Day 3

Long Shan si (龍山寺) , xin tian gong （行天宫）, The palace museum

Long Shan Si:

Upon arrival the first thing that you notice is the great level of detail in everything. This is interesting as the level of was very different in xin tian gong. The temple had a central incense burn which is the center to most temples. Immediately when entering the temple on the right or the tiger side there is an area to buy offering of snacks and such. The temple was made up of 3 main building. The bell tower used to signify the opening of the temple, the drum tower to signify the close of the temple and then the main hall which housed the deities and what not. There where two main parts of the temple with the Buddhist portion of the temple being at the front and then a Daoist portion being at the back. In the Daoist portion there is a God for about anything you could think of. The center and what seems to be the most important God is Mazu who is the sea goddess. When exiting the temple there was a shop with good luck charms and religious related items for purchase.

Xin Tian Gong:

This temple is mainly focused on the God of war Gaun Gong. This temple is a Daoist temple that was funded by one rich man in the 1960s. Built in a southern Chinese style this temple is much simpler has much less detail. This temple only had 4 decorated pillars or “dragon pillars” where as Long shan had almost very pillar decorated. There where no designated entrances and exits The first thing that you notice when entering is the amount of older generation in the temple. There was an even mix in long shen but at this temple it seemed to be a majority of older people. Other thing that was different was that this temple had volunteers walking around in blue robes. From the information brochure it says that these individuals are helpers to worshippers.

Reflection on both temples:

The surrounding area of both temples seemed to be fully geared to religious related foods, items, and such. There was an entire alley outside of Longshan specifically dedicated to herbs that carry religious value along with many different stores and vendors on the main street. Longshan Definity had a money aspect to the temple with the selling of offering and religious related items. Xin Tian Gong also had business and money related aspects as well. Guan Gong is not only the god of war but also the god of business which would make sense as to why one single wealth businessman funded the creation of this temple. A lot of the money related spending seems to relate to wanting to have good karma and please whatever deity you are praying to so that you the answer or outcome you wish for. This is shown pretty openly in Xi Tian Gong with the names of donors carved onto the large stone plaques in the temple. It was very interesting to see the contrast between the two temples whether that be the level of detail, volunteers, incense burning, or the way in which you pray.

The palace museum:

The number of artifacts that we managed to see through crowded rooms is to many to list. It fascinates me that items at such an age can appear so well kept. It is even more interesting to be about the history of how those items came to be in the museum. It is very fortunate that these items that display hundreds of year of Chinese history ended up in a place that proudly displays them. Walking through the museum and being told bits and pieces about interesting facts about the artifacts was so insightful.

Pictures!

Long Shan Xi:

The main entrance