Nanjing Temple, Lugang Introduction
Nanjing Temple, according to the "History of Changhua County," was built in the 37th year of the Qianlong era (1772 AD) by merchants from Nanjing, Fujian. It is located next to the Wangye Temple, and its main deity is Guan Sheng Dijun (Guan Yu). The merchants from Nanjing invited the ancestral temple deity Guan Sheng Dijun to Taiwan and initially established the temple by the port of Lugang (the present site where boats were moored at that time). It was originally a center of faith dedicated to the immigrants from Zhangzhou. As the Zhangzhou people developed inland, it has now become a shared temple for all ethnic groups. Nanjing Temple primarily worships Guan Sheng Dijun (reverently referred to as Fumo Dadi). The temple also honors Prince Guan Ping and General Zhou Cheng as the guardians on either side, as well as Wen Kuai Xing Jun, General Xie Fu, Master Ma, the red rabbit steed that runs a thousand miles daily, and the divine weapon Qīnglóng Yǎn Yuè Dāo, among other military officials. Guan Sheng Dijun, whose courtesy name is Yu and styled Yunchang, hails from Hedong, Jieliang Prefecture during the Three Kingdoms period. He is admired for his loyalty, filial piety, integrity, and righteousness, having formed an oath of brotherhood with Liu and Zhang in the Peach Garden. He is one of the Five Wen Chang and is revered in Confucianism as Wen Heng Sheng Di. Historical records state, "One person from Shandong wrote the Spring and Autumn Annals (Confucius); one person from Shanxi read the Spring and Autumn Annals (Guan Sheng Dijun)." Hence, he is known as Confucius of Guan and Confucius of Shanxi. Revered as a secondary sage, with extraordinary martial skills and noble integrity, he is regarded as the deity of education by scholars and is also their protector.
