Gukeng Jiaxing Temple, Wang Yeh temple in Zhaoyang Village, Taiwan.
Gukeng Jiaxing Temple is a temple to Chi Fu Wang Ye in Zhaoyang Village, Gukeng Township, Yunlin County. Its 1959 wooden hall, with interior wall paintings, was rebuilt from October 2016; bell and drum towers were added on the left and right sides, along with a new office building for pilgrims. The rebuilt hall was consecrated on 3 August 2020.
The temple began at the end of the Qing dynasty, when a worker from Wushulin in Tainan's Houbi district brought a Chi Fu Wang Ye image from his hometown to Gukeng. When he returned home, the deity refused to leave and became the local god. A 1959 wooden building with interior murals replaced the earlier structure; from October 2016 it was rebuilt with bell and drum towers and a pilgrim office building, consecrated on 3 August 2020.
Every year on the 18th day of the sixth lunar month, Gukeng and Huwei hold banquets for Chi Fu Wang Ye's birthday, and Gukeng's parade troupes perform: Wuyue Hall of Xiping, Jinxing Hall of Zhaoyang and the black-hat drum corps of Gukeng, each over a century old. In 2003 the three villages paraded together with the county magistrate and legislators. Local school principals bring pupils here to pray for exam success.
The temple welcomes visitors daily to observe religious ceremonies and participate in worship activities. When visiting, it helps to show respect for ongoing rituals and customs, since residents regularly conduct ceremonies throughout the day.
The temple's income once came from the Baoshan hill land rent: 80 hectares of hillside that the Japanese colonial government granted villagers for firewood, with cultivators paying the temple, which then paid tax to the government until the practice ended in the 1990s. Chairman Yu Zongxiao later built up temple assets by running a columbarium.
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