Burning Bright

Before the boat is burned, people can visit the Kings’ Boat workshop at Donglong Temple to admire its exquisite craftsmanship.

Unique shipbuilding techniques

The trident symbol representing the sea god at the bow of the Kings’ Boat is jokingly called the “Maserati” by locals. The boat’s hull is embellished with a nine-headed dragon. Measuring 46 feet in length, 12 feet in width, and 16 feet in height, the Kings’ Boat weighs 12 tons. It is equipped with ten mobile cannons; four fixed turrets; handcrafted enclosures for cattle, pigs, and horses; and six horses for the Wangye deities to ride. It is also fully outfitted with a galley, bathroom, and furniture. The 36 sailors positioned on the deck’s rail are depicted in great detail.

Pan Fengde, executive director of the Kings’ Boat at Donglong Temple, explains that during the Qing Dynasty, the boat was made of wood. In the seventh cycle of the festival, it was changed to a papier-­mâché boat, but after World War II, it reverted to being made from wood.

Su Huangwen, founder of the Donggang Cultural and Historical Space, explains that in the 1960s—a period of economic boom when the government was promoting the Ten Major Construction Projects—fishing boats were being built larger and larger. The industry’s growth helped to cultivate a group of shipbuilders who could transfer their skills to building the Kings’ Boat.

Those same skills have allowed Donglong Temple to take orders for Kings’ Boats from temples in Xiaoliuqiu and elsewhere.

The Pingtung County Government is conducting 3D modeling of the Kings’ Boat to preserve the craftsmanship involved in its construction, and the Wangye Kings’ Boat Culture Museum, scheduled to open later in 2024, will feature a boat with the same proportions as the boats used in the festival. It will offer visitors a chance to learn about the craftsmanship and rituals involved even if they can’t attend the festival itself.

“Wearing the yoke” to fulfill a vow of redemption to Wen Wangye. (photo by Kent Chuang)

Changing one’s fortune: At Donglong Temple, an officer of the Martial Hall (zhenwu tang, one of two groups responsible for supporting the Heavenly Wangye during their stay) holds Lord Wen Wangye’s command flag to drive away evil, ward off misfortune, and pray for the safety of believers.

When making inspection tours, the Wangye set out early in the morning and return late at night. (courtesy of Donglong Temple)

Sending off the Kings’ Boat

The climax of the Wangye Festival is the early morning ritual on the eighth day, when the Kings’ Boat is burned at the sending-off ceremony. After the staff finish loading it, they place ceremonial bills with a face value totaling over a trillion dollars in and around the Kings’ Boat. Then a tablet signifying the Wangye’s authority is placed aboard the boat, and three offerings are performed, before the boat burning can finally begin.

The ritual follows traditional customs. After the boat is set ablaze, the bearers and other staff members leave without looking back, keeping as quiet as possible to prevent malevolent spirits from following them home.

Hsieh Kuo-hsing, director of the Institute of Taiwan History at the Academia Sinica, says this process is referred to as “lowering the flags and silencing the drums.” It stands apart from the many other rituals for sending off diseases and averting disasters that have been transformed into carnival-like events.

Only Donggang has preserved the unique tradition of the Wangye boat procession, which is called “sailing on land” and is aimed at dispelling evil spirits and driving out disease. As the procession passes through, it collects paper effigies of these spirits from the residents, which are then taken away by the Wangye boat.

The Pingtung County Government is creating Taiwan’s first museum devoted to the Wangye Festival and its deities. Boat builders are working hard to complete a model for the museum.

Sailors aboard the Wangye boat are rendered in vivid detail.

Visitors like to count the nine heads of the dragon that adorns the Kings’ Boat.

Folk vitality, social resilience

In his book Cult of Epidemic Lords, Hsieh Kuo-hsing compares the festivals at Tainan and Donggang in Taiwan and at Zhangzhou in China’s Fujian Province in which celestial lords are involved in driving out infectious diseases. He notes that the custom of symbolically carrying away disease by boat originated in Fujian and was then transplanted to Taiwan, as well as to ethnic Chinese communities in Malaysia, Indonesia, and elsewhere. These practices have all been localized, blending with indigenous beliefs and customs.

Nankunshen Daitian Temple in Beimen, Tainan, has the greatest number of daughter temples and the most devoted followers among Wangye temples in Taiwan. Nevertheless, notes Hsieh, the temple hasn’t held Wangye welcoming ceremonies or boat-burning rituals in nearly a century. Temples in Guanmiao and Guiren in Tainan, meanwhile, only hold these rituals occasionally. And Xiantian Temple in Chiayi’s Dongshi Township, though holding a Wangye ceremony and burning a Wangye boat every four years, lacks a devoted space within the temple to provide accommodation to the visiting deities.

Hsieh once estimated that an average of 40 to 50 Wangye boats are burned each year in Zhangzhou, whereas in Taiwan fewer than ten boats are burned annually. Yet the disruptions caused by the Cultural Revolution in China in the 1960s have left Taiwan with more fully preserved rituals and more elaborate techniques used to build the boats. In fact, Taiwan preserves the most comprehensive traditional Wangye-­related ceremonial practices among ethnic Chinese communities worldwide. These hold profound cultural significance.

Xigang’s Holy Fire Pilgrimage and Donggang’s Wangye Festival have been designated as national-level cultural heritage events. Participants can gain an appreciation for local people’s contributions of money and time to the festivals, and for the extent to which upholding faith and culture is a vital part of their lives. Hsieh believes that these traditions have only been preserved thanks to the local people’s energy and strong faith. They represent a truly moving form of social resilience.

The 108 Banquet is held for the Wangye on the night before they return to the Heavenly Court. (courtesy of Donglong Temple)

The community loads the boat with provisions to sustain the Wangye deities and their entourage on their return voyage.

Via the burning of the Kings’ Boat, the Wangye deities are transported back to Heaven to deliver their reports. Afterwards, the temple faithful, palanquin carriers and other affiliated groups disperse in silence.