Xinhua News Agency, Taipei, October 17th Title: Lugang Writing: The "cross-strait mark" in the incense
Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhao Bo
Hong Kong Neighbor County, Changhua County, Lugang Town is an ancient small town with a strong sense of folk belief. Walking in the city and in the corners of the alleys, you can always encounter large and small temples surrounded by incense. These temples, from worshiping gods to building shapes, from building fate to sacrificial inheritance, are all engraved with deep marks on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
everyone says, "If you don't have Lugang Longshan Temple , you don't know the beauty of Taiwanese temples." Longshan Temple, located on Sanmin Road, is one of the earliest Buddhist temples created in Taiwan. It is famous for its earliest preserved and largest star anise caisson in Taiwan.
Document records in the temple. According to legend, during the Yongli period of the Ming Dynasty, the ancestors who migrated to Taiwan, Quanzhou were welcomed by the Longshan Temple in Anhai to invite the statue of Guanyin Bodhisattva and built a temple on the side of the old river channel of Luzai Port. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, Lugang was approved by the Qing court to trade with Quanzhou, and quickly became a major trade center. In 1786, as the incense of believers grew, Longshan Temple was moved to its current site. During the Daoguang and Xianfeng periods, it was renovated many times to lay the foundation for its present appearance.
The creation of Lugang Longshan Temple is a moving homesick story. This temple is not only built completely according to the drawings of Anhai Longshan Temple, but also the wood, bricks and stones used, and even craftsmen come across the sea.
Entering from the mountain gate, the wide front yard is covered with stones transported from Quanzhou more than 200 years ago. The green stone long railing and the eighteen Arhat sculptures were assembled one by one after being transported from Quanzhou 39 years ago. The wood carvings, stone carvings, paints, clay sculptures all over the temple... were mostly made by Quanzhou craftsmen, and their inheritors carefully prepared them as they were when they were rebuilt. In the spatial layout of the four entrances and three courtyards, complex and exquisite carving skills can be seen everywhere, quietly telling the origin of the Longshan Temple on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Sit quietly on the wooden chair under the opera pavilion, looking up at the exquisite caisson made of 16 sets of brackets; or surround the corridor, and carefully exploring the vigorous and ancient dragon pillars and mottled and elegant ancient stele woodworks, touching the feeling of being touched and endlessly surrounds the beams. In the back hall, there is a plaque named "Cihang Puji" signed "Hangxiong and other furnaces under Hongjiang Ao". The staff said that this "Hongjiangao" is Anhai .
If the incense is soaring, Longshan Temple may have to give way to day harem . Lugang Tianhou Temple , also known as the old ancestral palace, has been established for more than 300 years. It is the only temple in Taiwan that worships the statue of Mazu God in Meizhou Kaiji.
This statue of god was Fujian Navy Admiral Shi Lang invited the guards to Taiwan in 1683. Because he was stained with incense for many years, he became a black face and was known as the "Black Face Mom". After the Qing army recovered Taiwan, the army returned to the court, and the statue of the god was left in Lugang. Nowadays, there are still plaques such as "Futur me from the Queen" written by Shi Lang, "Shen Zhao Sea Blank" given by Emperor Yongzheng, and "Tong Gong with Tian" given by Emperor Guangxu.
Every beam and pillar of Lugang Tianhou Temple is also extremely gorgeous, showing the profound historical and cultural heritage of China. Because of its good management, the incense has always been prosperous. Around Mazu's birthday in the third lunar month, almost all believers on the island gathered, and the incense burning scene was very lively.
There are more than 2,000 Mazu Temples from here, spread throughout the northern, central and southern Taiwan and overseas. In recent years, cross-strait exchanges have been enthusiastic. Lugang Mazu has frequently "crossed the west" and went to Meizhou, Qionghai and other places to participate in "returning to my mother's home", "watching the world" and blessing activities. In 2009, with the joint efforts of the temples and believers on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, "China Mazu Beliefs and Customs " successfully applied for the world's intangible cultural heritage of human beings.
There is also an imperially built Tianhou Palace in Lugang, also known as the New Ancestral Palace. It is said that it is related to the Qing army crossing the sea during the Qianlong period. There is a stone tablet "Civil and military officials dismount here" in front of the door. The area around Putou Street where the two Tianhou Temples are located is the most prosperous tourist area in Lugang today. Buy a "copper plate snack", take a look, and occasionally look up, you can glimpse the wooden carvings in the palace and temples depicting the Fengshen Bang and the Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties.
According to locals, there are more than 60 temples in Lugang City, which is more than 70 square kilometers.Wen Temple Wu Temple , Ksitigarbha Temple, Xing'an Palace, Sanshan King Temple , Fengshan Temple... The gods offered include Jade Emperor, Guan Gong, City God, the old man under the moon, and the Empress of Sending Children, many of which are the spirits of the mainland ancestral temples. During holidays and the gods’ birthdays, believers will rub shoulders.
Most of these temples are red brick ancient house-style buildings, with red brick paving and white stone foundations. The roofs are slightly raised dovetail ridges at both ends, exuding a rich southern Fujian-style characteristic. In the streets and alleys with temples, old-fashioned dim sum shops, teahouses and traditional handicraft shops are dotted. From time to time, there are sounds of southern sounds and lions and gongs coming from time to time, making it difficult to tell which end of the Taiwan Strait.
