Religious local Belief History of Jing Zhong Buddhist Temple and Taian Teplem in Houbi District

• Main Authors: Chen Ronghwa, 陳榮華
• Other Authors: 吳建昇
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2018
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/pg24wc

碩士 === 國立嘉義大學 === 應用歷史學系研究所 === 106 === Xia Qie Dong has a Taian Teplem and a Jing Zhong Buddhist Temple （of thirty-six villages ). The main god of Taian Teplem is Tianshang shengmu （literally means Holy Heavenly Mother ). It has been said that a businessman in Meizhou Island in China requested for a four-inch golden "Seven Precious Materials' Meijou Mazu". After it was considered as the best place, local civilians started to build the Temple. Since then, the holy light of Mazu covered every corner of places along with a great number of believers: we called "Qie Dong Mazu" in the end of our times. The Jing Zhong Buddhist Temple's main god is "Wu Mu Yue Sheng Wang", also called "Marshal Yegong", which has been circulated for more than 300 years. Both "Taian Teplem" and "Jing Zhong Buddhist Temple" in Xia Qie Dong of Houbi District are classic temples in Xia Qie Dong Village, and they are the general temples of thirty-six villages in Xia Qie Dong Fort during the Qing Dynasty as well. The scale of ritual circles covers across Houbi District, Baihe district, Dongshan District, Xinying District in Tainan City and Shuishang Township, Lucao Township in Chiayi County. Nowadays, there are a total 61 temples in 59 villages, which is symbolic of how important local religious beliefs are for different ethnic groups. Every 3 to 4 years, in March of the lunar calendar, the Taian Teplem in Xia Qie Dong holds an activity named "Fifty-nine Villages Pilgrimage Tour", the largest religious event in Houbi and Baihe Districts. During the event, parade leaders of Taiwan gather in the temple while civilians and students living in other regions come back to participate in the event. The Study focuses on the Jing Zhong Buddhist Temple and the Taian Teplem in Houbi District in order to further discover local history, folk beliefs and village development in the Xia Qie Dong region in the hopes of achieving preservation of the local culture. Apart from the Summary and Conclusion, the Study is divided into four chapters: the first chapter is the Introduction; the second chapter addresses the Geography and History of Houbi District, briefly introducing Houbi District's historical development and history of development; the third chapter illustrates the history and ritual events of Xia Qie Dong's Taian Teplem and Jing Zhong Buddhist Temple （of thirty-six villages ); the last but not the least, the fourth chapter focuses on the formation and establishment of religious local belief circles as well as Cultural and Educational Charity Foundations.