Nansi Beiji Syuantianshangdi
(Mysterious Heavenly God)
Temple Brief History
In 1751, immigrants from Fujian Province of China settled in the empty land before the current location of the temple in Inner Jiaba (now Nansi) and worshipped the "Syuantianshangdi Artifact" brought from the Wudan Mountain in China to be the origin of this temple in Tainan, Taiwan. This first group of settlers then relocated to other places, and left the Artifact in the care of, and to be continually worshipped by, the nearby resident Jiang Cian.
In 1817, nearby residents donated money to construct a small shrine for the worshippers, but it wasn’t until the Syuantianshangdi’s anniversary ceremony on March 2nd (Lunar Calendar) in 1821 that the Artifact glimmered and conveyed a message through a medium that a temple be constructed at the western center of the Jialioushan Ritual Ground (The current address). Subsequently, the residents obeyed by raising funds for the construction of the temple. In 1831, the medium again conveyed a message to make sculptures of Syuantianshangdi, Second Shangdi (god), Third Shangdi, Fourth Shangdi, Kaitianyandi (Shennong, God of the Five Grains), and Jhongtanyuanshuai (Nezha, Marshal of the Central Altar), while worshipping Beji Syuantianshangdi as the Lord God. Also according to his will, the temple will be named "Syuantianshangdi Temple" while it is more commonly known as "Nansi Beiji Temple". In 1941, the Japanese ordered the temple be torn down, but the sculptures were fortunate enough to be saved and hidden by the worshippers. It wasn’t until 1945, the retrocession of Taiwan after the 10-month-war, that the local residents proposed that the temple be reconstructed. In 1946, the local gentlemen Jiang Cai-wang and Jiang Cing-yuan were selected as the executives, responsible for the reconstruction of the temple (beside Fudeye Temple in Sinan Township), and asked the local residents to return the sculptures for worship. In 1955, Syuantianshangdi again conveyed a message through an medium to relocate the Syuantianshangdi Temple to its current address and subsequently, the relocation was made and completed in 1956.
The local gentlemen Jiang Cai-wang and Jiang Cing-yuan were the first directors of the temple, succeeded by Guo Mu-shan, and established a management committee. A northern conference room was added in 1969 and Jiang He-ad succeeded as the chairman of the committee. In 1981, owing to the peeling red paint of the temple, a fund-raiser was held to repaint the walls, with an additional bell and drum tower added. Chairman Liou Sing-han has then been holding the position since 1990. In 1996, a fund-raiser was held again to purchase land for the construction of a rear hall for the temple. The construction began in 1997 and was completed in October, 2000, making it a temple of an even grander scale. The rear hall worshipped the Jade Emperor, Gods of the Northern and Southern Star, Regional God, and Jhusheng Niangniang (Goddess of Fertility). The Lord God "Beji Syuantianshangdi" and Zihweidadi (dadi, lord/god) bless the children of the earth and protect all. This article was written as a record in honor of the completion of the temple’s rear hall.
This article is an excerpt from the Nansi Beiji Syuantianshangdi 2010 Joint-Celebration Album (Author: Chairman Liou Sing-han)