Chen Ching-ho's (陳慶和) gold teeth shine nearly as bright as the new gold wall behind him. Sitting in the middle of the temple he's looked after for decades, he offers cigarettes to anyone who comes within arm's reach. He's excited; in just six weeks the goddess Matsu will return to her seat after having been knocked from it in the September 1999 earthquake that killed over 2,000 people in Nantou County and left 100,000 homeless. For Chen, the completion of this new temple is the end of an almost four-year wait. And for many of Chichi's (often romanized as Jiji) residents, it's symbolic of a spiritual rebirth.
Kuangsheng Temple (廣盛宮) has stood on Chichi Township's eponymous street since 1789, shortly after settlers from China's Fujian Province first arrived there. Like so many temples in Taiwan, it was built to enshrine Matsu, the goddess of the sea, who the settlers believed had protected them on their journey across the Strait.
What's more, as Chichi began to thrive economically during the 19th century (the area was one of the world's foremost exporters of mothballs), the local community began seeing Matsu as the guardian of their financial well-being.
PHOTO: DAVID MOMPHARD, TAIPEI TIMESNINSET, THE KUANGSHENG TEMPLE
"Anyone who gives to Matsu is given to in return," Chen said. "Long ago, if you didn't have anything to eat, you came to the temple and you would be fed."
Economic indicator
Not just a center of worship, the temple has also become something of an economic indicator of how the community has fared over the past two centuries and how it has recovered from the 921 quake. In the 214 years since it was first consecrated, it's been rebuilt or repaired at least six times. Forty-four years after it was completed, locals decided it should be moved to accommodate an increased number of worshippers. Thirty-four years later, it was moved back. It was repaired and saved from dilapidation again in 1894, 1917, 1935 and 1969, when its design was altered to match the style of temples in southern Fujian Province -- an expensive effort that would have been impossible prior to Taiwan's "economic miracle." Most of the money for repairs came from community businesses and local benefactors.
PHOTO: DAVID MOMPHARD, TAIPEI TIMES
The same is true of the NT$20 million restoration currently underway. Chang Yu-hsiang (張玉香) is one such benefactor. She donated one of two stone lions that guard the front entrance to the temple, each worth NT$250,000 -- no small amount for the owner of a local beauty parlor.
"I grew up in Chichi and have prayed at this temple for almost 60 years. The temple has always protected me and my ancestors," Chang said. "Now the lion will protect the temple. With him here, we won't need to worry about another earthquake."
Right now Chang is worried about the inscription on the lion's pedestal. Prominent gold characters carved on its front inform passersby of Chang's generosity, but the middle character of her name (玉, jade) has been poorly carved and isn't easily recognizable. "What is your name?" one of the paint crew asks. "Yu-hsiang!" she says irritably. "It's supposed to be yu but it looks like wang (王, king)."
"Don't worry," the crewman tells her, "no one is called fragrant king."
The problem could be easily fixed were it not for the fact that the lion and its pedestal -- along with the intricate ceiling, four carved stone pillars and a number of other features -- were imported from China; a fact which itself is an economic indicator.
"It's too expensive to make these things in Taiwan today," said Wang Jui-yu (王瑞瑜), an artist who is leading the crew painting Kuangsheng's walls and ceiling. "The original temple was made entirely in Taiwan. Most of this one is imported."
Nonetheless, rebuilding the structure and adorning its interior has been a Herculean effort. Two years were spent planning and raising funds for reconstruction. Chen, the temple's caretaker, spent months divining what images, scenes and poems should canopy worshippers. Another two years have been spent rebuilding. It took four months alone for a six-man crew to paint the dizzyingly ornate ceiling. Several more months -- and an unspecified sum -- were spent layering the front wall in gold leaf.
Sanctity of the site
All the while, according to Chen, care has been taken to ensure the sanctity of the site. The eyes of each of the lions that will guard the temple have been covered so that their power doesn't harm the construction crews, lest the lions find them a threat. Matsu and several lesser deities have been temporarily housed in a converted kitchen next door, where Chen has kept incense burning for the past 43 months. The fact that the new temple has not been consecrated is why the Taipei Times has been allowed inside to photograph the interior.
PHOTO: DAVID MOMPARD, TAIPEI TIMES
These circumstances will change on Wednesday, July 9 when Chen and a procession of worshippers lead Matsu back to her seat at the head of the temple in a ceremony (入火典禮) that hasn't taken place in Chichi since the temple returned to its original location in 1867. By then the paint brushes will have been put away and the bamboo scaffolding taken down. The cloths covering the lions' eyes will be removed and one by one a thousand votive candles will be relit.
Something else will have happened, too. Chichi Township will have started to feel a little bit normal again.
"Losing this temple was harder than losing our own homes," Chang said. "Having it back will be like having our lives back."
Now in his eighties, Chen is less concerned with his life than with his temple. "The only reason I survived that earthquake was to make sure the temple survived it, too," he said. "Now I can die with peace in my heart."
Kuangsheng temple will be consecrated on Wednesday, July 9 (癸午年六月初十), at 11pm. The temple is located at 126 Chichi St. in Chichi Township, Nantou County (南投縣集集鎮集集街126號).
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