Kaizhang Shengwang (Sacred King of Zhangzhou)

In 669 CE, an uprising broke out in southern Fujian, and the Tang court dispatched Chen Zheng at the head of warriors from 58 clans to pacify the region. When Chen Zheng died, command passed to his son — Chen Yuanguang, then just 21 years old.

What made this young commander remarkable was that he didn't rely on the sword alone. In Zhangzhou he built beacon towers and garrisoned troops to deter incursions, but he also introduced Central Plains farming techniques, founded schools, and used intermarriage, trade, and education to dissolve the conflict between Han and indigenous peoples — in an age when "pacifying" usually meant conquest, he chose the harder, longer road.

In 711 CE, Chen Yuanguang was killed in battle against the rebel leader Lan Fenggao, at the age of 55. Grateful for his work in opening the region, the people of Zhangzhou built temples to him of their own accord; successive dynasties heaped posthumous honors on him, and Emperor Huizong of Song bestowed the title "Loyal, Resolute, Cultured and Benevolent King," while the common people simply called him Kaizhang Shengwang, the Sacred King who Opened Zhangzhou.

A thousand years later, the descendants of Zhangzhou crossed the sea to clear land in Taiwan, facing the same strange soil and the same conflicts — and they brought Kaizhang Shengwang aboard with them. To this day many temple couplets read "Opening Zhangzhou, founding Taiwan": the pioneering spirit of a thousand years ago, carried straight onto Taiwanese ground.

Kaizhang Shengwang is offered mainly fresh flowers, fruit, pastries, and clear tea, with some devotees adding the Three Sacrifices. On his birthday, lunar 2/15, the temples hold celebrations complete with sutra recitation, processions, and ceremonial feasts — the season when his incense burns brightest.

Because he is the guardian of the Zhangzhou people, many Zhangzhou-descended communities keep the tradition of "ancestral-temple pilgrimage": organizing group trips back to Zhangzhou Weihui Temple in Fujian to renew the incense, then returning to the branch temple in Taiwan. Suspended under martial law, these pilgrimages gradually resumed after it was lifted.

At temples in old Zhangzhou settlements such as Jingmei Jiying Temple in Taipei and Guangji Temple in Zhonghe, New Taipei, you can watch local elders cast moon blocks to consult the deity and light blessing lamps on his birthday — the most direct window into how Taiwan's early migrant society organized its ritual life around a shared homeland.

**Kaizhang Shengwang's Birthday**: lunar 2/15. Temples in Zhangzhou-descended communities host elaborate ceremonies including sutra recitation, processions, banquets, and traditional opera performances (often glove-puppet theater). The largest celebrations occur at Taipei Jingmei Jiying Temple, Zhonghe Guangji Temple, and Yilan Jiaoxi Xietian Temple.

**Ancestral Temple Pilgrimage**: Some temples organize group visits to Zhangzhou Weihui Temple in Fujian around the birthday, marking an important cross-strait cultural exchange.

**Lunar New Year Group Worship**: During the Lunar New Year, Zhangzhou-descended families host group worship at local Kaizhang Shengwang temples, praying for peace and prosperity in the new year. This is one of the best opportunities for visitors to witness the cohesion of Zhangzhou-descended migrant communities in Taiwan.