PDF file - Community Services Center

geTTing There:
xiahai city god Temple 61, Dihua street, section 1
Take the MrT red line to shuanglian station and leave by exit 1. Turn left, and after a
20-minute walk along Minsheng West road, turn left again into Dihua street. you’ll soon
see the temple on your left.
Like any landmark worth its
salt, the City God Temple boasts
a colorful and sometimes violent
history. In 1821 early Fujian settlers
established the original Xiahai City
God Temple in what is now Taipei’s
Wanhua district. Clashes among
the Han Chinese soon followed and
in 1853 fleeing settlers moved the
temple north to Dadaocheng, where
construction was completed at its
current site in 1859. Thirty-eight
volunteers lost their lives during the
transport and the temple still honors
their memory today with offerings.
hope And humor
Nowadays, a sense of hope prevails
at the temple. Humor, too. Besides
offering thanks to the Matchmaker,
worried wives can venture inside the
temple to safeguard their marriage
by obtaining ‘Fortune Shoes’ that,
purportedly, ‘tame’ a wayward
husband’s wanton inclinations.
F o r e i g n v i s i t o r s, e v e n t h o s e
already blissfully attached, can still
come to the temple and appreciate
the pageantry. Since the City
God Temple is a featured stop on
city tours, English explanations
accompany most displays. For
those thirsting for an authentic local
experience, the Matchmaker deity
apparently also understands foreignlanguage
requests. Some familiarity
with the procedures helps, though.
Before asking the Matchmaker to
act on your behalf, obtain from the
temple some candy, ‘spirit money’
and red thread as offerings. In
Chinese mythology, the red thread
symbolizes an ‘invisible thread,’ one
end of which each of us has on our
wrist. The trick in finding the perfect
match is to discover who has the
other end. No easy task, but that’s
where the Matchmaker comes in.
Temple eTiqueTTe
Not surprisingly, the Matchmaker,
according to Tracy Chen, is “very
busy.” So busy, in fact, that he’s
too popular to keep inside the
temple. Those with requests must
seek his blessing outside, at the
temple’s lone incense burner. The
ebullient Chen, who conveys the
energy of a sizzling firecracker fuse
with her enthusiasm for the temple,
emphasizes the importance of some
other procedures. “Make sure to
let your [three] incense sticks burn
completely [before placing them
in the burner].” The burning of
the incense, she says, serves as a
“telephone line” or “connection” to
the God and to extinguish the incense
too early would be comparable
to having your call disconnected.
The other procedure involves body
language. “You must bow three
times. [Doing so] empowers your
body. This gesture is very important
to this temple,” she stresses. She
also encourages visitors to drink
the temple’s famous “blessed red
date tea.” Besides being part of
the worship ritual itself, the tea has
salubrious effects, especially for
females. “The sweet taste,” she says,
“is a reminder that it’s good for a
female’s health.”
F i n a l l y, i f y o u’r e a m o n g t h e
fortunate many (in one year alone,
claims a temple publication, over
6,000 couples married thanks to
the Matchmaker’s intervention)
remember to return to the temple
to offer thanks. This gesture of
gratitude typically involves flowers
and, and if your dream really comes
true, engagement cookies.
S o m e w h e r e o n t h e e a s t s i d e
of town, probably at a trendy,
overpriced lounge bar, some poor
lonely heart saunters up to the bar to
ask a pretty girl if he can buy her a
drink. She might look up from her
cell phone long enough to shrug in
indifferent acceptance, maybe not.
Regardless, any relationship that
ensues will likely last no longer than
the latest Mando pop star’s career.
But those who yearn to meet their
true match “very soon” know where
to look – at the little temple on old
Dihua Street, in decidedly untrendy
West Taipei. Follow the scent of
burning incense and sweet red date
tea to the Matchmaker and perhaps
discover who is on the other end of
your invisible thread.
William Mooney is an American. He
first came to Taiwan in 1990, and
has taught English at the Chinese
Culture University since 2004.
Apr 2010
17