Let’s Meet the Unclaimed Dead:

Just as Taiwan is an ethnically diverse place, it also has a wide variety of religious belief systems. Folk customs scholar Lin Mao-hsien, associate professor in the Department of Taiwanese Languages and Literature at National Taichung University of Education, notes that the most common such system is a combination of Daoist, Buddhist, and folk beliefs.

This pantheistic religious system, lacking induction rituals or fixed doctrine, is easily accessible to believers. Among the many divine beings venerated are early pioneers who passed away in this land without descendants, and whose bones were often scattered by the elements. They are known as youyinggong—“lords who answer all prayers”—and the temples where they are enshrined are called youyinggong temples or yin (shadow, dark) temples.

When encountering a small youyinggong shrine in the countryside, the best form of greeting is to put your hands together in a prayer-like gesture.

Youyinggong temples are not only centers of faith, they preserve the life stories of migrants who settled in Taiwan. The photo below shows the memorial altar tablet at the Shi’er Yongshi (12 Warriors) Temple in Tainan’s Jiangjun District. The temple memorializes the deeds of 12 community residents who fought and died in a battle to secure their land and homes.

The dead as deities

In exploring the origins of youyinggong beliefs in Taiwan, you have to start in 1628, during an era when many Han Chinese were crossing the treacherous waters of the Taiwan Strait to settle on the island. These migrants faced severe risks in coming to Taiwan to pursue their dreams.

The lucky ones were able to return to their places of origin to die, but the unlucky ones passed away on this island, far from home. Hsu Hsien-ping, an expert on you­ying­gong, explains that after death all humans become ghosts, but if the deceased have descendants to give them offerings, they will become good ghosts, known as “landlord deities” (local protective spirits) or “ancestral spirits.” However, if there is no one to carry out funeral rites and take care of their souls after death, they will become malicious ghosts, feared by the living.

Kindhearted people felt pity for these unclaimed dead who had been unable to return to their native places, but also feared they would cause chaos among the living. They sought to provide a place where their souls could find temporary respite, mostly using the dry bones of people who had been buried in an improvised manner without anyone caring for their final resting places. In 1684, after defeating the Kingdom of Tungning the previous year, the Qing Dynasty declared Taiwan a prefecture of Fujian Province, and divided it into counties. Local residents working at the township level established grave offering practices and potter’s fields, the forerunners of today’s you­ying­gong shrines.

Hsu Hsien-ping, who has been studying Taiwan’s youyinggong belief system for more than 20 years, has crisscrossed the island collecting stories of the lives and afterlives of unclaimed dead.

Answering prayers

Small youyinggong shrines in fields, next to houses, or at roadsides became part of their communities, quietly standing on the periphery of daily life. People passing by often put their hands together in a prayer-like gesture as if greeting friends. At Lunar New Year’s Eve, Tomb Sweeping Festival, and Ghost Festival, folks paid their respects by presenting food, burning spirit money, and lighting incense. Belief in this kind of interactive relationship between the living and dead subtly promoted harmony and stability in society. However, in the era of Japanese rule, the colonial authorities saw these practices as unacceptable, and sought to purge them from popular culture. 

The Japanese regime forcibly altered traditional funeral customs, compelling people to switch over to cremation, and it eradicated the grave offering and potter’s field systems all over Taiwan. Because they saw belief in you­ying­gong as superstition, they strove to eliminate their shrines and temples across the island, using public education campaigns through newspapers and other channels.

In his book on youyinggong shrines in Tainan’s Jiali ­District, Hsu Hsien-ping writes that many such shrines appeared in the Jiali area in 1895 due to deaths caused by military suppression of anti-Japanese resistance. During the procession of a Wangye deity from Tai­nan’s Nankunshen Daitian Temple in 1923, youyinggong that were listed as male­volent spirits were removed from their shrines. They were relocated to Ning’an Temple and Shutian Temple, and their original shrines were closed. A 1940 report in the official Taiwan Nichinichi Shinpo called this an action to “eradicate unacceptable customs,” which is indicative of the regime’s attitude towards this tradition.

However, ordinary people found their own ways to push back against such policies. At some point Taiwanese started calling the unclaimed spirits to whom the shrines were dedicated youyinggong. This was because people began to hang red cloth banners reading “all prayers will be answered” above the shrine entrances, and the term youyinggong (“lords who answer prayers”) entered the historical lexicon.

Moreover, research indicates that in this period the number of youyinggong shrines actually increased, flourishing even more than in the Qing era. Scholars of modern history suggest that youyinggong temples in Taiwan underwent their first major transformation in those days. Not only did the physical forms of the shrines begin to change, but so did the attitudes of worshipers, as folks switched from the original mindset of sympathy for the unclaimed dead, and fear of the chaos they might cause, to asking these spirits for help. This enabled the figures venerated in these shrines to become localized, making them into fully Taiwanese deities.

Because Shenggongma did not permit the demolition of her original small shrine, the large temple now dedicated to her was constructed around it, resulting in a “temple within a temple” design.

Under the leadership of Li Wenzhen (right), chairman of the Shenggongma Temple management committee, and committee member Lü Jianli (left), the temple is not simply a local center of faith, but also works to serve the community. This cabinet filled with merit awards and letters of gratitude is the best evidence of their work.

Gods and people, you and me

However, while recognized as divine beings, the status of youyinggong in folk religion has remained lower than gods and goddesses like the Holy Emperor Guan Yu and Mazu, and even below that of the most basic-level deity, the Earth God. In fact, they are seen by some as dangerous. From days gone by to the present, elders have advised their children to not approach the yin temples of youyinggong, and it is said that one should not seek their help lightly, because if one forgets to repay them for their assistance, they will very likely retaliate.

Lü Jianli, a member of the management committee at Shenggongma Temple, the most famous youyinggong temple in Kaohsiung’s Lingya District, does not agree with such ideas. He believes they are just rumors and says outright: “The youyinggong are very merciful.”

Nonetheless, Hsu Hsien-ping and Yu Shu-chun, a researcher of Taiwan folk customs, argue that repayment is an important form of feedback after one’s prayers have been answered. Yu adds that the basic logic of this belief is that youyinggong rely on offerings and incense burning for their eventual deification through the gradual creation of statues and temples. Therefore, they say, “If I put in the effort to help you, and you don’t express your gratitude, naturally I will be unhappy.” This is in fact no different from ordinary human behavior. 

The nature of the relationship between youyinggong and those who worship them is illustrated by many stories dating back to the peak of the gambling craze in the 1980s. Some people whose wishes for riches were not granted ­refused to see their lack of success as being their own destiny, and instead harbored resentment towards the divine beings to whom they had prayed. Some even destroyed deities’ statues, and there were damaged icons left on roadsides.

Opinions may differ as to whether such behavior was appropriate, but it perhaps highlights one of the special features of Taiwanese folk beliefs: Many believers consider these lowly divine beings to be more connected to the lives of ordinary people than higher-ranking gods and goddesses, and therefore imagine them as being more a part of the mundane world. This has given rise to stories of revenge and harassment towards these lower-ranking figures.

Dedicated to a Japanese pilot named Shigemine Sugiura, who died in an air battle over Taiwan in World War II, the Feihu Jiangjun (General Flying Tiger) Temple in Tainan has in recent years become a popular attraction for Japanese tourists.

Beneath a frangipani tree in Punan Village in Yunlin’s Kouhu Township is a shrine dedicated to “Lord Holland.” The tree is said to have been planted there by a pioneering Dutchman, who after his death came to be venerated by local people. His statue shows him in Western-style clothing, giving it an exotic foreign flavor. (photo by Kent Chuang)

Diverse development across religions

However, by no means all youyinggong shrines were damaged in this period. Indeed, many such venues, with the support of large numbers of believers, gradually made their buildings more luxurious and beautiful, hosted an endless stream of pious visitors, and generated positive tales that have spread widely.

One example is the main temple for offerings at the Midsummer Ghost Festival in Keelung, Taiwan’s northernmost port city. This event, now in its 171st year, centers on the Lao Da Gong Temple, founded in 1851 to venerate those who died in conflicts between people from Quanzhou and those from Zhangzhou back in the day. Not only does the temple have a gorgeous appearance and the loyal attachment of Keelung residents, but the clans which take turns organizing the ceremonies for pudu (“crossing over,” “deliverance,” or “salvation”) see the festival as critical to creating favorable conditions for the coming year, and so have made it more elaborate year by year. Thus it has become a major cultural event for the city.

Meanwhile, the Dizang Temple in Xinzhuang, New Taipei City, where both civil and military youyinggong are venerated, still maintains the rare temple phenomenon of night processions (“dark visits”) and day processions (“pilgrimages”). The annual celebrations there are extremely boisterous, and carry on late into the night. People line the streets to greet the processions and vie to collect kiâm-kong-piánn bread snacks from the Guanjiangshou performance troupe.

Then there is Zhen’an Temple at Haiweiliao in Tainan’s Annan District, which is dedicated to “General Flying Tiger,” a Japanese military pilot who died in a plane crash and became a Taiwanese deity, making it a must-visit spot for many Japanese tourists in Tainan. The flags of the ROC (Taiwan) and Japan are hung in the temple, and there is also a collection of reports from the Sankei Shimbun newspaper. Based on field research, Hsu Hsien-ping states that the deity’s palanquin in the temple was purchased with funds raised by Japanese in gratitude for Taiwan’s assistance following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, making it an excellent symbol of Taiwan‡­Japanese friendship.

Shenggongma Temple in Kaohsiung, which since its founding has attracted believers from all across Taiwan, is today the center of faith for the city’s Lingya District. There are performances every day, and because Shenggongma likes flowers, the hall is filled with fresh blossoms gifted by persons whose prayers were answered. Floral fragrances permeate the air, creating a mood that is very different from traditional youyinggong shrines.

Lü Jianli believes that youyinggong temples have no need to downplay their status as yin temples, but should preserve their distinctive character and proactively do good deeds. He has launched a campaign to solicit stories in hopes that through the personal experiences recorded by the faithful, the stereotypical views that outsiders have of yin temples can be corrected, while building a collection of heartwarming true stories of faith.

Yu Shu-chun notes that in the course of urban development, youyinggong shrines face the challenge of surviving the conflict between development and tradition. (photo by Kent Chuang)

Co-existence of yin and yang

The fact that the differences between yin and yang temples—the shrines of darkness and brightness, the negative and positive—are becoming increasingly blurred makes it increasingly difficult to tell them apart. Based on his many years of field research, Hsu Hsien-ping contends that today the presence or absence of temple doors is the most effective way to distinguish between them, with yang shrines having doors and yin shrines being without them.

However, with regard to the question of whether people should avoid youyinggong temples, Hsu raises the idea of “yin temples without yin.” He avers: “In the past these divine beings were like you and me, with physical bodies and the full panoply of emotions and desires. No matter how they lived their lives, with all life’s joy and sorrow, love and hate, and no matter how their lives ended, they were all admirable forerunners of today’s Taiwanese.” He notes that these shrines not only are home to historical memories from different eras in Taiwan’s past, they are great repositories of stories, and there is no need for preconceptions that you­ying­gong temples are dark and frightening places.

Whether it be Sanxing Temple in Huwei Township, Yunlin County, where victims of the February 28 Incident in 1947 are venerated and painful memories of inter­­ethnic conflict are documented; the shrine in Yunlin’s Kouhu Township dedicated to a Dutch immigrant, “Lord Holland,” with his exotic foreign flair; the poignant Haisheng Wan­ying Shrine in Tainan’s Xinhua District, where a Japanese girl who died young is venerated; Wanshan Temple in Tainan’s Qigu District, which combines the beliefs of plains indigenous people and Han Chinese and evinces a spirit of ethnic harmony; the unique Jingtian Sanzi Shrine in Tainan’s Shanshang District, dedicated to some Korean migrants murdered nearby 200 years ago, where the “Divine Golden Hen” (symbolizing wealth) is worshiped; or even the temple where the allegedly Dutch “Princess Babao” is enshrined, which is hidden away at the eastern end of Kenting Beach in Pingtung’s Hengchun Township and about which many mysterious legends are told—all of Taiwan’s youyinggong shrines are home to intriguing stories and cultural traces of different eras, and are worth a visit.

With respect to popular taboos regarding these yin temples, Yu Shu-chun says that the most important thing is that one approach them with respect. As for visitors from around the world, she proposes a different viewpoint: Why not look at every youyinggong shrine as a museum? Through the legends of the divine figures, the religious rituals, and the annual celebrations at each, one can get a glimpse of the history and culture of Taiwan going back centuries.

People whose religious beliefs do not allow them to offer incense to divine beings can convey their pious feelings to youyinggong by putting their hands together in a gesture of prayer.

Women in the Youyinggong Belief System

In the youyinggong belief system, one can sometimes see female statues in shrines alongside male ones. These are called youyingma (“mothers who answer all prayers”). In some places there are youyinggong shrines or temples that are specifically dedicated to women deities, most of which are called guniang (“young miss”) temples or furen (“madame”) temples.

In traditional Taiwanese society a woman had to be married to receive offerings after death, from her husband’s family. Women and girls who died young or unmarried could not be listed on their birth family’s altar tablet, and so after death they would become unattached “ferocious ghosts.” Yu Shu-chun explains that this was based on “concerns that females would take up too large a share of family luck, especially luck for wealth.”

In order to provide homes for the souls of these deceased women, society devised practices like ghost marriages (in which one or both parties are deceased), guniang temples, and nunneries. However, some of the dead won the opportunity to be venerated through their own efforts.

Take for example the guniang temple in New Taipei’s Shiding District, dedicated to a woman named Wei Bian. The temple is traditionally said to have been built after Wei died young and unmarried, and a local person saw visions of her in a dream. Similar temples are spread across Taiwan, not only giving insight into an unusual feature of the youyinggong belief system but also into issues around the status of women in traditional society.

There is also a legend about a woman named Chen Shouniang, who is venerated at the shrine of filial piety and chastity at the Tainan Confucius Temple. It is said that during her life she was cruelly treated, and that after her death there were many stories of bizarre happenings in the city, such as frequent sounds of weeping at night, the money of hawkers turning into spirit money, and objects floating in the air at government offices. Fortunately, the goddess Guanyin intervened, finally enabling Chen to prove her chastity and be vindicated.

Yu argues that this story highlights the stricter standards that society applies to women. “Women have to work harder then men and even fight for their own status.” In the same way, Chen Shouniang had to expend a lot of effort after death to turn the ill-treatment she suffered in life into recognition of her virtue.

Thus the guniang and furen temples located across Taiwan are perhaps a form of pity and recompense for women’s position in society. They afford women, who have long been in a socially disadvantaged position, the opportunity to acquire status equal to male deities through faith.

As times have changed, the story of Chen Shou­niang has been overlaid with supernatural coloring, and the impressions most people have of her today come only from fearful legends and horrible imaginings—so much so that the “walking tour of Tainan’s most powerful female ghost” attracts countless visitors each year. To this, Yu says with a laugh: “Everyone is afraid of ghosts, but is it men or women who are most afraid of female ghosts?”

This guniang temple (a shrine dedicated to female unclaimed spirits) located beside the Yongding River in New Taipei’s Shiding District has a woman named Wei Bian as its main deity. She is said to have been very serious in life, so those who come to seek her aid must be sincere and respectful to earn her help.

Because the divine beings venerated at youyingma (female unclaimed spirits) temples are all unmarried women, the faithful mainly make offerings of cosmetics, earrings, and combs. Some shrines even allow believers to take away or purchase such items, to wear them as protective amulets.