Xinzu Temple
There are 510 Mazu temples in Taiwan, and only 40 of them have temple history. Three of these 40 were built in Ming Dynasty, and 37 of them were built in Qing Dynasty. Xinzu Temple was the only one in Taiwan that was built by the order of Qianlong Emperor. There are too numerous of historical relics inside the temple. A person visiting Mazu temple in Taiwan should come here to visit Xinzu Temple first.
Hundred-year-old Architecture
(Figure 1) Dismount Tablet.
This is a Mazu Temple built by official expense, and is the only officer temple in both Taiwan and Mainland, so there is a stone tablet outside of the temple carved with “Officials dismount here”. (See Figure 1)
There are 4 tablets inside Xinzu Temple. These are “Conferred construction for Mazu Temple tablet”, “Mazu Temple real estate record tablet”, “Rebuilding temple tablet”, and “Rebuilding Mazu Temple tablet”. The original first tablet was lost. The existing one was copied from the old one in Japanese era. The inscription on the tablet recorded the achievement of pacifying the Lin Shuang-wen Incident for a Qing general.
The Mazu here is a “soft Mazu”. The hands and feet for a soft Mazu can be turned to change its cloth. Both hands and feet are carved by wood, and its body is weaved by rattan.
(Figure 2) Pathway inside Xinzu Temple.
The pathway on the floor is called “officials way” (See Figure 2). Only officials could walk on the pathway in the Qing Dynasty, so normal civilians in the past could not enter the temple.
(Figure 3) Pull out the tallest lot.
There are many details to pay attention to during the procedure of tossing moon blocks. For example, we need to hold the moon blocks over our head before tossing them. How many times should we toss or What is the specific moon block we should finally get? When we draw a lot, we should pick the tallest one (See Figure 3) and match the number to get a poem. These all require special attention.
Postscript
(Figure 4) Group photo in the entrance of Xinzu Temple.
After the teacher explained the rule of worship, I now know how to worship without guidance from an adult. I used to do some blasphemous actions or practice worship wrong unintentionally, but now I can do these well by myself.
I wanted to draw a lot before, but did not know how to do it. After the teacher demonstrated it, my wish was finally accomplished. I used to come to Xinzu Temple before, but was not informed about the wishing boat, officials pathway, and the tablet carved with “Officials dismount here”. Through the introduction of the teacher, I finally understand these cultural relics. This was an extra harvest from the visit.
