Xinliao Lingfeng Temple

Xinliao Lingfeng Temple stands on Xinliao Old Street (新寮老街), one of the earliest settlements in Lugu, Nantou, on the historic Batongguan Old Trail. It is dedicated to Cankui Zushi (慚愧祖師), a deified Tang dynasty monk whose name, the “ashamed patriarch”, reflects his dying regret at having saved too few people. Venerated mainly by Hakka communities in central Taiwan, he is remembered as a frontier protector who warned settlers of impending raids by Taiwanese Indigenous people resisting encroachment on their traditional territory. Local tradition and some researchers consider this the oldest temple dedicated to him in Taiwan.