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Title:
The practice of temple isolation (坐禁) in Penghu folk religion: case study of Yu Sheng temple in Baikeng village.
Abstract:
During late Ming and early Qing dynasties, inhabitants of Mainland China provinces of Fujian and Guangdong were migrating in waves to the tiny archipelago of Penghu, situated near the south-western coast of the Taiwan island. Along with their wealth and families, they brought religious customs that turned out to be a foundation for Taiwanese folk beliefs as we know them today. Originating in Penghu, zuojin (坐禁）is probably the most mystical ritual practice in Taiwanese folk religion system commonly referred to as Faism (法教). A rite of passage which was to foster spirit mediums, and high priest is now a nearly non-existent curiosity practiced only by the most devoted Faist priests and their temples. Selected among Penghu’s most talented and bright young minds (usually boys aged 8 to 13), aspiring priests were subjected to the period of forty-nine day in-temple isolation, where under strict vegetarian diet and on purpose sleep deprivation, they were learning about advanced Taoist arts including writing and usage of talismanic scripts (符令）, and ritual hand gestures (手印). Although zuojin used to be a common practice among temples of Penghu and southern Taiwan, during last several decades it started to slowly disappear from country’s spiritual life. The gradual disappearance of zuojin has been regarded as an outcome of globalization, rapidly lowering birth rate in the Republic of China, and growing education standards in the country. Nowadays the practice is nearly non-existent.
Through qualitative interviews and analysis of written materials obtained during field research, I aim to introduce the practice of zuojin through the lens of Yu Sheng temple situated in the Baikeng village of Penghu, which was one of the last places to ever organize the ritual in its full forty-nine day form. My main guide to the spiritual world of Penghu islands was Xu Tianfu (許天富), a long-time head priest of the Yu Sheng temple who supervised the ritual himself, and is now regarded as one of the last remaining final authorities on the Faist ritualistic practices of Penghu archipelago.
