Chiau-èng Temple Audio Guide

Zhao Ying Temple: what does the audio guide cover?

1. 01

   Welcome to Yilan Zhao Ying Temple

   Welcome to Yilan Zhao Ying Temple, known locally as 昭應宮, standing on Zhongshan Road in the heart of Yilan City. In the Qing dynasty this road was the main route running north to south through the walled district town, and the temple has been a gathering point for the community ever since. It is dedicated to Mazu, the goddess of the sea, and local people often simply call it the Mazu Palace. Here is the twist that makes this temple so memorable. Mazu temples usually look out toward the water, to watch over fishermen and sailors. This one turns its back on the sea and faces the mountains. Over the next few minutes we will look at why, at the three Qing officials honored in the rear hall, and at the long, narrow architecture that hides a surprising amount of carved detail. Take your time as you listen. The temple was founded in 1808, and nearly every part of it carries some trace of the two centuries since.

2. 02

   Yilan Zhao Ying Temple: The Temple That Turned Around

   The story begins in 1808, the thirteenth year of the Jiaqing reign. Residents of the South Street area of the district seat, today's Xinmin Village, pooled their money to build a Mazu temple. It was a modest two-hall building facing east toward the Pacific, in keeping with the tradition that the sea goddess should watch over people at sea. The Han settlers had only reached this area, then called Wuwei, in 1802, and rivers carried much of the region's traffic, so a temple to Mazu made good sense. In 1834, in the Daoguang reign, the whole temple was moved to the opposite side of the street and rebuilt facing west, toward the Snow Mountains. The old site became an opera stage, and a rear hall was added to create a grand three-hall layout. Legend gives the reason. A geomancer was said to have told the community that a west-facing temple would bring one scholar after another success in the imperial examinations. The faithful and local gentry chose that honor over the sea-facing tradition. In 1868 Yilan produced its first jinshi, the highest degree of the imperial examinations, a man named Yang Shifang. Locals took it as proof that the move had worked. Whatever you make of the geomancy, the result is a Mazu temple that faces the mountains, a rarity in Taiwan.

3. 03

   Yilan Zhao Ying Temple: The Founding Officials

   Now walk in your mind toward the rear hall, where the story shifts from sea goddess to local history. On the upper floor, among the honored figures, sit three wooden statues of officials remembered as the founders of Yilan: Yang Tingli in the center, Zhai Gan on the left, and Chen Zheng on the right. They wear Qing dynasty official robes. A local researcher has noted that many Taiwanese temples honor officials who served well, but almost always with spirit tablets. Here, uniquely, they are carved and gilded figures. Yang Tingli appears elsewhere in the temple's story too. In 1812 he petitioned the court to fund the temple's construction, and the temple received the name plaque meaning Imperially Commissioned Zhao Ying Palace. A wooden incense burner in front of the altar bears an inscription saying it was made by Yang Tingli in the Jiaqing year of Gengwu, and it is thought to be his gift. In 1997 the county government planned a memorial museum and wanted to copy the three statues. The temple discovered that insects had been eating the wood, so the carver Chen Wansong restored them. On 13 February 1998 they were reinstalled, and the county magistrate, Liu Shouchen, personally led the ceremony.

4. 04

   Yilan Zhao Ying Temple: Carved Stone, Old Plaques and a Long Narrow Plan

   The temple's shape is part of its charm. It is only three bays wide but reaches more than 60 meters deep. You pass in sequence through the temple courtyard, the three-entrance front hall, a front courtyard, the main hall, a rear courtyard and finally the rear hall. The layout still largely follows the Daoguang-era form. The temple was repaired several times during the Japanese period, yet its wood and stone carving kept the original Daoguang look. Look especially under the eaves of the front hall and at the finely carved wooden door panels. The dragon pillars, bluestone lions, stone pillows and wall panels there are celebrated stone carvings. The hall also holds plaques that read like a timeline. The oldest is Ze Tan Hai Yu, from the Daoguang period, traditionally said to be the Daoguang emperor's own brush. Another, Yu Tian Tong Gong, dates to the Guangxu reign. Even the beams keep a quiet record: builders marked repair years there using designs shaped like old coins. Beyond the architecture, the temple drew craftsmen. Artisans from central and southern Taiwan and from mainland China came to work on it and settled in what is now Eewang Village, which became a neighborhood of traditional craftsmen.

5. 05

   Before You Head Off

   Yilan Zhao Ying Temple has been more than a place of worship. In the Qing period it was a spot for official announcements and community gatherings. In the Japanese period it hosted lectures promoting democratic ideas, and the rear hall is remembered as the place where Jiang Weishui once ran a newspaper reading society. In the Second World War the rear hall was bombed by Allied aircraft, and it was rebuilt afterward. As you look around, try to keep the layers in mind: an early two-hall temple facing the sea, a bold move to face the mountains, officials honored in wood and gold, and carvings that outlasted repairs. Notice which way you are facing when you stand in the courtyard, and then ask yourself where the sea lies behind you. There is plenty more to discover, from the details above the doors to the plaques and the old coin-shaped marks on the beams. Let your eyes wander upward and see what else the temple has to tell you.