Dalongdong Baoan Temple Audio Guide

Dalongdong Baoan Temple: what does the audio guide cover?

1. 01

   Welcome to Dalongdong Baoan Temple

   Dalongdong Baoan Temple: It says that in 1742 travelers from Tong'an came to Dalongdong village and found many local people suffering from miasma, the noxious bad air of the old frontier.

   Welcome to Dalongdong Baoan Temple, one of Taipei's great living temples. It stands in Datong District, in the old neighborhood of Dalongdong, not far from where the Danshui River meets the Keelung River. The address is Number 61, Hami Street. If you are arriving by metro, it is a walk west of Yuanshan Station. This is a Taoist temple, also known as Taipei Baoan Temple, and it is dedicated to Baosheng Dadi, a healing deity. It has stood here for more than two centuries. Its next-door neighbor is the Taipei Confucius Temple, so a single stroll takes you past two very different traditions. Over the next few stops, we will look at who built the temple and why, the master artisans whose work fills its halls, and the festival that sets this quiet neighborhood alight every year. Take a moment first to let the setting settle in. This is a working place of worship in the middle of a modern city, so approach it as a guest, and listen as well as look.

2. 02

   Protecting Those of Tong'an

   Dalongdong Baoan Temple: In the 1917 renovation, two masters, Tan Ing-pin and Guo Ta, each took one half of the main hall.

   Start with the name. Baoan, written Po-an in the Hokkien pronunciation, means roughly to protect the people of Tong'an. The temple was founded by settlers from Tong'an, near Xiamen in Fujian, who came to the Taipei area in the early nineteenth century. For newcomers far from home, a temple like this was an anchor, a place that gathered a community around a shared deity. Legend gives the story an earlier beginning. It says that in 1742 travelers from Tong'an came to Dalongdong village and found many local people suffering from miasma, the noxious bad air of the old frontier. A wooden shrine is said to have been raised then. The grand temple you see today came later. Accounts differ slightly on the start of construction, with one placing it in 1804 and another in 1805, but the building was completed in 1830. The land itself has a longer story. Dalongdong was once home to the Balangbeng tribe of the Pingpu-Ketagalan people. The name was later written as Dalongdong, and it is said that the studious character of local residents inspired the spelling. Locals will also tell you that the leftover building materials were bought up by wealthy local families to build the 44 stores beside the temple.

3. 03

   A Gallery of Master Craftsmen

   Dalongdong Baoan Temple: The story goes back to 1150, when a temple was built in his name in Baijiao Village in Fujian, and Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty honored it with the title Ciji Temple.

   Baoan Temple is famous for its decorative arts, and it rewards slow looking. Its halls preserve woodwork, murals and Koji ceramics made by some of the finest Taiwanese masters of their day, including Tan Ing-pin, Guo Ta, Pan Li-shui and Ang Khun-hok. Here is a lovely detail. In the 1917 renovation, two masters, Tan Ing-pin and Guo Ta, each took one half of the main hall. Tan Ing-pin lived from 1864 to 1944. Each man showed off his own techniques in highly refined woodwork, so the two halves of the hall almost invite comparison, a friendly contest in wood. The murals on the four sides of the temple are by Pan Li-shui, a well-known painter from Tainan who lived from 1914 to 1995. Around the grounds, look for stone carvings, stone lions, dragon columns and stone bamboo windows, along with carving in wood, stone and clay. The temple has also received the Asia-Pacific Award for Cultural Heritage Conservation from UNESCO, recognition for the care that has kept this craftsmanship alive.

4. 04

   Baosheng Dadi and the Festival of Fire

   Dalongdong Baoan Temple: The temple's influence once reached beyond Dalongdong itself, drawing worshippers from Huwei and Beitou, from Sanchong and Xinzhuang, and from Dadaocheng.

   The deity honored here, Baosheng Dadi, is linked to a much older temple. The story goes back to 1150, when a temple was built in his name in Baijiao Village in Fujian, and Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty honored it with the title Ciji Temple. In Dalongdong, the temple's president tells a charming tale about the idols in the main shrine. The first two were carved in China, and a race was held to see which would reach Dalongdong first. A large idol with distinctive glass eyes traveled overland from Budai in Chiayi County. A smaller one came by sea via Tamsui. The temple's big moment is the Baosheng Cultural Festival, held in spring around the birthday of Baosheng Dadi, with the parade held on the fourteenth day of the third lunar month, the eve of that birthday. Participants and locals march to honor the deity and agricultural gods, and the celebrations include a renowned fire-walking ritual. The Lion Fireworks Show is another highlight, filling the air with spectacular bursts of light. Every three years the festival includes a parade through Dalongdong and the neighboring Dadaocheng district. It begins at midday and loops back to the temple in the evening, welcomed by firecrackers all along the route.

5. 05

   Before You Head Off

   Before you move on, look back at the temple as a whole. It is a place that began with settlers seeking protection and grew into a showcase of Taiwanese craftsmanship and a gathering point for the neighborhood. The temple's influence once reached beyond Dalongdong itself, drawing worshippers from Huwei and Beitou, from Sanchong and Xinzhuang, and from Dadaocheng. See if you can spot the differences between the two halves of the main hall, or follow the dragon columns and stone lions with your eyes. Then step next door to the Taipei Confucius Temple and notice how a different tradition shapes the same neighborhood. Dalongdong has plenty more to show you if you let your curiosity lead the way.