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their aid.12 Thus it was that although neither of the two deities had ever set foot in the Chaozhou area during their human existence, yet their divine spirits helped the native Chaozhou people and became their patrons. Chaozhou emigrants to Taiwan bore their cult from their local cult centre at Chaoyang, together with images, over to the new lands where at present there are some ten or so temples dedicated to the pair.
Several versions of the tales of their heroism during the siege of Suiyang are related by temple keepers and devotees. Individual stories about Zhang and Xu are well known to Chaozhou devotees, describing how they dug holes to catch rats during the siege, and about Zhang slaughtering his beloved concubine, either to spare her being taken by the enemy or, more morbidly, to be eaten by the starving defenders. Each of the stories highlights their heroism in the face of starvation with no hope of relief from the siege, and their choice of death rather than surrender.
The two deities are revered together on the main altar in at least five temples in Taiwan. Zhang has some eight temples dedicated to him alone in Taiwan, whilst Xu has a further nine. A further fifteen temples contain one of these two deities under their other titles, with both deities, again under their true names of Xu and Zhang, being noted as the main deity on secondary altars.
A Chuanzhou immigrant named Chen brought an incense pot with him from the cult centre of Baoyi Dafu [Zhang Xun] in Fujian and set it up as a branch temple in Shen Keng village near Taipei. According to temple lore, the deified Zhang Xun proved very efficacious in helping villagers with both good fortune and excellent harvests. Later, as the cult developed, it emerged from dream messages that Baoyi Dafu was also very effective in coping with the ravages of insect pests and, moreover, had won local renown by helping Chinese immigrants overcome the original hill tribesmen.
However, in the centre and south of the Taipei Basin, Xu and Zhang together were known by Chuanzhou Fukienese by the single title of Wang Gong 尪公, Wang Yuanshuai 尪元帥 or Wang Wang 王王. Their local legend claims that Wang Gong appeared to a temple keeper in a dream, warning him and the local inhabitants of the San Hsia, Mucha, and Hsintien areas of an intended raid by head-hunting tribesmen from
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their aid. 12 Thus it was that although neither of the two deities had ever set foot in the Chaozhou area during their human existence yet their divine spirits helped the native Chaozhou people and became their patrons. Chaozhou emigrants to Taiwan bore their cult from their local cult centre at Chaoyang, together with images, over to the new lands where at present there are some ten or so temples dedicated to the pair.
Several versions of the tales of their heroism during the siege of Suiyang are related by temple keepers and devotees. Individual stories about Zhang and Xu are well known to Chaozhou devotees, describing how they dug holes to catch rats during the siege, and about by Zhang slaughtering his beloved concubine, either to spare her being taken by the enemy or, more morbidly, to be eaten by the starving defenders. Each of the stories highlight their heroism in the face of starvation with no hope of relief from the siege, and their choice of death rather than surrender.
The two deities are revered together on the main altar in at least five temples in Taiwan. Zhang has some eight temples dedicated to him alone in Taiwan whilst Xu has a further nine. A further fifteen temples contain one of these two deities under their other titles, with both deities, again under their true names of Xu and Zhang being noted as the main deity on secondary altars.
A Chuanzhou immigrant named Chen brought an incense pot with him from the cult centre of Baoyi Dafu [Zhang Xun] in Fujian and set it up as a branch temple in Shen Keng village near Taipei. According to temple lore the deified Zhang Xun proved very efficacious in helping villagers with both good fortune and excellent harvests. Later, as the cult developed it emerged from dream messages that Baoyi Dafu was also very effective in coping with the ravages of insect pests and, moreover, had won local renown by helping Chinese immigrants overcome the original hill tribesmen.
However, in the centre and south of the Taipei Basin Xu and Zhang together were known by Chuanzhou Fukienese by the single title of Wang Gong 尪公,Wang Yuanshuai 尪元帥 or Wang Wang 王. Their local legend claims that Wang Kung appeared to a temple keeper in a dream warning him and the local inhabitants of the San Hsia, Mucha and Hsintien areas of an intended raid by head hunting tribesmen from
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