Lukang, Town of Deities

With changing times, many traditional rites and customs have fallen out of use. But compared to other places, Lukang has preserved its cultural traditions relatively intact. This is reflected in the activities of local people, especially in the period just after the Lunar New Year.

Religious events year-round

The first month of the lunar calendar is the busiest. On Lunar New Year’s Day, everyone first pays their respects to their ancestors, the deities, and the house guardian spirits. At this time the types and numbers of offerings must all be in odd numbers, including one each of chicken, duck, fish, and pork.

The ninth day is the birthday of the Jade Emperor. The ritual to worship heaven’s highest deity begins at 11 p.m. the preceding night. Offerings include not only pork, mutton, chicken, duck, and fish, but also noodles and longevity peaches (a type of lotus-seed bun). Then comes Lantern Festival, when families eat tangyuan (balls of glutinous rice dough with fillings such as adzuki bean and peanut).

Another important day in the first half of the year is Qingming Festival (Tomb Sweeping Festival). Housewives order spring-roll wrappers in advance from familiar vendors in the market a week before the event, and prepare a whole tableful of ingredients. On the day, people pay their respects to their ancestors, the deities, and the house guardian spirits.

Dragon Boat Festival, which symbolizes the arrival of summer, is a major holiday that Lukang people observe widely, and is even more bustling than Lunar New Year. At this time, Longshan Temple holds the procession of the Dragon King, and invites the Five Water Gods from Tianhou (Mazu) Temple to accompany the Dragon King to the site of the dragon-boat races, for the ceremony to paint the eyes on the dragon boats and place the boats in the water. In the past, there would also be a tug-of-war competition by the riverside. For this day, women buy spices from Traditional Chinese Medicine pharmacies to make zongzi (filled rice dumplings steamed in bamboo leaves), while scented sachets are hung around children’s necks or pinned on their clothing. Lukang residents also observe the custom of eating sesame balls; these are not only made by people in their own homes, but are given out to the public at the Chenghuang (City God) Temple.

After Dragon Boat Festival comes Zhongyuan (Ghost) Festival. On the first day of the seventh lunar month the “gates to the Underworld” are opened and the pudu (crossing over into the mortal world) ceremony is held. The seventh day of the same month is the birthday of the Seven Star Goddess (Qiniangma), Chinese Lovers’ Day, for which people prepare a papier-mâché shrine dedicated to her and serve specially made tangyuan with indentations in the middle. The faithful in Lukang believe that these are there to catch the tears of Qi­niangma, who was separated forcibly from her human husband.

The people of Lukang consider the first day of the eighth lunar month to be the last day of Ghost Festival, the last day of pudu, which is widely observed by locals. By extending Ghost Month by one day, locals are kindly giving wandering ghosts an extra day to have fun in the mortal world. During this month, there is also the “night procession” ritual for the deity Wangye. What is unique in Lukang is that the night procession has no fixed time, but rather the deity descends and instructs believers when to hold it through spirit mediums.

Lukang may be small, but it has at least 60 temples, making it worthy of the appellation “town of deities.”

Besides the Lunar New Year, when Lukang bustles with activity, Dragon Boat Festival is another major event in the town. (MOFA file photo)

The tangyuan used to pay respects to Qiniangma on Chinese Lovers’ Day have indentations in the middle. Lukang people say these are there to hold the tears of the deity, who was forcibly separated from her human husband.

Treasures of religious art

Because there are a wide and complex variety of religious offerings, and most are attended to by women, “the women of Lukang are very skilled in making things by hand,” says Huang Xinmei, daughter of the owner of the venerable Xinquan furniture shop.

In fact, businesses related to religious worship or traditional craftsmanship are all doing quite well in Lukang. On Zhongshan Road alone, there are shops making and selling items including wood sculptures, deities’ altars, spirit money, incense, lanterns, and pastries. In sum, says Lin Ming-teh, the people of Lukang possess a wide range of superior artistic and artisanal skills.

Lin Ming-teh, chairman of the Chinese Folk-Arts Foundation, has been studying the culture and history of Changhua County for many years.

This set of low table and chairs, with calligraphy hung behind, manifests the typical and distinctive “Lukang ambience.”

Yu Jen Jai bakery, founded in 1877 when Taiwan was under Qing-Dynasty rule, is a venerable shop that is very representative of Lukang. It is located on the corner of Zhongshan Road and Minzu Road.

Raising crafts to the level of art

The transmission of cultural heritage has given rise to Lukang’s two major arts festivals. One is part of the Lukang Dragon Boat Festival, which was launched more than four decades ago in 1978. In both scale and character, it is a match for any of the arts festivals that are so common in Taiwan today.

The second, started in 1996, is the Lu Ban Banquet, held to celebrate the birthday of Lu Ban (c. 507–444 BCE), the patriarch of artisans in the Chinese-speaking world. 108 tables of craft products are put on display, including works by National Living Treasures and by winners of the National Craft Achievement Award and the Folk Art Heritage Award, highlighting the rarity and extraordinary brilliance of the event.

Lin Ming-teh notes that besides carrying on traditions, “craftsmanship in Lukang has been raised to the level of art, and artisans have become master craftspeople and even artists.” This is a rare development anywhere in the Chinese cultural world. But we find evidence of the truth of Lin’s remark as we walk through Lukang’s streets and visit one accomplished artisan’s shop after another.

For example, we stop at Yiguzhai Humanities Tea House, established by dough figurine master Shih Chiao-yung. As a third-generation dough figurine master, he is adept not only at this craft but also at paper and ceramic arts. He says that from the time he was small he accompanied his father as the latter traveled to temples to ply his trade at temple celebrations. This trained Shih Chiao-yung to adapt and learn new skills by building on his existing knowledge. He says self-deprecatingly: “When I was hungry, I walked. When I was full, I didn’t take a step”—referencing a Taiwanese proverb that means “hardship motivates while comfort makes one lazy.”

Yiguzhai made its name by inventing two ice treats, “iced roasted wheat flour tea” and “shaved ice with roasted wheat flour.” In the early days after World War II in Taiwan, resources were scarce and food rationing was in place. Homemakers, always frugal with food ingredients, wanted to store flour for long periods of time. However, in Taiwan’s humid climate, the flour was susceptible to mold growth, so it was pan-roasted in order to kill microorganisms and discourage insect pests. It turned out that the roasting also enhanced the flavor. Yiguzhai led the way in selling the two sweet roasted-flour treats just mentioned, and these were very well received in the market. They have since become representative snacks of Lukang.

Shih Chiao-yung’s workshop is behind the tea shop. On display inside are an awe-inspiring number of molded dough creations. They are the precious life’s work of a master who, in his own words, “began to do creative work while still in my mother’s belly.” There are a wide variety of figurines including deities from religious mythology, historical personalities, animals and plants, and even characters from anime and ­offerings for religious worship. They also include “tin-can baskets” and “duck-egg figurines.”

It’s hard to imagine, but Shih’s works all were made with just a sculpting tool and the use of his two hands to “pinch and squeeze.” In this simple way Shih has produced all these vivid characters with their lifelike charm. Perhaps because of what he learned from temple arts, Shih’s molded dough works are, as someone has said, as exquisite and refined as koji pottery (ceramic figurines made for temples).

A special feature of Lukang crafts is that their makers have tried to raise their work to the level of artistic creations. The photo shows works from the Wan Neng Tin Art Specialty Shop. One can see that the craftspeople there not only make traditional tin religious utensils (right) but also artworks with individual flair (left).

This hand-carved chair and table set, made from Taiwan cypress, is a product of the Xinquan furniture shop. The smooth lines and vivid carvings are reminiscent of Ming-Dynasty furniture.

Celebrated Lukang calligrapher Wu Tsao-hsun.

Artworks separate from temple offerings

We also visit the European-styled Wan Neng Tin Art Specialty Shop. The display hall, with its imposing fortress-like appearance, boasts an array of tin artworks produced by four members of the same family: National Craft Achievement Award winner Chen Wanneng, and his sons Chen Jiongyu, Chen Zhiyang, and Chen Zhisheng.

Lin Ming-teh explains that Chen followed a similar path to famous Lukang wood sculptor Shih Chih-hui, who crossed over from making statues of Buddhist religious figures to icons of Jesus Christ, and from there embarked on the path of artistic creation.

Because the ancient character for tin sounds the same as one of the characters in the Chinese word for “blessings,” many temple utensils were in the past made of tin. Chen Zhiyang, our host during our visit, is part of the third generation of an illustrious family of tinsmiths. He tells us with enthusiasm that because in the past tin was a relatively expensive raw material, it was often combined with copper to reduce costs. As a result, people often felt that tin products were fragile and susceptible to a dark patina from oxidation. ­Noticing that the market for tin religious utensils was in decline, Chen Wanneng boldly decided to create works of art from pure tin, winning overnight renown.

Looking at the works made by the Chen family that are displayed around the hall, there are lanterns, candle holders, and offering plates blending mythical beasts and deities, as well as more artistically oriented representations of deities, historical figures, animals, and plants. Tin, by nature a hard and cold material, is combined with bronze, copper, and gold leaf, along with colored paints, to produce works with a dynamic yet dignified style.

Around Lukang there are quite a few private exhibition spaces like the Wan Neng Tin Art Specialty Shop that have been opened by artisans to display their personal works.

Shih Chiao-yung mainly gets the inspiration for his molded dough artworks from daily life, but he also reveals a sense of humor. His works have the refinement and colorfulness of koji pottery.

Shih Chiao-yung mainly gets the inspiration for his molded dough artworks from daily life, but he also reveals a sense of humor. His works have the refinement and colorfulness of koji pottery.

Shaved ice with roasted wheat flour, an invention of the Yiguzhai Humanities Tea House, is today a classic Lukang snack.

Dough figurine creator Shih Chiao-yung.

Lukang: An artisanal showcase

Simply strolling along the street, we come across the lantern shop founded by “national treasure” lantern maker Wu Tun-hou, of whom the Danish artist Peter Nyborg said: “You make the most beautiful lanterns in the world!”

Though Wu Tun-hou has passed away, his son Wu Yi-de is determined to maintain the small shop. “This is a business passed down from my ancestors, so of course I want to preserve it!” says Wu Yi-de matter-of-factly. This is the reason why, day after day, he splits bamboo, weaves it into frames, attaches paper covers to them, and paints the covers, carrying on the work of making decorated lanterns. Works from the shop have been acquired by celebrities and political dignitaries including the late Japanese prime minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, the late Queen Elizabeth II, and Lady Gaga.

We also visit Osmanthus Alley Arts Village, which consists of official residences built during the era of Japanese rule. At the Taiwan Lion Craftsman workshop, which specializes in making lion’s heads, master craftsman Shih Chun-hsiung and his son Shih Jhih-siang are focused on painting a lion’s head, brushstroke by brushstroke.

As we chat, they tell us that the lion dance did not originate in northern China’s Central Plains. They explain that ethnic Chinese people have traditionally seen the mythical beast known as the “lion” as an auspicious creature, and many forms of it have evolved over time. Different types of lion heads fit with specific types of martial arts movements, and different forms have evolved in accordance with the traditions followed by various temples, martial arts halls, or villages.

The shop not only accepts commissions for custom-­made lion heads, but Shih himself is a collector of these objects. Visitors to the workshop can see the heads of various types of lions, including Hakka “box lions,” Minnan “closed-mouth lions,” and southern Chinese lions.

Clearly, the cultural heritage of our predecessors in Taiwan has left its marks in Lukang. Ernest Hemingway uses the metaphor of a “moveable feast” to describe his life in Paris in the 1920s. Likewise, when you come to Lukang, it is like browsing through a revolving showcase of traditional craf tsmanship, offering a cultural feast that cannot be consumed in a day. 

Master lantern maker Wu Yi-de.

The father and son team of Shih Chun-hsiung and Shih Jhih-siang are highly skilled and experienced makers of lion heads for Lion Dance troupes.