Not even the fact that it once hosted CCP General Luo Binghui has saved Tianci Ancient Temple in Ji’an.
by Zhao Zhangyong
One would believe that a temple connected with the saga of General Luo Binghui, a Communist civil war hero, would be protected by the CCP itself against the crackdown on unaffiliated Buddhist temples. In fact, the Tianci Ancient Temple in Xinxu town, under the jurisdiction of Qingyuan district, Ji’an city, Jiangxi province, was visited by civil war buffs in addition to Buddhist devotees.
In 1929, General Luo Binghui had made the temple the provisional headquarters of his Red Army Unit. Luo is popular among CCP members, and there are two museums devoted to him, in Tianchang city, Anhui province, and in Yiliang county, Hunan province. The Tianci Ancient Temple in Ji’an is also significant for Luo’s war career.
This was the basis for a letter activist Xiao Qingshan sent on July 24 to the Jiangxi provincial government, lamenting that such an important place for the history of the CCP has been shut down.
The ancillary facilities and buildings next to the main temple have been destroyed, and the entrance of the temple has been blocked by a steel propaganda wall with a sign that reads “Resolutely eradicate black and evil forces, promote righteousness and maintain stability.”
According to temple administrator Zhang Zhijun, anti-religious campaigns are only part of the story. He believes that some corrupt CCP bureaucrats are trying to favor a competing temple in the same area by preventing devotees and visitors to access the Tianci Ancient Temple.
Whether playing the “red card” and the Luo Binghui connection may save the temple remains to be seen.
Uses a pseudonym for security reasons.
