The Grand Matsu Temple,. & also known as the Datianhou or ,. is a

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

to the

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

Goddess A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...

Mazu Mazu or Matsu is a Chinese sea goddess also known by several other names and titles. She is the deified form of the legendary figure Lin Mo or Lin Moniang, a Fujianese shamaness whose life span is traditionally dated from 960 to 987. Re ...

, who is the Goddess of Sea and Patron Deity of fishermen, sailors and any occupations related to sea/ocean. The temple is located in the West Central District of

Tainan Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in southern Taiwan facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and also commonly known as the "Capital City" ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

. It is open seven days a week, with free admission.

History

The Grand Matsu Temple was originally the palace of the Southern Ming

prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

Zhu Shugui Zhu Shugui (1617 – 21 July 1683), courtesy name Tianqiu (天球) and art name Yiyuanzi (一元子), the Prince of Changyang (長陽王; 1645–1646), later the Prince of Ningjing (寧靖王), was a royal member of the Ming and the last of t ...

, constructed for him near Chikan Tower by the

Tungning The Kingdom of Tungning (), also known as Tywan by the British at the time, was a dynastic maritime state that ruled part of southwestern Taiwan and the Penghu islands between 1661 and 1683. It is the first predominantly Han Chinese state in T ...

king

Zheng Jing Zheng Jing, Prince of Yanping (; 25 October 1642 – 17 March 1681), courtesy names Xianzhi () and Yuanzhi (), pseudonym Shitian (), was a 17th-century Chinese warlord, Ming dynasty loyalist and ruler of the Kingdom of Tungning in Taiwan. Bio ...

in 1664.. Zhu, known as Prince Ningjing, helped

Koxinga Zheng Chenggong, Prince of Yanping (; 27 August 1624 – 23 June 1662), better known internationally as Koxinga (), was a Ming loyalist general who resisted the Qing conquest of China in the 17th century, fighting them on China's southeastern ...

's dynasty colonize and clear farmland in the surrounding Chengtian Prefecture but, after

Shi Lang Shi Lang (1621–1696), Marquis Jinghai, also known as Secoe or Sego, was a Chinese admiral who served under the Ming and Qing dynasties in the 17th century. He was the commander-in-chief of the Qing fleets which destroyed the power of Zheng Che ...

's 1683 victory at

Penghu The Penghu (, Hokkien POJ: ''Phîⁿ-ô͘'' or ''Phêⁿ-ô͘'' ) or Pescadores Islands are an archipelago of 90 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait, located approximately west from the main island of Taiwan, covering an area ...

Zheng Keshuang Zheng Keshuang, Prince of Yanping (; 13 August 1670 – 22 September 1707), courtesy name Shihong, art name Huitang, was the third and last ruler of the Kingdom of Tungning in Taiwan in the 17th century. He was the second son of Zheng Jing and a ...

was obliged to surrender to the

Qing Empire The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

. Zhu's five

concubines Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubin ...

then hanged themselves one by one from the beams of his palace's bedroom and the next day he joined them in suicide. His ladies continue to be honored at Tainan's

Five Concubines Temple 5 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 5, five or number 5 may also refer to: * AD 5, the fifth year of the AD era * 5 BC, the fifth year before the AD era Literature * ''5'' (visual novel), a 2008 visual novel by Ram * ''5'' (comics), an awar ...

initially took up residence at the palace, rebuilding some areas to his liking, but then memorialized the

Kangxi Emperor The Kangxi Emperor (4 May 1654– 20 December 1722), also known by his temple name Emperor Shengzu of Qing, born Xuanye, was the third emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigning from 1661 to 1 ...

to convert it into a temple to

,. the deified form of the medieval

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...

ese

shamaness Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spiritu ...

Lin Moniang. This was done the next year in 1684 under Mazu's newly-granted title of "Empress of Heaven". It was the first temple to be so named, giving it some precedence over her earlier temples, which honored her as a "Princess of Heaven". The move served a propaganda function, with the Qing claiming to honor Mazu's "support" for their conquest of Taiwan from Tungning. The temple was renovated in 1765 and again in 1775, when it assumed its current appearance. A fire occasioned another rebuilding in 1818 and it fell into disrepair in the late

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...

. Following the Japanese occupation of Taiwan, it was almost auctioned to private interests but this was cancelled at the last minute. It was partially rebuilt after damage from an earthquake in 1946. The temple was declared a protected monument in 1985.

Architecture

The Main Hall is dedicated to

, flanked by her two

guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...

demons A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in media such as comics, video games, movies, anime, ...

Qianliyan Qianliyan is a Chinese sea and door god. He usually appears with Shunfeng'er as a guardian of the temples of the sea goddess Mazu. Name The name "Qianliyan" literally means "He of the Thousand-Mile" or "League Eyes" but may be taken more genera ...

and

Shunfeng'er Shunfeng'er is a Chinese sea and door god. He usually appears with Qianliyan as a guardian of the temples of the sea goddess Mazu. Name The name "Shunfeng'er" literally means "Wind Accompanying Ears" in reference to his ability to hear any sound ...

. It includes a

stele A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), whe ...

erected by

in 1685. The Rear Hall is also known as the Sacred Parents Hall, as it honors Mazu's parents, along with her brother, sisters, and Prince Ningjing. It is the site of the prince's former bedroom, where his five concubines preceded him in suicide during the Qing conquest of Taiwan.

Services

The altar of Yue Lao, the old man under the moon, is frequented by singles in search of a husband or wife.

Legacy

The temple is the namesake of West Central District's surrounding Tienhou Community..

Gallery

File:PICT0345.JPG , Entrance plaque File:Main statue of Datianhou Temple.JPG , Main Shrine File:大天后宮水仙尊王神像.jpg, The

Five Kings of the Water Immortals The Shuixian Zunwang are five Chinese Deities worshipped as water and sea deities. They have various names in English including the Honorable Water Immortal Kings and the Lords of the Water. All five deities were formerly famous heros and ar ...

File:大天后宮四海龍王神像.jpg , The Dragon Kings of the

Four Seas The Four Seas () were four bodies of water that metaphorically made up the boundaries of ancient China. There is a sea for each for the four cardinal directions. The West Sea is Qinghai Lake, the East Sea is the East China Sea, the North Sea is ...

File:大天后宮（寧靖王府邸）.JPG , Incense burner File:臺南大天后宮.JPG , Main Hall in the evening

References

External links

* . & {{coord, 22.9969, N, 120.2011, E, type:landmark_region:TW, display=title 1664 establishments in Taiwan Mazu temples in Tainan Mazu temples built by Buddhists National monuments of Taiwan