Sanchong Xianse Temple新北先啬宫（三重五谷王庙）

Type

Temples and Abbeys (Gongguan)

Location

Taiwan, China · Taiwan · Sanchong District, New Taipei · No. 77, Wugu Wang North Street, Wugu Village

Coordinates

25.0505, 121.476 Map ↗

School

Daoism in Taiwan

First built

Founded on the 11th day of the 1st lunar month, 1755 (the 20th year of the Qianlong era, Qing), at Sankandian · Relocated to its present site in 1804 (the ninth year of the Jiaqing era); Lin Maosheng proposed the first reconstruction in 1850, expanding it into front and rear halls; Lin Qingdun oversaw a reconstruction in 1925 employing the 'competing-teams' technique

Heritage status

New Taipei City Municipal Historic Monument (1998)

Overview

Xianse Gong, commonly known as the Sanchong Wugu Wang Temple ("Five Grains King Temple"), is dedicated primarily to Shennong Dadi (the August Deity of the Five Grains). Tradition holds that in 1745 settlers of the Li family, while opening up the land at Erchongpu, respectfully brought an image of Shennong Dadi from Fujian to Taiwan; a temple was built at Sankandian on the eleventh day of the first lunar month in the twentieth year of the Qianlong era of the Qing (1755), and it was relocated to its present site in the ninth year of the Jiaqing era (1804), making it the oldest temple in the Sanchong area. In 1850 Lin Maosheng proposed the first reconstruction, expanding it into front and rear halls; in 1925 Lin Qingdun oversaw a reconstruction employing the "competing-teams" (duichangzuo) building technique, in which two teams of craftsmen worked in competition on the dragon and tiger sides of the building — the temple's most notable architectural feature, and, together with the Dalongdong Baoan Temple, an important example of "competing-teams" construction in Taiwan. The temple preserves plaques from the Daoguang era of the Qing and wooden couplets from the first year of the Xianfeng era. Every year on the twenty-sixth day of the fourth lunar month, a week-long "Shennong Culture Festival" is held. It was designated a historic site on 29 August 1998, and is now listed as a New Taipei City municipal historic site (some sources give the date as 7 May, which does not match the competent authority's case number; 29 August should be taken as correct). Devotion to Shennong belongs to Taiwanese folk religion among agricultural communities, and is not affiliated with any particular Daoist school.

Highlights

• Reconstructed in 1925 using the 'competing-teams' building technique
• Plaques from the Daoguang era of the Qing and wooden couplets from the Xianfeng era
• The Shennong Culture Festival
• The oldest temple in Sanchong