Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Pilgrimage
As an integral part of the religious life in Taiwan, it's not surprising that pilgrimage ful-
fils many roles besides worship: it gives people an excuse to travel; it helps reinforce the
relations between daughter and mother temples; and it's a major source of funding.
Jìnxiāng,
the Chinese term for pilgrimage, means to visit a temple and burn incense to
the god. But not any temple will do. Famous pilgrim sites have a reputation for divine ef-
ficacy (
líng
), which is the magical power to answer a worshipper's prayers. Pilgrims vis-
iting such sites expect to have a direct experience of the god's powers, and to return
home with both good-luck trinkets and good results (such as prayers granted). In return
they usually make a donation to the temple.
The most famous pilgrimage in Taiwan is in honour of Matsu. But there are many oth-
ers, such as those to Beigang's Chaotian Gong, Maokong's Zhinan Temple, Tainan's
Nankunshen Temple and Donggang's Donglong Gong.
Religious Festivals
In all phases of Taiwan's history, the wealthier society got, the bigger the religious fest-
ivals. Well, there's never been a wealthier Taiwan, which means bigger, flashier, more
extravagant festivals than ever. Good places to catch random celebrations are Lukang
and Tainan.
A common sight at religious festivals are the spirit mediums (
jītóng
in Mandarin,
tangki
in Taiwanese). Not sure who these are? Look for wild bare-chested guys lacerat-
ing themselves with swords and sticking blades through their cheeks to prove the god is
within them.
At the Dizang Temple in Xinzhuang, Taipei County, thousands of people come yearly to
file indictments with Bodhisattva Dizang against people who they believe have wronged
them in some way. A bit of an indictment against the legal system, too, we would say.
Acts of Worship & Prayer
Worship is known as
baibai
and doesn't have to take place in a temple, as most families
have a household shrine devoted to their ancestors. In addition to the following, typical
acts of worship include offerings of food, candles and thanks, as well as fasting or re-
fraining from eating meat.
It's been said that the most important part of a temple is not its statues but its incense
censer. In every temple in Taiwan you will see worshippers holding burning incense in
