City God (Cheng Huang)

Unlike most deities, the City God has no single fixed identity. Each locality's City God is usually a fair-minded, well-respected figure from that place, appointed to the post after death — which means Taipei's City God and Tainan's City God are, quite literally, different men. There's something moving in that idea: live an upright life, and one day it may be your turn to watch over a stretch of land.

What the temples share is their furnishings. Over the door hangs the plaque 'You have come,' like a greeting that has been waiting a long time. Inside the hall hangs the great abacus, a reminder that every account is on the books. And flanking the shrine stand two figures — one tall, one short, one black-faced, one white — General Xie and General Fan, the Black and White Impermanence, who bring in those whose time has come. Plenty of Taiwanese remember being led into a City God temple as a child and not daring to look up at those looming statues. Only later do you understand: what frightened you was never the statue. It was the ledger in your own heart.

What do people pray for here? Justice and a fair hearing (many come before a lawsuit), relief from backstabbers and petty enemies, and safety for the neighborhood. Quite a few City God temples also house a startlingly effective Yue Lao — Taipei's Xiahai City God Temple alone receives thousands of boxes of thank-you wedding cakes every year.

How to pray: bring the three meats and wine, offer incense first at the Heaven Emperor censer, then step to the City God's main hall and state your name, address, and request. If you're seeking redress for a wrong, you can write out your grievance and burn it as a petition. Keep the offerings on the formal side — three meats, wine, and spirit money, nothing too offhand.

The great taboo: never lie or swear a false oath inside a City God temple. He is the one who keeps the accounts, and lying to his face is walking straight into the net.

The City God's birthday on the 13th of the 5th lunar month is the most important festival. Taipei Xiahai's procession has over a century of history, while Hsinchu's combines elaborate parades with its century-old night market food culture.