Restored Chinese Temple

Restored Chinese Temple. Historical Chinese Temple in Cambria, circa 1885. , When Greenspace acquired this building, none of the original furnishings remained and the interior had been whitewashed. Two windows and a door had been added. Linoleum covered the floor., Restoration , When whitewash was removed, the "heavenly blue" tones on the tongue-and-groove redwood walls were revealed. Walls in the altar area were green. The altar surface and area below it were red, as were the doors. The original deep yellow/gold of the moldings was restored. Most of the fir floorboards are original. The windows and extra door have been filled back in. Historians tell us the paint colors and door hardware are typical of surviving temples of comparable age in the West., Furnishings , Based on research of similar buildings, the altar might have held two candlesticks, incense bowls, a rectangular bowl, and a pair of vases containing flowers., Other features typically found in comparable interiors include statues and/or portraits of the deity to whom the building is dedicated, and various plaques and signage. Cambrians interviewed decades after the Chinese temple was abandoned recall a large statue on the altar., (photo captions:), ·A pig purchased form ranchers and roasted was a feature of festive occasions like Chinese New Year. American-made clothing included denim jeans and hats that accommodated queues (the traditional pigtail) which some men kept in the hope of one day returning to China. , ·Above, the character meaning 'Warrior Temple' was traced from part of a sign that may have been displayed on the building. It was reused upside down as a drainboard in the kitchen of the Red House, after the abandoned temple and another building from Main Street were attached to the house. , ·Inside, the trunk and other donated items in the cabinet are reminiscent of the era when the temple served Cambria's small Chinese community. , ·Kuan Ti was canonized in 1594 by a Ming dynasty emperor as the god of war - protector of China and all of its citizens. Thousands upon thousands of temples were built, each bearing the title Wu Miao (Warrior Temple) or Wu Sheng Miao (Sacred Warrior Temple).