The Jade Emperor Pagoda - 玉皇殿

Built in 1909 by a community of Cantonese Taoists from southern China, the Jade Emperor Pagoda is one of the most important sacred sites for Buddhists and Taoists in Saigon. Pinky and I visited the temple on a drizzly afternoon. It had been raining all day, and we had spent the morning ducking into the nearest cafe whenever the rain would begin pouring too heavily to continue. This temple is in District 1, but it's on the other side of the city center, about 4km from where we are staying. It turned out to be quite a walk in the rain!

The Jade Emperor Pagoda

The temple was busy, crowded with Vietnamese Taoists and Buddhists praying and lighting incense. A fish pond in front of the temple swam with huge, fat catfish, and incense burned from shrines all throughout the grounds. The temple interior was dark, lit only with the light of candles at the shrines and dim paper lanterns hanging in the halls. Curiously, we stepped inside.

small shrine with incense

The temple is dedicated to the Jade Emperor, the supreme god of heaven in Taoism. The serene and serious bearded deity is the ruler of heaven, chief of the Chinese pantheon, and the judge of mortal souls in Taoist belief. Many Chinese-style temples have a shrine to the Jade Emperor - even the Chinese temple in Bangkok has a representation that I am pretty sure is the Jade Emperor (although to be honest I don't know much about Chinese Buddhism, Taoism, or Confucianism. Most of my experience is with Theravada Buddhism, like in Thailand). This is the first temple I've ever been to though that's actually dedicated to the Jade Emperor.

Entering the temple, a shrine to the Jade Emperor looked down at us from the right-hand side. Across the entryway, Yama, the god of the underworld, faces him. Yama isn't seen as evil, but as a divine punisher. Buddhism and Taoism don't believe in an eternal hell, but in a period of suffering before moving on. It's something like the Catholic idea of Purgatory, I suppose.

The Jade Emperor in the central hall was wreathed in a thick cloud of fragrant incense. A half-dozen or so worshipers had crowded the small open space in front of the shrine, praying, burning incense, and dropping a few thousand dong into the donation box. The statue of the Jade Emperor was wrapped in a thick golden robe and wore a tall crown - all the trappings fit for the emperor of heaven.

the main shrine inside the temple

Even though the Jade Emperor Pagoda is primarily a Taoist temple, in Eastern Asia, there's not much distinction between the Triple Teaching (Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism). The temple has several shrines to Buddha, and a shrine to Maitreya, the Future Buddha.

Maitreya, the Future Buddha

Leaving the darkened central hall, we passed through a red stone corridor lit by paper lanterns to a small side shrine. A little old man sat on a stool in front of the shrine. As we hesitantly entered the room, he pressed a folded square of red paper into each of our hands. I looked at Pinky, unsure of what to do. She was just as lost as me. This ritual isn't a part of Thai Buddhism, or even one of the Chinese-Thai rituals that we very occasionally see in Bangkok.

red lanterns inside the halls

The old man, sensing our confusion, led us towards the shrine - a carved wooden statue of a small man wrapped in a robe and wearing a tall hat. The had was embroidered with Chinese characters meaning "at one glance, money is given". This statue represents the City God who bestows fortune and prosperity upon visitors. The old man, never speaking a word, could tell that Pinky and I didn't know what to do. He showed us how to perform the ritual by circling the tiny red square around the burning flame of the shrine's oil lantern. He then indicated that we should keep the paper for luck. I put mine in my wallet. It seems the proper place to keep a prosperity blessing.

the City God

The walls of the shrine are made of dark wood, and intricately carved with beautiful scenes and Chinese characters. Along a narrow hallway, a set of creaking wooden stairs led up to the second floor of the old temple.

a shrine to Guanyin

Upstairs, the stairs opened up onto another small shrine and a temple balcony overlooking the terraced rooftops and temple grounds.

at the top of the temple

We left the temple with a long walk ahead of us, but with a piece of lucky red paper in our pockets. The best part was, even though it's one of the city's most famous sites, it didn't cost a single dong to visit!

lucky Chinese characters