Along the river banks of River Han is a very old temple that dated back to Ming Dynasty. According to my dad, he prayed to the deity here for safe passage and then boarded the ferry that brought him to the ship for Singapore.
The river wharf has since been moved to the upper river and a promenade was built along here. But the temple remained one of the major temples in Chaozhou.
由來的傳說
青龍古廟在潮州市韓江大橋西端南堤上，廟門東向，面臨韓江，正廳門上題額「青龍古廟」，大門橫額則題「安濟聖廟」，因此廟又名安濟王廟。但是潮州人都稱之為「大老爺宮」。它的由來有兩個說法：
- 據傳，明代潮州人謝少滄在雲南為官，恰逢大旱飢饉，他為免延遲時日先開官倉濟災而後上奏朝廷，獲罪問斬；按滇俗，處決囚犯吊於大樹三天尚活者可免其死。其地白天日炙而夜、司風寒，誰知「天降神人」，張開大黑布化為烏雲頂住烈日風霜，三天後謝競死裡逃生，即備祭品到神廟祭拜，見正中端坐者就是搭救自己的神人——蜀漢永昌郡太守「安濟聖王」王伉，自此日夜焚香拜之，並於回潮時，將王伉及大、二夫人偶像帶回家設點供奉，後立於此廟祭拜現正廳中供奉王伉及大、二夫人神像。（傳說，除了人物、其他無歷史根據。可信度0%，但是因為精彩而被廣為傳說）
- 明萬曆十七年（1589）潮州海防同知施所學重修青龍古廟鎮水患，奉入王伉神像，號安濟靈王，自此，王伉就成了安濟聖王。因常見青蛇蜿蜒出沒於廟，不傷於人而來去無蹤，故名為青龍古廟，歷代迭次修葺；（文獻史記，明朝文獻頗為完整，可信度95%）
廟中有正廳，仙師殿和官廳。正廳祀安濟聖王、大夫人、二夫人；兩旁祀捨人爺、福德老爺、花公花媽；廳外兩頭，一為「仙師殿」，祀三仙師公、 輓娘娘；一為官廳，官廳前座供謝少滄牌位。誰是王伉？安濟靈王封號什麼來的？
- 傳說蜀漢年間（221-263）諸葛征蠻，永昌太守王伉守城捍賊，歿為神明。
- 另尚有一傳說：據沈存中《彭蠡小龍》記載，北宋仁宗皇佑年間，廣源州依智高僭稱南天王，改元景瑞。由於廣源地連潮州，故叛軍依澗據險，皇帝趙禎（在位1067-1085）派楊文廣來平南蠻十八洞。宋軍行軍沿江南下時有青蛇附於舟上而征途順利、徵戰皆捷而諸洞俱平，班師時楊文廣奏知宋仁宗。趙禎便封潮州青蛇為「安濟靈王」。
Mythical Origins
According one legend, Wang Kang was a high-ranking official of the kingdom of Shu Han (AD 221-263). Being an upright and honest official, he was deeply respected by the people. He was given the title of An Ji Shen Wang (Ang Chee Sia Ong) after his death and a temple was built to honour him. Green snakes were often spotted at the temple and when the people of Chao Shan saw one at the battlefield, they would invariably emerge victorious. They believed that the green snake was the transformation of Ang Chee Sia Ong, whose spirit provided a protection of them against disasters. Hence Ang Chee Sia Ong was also known as Sacred Lord Green Dragon (Qing Long Shen Wang) and the temple, Qing Long Gu Miao.
According to another legend, during the Ming dynasty, there was a drought in Yong Chang, Yunnan province. The official then, Xie Shaochang took it upon himself to open the official granary before seeking approval from his superiors in the Imperial Courts (in Beijing). A delay of opening the granary would mean that the people would die of starvation but by making the deliberate mistake he was punishable by death. As such, he was hung up in a tree in a mountain for three days and would be released if, by a miracle, he survived.
A figure appeared in the sky on day one and spread a large black cloth which subsequently turned into a huge patch of dark cloud, shielding Xie from the elements. Xie survived and was released. Praying at the local temple of Anji Sheng Wang in gratitude, he realised that Wang Kang’s statue bore a resemblance to his mysterious saviour. So when he returned to Chaozhou, he brought the statues of the deity along and built a temple in his honour.
The number of worshippers grew and they moved the statue to a bigger temple at the south bank of Hanjiang later and named it Qing Long Gu Miao.
The Temple Structure 廟宇結構
每年正月，安濟聖王出遊，城中萬人空巷，爭迎神駕，出遠洋和經商者尤將其視為事業騰達的保護神。
據《汀州府志》載：「黃幸三仙師，上杭人。鐘寮場未立，縣前有妖怪、虎狼為害，黃七翁與其子及婿幸姓者三人，有異術，治之，群妖遂息。因隱身入石。」 紫金山烏兜隔仙師祠旁，清光緒乙酉年（1885）所立的《黃老仙師實跡紀略》碑的碑文有黃幸三仙師「驅妖至潮陽，見士人求雨不應，仙師代為祈禱，大獲甘霖。步回紫金山，遂同隱阮身入巖穴，不復見」的記載。而三仙師何時到潮州祈雨，潮人何時以何種形式為其立祠，包括獨立為廟，或奉入青龍廟與青龍一廟二殿祭拜等具體細節，均未見記載。宋慶歷年間（1041~1048）「三仙師」被敕封為「感應護國愛民三大真仙」。敕封是為潮州祈雨以後的事，那麼三仙師到潮州祈雨至晚應該是在宋慶歷八年（1048）以前。
傳統屋簷 潮州雕刻與嵌瓷 Chaozhou Carvings and Mosaics
在廣東潮州的眾多手工藝中，要論精細，木雕一定是第一位的。可惜木雕的保存，最適合的是在室內。但潮州人又愛琢磨這一份精緻細巧，光溜溜的屋頂太不過癮了，總得加點什麼東西，彰顯些與眾不同吧。而嵌瓷，不怕日曬不懼雨淋，而且瓷片顏色鮮艷，在露天中遠遠可見。這樣，嵌瓷也就有了其存在的理由，並且在各種老式建築里發揚光大。
一般來說，木雕要在借助屋頂的遮蔽，才能避免雨水侵蝕和陽光暴曬，從而延長留存時間。因此，建築木雕的精細，只有進入建築其中才看得分明。嵌瓷則不同，它的展示是向外的，往往存在於屋檐之下和屋脊之上，露天里迎著風雨和陽光。所以，建築嵌瓷的精彩，站在房子外面往往也能領略到幾分。
嵌瓷，是廣東潮汕地區富有地方特色的民間工藝，其特點是採用釉彩陶瓷片，經剪取、敲制，鑲嵌各種裝飾圖案或立體畫屏。嵌瓷常見於廟宇、祠堂和民居建築。在潮州的古街古巷尋訪，隨便走入哪一家老宅子，幾乎都能看到屋頂形形色色的嵌瓷。像在屋檐下的石榴，在屋脊上的蘭花、獅子等，都寓意對生活美好願望。尤其在屋頂的嵌瓷，用巨大的灰塑做支撐，做成各種巨大的造型，在屋頂里鮮明地存在著。有時是龍，有時是獅子，有時是其他動物、植物，甚至是一齣戲里的某個場景。這些嵌瓷在屋檐上高高凸起，讓傳統屋頂更顯龐大。
世界上沒法找到完全相同的兩片碎陶瓷片，因此手藝人的每次都是一次全新創作，這讓潮州的嵌瓷具加的豐富多彩。因而也就沒有雷同的嵌瓷作品。多數時候，嵌瓷的製作並無圖紙可依，由匠人來現場發揮。嵌瓷的材料是碗碟壇罐的碎片，鉗剪出形狀各異、大小不一、五顏六色的各種瓷片，通過一定的打磨加工，再鑲嵌拼貼。
Date Visited : Sep 2019
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