Official God of War Temple (Sacrificial Rites Martial Temple)

The Official God of War Temple (Daguandi Temple) is also known as the Sacrificial Rites Martial Temple. Built in the mid-17th century, during Ming Dynasty, it is one of the oldest and best-preserved temples in Taiwan.

During the Ching (Qing) Dynasty, the Ching government deliberately raised the status of Guandi, or Guan Yun-chang (a famed general during the Period of Three Kingdoms), in an attempt to separate Yue Fei (a famous general in Sung [Song] Dynasty who fought bravely against foreign races from invading China), in order to avert the anti-Manchurian thought. Later, Guan became the only deity worshipped in the Sacrificial Rites Martial Temple.

Guan is the most common deity in local religions. In spiritual worship, he is the symbol of sage and hero. In Taoism, he is an administrative deity working in the central organization of heaven. Therefore, he is a deity of four identities -- the deity of business, the deity of righteousness (loyalty), the deity of bravery, and the deity of vanishing demons and monsters.

In 1983, the temple was listed as a Class One Historical Site. Within the temple are a wide range of valuable historical and cultural artifacts. For example, there is a huge continuous scarlet gable in the east of the temple, which is one of the masterpieces among all temples in Taiwan. Patterns of the temple's drip eave tiles are also classical. There are inscriptions of the temple's name in Chinese, suggesting that these tiles were specially ordered. Furthermore, there are ancient cloth-coin-shaped supports on the temple's beam mount for setting up shift shelters when there are ceremonies. These ancient brick components are rare today. Finally, the two dragons protecting the tower decoration on the temple's ridge are clean and graceful. The middle tower was designed for preventing fire and other disasters.