The Qing Shan King Sacrificial Ceremony (青山王祭) is a centuries-old festival that is held annually in Wanhua,

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

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 no ...

. It is held between the 20th and 22nd of October (based on

Lunar Calendar A lunar calendar is a calendar based on the monthly cycles of the Moon's phases ( synodic months, lunations), in contrast to solar calendars, whose annual cycles are based only directly on the solar year. The most commonly used calendar, t ...

) and is meant to celebrate the birthday of the

Deity A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...

, Ling An Zun Wang (靈安尊王) or

Qing Shan King 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 ...

(青山王). During this festival, the

Deities A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greater ...

and

Bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...

s of several other temples (including Qingshui Temple) will be invited to visit and attend the celebration within Wanhua District. There will be procession by invited guest Deities and Bodhisattvas in Wanhua neighborhood for two nights, then they will attend the birthday celebration of Qing Shan King. The purpose of procession within Wanhua District is to cleanse and eliminate any evil spirit or unholy presence that might cause or bring bad luck and sufferings to the local community. During this visit, all windows and doors must be shut to prevent evil spirits from entering the locals’ households. There are three different tour routes, the first route runs from Huan He Road to Zhong Hua Road, the second starts from

Wanhua Station Wanhua () is a station in Wanhua District, Taipei, Taiwan, served by Taiwan Railways Administration . Overview The station is divided into east and west buildings. The station entrance, lobby, and ticket counters are located in the west bui ...

and the last route begins from Ting Han Kou Road in Ximending. The parade usually lasts throughout the night and ends around 3 or 4am. Between 2-3 million pieces of a traditional biscuit known as "Xian Guang Bing" are given out during each celebration.

References

Religion in Taipei Buddhist festivals in Taiwan Autumn events in Taiwan {{Taiwan-stub