Jièxiū

Jiexiu's temples preserve a history of changing religious patronage under the Ming and Qing. At the shrine associated with the Xianshen Tower, a Ming magistrate replaced the earlier cult with worship of the three sworn brothers, Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. The change was made in the Jiajing reign, in 1532.

The rededication responded to an imperial campaign against unauthorized shrines. New images occupied the main hall, with associated figures honored in the side galleries. It changed the approved objects of worship within an existing sacred site. Elsewhere in Jiexiu, the Houtu Temple preserves another important expression of Ming religious building, with richly colored architectural ceramics and painted Daoist sculpture. Together these sites show local worship being renewed through official intervention, patronage and the work of specialist builders and craftsmen.