The biggest feature of this temple palace, which is called "Dragon King Temple" by the local people, is that the Dragon King enshrined here is that they are all heroes of the river in history, not the dragon kings who live in the sky and spit clouds and mist as imagined by the people. Jiayingguan This Dragon King Temple is the most historical and scientific Dragon King Temple, and has inherited a spirit and strength to the world to govern the Yellow River.
Today, I would like to introduce to you a hero who died in the line of duty in history- Chen Pengnian.
Chen Pengnian, a native of Xiangtan, Hunan, was a Kangxi thirty-year jinshi who worked in Xi'an Zhi County, Zhejiang. In the sixty years of the Kangxi Dynasty, the Yellow River broke through at Wuzhi, and Chen Pengnian followed zhang Peng, a man he met in his early years, to patrol the river from the east and west of the mountain to Wuzhi, just when the left deputy capital Yushi Niu niu was ordered to block the mouth. After inspecting Mayingkou, he suggested: The old embankment is eight or nine miles long, the big slip (mainstream) is straight down, the water is surging, it is not easy to block, and the drainage channel should be dug on the south bank, the flood should be diverted to the east, and then the decision should be stopped. The plan was approved by the Emperor. At that time, when Niu Niu was blocking the mouth in the Qin Factory, due to insufficient materials and poor organization, he impeached Zhao Shixian, the governor of the river, and the emperor deposed Zhao Shixian, appointed Chen Pengnian as the governor of the river, and assisted Niu Niu and Qi Sulu in blocking the mouth at Maying.
In terms of river management strategy, Chen Pengnian, together with the Henan Inspectorate, opposed the construction of a dam and the reduction of the Qin River estuary, resulting in the Yellow River and the Qin River rising at the same time, and the flood discharge was unfavorable. However, in terms of blocking the mouth, the attitude was resolute and the work was positive, and the Maying mouth was blocked four times and the decision was broken four times. He stayed at the construction site day and night, unable to eat, unable to sleep, red eyes, hoarse throat, thin enough to be human, and the fifth time the mouth was finally closed, but he was so tired that he vomited blood, could no longer support it, and fell ill. At this time, Kangxi died, Yongzheng ascended the throne, and sent an imperial doctor to treat him, but he was unable to return to heaven and died at the Mayingkou construction site.
After Chen Pengnian's death, the Yongzheng Emperor gave him the title of "Keqin" (恪勤), and specially aimed to build a Chen Gong Ancestral Hall for him on the west side of the Jiayingguan West Taoist Temple and sacrifice it. Therefore, Chen Pengnian is also a hero of river control that is worth remembering forever in people's minds.