Interview – Residents of Yonghe District

│Photo: The Wondrous Temple Expedition｜

In our research, we found that even in the same religion, there may be different ways to worship and different deities to worship to. Therefore, we decided to conduct a survey in Yonghe to find out how locals worship, their thoughts on worshipping, and how well they know about our research topic – Fude Temple on Dianzai Street.

Interview Log

Lin Yixun, police officer

• Interviewers: Oscar, Amber O., Katie
• Recording: The Wondrous Temple Expedition
• Date: 2019.01.20


│Photo: The Wondrous Temple Expedition｜

Officer Lin Yixun has worshipped before, and he often worships to Earth God for health and safety. He thinks most people worship to have peace of mind, and he believes in getting blessing from worshipping to deities. He did not know Fude Temple on Dianzai Street was the first temple in Yonghe.

Lin Luxiang, police officer

• Interviewers: Oscar, Amber O., Katie
• Recording: The Wondrous Temple Expedition
• Date: 2019.01.20


│Photo: The Wondrous Temple Expedition｜

Officer Lin Luxiang has worshipped before, but he did not have a specific deity whom he worshipped to. He thinks people worship to have peace of mind. From the interview, we learned that some police officers worship to help them solve case. He knew the first temple in Yonghe was Fude Temple on Dianzai Street.

Mr. Chen Xiangwei

• Interviewers: Oscar, Amber O., Katie
• Recording: The Wondrous Temple Expedition
• Date: 2019.01.20


│Photo: The Wondrous Temple Expedition｜

Mr. Chen Xiangwei has worshipped before. Since he is still a student, he worships God of Wisdom for doing well on tests. He believes people worship to have peace of mind, and he believes sincerity is what counts. Mr. Chen was not sure about the first temple in Yonghe, but he knew it was an Earth God temple.

Ms. Ye

• Interviewers: Linus, Delta, Candy
• Recording: The Wondrous Temple Expedition


│Photo: The Wondrous Temple Expedition｜

• Date: 2019.01.20

Ms. Ye has worshipped before, and she worships Buddha the most often. She comes to worship in fall because there are activities. She believes worshipping is a religious belief. Deities mean peace of mind in her life. She did not know what the first temple in Yonghe was.

Ms. Zhuang Huiting

• Interviewers: Linus, Delta, Candy
• Recording: The Wondrous Temple Expedition
• Date: 2019.01.20


│Photo: The Wondrous Temple Expedition｜

Ms. Zhuang grew up in a family that prayed to Earth God, Guanyin, Xuanwu, Jigong, and Guanyu. She thinks worshipping is for having peace of mind. Deities mean a form of religious belief. She wasn’t sure what the first temple in Yonghe was, but she knew it was an Earth God temple.

Ms. Lin

• Interviewers: Linus, Delta, Candy
• Recording: The Wondrous Temple Expedition


│Photo: The Wondrous Temple Expedition｜

• Date: 2019.01.20

Ms. Lin worships every deity whenever she visits the temple because everyone does it, and she was brought up doing it. She thinks people worship because of their personal religious belief. She knew the first temple in Yonghe was an Earth God temple.

Ms. Peng Xiangqi

• Interviewers: Sophie, Debbie, Amber
• Recording: The Wondrous Temple Expedition


│Photo: The Wondrous Temple Expedition｜

• Date: 2019.01.20

Ms. Peng worships Guanyin at home, so she prays at the temple as well. She thinks people pray for peace of mind. Deities mean peace of mind to her. She did not know what the first temple in Yonghe was.

Ms. Lin Huiying

• Interviewers: Sophie, Debbie, Amber
• Recording: The Wondrous Temple Expedition


│Photo: The Wondrous Temple Expedition｜

• Date: 2019.01.20

Ms. Lin has worshipped before, and she often worships to Guanyin. She worships to seek calmness at work, so she worships quite often. She thinks people worship because of religious reasons. Deities mean peace of mind to her. She did not know what the first temple in Yonghe was.

Ms. Li Junyuan

• Interviewers: Sophie, Debbie, Amber
• Recording: The Wondrous Temple Expedition


│Photo: The Wondrous Temple Expedition｜

• Date: 2019.01.20

Ms. Li has worshipped before, and she worships to Guanyu the most often. She thinks people worship to have peace of mind. Deities mean safety to her. She did not know what the first temple in Yonghe was.

Interview Afterthoughts

Our job today was to interview people. We had to ask people on the street for an interview. We interviewed two police officers and one student. We found that young people do not know Fude Temple on Dianzai Street was the first temple in Yonghe. The seniors knew that fact a little better. I’m a very shy person, and I’ve always kept my distance with strangers. The interviews that I had today made me feel easier talking to a stranger because most Taiwanese are friendly. This interview experience has made me more mature.

I found that most people think deities are a form of religion, and they learned about deities from the elderly. When I first started looking for people to interview, I was quite timid to talk to them. I learned how to talk to strangers and carry on a conversation. I found that most people did not know about Fude Temple on Dianzai Street, so I think the temple needs to promote itself so more people would know about its existence.

Among all the interviews that we had for Cyberfair, this was the shortest one, but also the most memorable. We interviewed people on the street to see what they think about worshipping and how much they know about the temple. I think the temple should promote itself more actively because most of our interviewees did not know about Fude Temple on Dianzai Street. The temple could promote itself on the Internet instead of using flyers, which pollute the environment.

Source Text: The Wondrous Temple Expedition, people of Yonghe │
Photos: The Wondrous Temple Expedition