Two temples in central Taiwan, separated by a river but consecrated to the same Chinese goddess — Matsu (媽祖) — have decided to end a six-decade dispute over which of them is the orthodox temple serving the former Benkang area.
Fongtian Temple (奉天宮) in Chiayi County’s Hsinkang Township (新港) and Chaotien Temple (朝天宮) in Yunlin County’s Peikang Township (北港) have not been on speaking terms for more than 60 years because the leaders of both temples have been unhappy with each other’s claim that they represent the area’s orthodox lineage in Matsu worship.
Fongtian Temple was built in 1700 in what was formerly the Bengang area, but was ruined by a flood in 1799. It was rebuilt at a different location in 1812 and became what it is today.
PHOTO: CNA
Chaotien Temple started in the 1690s as a small shrine in the same area and was expanded to a temple in the 1770s.
Flooding of the Beigang river in 1750 resulted in a topographical change and divided the former Benkang area into two parts, with Beigang township located on the north side of the river and Singang township on the south side.
The rivalry was aggravated 20 years ago when the famous Chenlan Temple in Tachia Township (大甲), Taichung County, stopped its annual pilgrimage to Chaotien Temple after welcoming a new Matsu statue from Meizhou in China’s Fujian Province. It now takes the statue on a visit to Fongtian Temple every April.
At a meeting on Jan. 22 shortly before the Lunar New Year, Ho Da-huang (何煌達), chairman of Fongtian Temple’s board of directors, and Tseng Tsai Mei-tso (曾蔡美佐), chairwoman of Chaotien Temple, reached a consensus on the need for mutual reconciliation between the temples.
With the blessings of their respective board members, Ho and Tsai agreed that worshipers at Fongtian Temple would take their Matsu statue on an “ice breaking” visit to Chaotien Temple.
The eight-day journey began on Saturday, and tomorrow the temples’ Matsu statues will meet in Chaotien Temple with worshipers from both temples burning incense together.
Matsu, worshipped as the goddess of the sea, is said to have been born in 960AD into a fisherman’s family in China’s Fujian Province in the Sung Dynasty and was given the name Lin Mo-niang (林默娘).
Legend says she had supernatural powers and had the ability to calm storms at sea. The numerous miracles attributed to her include rescuing sailors in distress and curing the sick with her vast knowledge of Chinese medicine.
Legend has it that at the age of 28, she told her parents it was time for her to leave them. After reaching the top of a mountain near her home, she was encircled by clouds and carried into heaven in a golden glow of light amid enchanting celestial music.
She was deified and referred to as Matsu, or maternal ancestor.
Residents of Taiwan’s offshore island Matsu (馬祖), however, have a different version of the story. They believe that she drowned while trying to rescue her father from a storm at sea and that her body was washed ashore on the island of Nangan (南竿).
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