宗教廟宇

Xinan Temple Arts Center(新安宮藝文中心) is located in Kunjiang Village in Beimen, not far from the busy Nankunshen Daitian Temple(南鯤鯓代天府), but has the slightly desolate air and quiet of a traditional Beimen fishing village. This is where Mr. Hong Tong(洪通先生), known as the “Picasso of the East (東方畢卡索),” created works that stunned the art world. Hong’s works have a marked fantastical character, his color use and brush strokes of a kind rare at the time; distinctive features of his paintings are the undecipherable hieroglyphics and people without ears.

According to legend, when the ancestors crossed the sea and sailed to Taiwan in 1673, they brought a Li Fu Qian Sui (李府千歲)statue with them to help them cross safely. After they arrived safely and settled, they built three straw huts where the Li Fu Qiang Sui statue was enshrined. In 1945, Wen Fu Qian Sui was invited to enter the temple from Donglong Temple in Donggang, Pingtung(屏東東港) to help the common people. At this time it was renamed Donglong Temple(東隆宮), and the name is still used today. The King Boat Ceremony (王船祭典) is held once every three years.

Beimenyu Church(北門嶼教會) was established around 1959 and was built for local people who suffered from Blackfoot Disease(烏腳病); due to long-term drinking of ground water that contained arsenic, many locals contracted this disease, which often resulted in amputation, and suffered greatly. The church was founded to provide these people with spiritual comfort. In cooperation with Dr. Wang Jin-he, the church treated patients psychologically with faith and the doctor treated their disease with medicine. The church and doctor are respected and admired by locals to this day.

In the memories of many Tainan residents, their impression of the 300 year old Nankunshen Daitian Temple(南鯤鯓代天府) is the bustling temple fair, where thousands of pilgrims and tourists burn incense offerings for the five Wang Ye Lords: Li, Chi, Wu, Chu, and Fan. The story of the five Wang Ye Lords building the temple with their children is well known among the people.

The temple was built in 1661 and enshrines Bao Sheng Da Di(保生大帝). It is the largest temple in Xuejia District and the local belief center. The grand arch in front of the temple will be seen when in the vicinity of Xuejia Market. The main god statue was brought from Baijiao Village in Zhangzhou, Fujian Province, China, by Chen Yi-gui, a general under Koxinga(鄭成功部將陳一桂). It is said that this statue of Bao Sheng Da Di is one of three original god statues that Baijiao Ciji Temple in Zhangzhou had when it was first built in the Song Dynasty and, as such, it is extremely precious.

This is the largest and best-known temple on bustling Ouwang Street(漚汪街) in Jiangjun District and is the local belief center. Built in 1757, it enshrines Guan Sheng Di Jun(Lord Guan;關聖帝君). The temple has a long history and attracts many worshippers. One notable feature is Lin Kun-Gang Memorial Hall(林崑岡紀念館) which commemorates anti-Japanese righteous man Lin Kun-gan. Called “martial art scholar who passed the imperial examination”, Lin was both a fine scholar and soldier and cared about local affairs.

Known as the “first temple under heaven,” Qingan Temple(慶安宮) was built in 1712. Since 1784, the wang jiao da dian, the grand King Boat Ceremony, has been held every three years, and is also known as Gua Xiang. During the ceremony, the temple procession goes along the bank of the Zengwen River, attracting many followers.

When the Lin Shuang-wen Rebellion(林爽文事件) broke out during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor, the people of Xiaolongshe (蕭壠社)helped suppress the rebellion, after which the Qing court showed gratitude by presenting a plaque that changed the settlement name to Jinyili(旌義里); the original Dai Tian Fu Temple(代天府) was also re-named Jintang Temple(金唐殿). When the temple was rebuilt in the reign of the Jiaqing Emperor, the father of Taiwan koji pottery, Ye Wang, was commissioned to decorate it.

Madou Datian Temple (麻豆代天府) is dedicated to the Five Kings (Wufu qiansui), and was built over a period of 10 years by a collaboration of nationally famous artisans, starting in 1956. The scale of the building is grand, and it has the first three-dimensional door god sculpture in the country entirely carved out of camphor wood.

Longqi Wenheng Temple (龍崎文衡殿) was built in 1998 as an offshoot of Tainan East District Guandi Temple (台南東區關帝殿) (also known as the Ancestral Temple). The temple mainly enshrines Wenheng Sheng Di (also known as Guan Sheng Di Jun; Holy Emperor Lord Guan), and is a major belief center in the Longqi area.
Recently, the temple has become popular for its life-size models of Iron Man, Transformers and The Avengers, harmoniously integrating elements of devout religion, traditional art and popular movies, a first for Taiwan and internationally, and making a unique religious destination.