Bomb the dragon

The finished dragon needs to go through the eye-painting ceremony to become a holy dragon. The eye-painting ceremony invites the gods to dwell inside the dragon. Without the ceremony, evil spirits can easily enter the dragon. Dragon masters, commissioners of the dragons, have to present a letter to the gods along with an animal sacrifice.

A rooster is picked for each dragon. The dragon master mixes the blood taken from the rooster's crown with cinnabar and rice wine, while incense is burned and the dragon dance team drums, kneeling next to the dragon.

The dragon master paints the eyes as well as the dots on its body and tail. Each dot has names like "gathering wealth," "boundless hearing" and "limitless eyesight," which the dragon master calls out as he or she paints them. This year, a record number of 27 teams will gather at Tuqing Temple (玉清宮) plaza for the

ceremony.

These heavenly dragons will then set out, dancing from door-to-door, for the ying long ritual (迎龍), or "saluting the dragon." It is the Taoist custom for residents to offer red envelopes to have them dance inside their building. In the past, the procession would often last till the next morning.

"When I was a kid, I used to follow the procession all night from the north to the south of Miaoli, to see dragon dancing. There were crowds of followers eager to absorb the positive energy from the dragon. The teams also compete with each other to visit as many households as possible, as families give the biggest red envelope to the first dragon to arrive at their house, seeing it as the most auspicious dragon," said Chung Chun-huei (鐘椿煇), a culture specialist at Miaoli City Government.

Besides the registered 27 teams whose dragons will be bombed according to the official schedule, there will also be teams who will dragon dance from door-to-door.

"To make the dragons more durable, artisans now use tougher materials and even iron wires. Some dragons can look still intact after hours of bombing, so the bombing ritual is more intense these days. To illuminate the dragons, dancers carry car batteries to provide power for the light bulbs. It is quite an awesome sight," Chung said.

After bringing good fortune to the mortals, the divinities inside the dragons are sent back to heaven in the "hua long fan tian" (化龍返天), or incinerating the dragon ceremony, which will take place in front of Wu Wenchang Temple (五文昌廟) this year.

The roosters whose blood was used in the paint of the dragons' eyes are killed as a sacrifice to the gods. The dragon masters once again present a letter to the gods, saying where and how the dragons made their visits. After one last dance of the dragon, the team lays the dragon on a pile of golden paper money. The master scatters more golden paper money on it and finally sets fire to it.

This annual visits by the gods in the form of dancing dragons, Miaoli's Hakkas believe, keeps this county peaceful and prosperous.