Come with a question. Leave understanding a little more.
Tian Long Tang has served devotees in Singapore since 2007. People come to us for traditional Chinese rituals such as 打小人 (Da Xiao Ren), the repayment of hell debts known as 还阴债, and 补财库, replenishing the wealth vault.
Many arrive at a difficult moment: a run of bad luck, trouble at work, a feeling that something is unsettled. You do not need to know the rituals before you come. Asking what they are for is where most visits begin.
These are the questions we hear most, often from people who have never been to a temple before. Each one opens a plain answer.
The three practices people ask about most. Each is centuries old, and each is simpler than it sounds.
A folk ritual from southern China. A paper figure, standing for the petty people and bad influences in your life, is struck with an old shoe while a traditional chant is recited. Most people come to clear away gossip, scheming and bad luck, not to curse a named person.
In Chinese folk belief, every person borrows from the treasury of the underworld before they are born. 还阴债 repays that debt with paper offerings prepared for your birth year, so the burden does not follow you through life.
Each person is said to hold a wealth vault in the heavens. When money seems to slip away however hard you work, 补财库 refills it with paper treasury chests and gold ingots. It is often done together with 开财库, opening the vault.
9:00am to 6:00pm
Days open: *Required
269 Queen Street #02-249
Singapore 180269, a short walk from Bugis MRT.
You are welcome to come and ask. This is how most first visits go.
Send a WhatsApp message, fill in a form, or simply come by. Tell us a little about what is on your mind.
The master listens first, then explains which ritual, if any, suits your situation, and why.
Nothing is performed until you understand what it involves. You are free to go away and think about it.
If you go ahead, the master guides you through each step and tells you what to do afterwards.
Tell others what your visit was like. A short Google review helps people who are unsure about coming for the first time.
Choose the one that fits where you are. There is no wrong door.
Want to see the temple first, or come with family? Pick a day and we will expect you.
Plan a visit 预约Already know what you need? Choose the ritual and a date, and we will confirm by WhatsApp.
Book a ritual 询问Just curious? Ask anything. There is no obligation to visit.
Ask a questionTian Long Tang performs traditional Chinese temple rituals for devotees and members of the public. Each description below explains the practice as it is traditionally understood. The master will explain how it is carried out here, for your situation, before anything begins.
打小人 comes from Cantonese folk tradition. A paper figure stands for the 小人, the petty people whose gossip, jealousy or scheming cause trouble in your life. The practitioner strikes it with an old shoe while reciting a traditional chant, then makes offerings so the trouble is driven away and does not return.
It is traditionally performed around 惊蛰 (Jing Zhe), the Awakening of Insects in early March, when the White Tiger is also appeased. Many people ask for it whenever gossip, office politics or a run of bad luck seem to follow them.
Trouble with colleagues, gossip, rivals, repeated bad luck.
Traditionally around 惊蛰 in March, or whenever needed.
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Chinese folk belief holds that before each of us is born, we borrow from the treasury of the underworld to receive this life, and that the amount differs by birth year. 还阴债, also called 还受生债, is the ritual of repaying that debt with prepared paper offerings.
People usually consider it when life feels blocked without an obvious cause: health that will not settle, money that never stays, plans that keep falling through. The offerings are prepared for your birth details, blessed with prayers, and then burned so that they reach the other side.
Obstacles with no clear reason, long runs of misfortune.
Your full name and date of birth.
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Each person is believed to have a wealth vault, 财库, kept in the heavens. When it is full, money gathers. When it is empty or leaking, money slips away however hard you work. 开财库 opens the vault and 补财库 refills it, with paper treasury chests, gold ingots and offerings.
It is a popular ritual around the Lunar New Year, a birthday, or the start of a new business.
Money that slips away, a new venture, a fresh start.
Lunar New Year, birthdays, business openings.
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Many devotees come to ask for protection and blessings: 消灾解难 to ease misfortune, 求平安 for safety and peace, 求财 for wealth, and 求学业进步 for progress in studies.
Prayers are offered on your behalf, and the merit is dedicated, 回向, to you and your family.
Peace, health, wealth, studies, family.
Before exams, a move, surgery or a big decision.
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Not sure which ritual, if any, is right for you? Many visits are simply a conversation. You describe what is happening in your life, and the master explains how Chinese tradition would read it and which practices might suit your circumstances.
Guidance depends on your own situation, so two people with the same worry may be advised differently.
First-time visitors, anyone unsure where to start.
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Tian Long Tang also carries out other traditional rituals and religious services. If you do not see what you are looking for, ask.
Full list: *Required
Ask about a ritualEvery ritual follows the same five steps, whichever one you come for.
WhatsApp, fill in a form, or come in during opening hours.
The master listens, then advises which ritual suits your situation.
Offerings are prepared for you, and you are told when to come.
You are guided through every step. Nothing is rushed.
You are told what to do next, and questions are always welcome.
Choose a ritual and a date. Every booking is confirmed by WhatsApp.
Plain answers about 打小人, 还阴债 and the other practices people search for, written for anyone who has never taken part in them.
A folk ritual in which a paper figure, standing for the troublemakers in your life, is struck with an old shoe to drive their bad influence away.
打小人, Da Xiao Ren, means ‘beating the petty person’. It comes from Cantonese folk tradition in southern China and travelled with the communities who settled in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore.
A 小人 is anyone whose gossip, envy or scheming holds you back. In the ritual, a paper figure stands in for them. It is struck with an old shoe while a rhythmic chant is recited, and offerings are then made and burned. The point is protection: clearing bad influence away from you, rather than wishing harm on a particular person.
Traditionally on 惊蛰, the Awakening of Insects in early March, and at any time trouble seems to gather around you.
惊蛰 is one of the 24 solar terms of the Chinese calendar. It marks the first thunder of spring, when insects and pests are said to stir from winter sleep. Folk belief holds that petty people and bad luck stir with them, which is why 打小人 and offerings to the White Tiger, 白虎, are made at that time.
Outside 惊蛰, people ask for the ritual when they feel targeted at work, are caught up in a dispute, or cannot shake off a run of misfortune.
It means repaying the debt each person is believed to owe the treasury of the underworld for being born.
阴 refers to the unseen world, and 债 means debt. The ritual is also known as 还受生债, repaying the debt of receiving life. Paper offerings prepared for your birth details are presented with prayers and burned, which is understood to settle what you owe.
Because Chinese folk belief, shaped by Taoist and Buddhist texts, teaches that life itself is received on loan.
Old texts describe treasury officials in the underworld who lend each soul what it needs to be born, and say that the amount owed depends on the year of your birth. A debt left unpaid is believed to weigh on your fortune, health and family.
For many people, the belief is less about fear than about balance: settling what is owed, so that life can move freely again.
Many people find that it does, in the way that matters to them: a way to act, a moment of calm, and a sense that something has been set right.
A temple cannot promise outcomes, and this one does not. What a ritual offers is a structured way to face a hard time, rooted in practices that families have trusted for generations.
If you are facing a medical, legal or financial problem, please also speak to the right professional. Rituals are practised alongside ordinary help, not instead of it.
You speak with the master, the offerings are prepared for you, and you take part with guidance at every step.
Most rituals begin with a conversation about what is happening in your life. The master then explains which practice suits your situation, what it involves, and what you will need. Offerings are prepared, often for your name and date of birth. During the ritual you are guided on where to stand, what to hold and what to say. Afterwards you are told what to do next.
A Chinese temple in the heart of Singapore, serving devotees and members of the public since 2007.
Tian Long Tang was founded in 2007 to provide traditional Chinese religious services to devotees and members of the public. It has grown the old way: one person helped, who then told a friend, a sister, a colleague.
Today the temple is known for 打小人 and 还阴债, and for taking the time to explain them. Many of the people who come have never taken part in either ritual before, and the first thing they receive is an explanation.
You can come with nothing more than a question. Asking is not a commitment.
Every ritual has a reason. We explain what it is for and what happens before you take part.
Advice depends on your circumstances, not a fixed menu. Two people with the same worry may be guided differently.
The master of Tian Long Tang leads the temple’s rituals and consultations. Devotees come to the master for guidance on personal, family and work matters, and for the rituals described on this site.
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Find us, plan a visit, book a ritual or simply ask a question. We reply on WhatsApp.
269 Queen Street #02-249
Singapore 180269
A short walk from Bugis MRT, on the Downtown and East West lines.
9:00am to 6:00pm
Days open: *Required
天龙堂 · 269 Queen Street #02-249
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Curious, unsure, or just want to understand something? Ask anything. There is no obligation to visit.
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