Tucheng Pu’an Hall

A zhaitang (齋堂), or fasting hall, of the Xiantian (先天) branch of Zhaijiao (齋教) established in the hills of Tucheng in 1914 by Wang Wenbin (王文彬). In the nervous aftermath of the 1915 Tapani Incident the hall’s land was placed under the nominal protection of Xinzhuang Ciyou Temple (新莊慈祐宮), an arrangement that hardened into a full legal claim in 1977 when the mother temple registered all 300 hectares of surrounding land under its own name. Having lost the ensuing land dispute in the courts, Pu’an Hall was served with a demolition order in 2013. In a last ditch attempt to save the hall the New Taipei City government rushed through a historic building registration but a demolition crew tore it down anyway, prompting a widely reported protest by local residents and student volunteers. In 2016 the surviving outer mountain gate, stone pathway, cliffside carvings, and an old red brick hall were belatedly recognized for their heritage value, and the displaced congregation continues to observe Xiantian rites at the homes of its members.