Dhamma Path Blog: Revisited BE2567 ~ Shrine Er Ger Fong (Yee Gor Hong) In Bangkok

When you go to Chinatown in Bangkok, of course you have to go to Er Ger Fong Shrine to pray for good fortune. "Phor Pu Chao Yee Gor Hong Shrine" is a famous shrine for giving lottery numbers that lottery fans have faith in. However, this shrine is quite mysterious because it is not located on the side of the road or in an alley. It is located on the 4th floor of the Plabplachai Police Station on Plabplachai Road, Yaowarat District, Bangkok. It is a bit strange that the shrine is located in the police station.

The chinese style Shrine dedicated to Er Ger Fong.

Who is Phor Pu Chao Yee Gor Hong and why is he so prominent in lottery numbers? Let's take a look at the origin of this story. According to history, Yee Gor Hong built a house in the Plab Phla Chai area in front of Wat Khanika Phon and ran many businesses. However, what made him prosperous was being a tax collector, a distillery, a gambling den, and a Ko Kho lottery house. Yee Gor Hong’s Ko Kho lottery house was located in the Sam Yot area. When he had a lot of wealth, he donated it for public benefit, such as building roads, bridges, and schools, such as Hong Uthit Bridge (Bang Lamphu area), Saphan Sung Temple School (Yothinburana School), Phoe Ying School, co-founding the Tai Hong Kong Shrine, co-founding the Thian Fa Foundation, and co-founding the Poh Tek Tung Foundation. He was a campaigner for the Thai Red Cross Society, donated 10,000 baht to build Chulalongkorn Hospital, and even helped people in China during the great earthquake in Teochew in 1918. Yee Gor Hong collected donations from Thailand to help people in need in China. For this reason, King Rama VI graciously bestowed him the title of "Phra Anuwat Ratchaniyom", the deputy head of the Royal Pages Department, and bestowed him the surname "Taechawanit".

Er Ger Fong worship is 100 baht per serving. There are staff on site to teach you how to pray. The incense cannot be lit. Free mineral water is provided. The closing time is 5-6pm. It depends on the crowd. Try to arrive before 5 o'clock.

The front side of the Shrine Er Ger Fong.

The statue of Er Ger Fong. Hong Taechawanit (Zheng Yifeng), who born 5 March 1851 in Chaozhou, Guangdong, China and died 5 March 1937 (aged 85-86) in Bangkok, Thailand. He also known as Er Ger Fong ('Second Brother Fong', rendered in Thai from Teochew as Yee Gor Hong), was a Chinese businessman, philanthropist, and secret Siam society member who was active in early twentieth-century.

In his early life, Zheng Yifeng was born in 1851 in Qiyuan Village, Chaozhou, Guangdong. His father, Zheng Shisheng (鄭詩生) was a peasant who fled China during the First Opium War but died en route to Thailand. His mother subsequently remarried and Zheng Yifeng himself moved to Thailand, settling down in Bangkok. While working for gambling magnate Liu Jibin (劉繼賓), Zheng became a member of the clandestine Chinatown-based 'Tian Di Hui' (天地會) or 'Heaven and Earth Society'. Zheng would become commonly referred to as 'Er Ge Fong' (二哥豐) or 'Second Brother Feng', because of his becoming the secret society's second-highest authority; he eventually became its leader after the death of his predecessor. Zheng successfully petitioned for King Chulalongkorn to grant him tax farming rights over gambling houses. In 1909, he dissented from the popular Chinese sentiment against the king's most recent tax reforms and refused to partake in a three- day-long strike action. In June 1918, Zheng was granted the surname Taechawanit (Tejavanija) and conferred the title of Phra Anuwat Ratchaniyom (พระอนุวัฒน์ราชนิยม) by King Vajiravudh. Hong Taechawanit began to build a conglomerate in Thailand, which comprised pawnshops, a printing press, a shipping line, a theatre and the biggest gambling house in the country. His mansion in Phlapphla Chai also served as his company headquarters. In addition to being a founder of schools in both Thailand and China, Hong Taechawanit bankrolled newspapers and charities. He made significant donations to his hometown in Guangdong, such as in 1918 when he gave 380.000 silver dollars to help relief efforts. Hong Taechawanit also sympathised with the Kuomintang led by Sun Yat Sen following the collapse of the China imperial government in 1911, he gifted Sun with an unspecified amount of ivory. Following a series of financial setbacks, most notably the loss of his tax farmingmlicense, Hong Taechawanit died on 5 March 1937 aged 84. Taechawanit Road, whose construction he financed, is now named after him. His mansion was donated to the state and became the present-day Phlapphachai Police Station. Because of his stature as a 'gambling lord'. Hong was deified as a 'luck-bringer' after his death and is popularly worshipped by Thai gamblers.