As
my group and I were looking out for the Leong San See temple, we were greeted
by a large rustic-looking gate. Amos and Pamela were able to translate the name
of the gate as “Mountain Dragon”. That was when we figured that the Leong San
See Temple was nearby. Later, we learnt that that was the old “Leong San See
Gate” which we were supposed to find.
 |
| Old Leong San See Gate |
The
direct translation of the Leong San See Temple is the Dragon Mountain Temple.
It was established by a Chinese Reverend, Reverend Chuan Wu.
In
1913, he came to Singapore with the determination to establish a lodge for
treating the sick. It started out with a few huts but by 1926, it grew in size
and became what is now known as the Leon San See Temple. Its success should
also be credited to Tan Boon Liat a prominent local merchant and philanthropist
who donated funds for the expansion of the lodge.
The
lodge first started out with only the statue of Kwan Yin/Guanyin, the Goddess
of Mercy/Compassion. The temple is dedicated to her. Later, as the lodge grew
in size, the number of deities increased. According to http://www.beokeng.com/disptemple.php?temple=leong-san-see,
the other deities are Mazu (Goddess of the Sea), Justice Bao, Cheng Wang Ye
(City God), Monkey King, Xuan Tian Shangdi, Sixty Tai Sui, Hua Guang Da Di, Sun
God (Taiyang Gong), Moon Goddess (Yue Gong Niang Niang), Madam Zhu Sheng,God of
Medicine (Bao Sheng Da Di), Dou Mu Yuan Jun, God of literature and God of
Marriage (Yue Lao).
Schools
were also established by the abbot of the temple due to the demands of
education among the Chinese community living nearby. The first school
established was the Leong San School. A few years later, it was replaced by Mee
Toh School to help accomadate the growing number of students.
 |
| Leong San See Temple |
 |
| Statue of Confucius at the entrance |
 |
| Information board |
No comments:
Post a Comment