Quanzhou Longshan Temple

Lukang Mazu Temple / 鹿港天后宮 (Lukang / 鹿港)

The Lugang Mazu Temple, also known as the Lukang Tianhou or Tienhou Temple, is a Chinese temple dedicated to the Chinese sea goddess Mazu, the deified form of the medieval Fujianese shamaness Lin Moniang, located at 430 Zhongshan Road in Lukang Township, Changhua County, Taiwan. It is one of the island's most famous and popular Mazu temples.

The Lugang Mazu Temple is sometimes claimed to date back to 1590, though the earliest structure in the area dates to the end of the Ming in the 17th century. The temple was moved to its present location in 1725 after Shi Shibang donated the land. The temple was repaired in 1815 and renovated in 1874. It was renovated again in 1927 under the direction of Wu Haitong and Wang Shufa, with most of its present structures completed by 1936. The woodwork was done by local artisans and masters from Quanzhou and Chaozhou on the mainland. It was made a 3rd-class historic site in 1985. The Mazu Folk Art Hall was opened in 1992.

In addition to her many other legends and myths, Mazu is credited with a number of miracles through the Lugang temple particularly. She was said to have answered the prayers of a gathering of 500 people—including the vice-chairman of the provincial legislature, a member of the national assembly, and members of the county council—on her birthday in 1960, ending an ongoing drought with a downpour at 2 am the next morning. Thousands of residents gathered later that morning in appreciation. On 10 May 1963, a bus carrying a group of teachers from Lugang's Haipu School and their relatives went off a wet road over the side of a cliff on the way to Taiwan's east coast. The believers among those saved by the trees which stopped the bus considered that the scene looked the same as Mazu's surname (林) and credited her divine protection. The bus stopped at the Lugang Mazu Temple on the way home and the entire group knelt and thanked her with incense. In April 1972, Lin Tz-hang and his schoolmates from Jing Cheng High School went swimming in the ocean but found themselves miles at sea because of the rising tide. They had prayed to Mazu before they left and again in their extremity and were all saved by fishermen or oyster farmers returning home in the evening.

The front or Sanchuan Hall has woodwork notably different from that elsewhere in the complex because it was added from Lukang's city god temple in 1933 when the Japanese began to destroy it as part of an urban replanning. The front hall's coffered ceiling includes sculptures of the Eight Immortals and paintings of the Four Loves: fishing, woodcutting, planting, and reading. At its apex is a blossoming lotus. Its four corners are protected by stone foo dogs. The ceiling's plaque was written by Wang Lan-pei in 1830 and invokes Mazu's protection (Bo Hai Meng Xiu). It is surmounted by a pair of toads carved by Shi Li, one holding a chrysanthemum in its teeth symbolizing long life and the other holding a camellia symbolizing a long and prosperous spring. Between the pillars are four beasts with dragon heads, fish tails, and bird wings carved by Lee Huan-mei. They are thought to offer the temple protection from fire.

The main hall has three gates. The passages to the temple's east and west wings are guarded by statues of Jing Zhu Gong and Zhu Sheng Niangniang. At the rear entrance of the main hall are statues of a lion and an elephant. Nearby are Shih Jin-fu's wood carvings of the Four Best Things in Life: stretching, ear-cleaning, nose-picking, and scratching. A similar set done by Huang Lien-ji is located in the main hall itself.

The rear hall was damaged in 1945 by the war. It was renovated in 1959 as part of the millennial celebrations of Mazu's birth. It was renovated again in 1963, adding two doors to the original three and adjusting the balcony to create a larger octagonal shape.

Each of the three halls is fronted by a pair of pillars entwined with sculpted dragons.

The rear of the temple includes a fountain[3] and various historical plaques are preserved on the premises, including three bestowed on the temple by the Yongzheng, Qianlong, and Guangxu Emperors and another from Wang Shaolan, governor of Fujian.

The present hardbody main idol (Zhen Dian Ma) was sculpted with sand by Shi Li in the 1930s as part of the temple's reconstruction. It is the largest idol in the temple and is located in the Main Hall. It is flanked by its protectors Qianliyan and Shunfeng'er, carved by Lian Yong-chuan in Quanzhou. Another set of Qianliyan and Shunfeng'er guard the doors of the hall.) The previous softbody idol was kept as a secondary Mazu (Zhen Dian Er Ma). It dates to a Qing-era reconstruction and was built by Lian Lai in Quanzhou.

Xiahai City God Temple (台北霞海城隍廟) in Taiwan

This Xiahai City God Temple (台北霞海城隍廟) is a very famous temple near Dihua Street (迪化街) in Taipei, Taiwan. Xiahai City God protects the city (and people) from calamities and the like. There are many deity figures for praying to inside the temple, including a famous one for people trying to find a mate (figure called Old Man Under the Moon). If you pay attention to the details, you will notice that some figures were originally painted a different color but over time the incense soot collected on them turning them black in color. Because of this phenomena over time, many figures became black, and now, even in the yearly parades, the masks of the performers are purposely painted in black to resemble the statues! I am unsure if newer made statues were purposely painted in black, but those statues near the back definitely turned black from all the soot collected from the burning of the incense (joss) sticks. This turning black from soot probably influenced future statue makers to paint them black.

History:
During the Daoguang (道光) period of the Qing (清) dynasty China in 1821, hundreds of people moved to Taiwan from 五鄉 village, Xiacheng city (霞城 or also called 下店鄉 back then), Tong'an county (同安縣), Quanzhou Prefecture (泉州府), Fujian province. They carried with them a golden XiaHai (霞海) City God figure with them. The name XiaHai (霞海) comes from the combination of Xia (霞) from Xiacheng city (霞城) and hai (海) from the 臨海門 gate, which is near the sea (close to 下店鄉 in ancient times and now near 集美区后溪镇城内村). The actual 臨海門 gate was supposedly dug up in 1993 and put on display in a nearby temple (集美後溪霞城城隍廟). Tong'an (同安縣) was actually a county back then (bigger in size), so it included the Xiacheng (霞城) and 臨海門 gate. In any case, to continue with the story, the people settled in Bajia (八甲) Village in Taiwan, which is near Lao Song (老松) Elementary School on Guangzhou (廣州) Street in modern Taipei. Chen Jinrong (陳金絨) placed the Xiaha City God in his shop to serve as a temple. In 1853, Bajia (八甲) Village was destroyed during a gang war between the arrived Tong'an county people and people from three local counties of Jinjiang (晉江), Hui'an (惠安), and Nan'an (南安). The Tong'an people then took the statue and escaped to Dadaocheng. From 1858-1859, Chen Jinrong (陳金絨) and Chen Jiancheng (陳建成) received donated gold from followers and constructed a new temple in Dadaocheng in pure Minnan (閩南) architectural style. In 2005, Taipei city government tore it down and constructed a new temple and temple courtyard with the size of 50.3 ping (close to 166 square meters). The video shows the temple today during some minor renovation.