On the 7th day of the 6th lunar month in the 25th year of Daoguang Emperor's reign in the Qing era (1845 CE), days of heavy rain caused flooding that killed many in the coastal villages of the Kouhu area. Ever since, the people of Kouhu have performed the Qianshuizhuang (""drawing spirits out of the water"") ceremony each year from the 7th to 8th days of the 6th lunar month to mourn those who perished in the tragedy and lead them to eternal rest. Qianshuizhuang, also known as Cheshuizhuang, is a tradition in which Taoist priests are hired to set up an altar and pray for the salvation of those who died by drowning. Each year on the 7th day of the 6th lunar month, the people of Hukou Township, Yunlin County sail out to sea from Hanziliao and Jinhu Harbor to release water lanterns, while the Wanshan Temple of Xialiaozi hosts a ritual in which people carry food offerings on shoulder poles to worship ancestors. The final rituals are held on the 8th day of the 6th lunar month. After a ceremony to invoke the spirits of the drowned, Taoist priests will lead people in turning the shuizhuang (large cylinders made with specially decorated paper on bamboo frames, used to guide spirits lost in water to salvation). Then, the shuizhuang are pushed over and burned, marking the end of the Qianshuizhuang rites. This is the largest ceremony in Taiwan held in dedication to those who have drowned.
After the water-drawing ceremony is completed, it is inverted and then fired, which symbolizes that the whole water-drawing ceremony has been completed. The Wanshanye Temple of Jinhu Lake will only be fired the next day because of the excessive amount of water.
The Yunlin "Kouhu Lake Pulling Water (Zhuang)" is Taiwan's largest water disaster ritual. In addition to displaying traditional Taoist rituals, and expressing folk crafts and arts such as paper paste and color painting with unique water (car storage), it inherits the folk custom festival culture
After pulling the shape, it will go to each water shape to go to the point, which means that each water shape is affected because there are too many to replace it one by one.
The people who were sensitive when pulling the shape would pull up the water shape and rush into the Wanshanye Temple, which means that the ancestors have come ashore.
The mage is performing the spot shape, and then he will hold the water shape, summoning the dead souls to come ashore to accept the worship
The Wanshan Tonggui Tomb at the back of the Wanshan Temple in Xialiaozai is lit by candles at night, hoping to illuminate the path of the ancestors back to the sun
On the evening of the seventh day of June, residents of Kouhu and Sihu areas went to the beach to set off water lanterns for the purpose of inviting the ancestors to come ashore. The water lanterns are meant to attract water souls to come and receive worship.
Local residents carry meals with their shoulders to Wanshan Tonggui Temple in Xialiao to worship the mass graves and deceased ancestors
The car concealer is made of bamboo strips woven into two circular cylinders inside and outside, and then pasted with light floral paper, and then arranged in three different universes: water, underworld, and heaven, with a small pennant placed at each of the top four corners to call upon souls.