Long Shan Temple, Taipei

Taipei's Long Shan Temple goes a long way back. It was built in 1738. Not much of the original building is left, however, since the temple has been destroyed several times. Fortunately it has been rebuilt as many times.

As many Taiwanese temples, the Long Shan Temple is built for a mix of Buddhist, Taoist and folk deities.

It is a beautiful temple, and moreover it is a very lively temple. There is so much worshipping going on that you can watch and feel the ambiance for several hours and not be bored.

Let's first look at the architecture; the various buildings, roofs and details.

Building in inner courtyard

Beautiful, don't you think?

As I said, there is a lot of worshipping and praying going on. Hence a lot of burning incense and throwing of oracle blocks. More about that further on.

About this oracle block throwing and fortune-telling.

Well, in short: people first shake a tin with oracle sticks till one distinguishes itself by popping out or above in a different way. Think of a pile of Mikado sticks, but then in a sort of can.

You take out that one stick in order to bring that to the fortune teller. But first you have to check wether you chose the 'right' stick, since it may not always be so clear which one stick 'sticks out'. To establish wether it is the 'right' stick, you choose two oracle blocks. Two red half-moon-shaped wooden blocks that mirror each other's shape. They each have a 'bottom' and an 'upside'. You throw them on the floor. And when they land in a matching way, your stick of choice is the right one. If not, you have to start over the whole process.

I wrote more about it here.

This man is throwing oracle blocks.

I threw them too, but had no idea what it was about untill I looked it up afterwards.

I have friends here in Singapore who really believe in fortune telling. They let it influence major decisions. I don't.

What about you? Do you believe in feng shui, fortunetellers, tarot card readers and such?