About

Say the words 'Beigang Mazu,' and more than a thousand Mazu temples across Taiwan prick up their ears — Beigang Chaotian Temple in Beigang Township, Yunlin County, is a stronghold of Mazu faith in Taiwan and the pilgrimage 'ancestral temple' for countless Mazu temples, a status so lofty it is listed as a National Monument. Dedicated to Mazu (the Heavenly Holy Mother), Chaotian Temple has divided-incense branches around the globe, and every third lunar month at Mazu's birthday, pilgrimage groups from everywhere flood this little town — gongs and drums thundering, incense curling — carrying the 'Mazu frenzy' to its height. The temple's stone carving and cut-porcelain work preserve splendid Qing-dynasty architectural art; the Zhongshan Road out front is the famous street of wedding cakes and sesame oil, a stretch of traditional good flavors.

History

In 1694, during the Kangxi reign, the Chan master Shubi crossed the sea from the Chaotian Pavilion in Meizhou carrying a gilded statue of Mazu and built a temple to enshrine her in Beigang — the beginning of one of Taiwan's oldest Mazu temples. By the Qing dynasty, Chaotian Temple held the exalted status of 'head temple of Mazu faith in Taiwan,' receiving imperial titles and bestowed plaques from successive Qing courts. Over the centuries the temple was renovated and expanded again and again, its cut-porcelain and Koji pottery decoration exquisite beyond compare, at last becoming a National Monument. From the 15th of the first lunar month through the third month, Mazu temples from across Taiwan come to 'cut incense' here, the town wreathed in smoke and ringing with gongs and drums; and the 'palanquin blasting' rite, in which worshippers set off vast volleys of firecrackers beneath the divine palanquin, is one of the most intense and spectacular temple scenes in all Taiwan.

Beigang Chaotian Temple

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