Taipei Tianhou Temple Introduction
Taipei Tianhou Temple, commonly known as "Ximending Mazu Temple," is dedicated to the Heavenly Mother Mazu and is located on Chengdu Road in Wanhua District, Taipei City, Taiwan. It was built in 1746 by rural merchants and was originally named Xinxing Temple. Along with Longshan Temple and the Master Temple in Mengjia, it is one of the three major temples from the Qing Dynasty in Mengjia. In 1943, due to the widening of Xiyuan Road, it was demolished, and the statue was temporarily housed in Longshan Temple. In 1948, devotees welcomed the Heavenly Mother statue from Longshan Temple and relocated it to Hongfa Temple, located at the intersection near the north side of Chengdu Road and Xining South Road, which was originally established by the Japanese during their occupation. Following a fire that destroyed the original temple after World War II, the main hall of the newly named Taiwan Provincial Tianhou Temple was rebuilt and soon renamed Taipei Tianhou Temple, marking a complex history. Mazu is regarded as the guardian deity of the sea. In early Taiwan, people relied on the ocean for survival, with migrants crossing from the southeast coast to Taiwan. Temples were often built near docks, facing the opposite hills across the river, to seek blessings for the safety of fishermen and immigrants. At the entrance of the temple, on the dragon side, there is an ancient bell which bears inscriptions indicating the temple's original name as "Xinxing Temple," built in 1792 (the 57th year of Qianlong) in Wuxi, Jiangsu. On the tiger side of the entrance is an "Eight Immortals Incense Burner" shrine, originally from Xinxing Temple, carved by a craftsman from Tangshan in 1820. Since 1973, high monks from Koyasan Kongobuji Temple and its Tokyo branch have been sending monks to Taipei Tianhou Temple from October to December each year to conduct pilgrimages and ceremonies. The main deity of Taipei Tianhou Temple is Mazu, accompanied by the Great Master Kukai. Taipei Tianhou Temple is the only temple in Taiwan that enshrines the Great Master Kukai, attracting many Japanese tourists who come specifically to pay their respects.
