Lim Jie Chun and the Hoon San Temple
by Kenneth Lyen
Lim Jie Chun was born in 1537 during the Ming Dynasty, in Yunxiao county located in the southern part of Fujian province.
He was noted to be gifted from young and was schooled by his father. He read books and poetry, and excelled in astronomy and geography. He became the village scholar in 1561, and four years later he became an imperial scholar at the Hanlin Academy 翰林院. This educational institution was founded in the eighth-century by Tang Dynasty Emperor Xuanzong in Chang’an. Only an elite cohort of scholars were admitted to this prestigious academy. One of the duties of the scholars was to perform secretarial and literary tasks for the court.
In 1573, at the age of 36, he became a Tai Shi 太師, a top grade civil servant in the Ming Imperial court. Two years later, in 1575, he offended the then powerful Premier Teo and was demoted and relocated to a distant place. Demoralized, he went back to his hometown.
When Premier Teo died during the reign of Emperor Ming Wanli, he was reinstated in 1584, and became the education head of two provinces. However, when he refused to accept bribes by corrupt officials, he was once again forcibly moved out of his position for less favorable post.
Totally disillusioned with political life, he returned home, and remained there for the next 16 years. During this period, he helped his villagers by correcting social injustices, and even petitioned against unfair taxes for his people and friends, at great risk to himself. He died a well-respected man in 1604, at the age of 68 years old.
He left behind a collection of essays entitled 云山居士集 (The collected works of Yun Shan Resident). The essays touched on Ming politics, economy, military and social affairs, and provides valuable research data on the Ming dynasty period.
During the late Qing period in 1883, he was deified. Currently there are some temples in Fujian, Taiwan and South East Asia worshipping him.
In 1901, a Lim family built the current temple in a small hill in Singapore called Feng Hill at a kampong near Holland Road. It was rebuilt in 1920. It had a wayang stage which is still used today to perform Chinese operas.
Yun Shan Resident is what Lim Jie Chun used to refer to himself, and hence the temple was named Yun Shan (Hoon San) Kong. Lim Tai See (林太師 – Grandmaster Lim) is what the people respectfully called him due to his position in the Ming court, and this became the name of the road where the temple is located (27 Jalan Lim Tai See).
The temple was restored in 2016, and a statue of Lim Jie Chun was added.
Kenneth Lyen 16 April 2018
References:
1. Hoon San Temple by Raymond Goh
https://nanyangtemple.wordpress.com/2005/04/29/31hoon-san-temple-1903-needs-conservation/
2. Temples to Walk Through