California Sketches: Bok Kai Temple Dedicated to the God of Water
From The Sacramento Bee, in California Sketches by Stephanie Taylor:
“A mural of Chinese village scenes and calligraphy painted in 1880 adorns the entrance to the Bok Kai Temple in Marysville. … On the far wall, an altar is filled with sculptures representing Taoist deities, including Bok Eye, the God of Water to whom the temple, Bok Kai, is dedicated. …
“This sacred site is both artifact and active culture. Constructed as a bathhouse in 1857, the building was converted to a temple in 1880. That the temple was dedicated to the god of water – who controls floods, rains and irrigation – was auspicious. Speculation has it that Bok Eye saved Marysville, at the confluence of the Sacramento and Feather rivers, from flooding in 1955.”
Read more from The Sacramento Bee
View more of Stephanie Taylor’s California Sketches. She has donated her paintings to Water Education Foundation fund-raising events.