Mazu Temple (Magong)

The Penghu Tianhou Temple is a temple dedicated to the sea goddess Mazu located on Zhengyi Street in Magong City, Penghu, Taiwan. It is usually considered the oldest Mazu temple in Taiwan and, despite differences in characters, is the namesake of the surrounding city of Magong. It is open from 7:00am to 5:30pm daily..

Name

The original name of the site was the Niangma Temple ("Temple of the Honorable Mother)". It was renamed the Tianfei Temple ("Temple of the Princess of Heaven") following its rebuilding in the 16th century. The present Chinese name of the temple followed Mazu's elevation by the Qing and translates as the "Palace of the Queen of Heaven" and is sometimes romanized as the Its English name is also sometimes transcribed as the

History

The temple claims to be the oldest in Taiwan, possibly dating to the early Ming in the 15th century. It was supposedly destroyed by "Japanese" pirates and rebuilt in the 16th century. It was enlarged following Yu Dayou's 1563 victory over the pirates at Putian and again after another imperial victory in 1592, a date sometimes given as its foundation.. Alternatively, its construction is credited to the Hoklo in 1593 or 1604... A 1604 stele recording the ultimatum Yu Dayou's son Zigao gave to the Dutch to abandon Taiwan was discovered at the temple in 1919. In 1622, the Dutch seized the area and erected a fort; following their conquest by Yu Zigao's forces two years later, the temple was again remodeled.

Magong grew up around the temple and was named for it. Under Japanese rule, the port of Magong was a major base of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Its characters were changed in 1920 but it retained the same pronunciation in Japanese and English as before. In Mandarin, however, the names no longer match, since the tone of the first syllable shifted from first to third. The present temple is largely the result of a 1922 renovation, mostly employing Tangshan, Guangzhou, and Chaozhou artists..

Architecture

The temple complex consists of a front, main, and back temple with an extra row of houses ("guarding dragons") on either side. It is built on the slope of the hill, with the temples rising from front to back. The front temple is also known as the Shanchuan Temple. The temple has a high and sweeping "swallowtail" roof.

Artwork

The temple is filled with wood carvings in the Chaozhou style. The name plaque on the front temple is surrounded by three dragons. The swastikas on the main hall's door panels are taken to represent eternal prosperity; wealth and happiness are also symbolized by the doors' flowers and birds. The columns have lion and paired rabbit bases.

The main idol of Mazu is said to be more than 700 years old, carved from a single piece of solid wood weighing about .

Legacy

The temple is one of the landmarks of Taiwan turned into ''moe'' figures in artist Chih Yu's ''We Stay, We Live''.

Gallery

File:澎湖天后宮整修中.JPG, Entrance (2013)
File:Penghu Tianhougong 20150618.jpg, Entrance 2015
File:澎湖天后宮｜鯉魚雕塑.jpg, Roof decoration: carp and water (clay)
File:澎湖天后宮｜雙龍剪粘之一.jpg, Roof decoration: four-fingers dragon (clay )
File:澎湖天后宮 澎湖縣 國定古蹟寺廟 Venation 10.jpg, Wall decoration dragon beside entrance
File:澎湖天后宮｜石鼓.jpg, The Entrance of the Hall
File:澎湖天后宮｜水車堵.jpg, Wall decoration: 【Chinese folk story: Legend of the White Snake (白蛇傳)】Buddhist monk called Fahai (法海) uses her powers to flood the temple and drowns many innocent people.
File:2008 Penghu Tianhougong charm face.jpg, Charm from the temple
File:澎湖天后宮樑上的裝飾.jpg, Ceiling decoration
File:澎湖天后宮｜沈有容諭退紅毛番.jpg, 沈有容諭退紅毛番韋麻郎等 (1604) Shen Yourong expelled Dutch Wijbrant and his people

See also

* Qianliyan & Shunfeng'er
* List of Mazu temples around the world
* List of temples in Taiwan
* Lan Mu

References

External links

* , including cutaways of the temple and main hall.
*

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Mazu temples in Penghu
National monuments of Taiwan