Bo Gong, protector of hearth and home
As we ride from Zhudong to Hengshan on the Neiwan Line, the scenery changes from urban views to mist-shrouded mountains, signaling our arrival in what was once a major economic bastion of pre-1980s Taiwan.
“The changes in the products transported on the Neiwan Line are a microcosm of Taiwan’s industrial history.” Chen Chih-chung, CEO of the Hengshan Studio, explains that before the Neiwan Line was completed, the main industries in the area were camphor processing and tea farming. After these came logging, coal mining, and cement making, and now development of tourism is the trend. “Many visitors go to see the old part of Neiwan, but if you get off at Hengshan you can observe the way of life of local Hakka residents,” says Chen.
On alighting at Hengshan Station, if you cross the main road and head into Zhanqian Street opposite the station, you soon come to a maze of lanes known as Bagua Xiang—the “Eight Trigrams” district. When the first Hakkas arrived in this area, they fought the local indigenous people for land, and for this reason they built their houses in a pattern somewhat like the Taoist Eight Trigrams symbol, so that if strangers entered the settlement they would become confused and lose their way, and would not be able to escape.
Looking into the distance from Bagua Xiang, you can see a tall mountain. “When our ancestors looked toward this area from Zhudong, they saw how the Dashanbei Mountains are oriented north to south, cutting across the area, which is why this place is named ‘Hengshan’ [‘crosswise mountains’].” Chen points to a high mountain nearby and says the Hakkas set up a watch post on the mountainside. If they saw indigenous people coming down to attack, they would make smoke signals to alert residents to prepare to defend the village. “Kids would climb this tree to watch the mountain for warning signals.” The tree Chen is referring to is a 300-year-old camphor tree growing beside a temple to Bo Gong, so it is called the Bo Gong Tree. (Bo Gong, or Bag Gung in Hakka, is the Hakka version of Tudi Gong, the Earth God, who protects the land.)
You can see a variety of different Bo Gong shrines in Hengshan Village. There is the simple “Tiantou Bo Gong” shrine next to the fields (tiantou: “head of the fields”) that is made of three slabs of stone. Meanwhile, next to a pond there is the “Fangniu Bo Gong” shrine (fangniu: “to put cattle out to graze”), with an opening shaped like a baoping (a vase-like vessel used in religious ceremonies). In earlier times, when local people watching over their grazing cattle or water buffalo grew tired, they would tie the animals up by the pond and ask Bo Gong to protect them, which is how the shrine got its name.
Bo Gong not only protected the land, he was also venerated by Hakkas who mined coal in the period from the 1950s to the 1980s. “The early Hakka settlers who came here believed the mountains and forests were protected by Bo Gong, so when they began mining in the mountains they had to show respect for him.” Chern Ban, president of the Hakka Public Communications Foundation, recalls that while doing fieldwork for an exhibition about the Neiwan Line, he was deeply impressed by the adventurous spirit shown by Hakkas. “Each miner had a name plate that was hung on the wall outside the mine. When miners went into the mine they would carry their name plates with them, and when they came out they would hang them up again, showing they had come out alive.”
This “Fangniu Bo Gong” shrine located in Hengshan Village has an opening shaped like a baoping (a vessel used in religious ceremonies), symbolizing peace and safety.