Cheng Huang Temple (城隍廟) in Chiayi City and Chaotian Temple (朝天宮) in Yunlin County are applying for a change in status for two plaques awarded by a Qing Dynasty emperor to the houses of worship, elevating their historic designation from “general antiquities” to “significant antiquities” or possibly “national treasures.”
Each of the plaques is inscribed with four characters — Tai Yang Xian You (臺洋顯佑) for the Chiayi temple dedicated to Cheng Huang (城隍, city god) and Ci Yun Sa Run (慈雲灑潤) for the Yunlin temple dedicated to the sea goddess Matsu (媽祖).
They were gifts from emperor Guangxu (光緒) in 1886 after the two temples collaborated to bring about rain and end a drought that year. Tai Yang Xian You refers to blessings for Taiwan and the ocean, while Ci Yun Sa Run reflects the goddess’ benevolence manifested in the form of clouds bringing rain.
Photo: Ting Wei-chieh, Taipei Times
The tablets have been listed as “general antiquities” by the cultural heritage review committees of Chiayi and Yunlin, Lin Chao-chi (林朝基), head of the Chiayi Cultural Affairs Bureau’s cultural heritage section, said on Sunday.
Article 65 of the Cultural Heritage Protection Act (文化資產保存法) states that “antiques shall be categorized as national treasures, significant antiquities or general antiquities, depending on their rarity and value.”
To upgrade the status of the Tai Yang Xian You tablet to “significant antiquity,” Cheng Huang Temple invited members of the city’s cultural heritage review committee to view the tablet on Friday, after Lin Ren-cheng (林仁政), an expert hired by the temple, had studied and identified additional significant details that add value to the tablet, Lin Chao-chi said.
Photo: Ting Wei-chieh, Taipei Times
Although the committee has not reached a final decision, almost every committee member acknowledged the value of the plaque after the site visit, he said.
The plaque is culturally and technically distinctive, as it was made of wood from Chinese fir and camphor trees during the Qing Dynasty, with nine dragons delicately crafted on the perimeter and the emperor’s authentic ink seal on the top-middle spot, said committee members, who declined to be identified.
The four inscribed Chinese characters used a specific kind of font, and the overall style of the plaque is consistent with plaques used in houses of Qing Dynasty officials, they said.
Considering the clear historical context of the plaque, it has the potential to be even designated as a “national treasure,” they added.
Cheng Huang Temple chairman Lai Yung-chuan (賴永川) expressed excitement about the two temples’ shared goal of ultimately acquiring the designation of “national treasures” for the plaques.
He said he hoped the joint effort would be as successful as the collaboration between the two deities more than a century ago.
A fugitive in a suspected cosmetic surgery fraud case today returned to Taiwan from Canada, after being wanted for six years. Internet celebrity Su Chen-tuan (蘇陳端), known as Lady Nai Nai (貴婦奈奈), and her former boyfriend, plastic surgeon Paul Huang (黃博健), allegedly defrauded clients and friends of about NT$1 billion (US$30.66 million). Su was put on a wanted list in 2019 when she lived in Toronto, Canada, after failing to respond to subpoenas and arrest warrants from the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. Su arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5am today on an EVA Air flight accompanied by a
COVID-19 infections have climbed for three consecutive weeks and are likely to reach another peak between next month and June, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. Weekly hospital visits for the disease increased by 19 percent from the previous week, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said. From Tuesday last week to yesterday, 21 cases of severe COVID-19 and seven deaths were confirmed, and from Sept. 1 last year to yesterday, there were 600 cases and 129 deaths, he said. From Oct. 1 last year to yesterday, 95.9 percent of the severe cases and 96.7 percent of the deaths
Restarting the No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant would take up to 18 months, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said today. Kuo was answering questions during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Economics Committee, where legislators are considering amendments to the Renewable Energy Development Act (再生能源發展條) amid concerns about the consequences of the Pingtung County reactor’s decommissioning scheduled for May 17. Its decommissioning is to mark the end of Taiwan’s nuclear power production. However, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers have proposed an amendment to the Nuclear Reactor Facilities Regulation Act (核子反應器設施管制法) that would extend the life of existing
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday demanded that Somalia reverse its decision prohibiting Taiwanese passport holders from entering or transiting through the country. Somalia said it is following the “one China” principle based on UN Resolution 2758. The ministry said that Somalia is misinterpreting the resolution under China’s instigation, creating a false impression that Taiwan is subordinate to China. The Somali Civil Aviation Authority told airlines on Tuesday last week that starting today, any passengers with passports or travel documents issued from Taiwan or its affiliated institutions would not be allowed to enter or transit through Somalia. The decision comes as Taiwan is boosting
RSS