Maling Temple ( zh, t=媽靈宮, p=Mālíng Gōng) is a

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

located in the village of Chituqi, Houlong Township,

Miaoli County Miaoli is a county (Taiwan), county in western Taiwan. Miaoli is bordered by Hsinchu County and Hsinchu City to the north, Taichung to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the west. Miaoli is Regions of Taiwan, classified as "central Taiwan" by t ...

, Taiwan.

Origin

Chituqi is located on top of a plateau near the coast along the Taiwan Strait. Historically, the area was mostly uninhabited and undeveloped for its remoteness and superstitions surrounding an unmarked

mass grave A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may Unidentified decedent, not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of exec ...

there. In 1930, a ''

yin miao In Taiwan, Taiwanese Chinese folk religion, folk religion, ''yin Miao shrine, miao'' ( zh, t=陰廟, p=Yīnmiào, l=Yin and yang, dark temple) are Chinese temple architecture, temples dedicated to Ghosts in Chinese culture, wandering and homeless ...

'' (temple for ghosts) named "Wanshan Temple" (萬善祠) was constructed near the remains. According to legend, a pair of ghosts, one male and one female, dwelled in the area that would lead the way for lost travelers. Merchants claimed that every time the pair appeared, their business for the day would be good. Fishermen also claimed that a fireball would shoot up from the temple whenever the ocean's conditions were dangerous the next day. Therefore, The pair of ghosts were seen as deities, and in the 1960s, it was rebuilt and dedicated to the ghosts. According to temple officials, the female ghost was named Wang Baoying (王寶英), and is believed to be a consort to

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, personal name Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China pr ...

in the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

. Supposedly, Wang led an army in 1741 to quash a pro-Ming rebel's forces in Taiwan. When they landed in

Tamsui Tamsui District () is a seaside district in New Taipei City, Taiwan adjacent to the Tamsui River and overlooking the Taiwan Strait. The name of the district means "fresh water" in Chinese. Although modest in size (population 189,271), Tamsui ...

, Wang befriended Liu Xuanxiang (劉玄祥), who served as her lead. However, the entire army was annihilated in Chitugi in an ambush. Wang and Liu are known as Dazhongma (大眾媽) and Dazhongye (大眾爺), respectively. The bones from the mass grave are now stored in the temple.

Worship

Every lunar year one day after

Lantern Festival The Lantern Festival ( zh, t=wikt:元宵節, 元宵節, s=wikt:元宵节, 元宵节, first=t, hp=Yuánxiāo jié), also called Shangyuan Festival ( zh, t=上元節, s=上元节, first=t, hp=Shàngyuán jié) and Cap Go Meh ( zh, t=十五暝, ...

, Maling Temple celebrates the birthday of Wang Baoying. The temple places a wide variety of offerings on top of a

camphor wood ''Camphora officinarum'' is a species of evergreen tree indigenous to warm temperate to subtropical regions of East Asia, including countries such as China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan. It is known by various names, most notably the camph ...

turtle plate, a tradition stemming from

red tortoise cake ''Ang ku kueh'' (; Teochew Peng'im: ''ang⁵ gu¹ guê²''), also known as red tortoise cake, is a small round or oval-shaped Chinese sweet dumpling with soft, sticky glutinous rice flour skin wrapped around a sweet central filling. It is mol ...

s. The offerings are different every year based on the wishes of Wang Baoying.

Chiang Kai-shek memorial

Directly adjacent to Maling Temple, there is a shrine dedicated to Chiang Kai-shek and the

City God A tutelary (; also tutelar) is a deity or a spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept of safety and ...

. The shrine was built near Chiang's death by a nearby resident with the surname Ho, who upon the shrine's completion lived in it. When Ho passed away, his descendants donated the shrine to Maling Temple.

References

{{reflist Temples in Miaoli County Taoist temples in Taiwan Monuments and memorials in Taiwan Chiang Kai-shek 1930 establishments in Taiwan Religious buildings and structures completed in 1930