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Month of Pu-Tu in Lukang
Twenty-two
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Twenty-nine
Day Twenty-two, Boat Harbor
Boat
Harbor is a street block located in the fishing village of Beitou
connecting to Five-fortune Boulevard. It was one of the wharfs in
Lukang. It is said that the old Mazu Temple had previously been at Boat
Harbor before it was relocated to its current site. Qingde Temple is
the religious center of this block. The statue of Dayuan Dizang Pusa
here has his left hand holding a stick instrument, rarely seen in
Taiwan. It is said that this statue was transferred by early
settlers from China to Taiwan over a century ago.
The
residents in Boat Harbor traditionally hosted Pu-Tu ceremonies in a
little square in the street block on July 22nd. After the
construction of Qingde Temple, the ceremonies are held in the empty
space next to the temple. Boat Harbor is a small place and many
people have moved out. However, the community temple, Qingde Temple,
remains the gathering place for families and neighbors. On the
afternoon of July 22nd of the lunar calendar, local
people start to show up with offerings. Some former residents even
come back by riding scooters. There are no standardized offering
packs seen elsewhere. The Pu-Tu ceremony here is packed with
neighborly friendship and traditional belief.
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Photo 22-1: Qingde Temple
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Photo 22-2: Couplet Showing the Old
Name of this Area, Boat Harbor
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Day Twenty-three, Tail of Lukang Street
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If Beitou, where Dongshi Village, Guo
Manor, Houliao Village, and Boat Harbor are located, is
taken as the outset of Lukang Street, then its end would
be the area at the south of Lukang Train Station today.
This area has been divided into three sections: the
street tail, the middle street tail, and the lower
street tail. Today, Xinxing Street is the formal name of
this area in the address system. The Street Tail is at
the southern end of Lukang, and was known for woodenware
stores. In the old days, people here spent a lot on the
opera performances for Pu-Tu. In fact, the amount of
opera troupes they invited was the largest among Lukang.
This was the reason why local people said, “Pigs at
Vegetable Garden, Opera Shows at Street Tail.” Yu-Shu
Ding, a local elder scholar, described the Pu-Tu at
Street Tail as follows: “Twenty-three at southern
mansions on Street Tail; three sections in total at this
street end; appreciation the moon next to the Yang
Bridge; there are much more operas here than other parts
of Lukang.”
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Photo 23: Neighborhood of Street Tail
Welcome You
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Day Twenty-four, Back of Mazu Temple
The
back of Mazu Temple refers to the area to the south of Lucao Road,
between Jieshou Road and Fuxing Road. This was one of the street
blocks for the Shih family clan from Xuhai. Fumei Temple is the
religious center in the neighborhood and dedicated to Prime Minister
Hsiao. This temple, built by the Shih family, was a branch temple of Fumei Temple in Nanmen, Guangzhou, Fujian. Once, a massive
earthquake hit this area and panic people asked the Shih family to
allow everybody to pray to Prime Minister Hsiao for protection. This
then evolved into a rotation system with a lucky draw each year to
decide who is the organizer of the religious rituals. There is Dayuan Dizang Pusa enshrined inside Fumei Temple, who would be
invited to the Pu-Tu ceremony each year.
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Photo 24-1: Back of Mazu Temple
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Photo 24-2: Fumei Temple |
Day Twenty-five, the Hsu Village
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The Hsu Village was not a traditional street block in ancient Lukang. Instead, it was an agricultural area later developed on the
east side, proximity to Lukang Street. The Hsu Village is a joint
neighborhood consisting of many Hsu family members. Gongchen
Temple, sitting at the back of Lukang Junior High School today,
dedicated to the Emperor of Dark Heaven is the religious center of
local people. Actually, the three major surnames in Lukang are Shih,
Huang, and Hsu. The Hsu family clans gather at the Neighborhood
of the Hsu Village and also at Cattle Market on the east end of
Lukang Street. Early settlers were mostly farmers, and they sold
their produce at Cattle Market. As the urbanization in Lukang
continues to push eastward, the farmland of the past has become an
emerging residential area after years of development.
Pu-Tu at
the Hsu Village on July 25th under the rotation scheme
remains a cherished memory for many locals, who maintain the rustic
and simple lifestyle of the old days. A few places in the 12
Neighborhoods here still host Pu-Tu ceremonies by following the
tradition.
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Photo 25: Stone Monument at Gongchen
Temple at the Hsu Village
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Day Twenty-six, Cattle Market
Cattle Market was located at Jinfu Neighborhood today, to the
east of Zhongshan Road (Five-fortune Boulevard) and on both sides of
Minzu Road. Cattle Market was where cattle were brought in and
traded. It was also one of the major rice markets in Lukang. Farmers
from the 12 Neighborhoods of the Hsu Village in the east shipped
their produce here for processing and trading. As mentioned above,
most residents at Cattle Market belong to the Hsu family clan, too.
Jingling Temple is the religious hub of the community. It was
previously called Jingfu Temple because it worshipped Fude Zhengshen
at first. The temple was later dedicated to the Lord of Su Manor,
accompanied by Fude Zhengshen, and therefore changed to its current
name. As one of the historical temples in Lukang, Jingling Temple
maintains the pottery incense burner made under the reign of Taisho
Emperor during the Japanese Colonial Rule. The Management Committee
still follows the tradition of hosting Pu-Tu ceremonies on July 26th.
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Photo 26-1: Jingling Temple at Cattle
Market
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Photo 26-2: Jinfu Neighborhood
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Day Twenty-seven, Anping Lane
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Anping
Lane was the way to Changhua for ancient Lukang
residents. In the past, Pu-Tu on the lunar July 27th
covered the surrounding area, including Anping Lane,
Shixia Street, Biandian Street, Changxing Street,
Taixiang Street, and Hexiang Street. The three areas
from the 25th to the 27th in
the Song of Pu-Tu in Lukang, namely the Hsu Village,
Neighborhoods of Cattle Market and Neighborhoods of
Anping Lane, were nearby. Most of the people in these
areas were close relatives to each other. For instance,
a western-style mansion in Anping Lane, called Modesty
Mansion, was built by the Hsu family, who made its
success at Cattle Market and ran Modesty Trading Company
during the Qing Dynasty. Fortune-Blessing Temple in
Anping Lane, the religious center of this neighborhood,
preserves an antique plaque saying “Moral Integrity
Shines in Suiyang” given by Modest Trading Company in
1929 (Photo 27-3). It is worth mentioning that Anping
Lane still maintains the historical look from the Qing
Dynasty.
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Photo 27-1: Fortune-Blessing
Temple at Anping Lane
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Photo 27-2: Fortune-Blessing Temple at Anping Lane (under renovation)
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Photo 27-3: Antique Plaque in
Fortune-Blessing Temple
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Day Twenty-eight, Docking Pier
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Docking Pier was also known as Rice
Dumpling Wrapping Yard, or Oyster Village. It lost its
purpose due to the sand accretion from the Lukang River.
This area refers to the district from the gate of Xinzu
Temple to Chenggong Road, and to the left side of Wenkai
Elementary School. The community temple is Qiayi Shrine,
dedicated to the Lord of Su Manor. Previously there were
two organizations worshiping the Lord Su in this area and
they separately took turns with a lucky draw to decide
who could have the Lord in their homes. In 1968, local
people suggested the construction of a shrine to worship
these two Lords of Su Manor together. The name “Qiayi”
indicates harmony and brotherhood of these two lords.
The Management Committee still follows the tradition by
hosting Pu-Tu ceremonies on July 28th at the
temple square.
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Photo 28: Qiayi Shrine at Docking Pier
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Day Twenty-nine, Pu-Tu All over Lukang
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“July
29th of the lunar calendar, Pu-Tu all over Lukang,”
refers to the day for those people who cannot join previous
activities due to work, whose neighborhoods do not have a date for
Pu-Tu ceremonies, who live in new communities and who are not from
Lukang.
On the evening of July 29th
in the old days, the lantern poles would be removed, suggesting the
end of the Pu-Tu month. Weiling Temple hosted a big Pu-Tu puja so
that the Great General could recall the ghosts released by Dayuan
Dizang Pusa on July 1st. (More details available at
“Pu-Tu in Lukang”.)
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Photo 29: the Great General at Weiling
Temple
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