Right next to Snake Alley is an important landmark of Taipei - the Mengjia Lungshan Temple. This temple got its name from the ancient Lungshan Temple located in the Chin-chiang county of Fukien province in the seventh century.
When devout followers of Lungshan Temple from the Fukien immigrated to Taipei in the 1700s, they erected this temple and named it after the temple back home. The original Lungshan temple in Taipei was constructed in 1738. It was repaired, modified and rebuilt between 1919 and 1924, as the temple had suffered damage due to fires and natural calamities.
During the Second World War, the temple was hit by American bombers during an air-raid on Taipei on May 31, 1945, as it was suspected that the Japanese had been hiding armaments here. The main building and a corridor was severely damaged and many precious artworks were destroyed. After the war ended, the temple was painstakingly rebuilt. The temple we see today is an example of classical architecture.
Our visit was kind of disrupted by a burst of heavy rain, which fogged out my camera lens. And this break gave us the opportunity to learn a bit more about Chinese temples. I was referred to a blog that gives a precise step by step guide to visiting a Chinese temple. For instance, one should use the door on the right of the temple to enter, this is the Dragon Gate. Entering from Dragon Gate is symbolic of seeking blessings from the Gods and also to "cleanse" oneself. And after one's prayers, the exit is always made from the door on the left of the temple, which is known as the Tiger Gate. That signifies leaving behind "bad luck" and leaving the devotee with only "good luck".
This reminds me of the detailed procedure we have in some Hindu temples back home in India. Indeed there would have been science behind all this, perhaps a design to channelize energies or magnetic fields to have a positive impact on the well-being of the devotee. But since men lost this knowledge over the centuries, it is classified as luck, or divine blessings!
The architecture of the temple was quite intricate. While it was initially built as a Buddhist temple, over the years it incorporated Taoist elements...
Offerings left behind by devotees...
People come here to seek blessings for health, success in examinations, fertility and good fortune...
Devotees kept praying despite incessant rain...
Offering of incense sticks...
We took a quick round of the temple braving the rain and ran back to the waiting van! Hope the weather clears up by tomorrow when we head out of Taipei tomorrow...
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