Miaoli Yuqing Temple ( zh, t=苗栗玉清宮, p=Miáolì Yùqīng Gōng) is a temple located in

Miaoli City Miaoli City (Wade–Giles: ''Miao²-li⁴-shih⁴''; Hakka Chinese, Hakka Pha̍k-fa-sṳ, PFS: ''Mèu-li̍t-sṳ''; Hokkien Pe̍h-ōe-jī, POJ: ''Biâu-le̍k-chhī'' or ''Miâu-le̍k-chhī''; Japanese language, Japanese Byōritsushi) is a cou ...

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. The temple is dedicated to Lord Guan or Guansheng Dijun (關聖帝君), the deified form of

Guan Yu Guan Yu (; ), courtesy name Yunchang, was a Chinese military general serving under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Along with Zhang Fei, he shared a brotherly relationship with Liu Bei and accompanied him on ...

History

The temple was established in 1906 by Hu Atong (胡阿統), though the building's construction was not completed until 1917. The temple was also known by many other names, including Guanyin Temple (觀音宮) and Potangxia Yuqing Temple (坡塘下玉清宮). The temple was heavily damaged by the

1935 Shinchiku-Taichū earthquake The 1935 Shinchiku-Taichū earthquake occurred with a Richter magnitude of 7.1 (7.1 Mw) in April 1935 with its epicenter in Miaoli, Taiwan (then part of Shinchiku Prefecture). It was the deadliest earthquake in Taiwan's recorded history, ...

, but was crudely repaired. In 1965, local politician Tang Qingsong (湯慶松) called for the temple's renovation, and the original building was replaced by a

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having higher tensile strength or ...

structure in 1967. Other buildings were also constructed on the temple's premises, including a senior citizens' center in 1976, a park in 1986, and a

paifang A ''paifang'', also known as a ''pailou'', is a traditional style of Chinese architecture, often used in arch or gateway structures. Etymology The word ''paifang'' ( zh, c=牌坊, p=páifāng) was originally a collective term for the top two le ...

in 1996.

Structure

The main hall of Yuqing Temple is dedicated to Lord Guan or Guansheng Dijun (關聖帝君), whose statue is accompanied by Fuyou Dijun (孚佑帝君) and the Siming Zhenjun (司命真君). Altars to other deities are located on the sides and on the second floor. Yuqing Temple also has a public park located next to the front courtyard, which is designed with

Chinese garden The Chinese garden is a landscape garden style which has evolved over three thousand years. It includes both the vast gardens of the Emperor of China, Chinese emperors and members of the imperial family, built for pleasure and to impress, and t ...

architecture and features a large statue of Lord Guan on his horse overlooking the courtyard.

Traditions

Every year during

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, ...

, Yuqing Temple holds a festival known as "Dragon Bombing" ( zh, t=𪹚龍, p=Bànglóng), which is common among

Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka-speaking Chinese, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas, are a southern Han Chinese subgroup whose principal settlements and ancestral homes are dispersed widely across the provinces of southern China ...

communities. The ceremony involves

dragon dance Dragon dance () is a form of traditional dance and performance in China, Chinese culture of China, culture. Like the lion dance, it is most often seen during festive celebrations. The dance is performed by a team of experienced dancers who man ...

s where each dragon's eyes are painted with a mixture of chicken blood,

rice wine Rice wine is an alcoholic beverage fermentation, fermented from rice, traditionally consumed in East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia, where rice is a quintessential staple crop. Rice wine is made by the fermentation of rice starch, during wh ...

, and

cinnabar Cinnabar (; ), or cinnabarite (), also known as ''mercurblende'' is the bright scarlet to brick-red form of Mercury sulfide, mercury(II) sulfide (HgS). It is the most common source ore for refining mercury (element), elemental mercury and is t ...

. During the ceremony, the dragons form a gate for worshippers to walk through, which is said to bring good fortune. Yuqing Temple is the first temple in Miaoli County to not burn

joss paper Joss paper, also known as incense papers, are papercrafts or sheets of paper made into burnt offerings common in Chinese ancestral worship (such as the veneration of the deceased family members and relatives on holidays and special occasions). ...

. The temple stopped the practice in 1999 to reduce its environmental impact, and the furnace outside the temple is covered up. The temple does continue to burn

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 ...

Gallery

References

{{reflist 1906 establishments in Taiwan Miaoli City Religious buildings and structures completed in 1906 Temples in Miaoli County Taoist temples in Taiwan

History

Structure

Traditions

Gallery

See also

References