aeeble

Wanlong, now known as Wanhua, is the origin of Taipei City. The oldest street in the area is located at the old site of Sha Mao Chu, known today as the intersection of Guiyang Street and the southern part of Huanhe Road. In the 48th year of the Kangxi era (1709 AD), Chen Lai Zhang's land development company obtained the right to cultivate the area of Da Jiaya. People from the three counties of Jinjiang, Nan'an, and Hui'an in Fujian Province came across the sea and gradually formed a settlement. At that time, the local Pingpu people used canoes to transport sweet potatoes and other agricultural products from the upper reaches of the Tamsui River to trade with the Han Chinese. This place was called "Sweet Potato Market." In the language of the Pingpu people, the word for canoe was "Banka," which the Han Chinese transliterated as "Wanlong." In the early days, northern Taiwan was a land filled with miasma and disease. There was a folk proverb, "Three in, six dead, one returns," indicating the harsh environment. When the Han Chinese came to cultivate the land, they often carried the incense from their hometown temples for protection. As the Han Chinese settlements gradually increased, the people from the three counties built Longshan Temple in 1738 (the third year of the Qianlong era) with joint investments and brought the Guanyin Bodhisattva from the Longshan Temple in Anhai, Jinjiang County, Fujian Province. Longshan Temple not only became the center of the residents' faith, but also served as a venue for consultations and legal proceedings, where the deities were believed to make fair judgments. During the Sino-French War in 1884 (the tenth year of the Guangxu era), the French forces occupied the Lion's Ball Hill in Keelung. The local residents organized a militia and used the Longshan Temple's official documents to assist in driving back the French forces. Emperor Guangxu then awarded the temple a plaque inscribed with the words "Cihui Yuan Yin" (Benevolent Light Protecting Far and Wide). The original Longshan Temple was grand in scale and had exquisite sculptures. It underwent repairs after the great earthquake in the 20th year of the Jiaqing era (1815 AD), and was rebuilt again in the sixth year of the Tongzhi era (1867 AD) after being damaged by a storm. In the eighth year of the Republic era, the beams were damaged by termites. At that time, the abbot Fuzhi led by example, donating his life savings of more than 7,000 yuan to raise funds for the restoration, establishing the current scale of Longshan Temple. During the Second World War in 1945, the temple was damaged by air raids. The central hall was completely destroyed, but the holy image of Guanyin remained seated on the lotus throne, with a solemn and dignified appearance. In the past, during air raids, the residents used to take shelter under the lotus throne of Guanyin. However, on this occasion, due to the unbearable mosquito infestation, the residents who had taken shelter returned home, and thus no one was harmed when the central hall was destroyed. The residents believed this was a miracle of Guanyin's protection, and they spread the news widely. This miracle further solidified Guanyin as a major spiritual support for the people of Wanhua. Facing south and with a north orientation, Longshan Temple is in the shape of a "return" character, representing a classical Chinese three-entrance courtyard-style building. It is composed of the front hall, main hall, rear hall, and two side corridors. The front hall has 11 bays, divided into the San Chuan Hall, the Dragon Gate Hall, and the Tiger Gate Hall. In front of the San Chuan Hall, there is a pair of copper-cast coiled dragon pillars, unique to the entire island. The front wall is made of a combination of granite and blue stone, and the stories on the wall are mostly from "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" and "Feng Shen Bang," which are rich in educational value. The roof of the main hall adopts the style of a double-eave hip roof, and the four sides have a total of 42 columns forming a corridor. The exterior walls have many famous calligraphy stone carvings. The spiral ceiling inside the hall is constructed entirely with interlocking brackets, without using a single nail or iron. The roof of the rear hall is also a double-eave hip roof, which is a typical place for the worship of Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist deities. The two side corridors each have a bell tower and a drum tower. The morning bell and evening drum echo, and the roof has a unique flat hexagonal shape. The ridges and eaves of the entire temple are decorated with auspicious figures such as dragons, phoenixes, and qilins, and are embellished with the art of "Jianjin" and "Jiaoti Tao," displaying vibrant colors and are considered the essence of the art of "Jianjin" in Taiwan. In 1985, the government announced that Longshan Temple in Wanhua was a second-class national cultural relic, and was listed as one of the three major tourist attractions in Taiwan, along with the National Palace Museum and the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. Longshan Temple also built the Wanhua Cultural Square Building on Wenhua Road in Banqiao. After its completion and opening in 1995, it has held various courses and lectures, fulfilling its cultural value of promoting Buddhist teachings and community education. Longshan Temple holds regular festival celebrations and folk activities every year, such as the lantern exhibitions in the first lunar month, the Buddha Bathing Festival in April, and the Ghost Festival in July. When people visit Longshan Temple, they can not only appreciate the beauty of the temple architecture in Taiwan, but also experience the fun of traditional folk culture.