Yan Gong

Yan Gong is traditionally said to have been named Yan Xuzi, a native of Qingjiang County, Linjiang Prefecture in Jiangxi Province. In the late Yuan dynasty, he served as head of the Brocade Bureau but retired home due to illness; he died aboard a boat while returning, and local people reportedly witnessed his spirit manifesting above the river—thus he was venerated as a water deity. Legend holds that during the Ming founder Zhu Yuanzhang’s river-crossing military campaign, his fleet encountered violent gales and near-catastrophic waves; Yan Gong’s divine intervention saved the flotilla from capsizing. After ascending the throne, the emperor conferred upon him the title 'Lingying Pinglang Hou' and ordered temples dedicated to him built along the Yangtze River. Consequently, Yan Gong temples proliferated across the middle and lower Yangtze basin and along the Grand Canal, establishing him alongside Jinlong Sida Wang (the Golden Dragon Fourth Great King) as one of the two most revered water deities in northern and southern China. Barge workers, canal boatmen, and river merchants alike worshipped him; whenever storms arose, they would burn incense and cry out 'Yan Gong!' to pray for calm waters and placid waves.