Erjie Wanggong Temple Introduction
Erjie Wang Gong Temple has a history of over 200 years, originally named Zhen'an Temple. It has a significant historical event where a thousand-person relocation ceremony was held, indicating the importance of the temple to the local residents. Today, a new temple has been built beside the old one, which has become the Erjie Living Culture Museum, housing ancient artifacts for ceremonies, exquisitely carved beams and columns, and the temple's history, making it an important cultural heritage in Yilan. The main deity worshipped at Erjie Wang Gong Temple is the three ancient kings, who were the three military leaders resisting Mongolian invasions during the Southern Song Dynasty. They arrived in Taiwan during the Qing Dynasty with the people and are worshipped in present-day Erjie, Yilan County, where a grand birthday celebration for Wang Gong is held on the 15th day of the 11th lunar month each year. Among the ceremonies, the fire-walking ritual is the largest of its kind in Taiwan, where burning hot charcoal sprinkled with salt and rice is walked over barefoot by devotees carrying the deity's palanquin, performing a ritual to dispel misfortune and seek blessings. In addition to fire walking, there are also rituals such as child divination and giving thanks for the protection of various deities in the heavens. These rituals carry local significance and religious connotations of purity, and are promoted in the form of cultural festivals featuring traditional folk performances and opera, attracting participants from various regions to this grand religious celebration.
