Culture Transmission＞ Trip to see Shenjiang statues

Trip to see Shenjiang statues

1.Motive and Purpose

We want to gain knowledge that we cannot learn from books, by visiting temples. We have also prepared some questions to ask the instructor of Yuqing Temple. We hope that through a visit and an interview, we can understand Luzhou Shenjiang culture better and be able to analyze the differences between the previous temples we visited and this temple.

 

2.Visiting Procedure

At nine o’clock in the morning, the Cyberfair project team, Director Cheng, Teacher Tsai, and Teacher Kuo go to Yuching Temple together and start the tour of searching for statues. The tour of searching is a tour to look for Shenjiang statues. Yuching Temple is located on the first floor at Minzu Road and is different from other independent, resplendent, and magnificent temples. It is very unique compared to other temples. Third Prince Nazha is the main god of Yuching Temple. Even though the temple isn’t very big, they have 22 Shenjiang statues. We arrive and a gentleman welcomes us warmly and explains the historical origin of Yuching Temple. There are only 8 Shenjiang statues in the temple; the rest are in a Shenjiang association at Xinyi Road, Lane 222. We go to the association and see many Shenjiang statues. The people inside teach us passionately. One man says that only the Yuching Temple has the complete set of the Thirteen Guards. Then he moves the Erlang statue out for us to look at closely. He points out the plum flower on the arm of the armor to us and says that this was a unique mark for Luzhou Shenjiang statues. He says that a plum flower mark was embroidered on Luzhou Shenjiang armor during the early ages, but he does not know why. In Yuching Temple, thanks to that gentleman with his clear explanations, we learned much more about Shenjiang culture. After visiting Yuching Temple, we go to Hutian Temple. This temple is located in the alley of Fuxing Road, Lane 227. Their main god is Dimu Niangniang. Hutian Temple is a two-floored temple; its appearance is magnificent. They have 8 Shenjiang statues. There aren’t very many, but each statue looks delicate and beautiful. Someone introduces the famous Four Generals (Pang, Chang, Gou, and Liu) to us and explains their history to us. During the introduction, some people from a TV station come to interview Director Cheng. We all feel awkward. After the introduction of the Four Generals, we move to the first floor. They put out a small Shenjiang Statue for us to operate in person. Some people can’t walk stably after putting on the statue, some people make funny actions with the statue, and some people can’t even put on the statue. It is very funny. In Hutian Temple, we learn the history behind each Shenjiang statue and experience the statue in person. This tour is very special and interesting.

 

3.Afterthoughts

Ming-hsien Hsu: Today, we went to visit Yuching Temple with the director. Yuching Temple is very different from the temples we have visited before. It is located on the first floor of a huge building. All houses around this temple are normal houses. The temple is not big but it had 22 sets of Shenjiang statues. The main god in the temple is General Zhongtan. The statue looks commanding. The director asked an old gentleman in the temple to introduce the temple to us. He told us the historical stories about the main god and about all the other Shenjiang. He also told us that the production procedure of Shenjiang statues is quite complicated. The heads and hands of statues are made in Luzhou, the clothing is ordered from Jiayi, and the crowns are ordered from Taipei. The director was very curious, and asked him where Shengjiang statues are assembled in Luzhou. He gave the director phone numbers, and then took us to see other statues in Yuching Temple. Then we learned about Erlangshen, General Qi, General Ba, Jinzha, Muzha, and many more; in total, there were 22 sets of various statues. I asked him why each statue wore a different helmet and he said that the helmets are used to rank gods. Different levels of gods wear different helmets, and they cannot mess with the given ranks. He also said that more than 100 people are needed to lift up all the statues in a parade. He told us a big secret; everyone can only last around one hour while lifting the statues so they have to switch people constantly. Since everyone sweats a lot, the statue smells very bad. They have to spray 58 degree Kinmen sorghum wine inside the statues to remove the stinky odor before the next person gets in. Also, there is another rule: they need to burn gold paper before sending out statues for patrol tours.

After visiting Yuching Temple, the director took us to visit Hutian Temple. The instructor of the temple took us to take a close look at the statues inside Hutian Temple. The main gods in Hutian Temple are Dimu Niangniang escorted by the Four Generals (Pang, Liu, chang, and Gou). The instructor introduced the stories of each general. I curiously asked him why the face colors of each statue is different, and he told me that the face color of every Shenjiang has something to do with its story of turning into a god. The color is decided according to the content of the story. The most interesting thing that happened was when the instructor took us to try on the small Third Prince statue. Everyone got in the statue and tried to lift it. Unfortunately, I was the only one whose head was too big to fit in the statue. We walked very far today, visited many gods and Shenjiang, and listened to many Shenjiang stories. I admire their good hearts that sacrifice and help others. Even though they turned into gods, they continue to protect the peace of their hometown.

The vice chairman of Hutian Temple was introducing us to the temple.

Our director helped us to put on the Third Prince statue.
Po-hung Wang: Today, we went to visit Yuching Temple. An old gentleman in the temple came to introduce the Shenjiang in the temple. The director asked him whether General Zhongtan had an uncle. He took us to meet other Shenjiang statues in the storage room of Yuching Temple. As soon as we got in, people moved out the General Yangjin statue for us to meet it. They also introduced all the accessories that a general Shenjiang needs to wear. One instructor told us that there are 36 generals. He also told us a scary secret: the eyebrow and beard of statues are made of human hair. Wow! Very scary! Yuching Temple has 22 sets of Shenjiang statue. We stayed there for about 2 hours, and then we went to visit Hutian Temple. When we got there, the vice chairman of the temple came to introduce the Four Generals (Pang, Chang, Gou, and Liu) of Hutian Temple. Reporters invited the director for an interview and the vice chairman stayed to teach us the skills of lifting up statues: “You need to use your waist strength to swing the statue’s arms.” The last and most interesting thing happened when the The vice chairman took us to try lifting a small statue. It’s very uncomfortable inside the statue. I really admire these uncles who lift up statues. I have learned a lot of Shenjiang stories today.

The director and temple manager were explaining the history of Yuching Temple to me.

We were viewing statues in the storage of Yuching Temple.

Shenjiang statues in the storage of Yuching Temple. Very mighty!

Everyone was curiously asking questions.
Kuan-ting He: Today, we went to visit Yuching Temple and Hutian Temple. As soon as we got there, we saw Third Prince in the middle and Taizi Guards standing beside him. An old gentleman walked in and asked me: “Who is First Prince?” I said “Jinzha.” And he asked again: “Who is Second Prince?” I said: “Muzha” And then I asked him “What are these two things on top of Third Prince made from?” He said: “These are made of peacock feather. It’s very beautiful when a peacock spreads its tail.” Yuching Temple was built in 1982. The director asked: “Does Yuching Temple owns Nazha’s uncle?” The gentleman took us to the Shenjiang Association. Uncle Lee, from the Association said: “Besides the Thirteen Guards, Nazha’s uncle, Yangjin, is here too.” He moved out the Yangjin Shenjiang statue to show and explain to us: “This statue has four flags in the back. That means he is in charge of five battalions including east battalion, west battalion, south battalion, north battalion, and his center battalion. Uncle Lee also said that in the Shenjiang Association, all Shenjiang, except for General Qi and General Ba, are handsome men. Yuching Temple is the only temple in the entire country that owns all Thirteen Guards. After saying goodbye to the old gentleman and Uncle Lee, we went to Hutian Temple. When we got there, the chairman was welcoming us in the entrance. When we got to the fifth floor, we noticed that there was a calligraphy competition going on there. We then enter the main hall and saw 4 General Shenjiang standing on the left and right sides. The director asked: “How many Shenjiang statues does Hutian Temple have?” The vice chairman answered: “8 sets.” Yuching Temple owns 22 sets and is the most among all temples. The director asked again: “Why did you join Shenjiang Association?” The vice chairman replied: “I joined this Shenjiang Association because I have a deep love for Shenjiang.” Then, some TV station asked our director for an interview. The vice chairman continued to introduce the Four Generals (Pang, Chang, Gou, and Liu). 5 minutes later, The director was back, and asked: “What is the weight of the heaviest Shenjiang statue in Luzhou temples?” The vice chairman replied: “47 KG!” Wow! 47 KG. People have to be able to lift this weight in order to join this association. The director asked again: “Besides the Four Generals, are there any other statues in Hutian Temple?” The vice chairman said: “ There are Jinzha, Muzha, Huangfeihu, and Lijing; 4 sets of Shenjiang statues.” After finishing this answer, he took us to the first floor to meet these four statues. He also moved out a smaller Third Prince statue for the students to try on. We then said good-bye to them and went home. Thanks to Yuching Temple, Shenjiang Association, the Hutian Temple Chairman, and the vice chairman for helping us with interviews.

We took pictures after the interviews.

Resplendent and magnificent Hutian Temple
Shun-wei Huang: It was very cold today. We went to visit Hutian Temple and Yuching Temple. I felt Taiwanese cultures were very rich. We saw various Shenjiang statues and saw many types of helmets, clothes, and flags. There are many fantastic stories hidden inside these little accessories. The one that interests me the most is the source and category of helmets and clothes. For example, helmets include the General’s helmet and the Guard’s helmet. They both are part of Shenjiang, but their meanings are totally different. I was amazed that the price of clothes is over 20 thousand Taiwanese dollars per set, and it’s not easy to get the same quality of clothes with that price today. The helmets are made of steel. It would be so hard for the people who lift up these statues. People in Yuching Temple also mentioned that except for General Qi and General Ba, other Shenjiang statues do not have beards. Also, the eyebrows and hair of Shenjiang are all made of human hair. He said barbershops would save human hair for temples to use for making the eyebrows and hair of Shenjiang statues. This is very interesting. According to them, every part of the statue comes from different places. The head of Shenjiang statues in Yuching Temple came from China and is made of wood. The cloth came from Jiayi. Also, the cloth of Luzhou Shenjiang statue has a feature: there is a plum flower mark on it from the early ages. People messed up in recent years, so we don’t distinguish statues with this detail anymore. I liked this activity, since I could learn more about Taiwanese culture features and ancient stories. I liked this tour of searching for gods very much.

Shun-wei is demonstrating the Shenjiang.

Everyone interacted with Shenjiang.

Took a picture together in the tour to Hutian Temple.

 

Finished the one-day trip, and on the way back to school.