ann Association was formed in 1845, it took over the management from Many Say Soon Company. Between 1852 and 1855, the present temple was constructed. In 1895, Ngee Ann Association submitted a building plan which called for substantial rebuilding of the temple. By the late 19th century, was the second largest and most influential of the Chinese dialect groups after Fujian. Besides being a place of worship, Yueh Hai Ching Temple also acted as a community centre and a meeting place. According to historian Pan Xing Nong, on 26 June 1994, the president of Ngee Ann Association then called for prayers at the temple for the impending World War I. As such, the temple played an important role in the everyday life of the Teochew community. It was where people socialized and exchanged news. It served as a place of congregation for immigrants from the same province to provide mutual support...

My wife and I unexpectedly found ourselves in front of the gates of this temple on a day off. We did not expect to see such beauty among skyscrapers in the very center of business Singapore. We went inside the courtyard and just admired this ancient and very richly decorated temple. Built in the 1850s, Yueh Hai Ching Temple is Singapore's oldest Teochew temple. h started out as a makeshift shrine in the 1820s, set up by Chinese seafarers and merchants to express their gratitude to Mazu, the Goddess of the Sea, for their safe travels. In 1996, Yueh Hai Ching Temple was gazetted as a National Monument and has subsequently undergone restoration works in 2011. Extensive research and documentation were carried out by experts in timber, ceramics, frescoes and gilding.Ad-hoc interventions in the past were carefully removed and restoration was done using authentic materials and traditional construction techniques by master craftsmen from China. Original architectural elements, such as the boundary walls, were reinstaned based on archival information. The temple also received a 2014 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Cultural Heritage Conservation Award of Merit for its commendable...