The Beauty of Yuanshan
The Beauty of Yuanshan (the Grand Hotel) ~~ Tablets (Stone Dares)
Name: Tablets (Stone Dares)Name Origin:In the “Chapter Hasty” of the History of Western Han Dynasty, it is written: “By learning from the tiger, an invincible warrior named Shi Gan-dang (as written on the stone tablets) not only defeated vampires and expelled evil, but also cured patients and saved lives.” |
 |
In the book of “The South Village Ceased Cultivation,” it is recorded “Nowadays if the main entrances of people’s homes happened to face the T-junction of the road or bridge, they would set up a small stone-general or monument engraved with the name Shi Gan-dang to overcome any evil that came,” hence the name Shi Gan-dang (stone tablets).
History and Changes:
In folklore, the alleyway entrances, locations directly facing the T-junction of three roads (the so-called road conflict), riverbanks, pond sides, and village entrances were deemed less auspicious places, which were very easily infringed by ghosts or evil spirits. People believed that setting up “stone tablets” in these areas could evade, stop, or conquer evil, but only a profound Taoist priest could set up the stone tablets and perform particular rituals. An engraving on an unearthed Song Dynasty tablet reads “Tablet (Shi Gan-dang) conquer a hundred ghosts, quarantine plagues, bless officials, make people healthy, facilitate education and culture, and enhance rituals.” This tablet tells us the tablets’ roles in the past.
Appearance Description:
As soon as we arrived at the entrance of the Grand Hotel, we saw to our left the big legendary stone tablet, which is inscribed with the four flamboyant and emotive characters “Chientan famous historical site.” The calligraphy written by Mr. Yu You-jen conveys that this holy place should be cherished!
The Significance For the Hotel:
The main function of the tablet is to overcome ominous spirits, expel evil, dispel typhoons, prevent floods, stop goblins, perish disasters, etc., and also to maintain the Grand Hotel’s ever-increasing popularity for a hundred years.
