Taiwan folk beliefs are traditional beliefs widely circulated in

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 ...

, including Chinese people's beliefs that combine

Daoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

, and

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...

," 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 ...

immigrant beliefs that merge the three religions, also including the deification of local heroes and celebrities, also including

Wang Ye worship Wang Ye worship () is a Fujianese and Taiwanese folk religion, frequently considered an aspect of the Taoist belief system. Wang Ye is particularly worshipped in Southern Taiwan and also among Minnan speaking communities worldwide. The customary ...

, and

Taiwanese aborigines Taiwanese may refer to: * Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien * Something from or related to Taiwan ( Formosa) * Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan * Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan * Taiwanese people, ...

Ancestors An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder or a forebear, is a parent or (recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from whom ...

. Ancestral Spirituality, the former, along with the

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Minnan region and Guangdong immigrants from the

South China South China () is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context. A notable feature of South China in comparison to the rest of China is that most of its citizens are not n ...

region, crossed the

Taiwan Strait The Taiwan Strait is a -wide strait separating the island of Taiwan and continental Asia. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to the East China Sea to the north. The narrowest part is wide. The Taiwan Strait is itself a s ...

to the east and took root in Taiwan. Gradually, folk beliefs with local styles emerged, but by and large, the original Chinese people's interfaith gods are still worshipped; the second shows that Taiwanese people are full of feelings of tolerance and knowledge, such as worshipping the Japanese soldiers who sacrificed their lives to save the people; the second, such as Ying Gong and Wan Shan Yi in various places, and some are even more

spirit Spirit or spirits may refer to: Liquor and other volatile liquids * Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks * Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol * Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...

, such as Nan Kunshen Dai Some of the latter still retain their original characteristics, while some beliefs (such as

Ali-zu Ali-zu is an assimilated Siraya deity that is worshiped by former plains people in southern 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 northw ...

beliefs) have been Sinicized. Taiwan is also the most religious region in the

Chinese world 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 ...

, with 93% of people following mixture of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism , Christian 4.5%, other 2.5%. Chinese folk religion in Taiwan is framed by the ritual ministry exerted by the Zhengyi Taoist

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

(''sanju daoshi''), independent orders of ''

fashi Chinese ritual mastery traditions, also referred to as ritual teachings (, sometimes rendered as "Faism"),Yu-chi Tsao, 2012. or Folk Taoism (), or also Red Taoism (mostly in east China and Taiwan), constitute a large group of Chinese orders of ri ...

'' (non-Taoist ritual masters), and ''

tongji Tongji may refer to: *Tongji Bridge (Jinhua) () a large stone arch bridge in Jinhua, China. *Tongji Bridge (Yuyao) () a stone arch bridge in Yuyao, China. * Tongji County (), former name of Shifang, Sichuan, China. * Tongji Lu Station () metro stati ...

'' media. The Chinese folk religion of Taiwan has characteristic features, such as

. Even though Falun Gong is banned in

, people in Taiwan are free to practise it.

Gallery

File:靈安道士團.JPG, Folk Taoists officiating a ceremony in Taichung. File:2014 11 24台南市三郊鎮港海安宮三朝慶成祈安建醮三郊營仔腳朝興宮溫陵廟登殿安座.jpg, An altar dedicated to various gods at a temple in Tainan. File:四結福德廟斜照.jpg, Temple of Fude in Wujie, Yilan. File:Hui-an Temple 2004.jpg, Hui'an Temple in Kuantien, Tainan. The festival welcomed politician Chen Shui-bian home after his 2004 re-election. File:Zhunan Houtsuo Longfeng Temple 20160326.jpg, Hotsu Longfong Temple dedicated to

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 ...

in Miaoli. File:普天宮 Putian Temple - panoramio.jpg, Temple of

Guandi Guan Yu (; ), courtesy name Yunchang, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Along with Zhang Fei, he shared a brotherly relationship with Liu Bei and accompanied him on m ...

Gallery

References

Footnotes

Bibliography