Penghu Kaitai Tianhou Temple
Mazu is a goddess much believed in by Taiwanese. Every year, there is even a Mazu border patrol activity in Taiwan, which has become quite a distinctive public activity.
However, in the impression of Taiwan, the most famous Mazu Tianhou Temples include Tainan Tianhou Temple and Dajia Mazu, but perhaps very few people know that the first Mazu temple in Taiwan is Penghu Tianhou Temple located in Penghu, which, according
to document, was built early in 1604 (the 32nd year of Ming Dynasty). Because Penghu is located in the special position between the mainland and Taiwan, in the past it became a relay station for foreign powers to invade Taiwan, such as Dutch, Japanese, and
so on. Taiwan is a part of the mainland, so the Qing government certainly would not sit by when being occupied and sent Shen You-Rong and Shi Lang to Taiwan. In 1683, Shi Lang petitioned to give the title of Tianhou, and then it became the oldest Tianhou Temple
in Taiwan as well as a Class A heritage in Taiwan.
In Tianhou Temple, in addition to pray for peace, this historic heritage has many other attractions. The buildings here were rebuilt in 1922 by maters invited from Chaozhou, Guangdong, so the architecture of the temple is in Chaozhou style, different from
the Fujian style which is common in Taiwan. The Mazu worshiped in the main hall has a gold face, commonly known as the “golden face Mazu", which is unique among Taiwan's Mazu temples.
At the back of Tianhou Temple, there are two antiquities exhibited by the temple: the first is the stele “Shen You-Rong asks Wei Ma-Lang and etc. Dutchmen to leave”. It was discovered during the reconstruction in Japanese colonial era (1919), and proved
the anecdote that in 1604 the Qing Government officer Shen You-Rong asked Wei Ma-Lang and etc. Dutchmen to leave”.
The second ancient stele was created during 1681-1683. It has been seriously weathered, but it can be inferred that it is a stone stele carved by the Qing Dynasty Governor Liu Kuo-Hsuan to express gratitude to the benefits of Tianhou Temple, and is also
of historic value.
Other things which visitors of Tianhou Temple should not miss are the elaborately carved wooden artworks. On the front gate of Tianhou Temple, there are the wooden sculpture of Eight Immortals crossing the sea, where is rare in Taiwan. The image of the
Eight Immortals varies each other, with lifelike facial expressions, showing the skill of the carving master. Another thing worth mentioning is that using "mortise" construction technology, the Tianhou Temple was constructed in a traditional way. The whole
temple applied no nail at all but were all mortised with wood. It is quite an uncommon technology to build such a large temple by only using mortise technology. In addition, there is an Eight-Diagram arrayed stairs, which is unique to Taiwan. In a word, it’s
worth while to carefully feel the religious art of temples.
If Taiwan tourism industry leads tourists to visit Penghu, Tianhou Temple is a place must be visited, because it does not only have a 400-years history, but also there are many carving art crafts worthy of careful observation. No wonder there is a popular
saying in the tourist industry “Visiting Penghu rather than Tianhou Temple is just like coming back with nothing from a treasure mountain”. If you have the opportunity to com to Penghu, here is a scenic spot you should never miss.