Day #135: Temple of Hell

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Today I went to look at some of the temples in Tainan, which are some of the finest in the country. The most interesting was Dongyue Temple, a Taoist temple where people come to communicate with the dead through spirit mediums or to atone for their sins. The whole temple, consisting of three separate rooms, is intimidating and nightmarish - the dominant colours throughout are black and red. The gods in the temple are all Gods of the underworld - the first room is dedicated to the King of the Underworld, the second is adorned with murals of hell (complete with graphic representations of various kinds of torture) and the third is dominated by an altar featuring the demons of hell. There were a few worshippers there when I visited and they were praying especially fervently, which made the place even more eerie. It's the sort of place you wouldn't want to take young children - they would have nightmares.

More relaxed was the shrine to Koxinga, the leader who drove the Dutch out of Taiwan (albeit with the aim of reunifying Taiwan and China).

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Photos

Dongyue Temple
King of the Underworld room

Dongyue Temple
Gods of Hell