Dajia Jenn Lann Temple

Dajia Jenn Lann Temple
大甲鎮瀾宮
Religion
LeadershipYen Ching-piao (chairperson)[1]
Location
LocationDajia, Taichung, Taiwan
Dajia Jenn Lann Temple is located in Taichung
Dajia Jenn Lann Temple
Shown within Taichung
Geographic coordinates24°20′42.8″N 120°37′24.9″E / 24.345222°N 120.623583°E / 24.345222; 120.623583
Architecture
TypeMazu temple
Completed1730
Dajia Jenn Lann Temple
Traditional Chinese大甲鎮瀾宮
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinDàjiǎ Zhènlán Gōng
Roof

The Dajia Jenn Lann Temple,[2] also known as the Zhenlan[3] or Mazu Temple,[4] is a temple dedicated to the Chinese Goddess Mazu, the Goddess of Sea and Patron Deity of fishermen, sailors and any occupations related to sea/ocean. The temple is located in the Dajia District of Taichung, Taiwan. It is known for being the start of the Dajia Mazu Pilgrimage, an annual celebration of the sea goddess.

History

The temple started as a small temple in 1730, the 8th year of Yongzheng Era of the Qing Dynasty.[4]

Dajia Mazu Pilgrimage

Main article: Dajia Mazu Pilgrimage

The largest annual religious procession in Taiwan is organized by the Jenn Lann Temple in Taichung's Dajia District. The procession celebrates the birthday of the sea goddess Mazu and features the Mazu statue of the Jenn Lann Temple. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims gather along the more than 340 kilometres route that extends through Taichung, as well as Changhua, Yunlin and Chiayi counties. The procession ends at Fongtian Temple in Xingang Chiayi.[5]

Taiwan Mazu Fellowship

The Dajia Temple organized in the late 1980s the first association of Mazu temples, called Taiwan Mazu Fellowship (台灣媽祖聯誼會). Its membership increased gradually from eighteen temples in 1990 to sixty temples in 2010. This is not the only association of Mazu temples in Taiwan, as it is rivaled by the Taiwan Golden Orchid Association of Temples (台灣寺廟金蘭會), which in 2010 included seventy temples (some of them not devoted to Mazu). According to scholar Hsun Chang, while some temples are affiliated to both associations, there are political differences in attitudes to both Mainland China (the Mazu Fellowship being more pro-Chinese) and local politics, the Fellowship favoring the Kuomintang and the Golden Orchid Association the Democratic Progressive Party.[6]

Transportation

The temple is accessible within walking distance west of Dajia Station of Taiwan Railways.

See also

References

  1. ^ Chao, Li-yen; Huang, Frances (6 March 2021). "Taiwan turns to sea goddess for drought relief". Focus Taiwan. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  2. ^ Official site, Taichung: Dajia Jenn Lann Temple, 2013. (in Chinese)
  3. ^ Keeling, Stephen (2013), "Mazu's Birthday", The Rough Guide to Taiwan, Rough Guides, ISBN 9781409350613.
  4. ^ a b "Dajia Jenn Lann Temple", Official site, Taichung: Taichung Airport, 2015
  5. ^ "Dajia Matsu Pilgrimage to start after virus delay". Taipei Times. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  6. ^ Hsun Chang, "Multiple Religious and National Identities: Mazu Pilgrimages across the Taiwan Strait after 1987," in Cheng-tian Kuo (Ed.), Religion and Nationalism in Chinese Societies, Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2017, 373–396 (382).
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