“Dropping Nose Ancestor” sounds like a strange nickname doesn’t it? We are standing in front of the Bangka Qingshui Temple. It is also known as the Qingshui Zushi Temple. It is one of Taipei’s important temples. This temple is dedicated to Master Qingshui.
Bangka Qingshui Temple was built in 1787. It is one of the “Big Three Temples” of Taipei. The temple is a protected cultural relic. It has achieved the status of a level three historic site. The Bangka Qingshui Temple is one of three temples dedicated to Master Qingshui in the greater Taipei region. The other two are in New Taipei City’s Sanxia and Tamsui districts.
Qingshui worship came to Taiwan from China’s Fujian Province. Specifically, it came from Anxi County in Quanzhou. Many of Taiwan’s earliest Hokkien immigrants came from there. The Hokkien people settled in Wanhua. It became a major port of trade. This fueled the city’s development.
Control of the port became an issue among the Hokkien residents. In 1853, the “Ding-Xia feud” erupted. It was between four groups wanting to control the economy. The original Qingshui Temple sat in the way of shipping routes. It was burned down. This motivated the people from Anxi to end the feud.
The community collected funds to rebuild the temple. Reconstruction started in 1867. It was completed in 1875. The temple is said to be the best example of Qing-era temple architecture in Taipei.
The temple has a front hall and a main hall. There are two corridors on the side. The left corridor leads to a Buddhist shrine. The right corridor leads to offices and bathrooms. The main hall is where people pray to Master Qingshui. There are shrines to Mazu Guan, and the Earth God.
The temple has seven statues of Master Qingshui. They were brought from China. The temple is famous for its stone wall carvings. The murals date back to the late 18th and early 19th centuries. They have inscriptions referring to the Qing dynasty and Emperor Qianlong. The dragon pillars at the entrance were carved at the same time as the murals.
During the Japanese colonial era the temple was used as a school. The school became Cheng-Gong High School in 1925. The temple promotes education in Taiwan.
Master Qingshui was born in 1047. He died in 1101. His name was Chen Zhaoying. He was from Anxi County, Quanzhou during the Northern Song Period. He was skilled in Chan Buddhist doctrine. He used his skills to end a drought in Anxi. Temples were built in his honor. He became a folk hero and a deity.
Master Qingshui is revered as a Chinese folk religion deity. If someone performed a miracle they could become deified. Master Qingshui is most important to the Hokkien people. Today, worship of Master Qingshui is common in Taiwan.
Master Qingshui is a protector deity for the people from Anxi County. His temple helped bring together Hokkien immigrants. He often appears with a black face. He is sometimes missing a nose. He is called “black faced ancestor.” He is also called “dropping nose ancestor”.
Master Qingshui earned the nickname “Black Faced Ancestor” because he was meditating on a mountain when ten demons tried to burn him alive. Only his face was burnt. Four demons became his followers.
Legend says that when a natural disaster is about to occur, a statue of Master Qingshui will lose its nose. This warns people of the calamity.