Xingang Fengtian Temple
Main Deities
About
At Xingang Fengtian Temple in Chiayi County, the Tiger Lord (Hu Ye) doesn't crouch beneath the altar table as he does almost everywhere else — here he has been invited up onto the altar itself, and that is what makes this Mazu temple so distinctive. As the local saying goes, 'Benggang has its Herald, Xingang has its Tiger Lord,' a nod to how celebrated this temple's Tiger Lord has become. Fengtian Temple is long known as the home of the 'First Mazu of Taiwan,' its halls filled with relics and plaques bearing witness to more than three hundred years of history. Each year during the great Dajia Mazu pilgrimage, the goddess's palanquin makes a point of resting here — making the temple a place worshippers from across Taiwan journey to once a year.
History
In 1700, the monk Shubi carried a golden Mazu statue across the sea from Meizhou, the goddess's homeland, and first built a temple at Benggang — today's Beigang in Yunlin — the Benggang Tianhou Temple. Fate turned in 1799, when the Benggang (Beigang) River flooded, sweeping away the old temple and the settlement around it; the faithful carried the Mazu statue to Mayuanliao — present-day Xingang — and rebuilt, naming the new temple Fengtian. It is from this shared origin that the long-running dispute between Xingang Fengtian and Beigang Chaotian temples over the 'orthodox First Mazu of Taiwan' springs. Generations of restoration have left behind exquisite cut-porcelain and Koji pottery — the works of the Koji master Ye Wang being the temple's crowning treasure. And each year, the destination of the great Dajia Mazu pilgrimage is none other than this temple.
Xingang Fengtian Temple
Xingang Township, Chiayi County
Visitor Info
Address
No. 53, Xinmin Rd, Xingang Township, Chiayi County
Region
Xingang Township, Chiayi County