One of the greatest displays of this tradition, the triennial burning of Wang Ye boats, will be held in the coming weeks at Donglong Temple in the southern port town of Donggang. Rivaling the Ma Zu Pilgrimage for sheer numbers of participants, and the Pingxi Sky Lantern Release for visual appeal, it is a must-see event.
The origins of boat burnings trace back over 1,000 years to the Song dynasty and are connected with a well-studied group of deities called the Wang Ye, or Royal Lords. Numbering in the hundreds, the Wang Ye were once worshipped for an ability to prevent pestilence and disease. Cults to these gods often involved large-scale plague-expelling rituals such as boat burnings.
Wang Ye tend to come in several types, though only two are important in Taiwan's folk tradition: one is the Wang Ye who were historical heroes; the other is the Wang Ye who were real people who died young and were believed to become plague-spreading demons.
Among the former are some of Taiwan's greatest folk heroes, including Koxinga (the Ming loyalist who expelled the Dutch) and Donglong Temple's main resident deity, Wen Hong. Wen Hong was a Tang dynasty scholar later deified for his role in helping save the emperor. The Donglong Temple’s introductory brochure has his full story and it makes for an entertaining read.
The second class of Wang Ye, those who originated as plague demons, is more complex, and only seems to exist in the folk traditions of southern China, Taiwan, and some Southeast Asian Chinese communities. What these deities have in common is that they were once scholars who died young and in rather violent ways—drowned, murdered, buried alive or martyred for refusing to serve a new emperor.
For traditional Chinese, a life cut off in its prime like this leads to a vengeful ghost, one that is particularly likely to spread disease. In the classic quid pro quo so often seen in Chinese folk faith (“I'll pray to you if you don't plague me”), these demons were propitiated with sacrifice and flattered with the title Wang Ye. Over time, like the folk hero-type Wang Ye, the demons too became gods, with one important change in function: now they were seen to guard against pestilence instead of spreading it.
Wang Ye worship was brought to Taiwan during the 17th and 18th centuries, carried in the hearts of the waves of immigrants from southern China, especially Fujian. The first shrines were established on Penghu and Kinmen, and the faith later spread to Tainan, and then to the rest of Taiwan. Donglong Temple, founded in 1706, is one of the oldest centers of Wang Ye worship in the south.
Boat burning festivals reached their heyday in the 18th and 19th centuries, at a time when Wang Ye cults were also at their most popular. The practice spread from Fujian to Taiwan, and varied from temple to temple. In general the Wang Ye were invited to earth in a special beachside ceremony, feasted, and then asked to entice plague demons onto a boat which was then burnt either on the beach or as it was floated out to sea. Boats could be made from paper or wood, and might reach lengths of 100 meters.
Wang Ye worship, and boat burning festivals, began to fade in China in the 20th century, but actually expanded in Taiwan under the early Japanese occupation. Donglong Temple began its festival about 100 years ago. It was a late start, and given the importance of the temple to Wang Ye worship a bit odd. Other temples began their festivals much earlier. Xigang's Qing-an Temple, for example, inaugurated its festival in 1847.
But then Donglong Temple' s main deity, Wen Hong, is not traditionally associated with boat burning. Somehow, in the darkness of time, the cult of the plague Wang Ye got mixed up with his. Does this mean the current festival is not authentic? Not at all. It is a curious mix of traditions, all old, all genuine, and the result is something as unique as it is spectacular.
The first day of the festival is called “Qing Wang” (or “Qing Shui”), which means "Inviting the Gods." It is important to note that the Wang Ye being invited are not Wen Hong, who sits in the temple all year. Instead they are five plague-busting Wang Ye who go by the last names of Zhu, Chi, Li, Mao and Wen. The day before the opening, seven local representatives from Donggang cast divination blocks in the temple to determine which of the five Wang Ye will be this year's leader, or “Da Qian Sui.”
Around noon the next day, the first day of the festival, a procession leaves Donglong Temple carrying Wen Hong and five tablets (representing the Wang Ye) on sedan chairs. On the seashore at Zhenhai Park, they are joined by representatives from other temples carrying Ma Zu (goddess of the sea), Tudi Gong (the earth god), and a host of other deities. As many as 50,000 worshippers and spectators will also attend.
What follows is a fascinating ritual in which the five Wang Ye are called back to earth. First, eight spirit mediums, sensing their presence, record the arrivals by writing their names in the sand. The mediums work in pairs, wielding the sticks used to carry the sedan chairs like pens.
Only the arrival of the Da Qian Shui is important, but the mediums have not been told who it is that year (only the seven Donggang representatives know). The four other WangYe take advantage of this and try to fool the mediums into recording their names in the sand (as if they were Da Qian shui). When the mediums discover that they have recorded the wrong name, they ask the Wang Ye to kindly leave their body as they are waiting for the true leader.
Eventually Da Qian Sui arrives and when this is confirmed by the mediums writing his name in the sand a general announcement is made. There is a raucous clash of gongs, fireworks and music. Da Qian Sui's name is then written on yellow flags that have been carried to the beach by representatives from all the participating temples.
The five Wang Ye, now residing in tablets, are carried back to Donglong Temple on sedan chairs. Along the way, there is music, dancing (including the famous Eight Generals Dance), firecrackers, and a general atmosphere of festivity.
In the temple courtyard, the seven Donggang representatives carry the Wang Ye sedans through a "fire gate." This is the coals of five wood fires, burned in the five traditional directions (north, south, east, west and center) and blessed with rice and salt. After walking barefoot over the coals, the representatives carry the Wang Ye tablets into the temple and place them on the main altar. (For the duration of the festival Wen Hong will have a subordinate position.) Special rituals then take place inside the temple but these are sealed off to the public.
Outside the temple, a priest closes the "fire gate" and dismisses the five direction gods who have been protecting the area. Many ordinary citizens will now take a coal from the fire back home and place it in water or rice that will be consumed as a form of blessing.
(Watch for the second part of this feature on the boat burning festival Oct. 16.)
--Robert Kelly is coauthor of “Lonely Planet Taiwan.”
Copyright © Robert Kelly 2009
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