San Chong Temple Introduction
Sanjhung Temple, also known as the Sanguang Temple, is located on Changan Street in Shuangxi District, New Taipei City. It is a temple dedicated to three loyal ministers from the late Southern Song Dynasty: Wen Tianxiang, Lu Xiufu, and Zhang Shijie. In the 46th year of the Qianlong era (1781), Lian Yuanqiao from Jiangdu Township in Changtai County, Fujian Province, led a group across the sea to Taiwan. He brought with him a statue of Wen Tianxiang and, after traversing mountains, arrived at Shuangxi, which was then a wilderness without cultivation but with beautiful mountains and clear waters. He decided to settle there, engaged in land reclamation, and built a thatched hut for worship. Although the immigrants were not fleeing from war, the spirit of restoring the Ming Dynasty and resisting the Qing was still strong among the Han people. Having left their hometowns and crossed the ocean, they inevitably felt a sense of emptiness, and they entrusted their spirits to the deities for protection, seeking peace and comfort. Consequently, the number of worshippers of the statue of Wen Tianxiang grew. Lian Yuanqiao, who led the people from the mainland to Taiwan, then proposed repurposing and creating statues of Lu Xiufu and Zhang Shijie to worship alongside Wen Tianxiang, collectively referred to as the Three Loyal Ministers. They raised funds to build the temple, which was completed in the seventh year of the Tongzhi era. In the 83rd year of the Republic of China, to accommodate the urban planning and enlargement of Datong Road, the original temple was demolished and rebuilt. Since ancient times, the Sanjhung Temple has been a center of faith for the people of Shuangxi District, with bustling incense offerings. In addition to the Three Loyal Ministers as the main deities, the temple also venerates the Three Generations of Ancestors, the Mazu, Lord Guan, the Guan Zhang Saint King, the Yanping Marquis, Shakyamuni, and the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, among others.
