About Us

Tam Kung Temple (est.1876) is the oldest Chinese temple in Canada, located in Victoria Chinatown. It is under the guardianship of the Yen Wo Society, a non-profit organization established by the Chinese Hakka community in 1905. 

Hakka is a Chinese clan-dialect and Hakkaliterally means the ‘guest people’. The Hakka people originated from the northern and central parts of China, and migrated southward to the Province of Guangdong in the thirteenth century. They were one of the early Chinese clan groups that arrived in North America during the 19th century. Today, the Hakka people in southern China have continued to maintain their Hakka language and culture. 

According to geographer David Chuenyan Lai, there are various potential origin myths for the deity Tam Kung. One claimed he was an abandoned youngster with supernatural abilities to stop diseases from spreading, calm sea storms, and bring rain. According to a different version, Tam Kung was a courageous Hakka elder who, in 1278, assisted the seven-year-old Emperor Bing of the Song Dynasty to escape from the Mongol army. According to a third tale, Tam Kung was a made-up name for the young Emperor Bing, who was later deified.

The foundation of Tam Kung Temple in Canada dates back to the 1860s, when a Hakka gold seeker from Guangdong Province brought the statuette of Tam Kung with him to safeguard his journey across the Pacific Ocean. Before the Hakka native left for the Fraser River to seek gold, he placed the statuette in a wooden niche-like box near the Johnson Street ravine for his countrymen to pay homage. 

A Hakka native from Guangdong Province, Ngai Sze, dreamt that Tam Kung came to him and told him to build a temple to provide a safe space for spiritual guidance, cultural unity, and honouring ancestors. Ngai Sze, along with several members of the Hakka Chinese community, actively fundraised to collect monies to purchase a temple site. 

In 1876, Tsay Ching and Dong Sang, on behalf of the Hakka community, purchased the property located near the corner of Fisgard and Government Street. Tam Kung Temple was established in a single-story framed structure located on this site.

In 1912, the Society demolished the one-story building and erected a four-level building on the same site. Tam Kung Temple was moved to the top floor of this narrow, brick building. For more than a century, the Yen Wo Society has continued its role as the custodian of Tam Kung Temple, responsible for its preservation and maintenance. 

Tam Kung Temple is open to the public and welcomes both local and international visitors. Believers visit the temple to consult Tam Kung for guidance on how to handle difficult life issues or how to recover from an illness. A believer will kneel and shake a bamboo tube with 103 bamboo sticks after making a offering of incense.  Each stick has a number that correlates to a verse from an oracle that offers guidance from Tam Kung. 

Nora Butz,         President       250 889 8329

Yee Wan Ngai   Vice President

Linda Chu         Treasurer / Secretary

Lori Wong         Director

Shirley Ngai      Director

Wilson Louie    Director

Ann Wong        Director