Laojun Temple (老君祠) is a small roadside shrine in Zuozhen, Tainan, without any idols inside. It was originally constructed to venerate the spirits of anti-Japanese martyrs’ who were buried in a mass grave nearby. Later, as the local Taiwanese Plains Indigenous people converted to Christianity, the shrine adopted sacrificial vessels representing the Siraya deity Alizu (阿立祖) from shrines that were no longer cared for. The temple was rebuilt in 1995 and preserves a variation on this syncretic arrangement today.
:format(jpg)/taiwan/tainan/zuozhen/zuozhen-laojun-temple-1.jpg)
:format(jpg)/taiwan/tainan/zuozhen/zuozhen-laojun-temple-2.jpg)
:format(jpg)/taiwan/tainan/zuozhen/zuozhen-laojun-temple-3.jpg)
:format(jpg)/taiwan/tainan/zuozhen/zuozhen-laojun-temple-4.jpg)
Map
Recorded On
Links
- Wikipedia in Chinese (中文維基百科)
Themes
- Temple Culture in Taiwan (台灣的寺廟文化)
- Indigenous People of Taiwan (台灣原住民)
- Ghost Island (鬼島)
Nearby Locations
Similar Content
:format(webp)/taiwan/tainan/zuozhen/zuozhen-koushe-village-alizu-temple-1.jpg)
:format(webp)/taiwan/tainan/xinshi/xinshi-xingang-temple-1.jpg)
:format(webp)/errata/2014/11/taiwan-changhua-dacun-strange-temple-2.jpg)
:format(webp)/errata/2016/02/taiwan-taichung-shalu-wansheng-zizhu-monastery-2.jpg)
:format(webp)/errata/2013/12/taiwan-2013-bike-tour-285.jpg)
:format(webp)/errata/2016/09/taiwan-changhua-yuanlin-hengwen-temple-2016-10.jpg)
:format(webp)/errata/2015/05/taiwan-kaohsiung-zuoying-lotus-pond-8.jpg)
:format(webp)/taiwan/chiayi/liujiao/liujiao-wufu-temple-2.jpg)
Author
:format(webp)/v/a-synaptic-2025-1.jpg)
I am a web application developer, photojournalist, urban explorer, and history enthusiast passionate about the open web and documenting my experiences on this planet. This project was founded in the early 2010s and has evolved into a sort of personal Wikipedia of places that interest me (and often the photographs I’ve taken there). I’m originally from Toronto, Canada, but spend most of my time residing in Taiwan.