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JULIAN PAS
46, and 54) or in two temples (B-12, 38 and 55). In a few older cities or towns one finds the richest variety:
Tainan: Taipei: Lukang:
5 different sets (cp. Banck, who has 9) 8 different sets (cp. Banck: 12)
3 different sets (cp. Banck 6)
In Banck's collection are also included the Pescadores (P'eng-hu) islands: he has 6 sets from there, whereas I did not collect there at all. The great variety in older centres of immigrant settlements indicates that those sets were very likely brought to Taiwan from different "mother-temples” (tsung-miao) in the mainland; whereas in later times newly constructed temples took over the more popular sets available in Taiwan itself. In Taiwan, the more popular a cult, the larger the number of “daughter-temples” (fen-miao) it produced: that would explain the popularity of B-1 and B-2.
To summarize my findings, I'd like to combine the data shown in tables 3 and 4 and then conclude with some final considerations:
Table 5: Joint Survey of Temple Oracles in Taiwan
B-I 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 Other B Not in B Not Avail. Total Confucian 1 Taoist 1 1 Buddhist 2 6 2 158 71 8 2 1 3 6 4 22 28.10 5 11 291 1 2 18 18 18 186 81 8 2 7 3 6 4 24 6 30 357One important remark concerns the representative value of this survey: in my view, the sample taken cannot be considered to have general validity, except with regard to table 1 (and perhaps tables 2 and 3). A more detailed and carefully prepared research would produce a more accurate knowledge of the spread of the oracles. Taiwan nowadays counts between 4,000 to 5,000 registered temples, and a large number of non-registered shrines. Among the latter group are literally thousands of T’u-ti-kung shrines, sometimes small roadside chapels or altar-like structures, which have no oracle sets available.
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