Yuanshan Temple ( zh, t=圓山宮, p=Yuánshān Gōng) is a temple in Lucao Township,

Chiayi County Chiayi County (Mandarin pinyin: ''jiā yì xiàn''; Hokkien POJ: ''Ka-gī-koān'') is a county in southwestern Taiwan surrounding but not including Chiayi City. It is the sixth largest county in Taiwan. Name The former Chinese placename was ...

, Taiwan. The temple is dedicated to Wangsun Dashi, a legendary child from the

Song Dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

History

According to legend, Wangsun Dashi ( zh, t=王孫大使) was a child named Xie Shengxian ( zh, t=謝聖賢) that lived during the Song Dynasty. When he was thirteen years old, Xie traveled

Tong'an Tong'an District () is a northern mainland district of Amoy which faces Quemoy County, Republic of China. To the north is Anxi and Nan'an, and to the south is Jimei. Tong'an is also east of Lianxiang and Changqin to the West. It covers

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 ...

with his dog and lived in the home of a government official with the surname Chen. One day, the official's daughter was possessed by a

river snail Viviparidae, sometimes known as the river snails or mystery snails, are a family (biology), family of large operculum (gastropod), operculate freshwater snails, Aquatic animal, aquatic gastropod mollusks. This family is classified in the inform ...

yaoguai Yaoguai (妖怪 pinyin yāoguài) is a term for monsters or strange creatures. Yaogui (妖鬼 yāoguǐ, lit. "strange ghost"), yaomo (妖魔 yāomó, lit. "daemon") or yaojing (妖精 yāojīng, often translated as " sprite" or "faerie") are loo ...

'', so Xie sacrificed himself by jumping into a lake next to Feng Mountain (鳳山). Therefore, the Chen clan deified Xie as Wangsun Dashi and built a temple for him next to the mountain. The Chen clan migrated across 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 ...

in the

Qing Dynasty 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 ...

, and brought Wangsun Dashi with them as their protector deity. The clan founded Yuanshan Temple in 1738 or 1752 to worship Wangsun Dashi in Lucao, and the temple became the religious center of the region. The temple has been rebuilt multiple times, the most recently completed in 1976.

Architecture

Yuanshan Temple is located in downtown Lucao and faces east. The main altar houses Wangsun Dashi, while the side altars house

Fude Zhengshen Fude Zhengshen ('',Keith G. Stevens, Chinese Mythological Gods, Oxford University Press, USA, (November 8, 2001), pages 60, 68, 70, lit. Righteous God of Virtue and Blessing) is a God of Prosperity in Chinese folk religion. He is often considered ...

and Wangsun Dashi's dog. The temple columns are carved with antithetical couplets, and each line begins with the characters ''yuan'' and ''shan'', respectively, except for the columns beside the side altars. Wangsun Dashi's statue is carved with dimples to resemble a boy.

Traditions

''Geshuihuo''

Every twelve years, Yuanshan Temple holds a ceremony known as ''geshuihuo'' (割水火) on the banks of the

Puzi River The Puzi River () is a river in Taiwan. It flows through Chiayi County Chiayi County ( Mandarin pinyin: ''jiā yì xiàn''; Hokkien POJ: ''Ka-gī-koān'') is a county in southwestern Taiwan surrounding but not including Chiayi City. It is ...

to symbolically call on wandering spirits to change their ways and assemble into an army under Wangsun Dashi. During the ceremony, a temporary altar is placed on a sand bar, and a flag is placed next to the river. Twelve days later, a procession carries weapons and crosses the river to retrieve the altar and the flag, marking the end of the ceremony.

''Fanghuoma''

Historically, Yuanshan Temple has held a ritual known as ''fanghuoma'' (放火馬), where paper horses are paraded around and burned, to protect citizens from disease. However, this ritual was not held for roughly 60 years until February 2021, where it was revived for the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

References