Jin Shrines, Shu Yu of Tang Shrine Complex  晉祠唐叔虞祠

Building Information

Although a King of Jin Shrine 晉王祠 was recorded in the Wei shu 魏書, the first mention of a shrine dedicated to Shu Yu of Tang, the ancestor of the Jin State, is in the Shuijingzhu 水經註, by Li Daoyuan 酈道元 (d. 527 CE). Rebuilt by Song Taizong (r. 976-997 CE) after his conquest of the Northern Han in 979 CE, the site was repeatedly damaged during the Jin, Yuan, and Ming conquests of the area. Construction of the presently extant complex was initiated in 1768 with a plan to build an offering hall on the foundation of the old main hall and a new main hall behind it. The mountainside rises more than a zhang 丈 (approximately ten feet) behind the main hall. Small doors to the right and left of the main hall link it to the east with the Haotianshenci 昊天神祠 and, originally, to the west with the Jingyiyuan 靜怡園 (Liu 1986, 16). According to the inscription for the repair, actual construction was begun in August/September of 1770 and completed in October/November of 1771 (Liu 1986, 319). For more information on the development of the Shrine to Shu Yu of Tang see Miller "The Shrine of Shu Yu of Tang," (Miller 2007, 57-79).1