Taiwan Religious Culture Map

The Chiayi region experienced a severe drought in 1887. Chiayi Magistrate Luo Jian-xiang prayed for rain, but to no avail. At that time, Beigang Chaotian Temple’s Mazu was brought into town during a pilgrimage procession. Luo went to receive her and requested that the procession should join him in prayers for rain at both the City God Temple and Longshen Temple. Within a day, a steady rain had begun to fall. Taiwan Provincial Governor Liu Ming-chuan (1836 – 1896) petitioned the Guangxu Emperor to confer the title “Guardian of Taiwan and the Ocean” upon the City God, and a horizontal inscribed plaque with the title was hung in the main hall to commemorate this miracle.

The worship pavilion’s octagonal caisson ceiling is the work of renowned Quanzhou Xidi master Wang Jin-mu (1909 – 1996). The magnificent ceiling was constructed without a single nail. Instead, mortise and tenon joints were used to hold it together. This ceiling is an example of Wang’s superb craftsmanship. There is a bat at each of the ceiling’s four corners, as the words for “bat” and “luck” are homophones. The ceiling incorporates 108 figurines including Buddhas, fairies, and warrior figurines. Hidden among them are several mustachioed foreign characters attired in suits, ties, and top hats, carrying walking sticks.

Three Koji pottery masterpieces adorn the walls of the temple, two next to the worship pavilion’s decorative friezes (shuǐchēdǔ) and a third under one of the pavilion’s crossbeams. They are the result of a competition between Lin Tian-mu (1912 – 1987), a former apprentice of Taiwan’s first Koji pottery artist Ye Wang (1826 – 1887), and Chen Zhuan-you (1911 – 1981), a disciple of Ang Khun-hok (1865 – 1945; nicknamed Figurine-Hok). Lin and Chen also each completed half of the magnificent Koji pottery frieze that can be found beneath the horizontal inscribed plaque that hangs over the Sanchuan Hall’s crossbeam. The inscription under the frieze bears Lin Tian-mu’s name because his work was judged to be superior by local elders and leaders, earning him a bonus from the temple.

The eight-lion palanquin is displayed on the second floor of the temple. In the past, the City God statue rode in this priceless sedan chair during his outings. It was built and carved out of Alishan poplar wood by twenty Tangshan craftsmen over a two-year period starting in 1916. No nails were used in its construction. The two dragon columns in the front were carved out of solid wood in three concentric layers of open carvings. There are a total of thirty-two carved figures on the palanquin, including civil and military magistrates, cavalry, Generals Fan and Xie (responsible for escorting the spirits of dead to the Underworld), and the Day Patrol Deity and Night Patrol Deity. The workmanship on this piece is extraordinary. This palanquin is the only one of its kind in Taiwan.

Stone carvings were added to the City God Temple during the Japanese Colonial Period. The carvings, on either side of the hall’s corridor, are the work of craftsmen Jiang Wen-hua, Jiang Yin-qiang, and Jiang Jin-ji of the Jiang family of Quanzhou’s Huian Township, as well as Shi Tian-fu of Lukang (1911 – 1980). The carvings, titled “Treating a Dragon’s Eyes” and “Treating a Tiger’s Throat” are vivid, dynamic relief works.

Koji pottery waka couplets (a type of Japanese poetry) are inset into the sides of the main hall. The couplets date to the Japanese period. Worshippers and local gentry commissioned them to mollify the Japanese colonial government and thus prevent the destruction of the City God Temple.

In the front row of the City God Temple’s shrine stands a statue of a man dressed in the robe and headwear of a Qing Dynasty official.  This is Zhou Zhongxuan (1671 – 1763), who served as magistrate of Zhuluo County from 1714 to 1719. During his tenure, Zhou compiled the Zhuluo County annals, provided famine relief, promoted education, built towns, and reduced taxes. He also donated his salary to establish the City God Temple. To commemorate his benevolence, residents commissioned a statue of him for the rear hall. Later on, the statue was moved to the main hall, making it a rare example of the enshrining of a local Qing dynasty official. In 2014, the statue was registered as a Chiayi City historic relic.

A giant abacus hangs from a beam in the main hall. The abacus was donated to the temple in 1841 by a worshipper to express his gratitude for the City God’s grace. The abacus symbolizes how the deity tallies up the good and bad deeds of a person’s life, and is intended to dissuade people from committing evil deeds.