Shilong Temple ( zh, t=石龍宮, p=Shílóng Gōng) is a temple in Yonghe Village,
Zhongliao Township,
Nantou County
Nantou is the second largest County (Taiwan), county of Taiwan by area, located in the central part of the country. It is also the only non-coastal county in Taiwan. Its name derives from the Hoanya people, Hoanya Taiwanese aborigines, Taiwanese ...
, Taiwan. Dedicated to the tutelary deity
Tudigong
A Tudigong ( zh, s=土地公, l=Lord of the Land) is a kind of Chinese tutelary deity of a specific location. There are several Tudigongs corresponding to different geographical locations and sometimes multiple ones will be venerated together in ...
, the small temple is known for its worship with
instant noodles
Instant noodles, or instant ramen, is a type of food consisting of noodles sold in a precooked and dried block with flavoring powder and/or seasoning oil. The dried noodle block was originally created by flash-frying cooked noodles, which is s ...
.
History
According to legend, Shilong Temple was established over one hundred years ago. Initially, the temple had no building nor statue but was merely four rocks. At some point, a traveler from
Tangshan
Tangshan ( zh, c=唐山 , p=Tángshān) is a coastal, industrial prefecture-level city in the northeast of Hebei province. It is located in the eastern part of Hebei Province and the northeastern part of the North China Plain. It is located in t ...
left a glowing
incense
Incense is an aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremonial reasons. It ...
bag on a tree, which was perceived as divine and was worshipped by locals. In the 1950s, a worshipper decided to craft a statue for the temple. That night, a spirit appeared in his dreams and instructed him to put a black beard on the statue, instead of the usual white color.
In the 1980s, the temple was popular among gamblers playing (a type of
illegal lottery) seeking for good luck.
Architecture and etymology
Shilong Temple is located on the south bank of the Zhangping River (樟平溪), a tributary of the
Maoluo River. The temple itself is small, standing at a mere tall. Despite this, there is a large courtyard for worshipers to eat, as well as a parking lot with a capacity of nearly one hundred cars. The temple's name, which translates to "rock
dragon
A dragon is a Magic (supernatural), magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but European dragon, dragons in Western cultures since the Hi ...
temple", is derived from the rock Tudigong statue inside and how the hills behind the temple look like a dragon's back.
Worship
Shilong Temple is unique in that pilgrims mostly present
instant noodles
Instant noodles, or instant ramen, is a type of food consisting of noodles sold in a precooked and dried block with flavoring powder and/or seasoning oil. The dried noodle block was originally created by flash-frying cooked noodles, which is s ...
to Tudigong instead of the usual range of foods found in other temples. Instant noodles are also given to worshippers free of charge and are usually eaten on the temple's premises. According to the temple, the tradition owes to the temple's remote location, leading to hungry worshippers eating the noodles left behind by past pilgrims.
Eating noodles at the temple was discouraged during the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
over concerns of spreading the virus.
Gallery
JhongliaoShihlongTemple.JPG, Entrance to the temple
石龍宮雨遮.jpg, The temple's canopy, which covers the temple and its altar.
石龍宮泡麵.jpg, Cabinet of instant noodles for pilgrims to eat
See also
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Sheji
__NOTOC__
Soil and grain was a common Chinese political term in the Sinosphere for the state. Shejitan, the altars of soil and grain, were constructed alongside ancestral altars. Chinese monarchs of the Ming and Qing dynasties performed ceremon ...
(社稷)
*
Checheng Fu'an Temple, Pingtung County
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Zhushan Zinan Temple, Zhushan Township
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List of temples in Taiwan
References
{{reflist
Taoist temples in Taiwan
Temples in Nantou County