aeeble

The Zhushan Mazu is said to have come from Fujian, China, during the Qing dynasty. Crossing the “Black Ditch” (the Taiwan Strait) from Meizhou to Taiwan was perilous and rough; as the proverb puts it, “out of ten crossings, only three return and one is lost.” To ensure the goddess’s statue survived the tempestuous strait, early settlers carved it into sections, shipped the pieces separately, and reassembled them after landing. The joints where the parts met made the image look almost articulated—quite unlike today’s single-block carvings. Mazu worship is widely shared across Taiwan, yet local color emerged: in Zhushan, tales such as the “Red-and-White-Flower Incident,” the “Brook-Snake Omen,” and the “Peace-Banquet” form a legendary, localized history of anti-Japanese resistance. Inside the temple two historic steles are preserved: one strictly forbids extortion of bamboo-raft taxes, the other—once broken and later rejoined—is an official proclamation from the main hall; both stem from disputes over the “one-nine” incense-money levy. Above the Mazu Temple, on Yunlin Road, Zhushan’s last remaining cobbler still works by traditional methods; fine leather shoes are repaired here. The temple forecourt, a cultural space where every sort of local story converges, serves as a living archive of the town’s oral history. (Why do the Japanese favor white, while the Taiwanese see red as auspicious? In the Red-and-White-Flower Massacre, why did the Japanese wear red flowers on their chests and the Taiwanese white ones?)