Shanxi Ancient Visit | A temple was built for a cat, worth a meow

A temple was built for a cat, worth a meow. This is a place I've passed by many times, and every time I see 'Iron Cat Temple' on the navigation, I wonder what kind of temple it is. This time, I finally went to visit! This is the Iron Cat Temple, located in Dayu Village, Dayu Town, Yangqu County, Taiyuan City, named for the iron cat standing on a high platform, hence the name 'Iron Cat Temple'. The temple has now been completely destroyed, leaving only the solitary 'Iron Cat'. According to the inscriptions, the iron cat was cast in the 14th year of the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty (1535), with exquisite craftsmanship. After being exposed to the sun and rain for over 460 years, its surface shows no signs of rust and can reflect light brightly. It is said that after the temple was destroyed, someone built a shelter for the iron cat and placed it inside, but rust spots appeared after a few days, so they had to dismantle the shelter and put it back on the open platform, where the rust spots disappeared, to everyone's surprise. Under the belly of the iron cat, there is a kitten suckling, whose naive and adorable appearance contrasts sharply with the vigilant mother cat. However, the sunlight was direct that day, and I didn't get a clear picture of the kitten. Why did Dayu Village cast an iron cat? And why was it erected outside the village? There is a popular legend here. Legend has it that in the past, there was a Mouse Mountain to the north of Dameng Village, where a rat spirit as big as a cow appeared, causing daily damage to crops and livestock, to the great harm of the villagers, who were helpless. One day, a wandering Taoist came by, and after hearing about this strange event, suggested that since rats are naturally afraid of cats, they should cast an iron cat to guard the place, and the rat spirit would no longer dare to come out. After saying this, the Taoist drew a picture of an iron cat. The villagers immediately raised funds and asked a skilled blacksmith to cast a male and a female iron cat according to the drawing. The male iron cat was taken away by the Taoist and its whereabouts are unknown to this day. The female iron cat was erected on a brick platform outside the village facing Mouse Mountain, and since then, the rat spirit indeed no longer dared to show its face. Over time, the rat spirit, scared and starved, died on the mountain. Today, there is a sharp ridge on the mountain, which is the spine of the rat spirit. Since then, the iron cat has been regarded as a charm against rats, facing Mouse Mountain, and permanently erected on a high platform. At the beginning of the new century, the iron cat also experienced the cruelty of theft, but fortunately, it was recovered intact and still stands in the village, protecting the villagers. Compared to the Iron Lion of Cangzhou, which has been disfigured by various experts, this Iron Cat is truly very fortunate.