The foremost in Taiwan
When it comes to the artistry of deities’ palanquins, there is another palanquin on the same level as the Chaotian Temple Mazu’s: that of Cheng Huang (the City God) enshrined in Chiayi City’s Cheng Huang Temple.
This “eight-lion-ornamented wu palanquin” for the City God was funded by donations from local gentry and built by a team of more than 20 master craftsmen led by Huang Shuncai. It was completed in 1926 and retired from service in 1996. It was registered as a significant antiquity by the Ministry of Culture in 2018, and is currently on display on the second floor of the rear building at the Cheng Huang Temple; it is the temple’s most important treasure. The palanquin is kept in a sealed glass case at a controlled temperature and humidity, but the temple authorities “opened the box” for us so we could see the exquisite carvings up close. Their lifelike vitality left us in awe.
The temple commissioned Lin Jen-cheng, an adjunct assistant professor in the Graduate Institute of Conservation of Cultural Relics and Museology at Tainan National University of the Arts, and cultural artifact restorer Zhuang Junjie to study the palanquin. They found that the material used for the main structure is red-bark oak (Quercus gilva), a very hard and resilient wood, while the sculptures are mainly made from fine-grained “dog bone” false coffee wood (Diplospora dubia); the palanquin’s total weight is about 300 kilos.
An inscribed plaque on the palanquin reads “Appointed a nobleman of pacification by imperial command.” The palanquin itself is constructed using finely crafted interlocking wooden joints to ensure solidity and sturdiness, and the most important parts of the structure, the “dragon pillars” and “bird and flower pillars,” can be taken apart into inner and outer layers. The ends of the rows of roof tiles are embellished with turban shell motifs. The holes through which the bearers’ poles are passed are located at the bottom of the palanquin. On the left and right sides of the palanquin there are Western-style arcades, a departure from the woodworking style of the past.
The Ministry of Culture’s registration of the Cheng Huang Temple palanquin as a significant antiquity states: “Within the culture of deity litters of the Asia–Pacific region, it is representative of the history and craftsmanship of Taiwanese palanquins. It is extremely rare and precious.” During the era of Japanese rule in Taiwan, the Taiwan Nichinichi Shinpo (Taiwan Daily News) called this palanquin “inimitable” and honored it as “the foremost in Taiwan.”
Deities’ palanquins are not merely the vehicles for gods and goddesses at temple activities, they are also valuable in terms of artistic expression, cultural significance, and craftsmanship. Moreover, they represent an emotional link between the human faithful and sacred beings. When you see one in person, you can truly appreciate the sentimental attachment that exists between Taiwanese and their deities.
This plaque on the palanquin of Cheng Huang (the City God) in Chiayi City reads “Appointed a nobleman of pacification by imperial command.”
The carvings on deities’ palanquins have auspicious meanings. Pictured here is a panel on the Chiayi Cheng Huang’s palanquin that depicts the Eight Immortals congratulating the Queen Mother of the West on her birthday.
The “dragon pillars” and “bird and flower pillars” on the Chiayi Cheng Huang’s palanquin can be taken apart into inner and outer layers. The workmanship is exquisite.
The City God’s palanquin is the most important treasure at the Cheng Huang Temple in Chiayi.