Daxi Furen Temple

Date Captured

January 4th, 2020 at 08:29 UTC

Camera

NIKON D3100

Lens

AF-S DX Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR II

Aperture

ƒ / 8

Shutter Speed

1/250 sec

Focal Length

18.0 mm

ISO

100

Exposure Value

14.0 EV

Download

3600 × 2400

A temple on Daxi Old Street founded in 1813 and dedicated primarily to Kaizhang Shengwang (開漳聖王), the deified Tang dynasty general revered as the patron deity of migrants from Zhangzhou. A Mazu altar was added in the 1860s alongside the river trade boom, and the temple also houses Sanshan Guowang (三山國王) and Dingguang Gufo (定光古佛) among others, reflecting the mixed Hoklo and Hakka population around Daxi, Taoyuan. Its best-known annual event is a Pigs of God (神豬) sacrifice held on the eleventh day of the second lunar month, rotated among ten families in a cycle originally instituted to keep peace between communities that had historically clashed over the camphor trade and access to water. The plaza out front is also the birthplace of Taiwan’s giant spinning top (大陀螺) tradition, dating to 1968, though a 2013 repaving of the square with stone tiles has made the practice considerably more difficult.