Alian Qinghe Temple

Date CapturedJune 21st, 2014 at 11:44 UTCCameraNIKON D3100LensAF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED [II] or AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-EDApertureƒ / 3.5Shutter Speed1/40 secFocal Length18.0 mmISO100Exposure Value8.9 EVOriginal Size3600 × 2400

An important temple at the heart of Alian in northern Kaohsiung. According to local legend it was founded in 1665 around a protective amulet of Marshal Xin (辛府元帥) that a passing traveller had hung in a tree on the edge of the settlement. Local accounts attribute a string of miracles to the talisman, including guiding lost travellers home and repelling bandits, and a thatched shrine was built on the site. It has been rebuilt numerous times over the centuries, even relocating as the center of gravity of the settlement shifted westward. The present two-storey hall, completed in 1985 and dedicated in 1987, enshrines Xin Tianjun (辛天君) on the main altar.

Date CapturedDecember 20th, 2017 at 05:47 UTCCameraNIKON D3100LensAF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED IIApertureƒ / 8Shutter Speed1/250 secFocal Length55.0 mmISO200Exposure Value14.0 EVOriginal Size3600 × 2400

The rooftop carries a typical arrangement of the Three Stars of Chinese folk religion or Fulushou (福祿壽), the personifications of good fortune, status, and longevity, set out in the traditional right-to-left order. Fu (福), holding a child, is the avatar of Jupiter; Lu (祿), depicted as a mandarin official, corresponds to the star Mizar in the Big Dipper; and Shou (壽), the long-lived old man with a domed forehead and a gnarled walking stick, is the southern star Canopus, also known as the Old Man of the South Pole. Together they sum up the traditional Chinese conception of the good life and turn up on temple roofs all over Taiwan.

Date CapturedJune 21st, 2014 at 11:41 UTCCameraNIKON D3100LensAF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED or AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED [II]Apertureƒ / 5Shutter Speed1/40 secFocal Length82.0 mmISO100Exposure Value10.0 EVOriginal Size3600 × 2400