Baosheng Cultural Festival, Taiwan’s most representative religious festivity, will kick off on April 10, 2016. This year’s event will include much-loved activities, such as jiaxingxi (theatrical acts traditionally played by local clans), folk array performances (yizhen), the Fire Lion fireworks display (fang huoshi), and other activities in celebration of the birth of Baosheng Dadi (the Chinese god of medicine). The 2016 Baosheng Cultural Festival will also feature guest performers from Japan bringing their splendid performances. Held by Dalongdong Baoan Temple (also known as Taipei Baoan Temple, or simply the Baoan Temple), the annual event lasts up to two months from the third to the fifth lunar month. Visitors are welcome to explore this internationally acclaimed Taoist gala.
Featured Events of 2016 Baosheng Cultural Festival
4/10-5/4 Family Surnames folk opera series 19:00-22:00
Daily 19:00 - 21:00 (Please refer to the Family Surnames folk opera performance schedule for details of the performance.) As a follower of ancient worship practice of expressing gratitude to deities, Baoan Temple is dedicated to handing down local cultures and values for the development of local opera performance and grass-roots folklore arts. Taipei Baoan Temple organizes a judge panel to select outstanding Taiwanese opera troupes, Beiguan troupes and hand puppet show troupes. The goal is to lay a strong foundation for the development of culture.
4/17 Painting Competition 09:00-14:00
To encourage fine arts education and creation, Baoan Temple will hold a painting competition comprising five categories: kindergarten; junior (Grades 1-2), intermediate (Grades 3-4), and senior grades (Grades 5-6) of primary school; and junior high school. Themed around the architectural arts and festivities of Baoan Temple, the competition offer contestants the chance to relish the charm of its religious culture.
4/19 Baosheng Dadi’s Birthday Celebration Banquet 11:00-12:00
Feasts honoring Baosheng Dadi usually take place during large-scale festivities and during the deity's birthday celebrations, where solemn banquets are held to show gratitude to the deities’ blessings and pray for peace and comfort. The grand celebration banquet feature five sacrifices, twelve dishes, thirty-six desserts, six teas and delicacies from land and sea, highlighted by fruit and vegetable carvings. All the dainties are meticulously and fastidiously arranged to demonstrate the sincerity of offering the “grand Chinese feast” (man han quan xi) and its artistic value.
4/20 Folk Array Performances 15:00-18:00
We invited yizhen troupes from around the island and guest performers from Japan to play folk array performances on the day before Baosheng Dadi’s birthday. Visitors get to relish the charm of an encounter between local and international performing arts.
4/20 Igniting the Fire Lion firecrackers 19:00-20:00 Fang huoshi is a unique tradition of Baoan Temple combining beehive firecrackers and traditional paste paper arts. The Fire Lion fireworks display will start at 7pm right after the yizhen performances. After the 21-gun salute, tens of thousands of firecrackers will be set off, brightening the night sky. People believe that this custom can ward off evil and diseases by sending prayers to the deities for blessings.
4/21 Three Consecrations in celebration of Baosheng Dadi’s sacred date of birth 08:00-09:00
Baosheng Dadi’s date of birth falls on the 15th day of the third lunar month. On this day, the Baoan Temple will carry out the sanxian ritual, where three kinds of offerings are served. The solemn ceremony is a blend of Confucianism and Taoism, as it features both the Siyi dance (Confucian dance for paying tribute to Confucius) and the sanxian practice. This ritual kicks off after the “three dignified drumbeats” (santonggu), followed by the welcoming of the deity (yingshen), incense offering, and the singing of “Ode to Baosheng Dadi” (Baosheng Dadi lingyingzan) by the Baoan Temple Choir. The ritual continues with the first offering and the recital of prayers. After the second and the third offerings are made, people will practice wangliao by burning the offerings and watching the rising smoke, which symbolizes the conveyance of wishes and gratitude to the deity. The temple will then conduct songshen (literally meaning “sending off deities”) to conclude the ceremony. The whole ritual is conducted to the accompaniment of music played by Baoan Temple’s Chinese Orchestra. Students from Dalong Elementary School will be performing the Siyi dance on the danchi (a red stage in front of a temple or palace). Worshippers gather together to commemorate ancestors’ hard work and show gratitude for blessings of Baosheng Dadi.
4/23 Seminar on Religious Beliefs 14:00-16:00
Located in Dalongdong, a time-honored cultural area where many of the inhabitants have long been Taoist worshippers, the Baoan Temple will hold a seminar on religious beliefs. The purpose of the seminar is to explore the area’s religious development to ensure the history is never forgotten with changes of time and inhabitants. At the seminar, folk experts will deliver lectures on the intrinsic parts of religious belief.
4/24 Baoan Temple Scholarship Award Ceremony 10:00-12:00
People say that a country needs to invest a century’s worth of efforts to lay a solid foundation for education. Every year, to encourage students to improve themselves both academically and ethically, Taipei Baoan Temple grants two kinds of scholarships to either students with exemplary academic performance, or those from economically disadvantaged families. The scholarships will be appropriated from the budget for Baosheng Dadi’s birthday ceremony.
4/26 Birth Registry Matron (Zhusheng Niangniang)’s Birthday Ceremony 09:00-17:00
The 20th day of the third lunar month marks the birthday of Zhusheng Niangniang, the Taoist goddess of birth and patron of children and women. As the old saying goes, “sanyue ershi ren kan ren” (literally meaning “hordes of people pack the temple on the 20th day of the third lunar month”), female worshippers would dress up on this day and pay a visit to the temple, praying for pregnancy, birth success, or the health and safety of their children. Visitors to the temple are advised to do so if necessary.
4/29 Heavenly Holy Mother (tian shang sheng mu)’s Birthday Ceremony 09:00-12:00
On the 23rd day of the third lunar month, worshippers celebrate the birthday of Tianshang Shengmu, commonly known as Mazu, the goddess who has long been considered the patron saint of fishermen. There is an old saying: “To cross the sea safely, worship Mazu; to live in peace, worship Baosheng Dadi” (duhai kao mazu; anju kao zhenren), a testament to the fact that Mazu is one of the most popular Taoist deities in Taiwan.
5/15 Free-of-charge Healthcare and Medical Consultation Service 09:00-15:00
To live up to Baosheng Dadi’s spirit of saving patients, helping people in need, and promoting health consciousness, the Baoan Temple is working with the Lions Club of Taipei Capital and the Taipei City Hospital (Zhongxing branch) to organize free healthcare programs for the public. During the event, doctors and nurses will offer free check-ups and health consultation services.
5/15 Guided Tour of the Historic Site (Ⅰ)10:00-12:00 (Ⅱ)14:00-16:00
Taipei Baoan Temple will offer guided tours to allow the public to gain a better understanding of the architectural characteristics and historic value of this Class 2 national historic site. During the tours, scholars, experts, as well as volunteers will share their rich knowledge while providing lively explanations. Topics range from the development of the Dalongdong area, the establishment and building style of the temple, the worship of deities, to cultural artifacts. Tour participants will encounter the beauty of the Baoan Temple by exploring its past and present.
5/21～5/24 Baoan Temple Art Exhibition 09:00-17:00
At the Baoan Temple Art Exhibition, award-winning paintings and photos, as well as the flower arrangement works by our art classes will be on display. The exhibition is aimed to showcase the mix of religious beauty and modern-day fine arts.
5/29 Performance by Yunzhong Choir 14:00-16:00 The members of Yunzhong Choir all possess the passion for music and singing. They sing wholeheartedly in perfect harmony for every song, expecting listeners to hear the love and touching the zest within their voices.
6/1 Shennong Dadi’s Birthday Celebration Ritual 08:00-09:00
Legend has it that one century ago, northern Taiwan experienced a drought for several months that ruined the crops. Therefore, farmers prayed to Shennong Dadi (the patron saint of agriculture in Taoism) for rain. The drought ended after they offered their prayers. To commemorate his miraculous feat, people enshrined Shennong Dadi in the back hall of the Baoan Temple. In celebration of his birthday that falls on 26th day of the fourth lunar month, we will conduct the sanxian ritual starting at 08:00.
2016 Baosheng Cultural Festival: Event Schedule | Date | Lunar Date | Day of week | Event | Time |
| 4/10～5/4 | 3/04～3/28 | | Family Surnames folk opera series | 19:00-21:30 |
| 4/17 | 3/11 | Sun. | Painting Competition | 09:00-14:00 |
| 4/19 | 3/13 | Tue. | Baosheng Dadi’s Birthday Celebration Banquet | 11:00-12:00 |
| 4/20 | 3/14 | Wed. | Folklore performance Set-off of Fire Lion firecrackers | 15:00-18:00 19:00-20:00 |
| 4/21 | 3/15 | Thu. | Baosheng Dadi’s Birthday Ritual | 08:00-09:00 |
| 4/23 | 3/17 | Sat. | Seminar on Religious Beliefs | 14:00-16:00 |
| 4/24 | 3/18 | Sun. | Granting scholarship | 10:00-12:00 |
| 4/26 | 3/20 | Tue. | Birth Registry Matron’s Birthday Ceremony | 09:00-17:00 |
| 4/29 | 3/23 | Fri. | Heavenly Holy Mother’s Birthday Ceremony | 09:00-12:00 |
| 5/15 | 4/9 | Sun. | Free-of-charge Healthcare and Medical Consultation Service Guided Tour of the Historic SiteⅠ Guided Tour of the Historic SiteⅡ | 09:00-15:00 10:00-12:00 14:00-16:00 |
| 5/21～5/24 | 4/15～4/18 | Sat.-Tue. | Baoan Temple Art Exhibition | 09:00-17:00 |
| 5/29 | 4/23 | Sun. | Chorus Performance | 14:00-16:00 |
| 6/1 | 4/26 | Wed. | Shennong Dadi’s Birthday Celebration Ritual | 08:00-09:00 |
| 6/6 | 5/2 | Mon. | Commemorating Ritual of Baosheng Dadi’s Ascension Birthday Celebration Banquet | 09:00-09:30 11:00-12:00 |
2016 Baosheng Cultural Festival: Family Surnames Folk Performances | Date | Lunar Date | Day of week | Performed by | Event/Title of Act | Time |
| 4/10 | 3/4 | Sun. | Han Yang Beiguan Troupe | Ringing the Golden Bell
(daytime show) Out from Capital (nighttime show) | 14:00-16:30 19:00-21:30 |
| 4/11 | 3/5 | Mon. | Minquan Taiwanese Opera Troupe | Love in War | 19:00-21:30 |
| 4/12 | 3/6 | Tue. | Minquan Taiwanese Opera Troupe | The Prince and the Pauper | 19:00-21:30 |
| 4/13 | 3/7 | Wed. | Yuhuayuan Troupe | Zhao Jingniang | 19:00-21:30 |
| 4/14 | 3/8 | Thu. | Jin-Ing-Ger Puppet Troupe | The Warring Period of Swords (daytime show) Pirate Lin Daochien
(nighttime show) | 14:00-16:30
19:00-21:30 |
| 4/15 | 3/9 | Fri. | Shiu-Kim Taiwanese Opera Troupe | Souls sold | 19:00-21:30 |
| 4/16 | 3/10 | Sat. | Shiu-Kim Taiwanese Opera Troupe | Xue Pinggui and Wang Baochuan | 19:00-21:30 |
| 4/17 | 3/11 | Sun. | Shen-chiu Taiwanese Opera Troupe | A Story Being Told | 19:00-21:30 |
| 4/18 | 3/12 | Mon. | Shiao-Jin-Ji Taiwanese Opera Troupe | Sensibilities | 19:00-21:30 |
| 4/19 | 3/13 | Tue. | Hung Sheng Taiwanese Opera Troupe | A Waited Revenge | 19:00-21:30 |
| 4/20 | 3/14 | Wed. | All folk performances and fireworks display –Family Surnames Folk Performances suspended this day |
| 4/21 | 3/15 | Thu. | Lan Yang Beiguan Troupe | The Imperial Commissioner | 19:00-21:30 |
| 4/22 | 3/16 | Fri. | Li Jing-fang Taiwanese Opera Troupe | The Emperor’s Wagon | 19:00-21:30 |
| 4/23 | 3/17 | Sat. | Ying-yi Taiwanese Opera Troupe | Son | 19:00-21:30 |
| 4/24 | 3/18 | Sun. | The Youth Taiwanese Opera Troupe of Taipei Cultural Center | The Unforgotten | 19:00-21:30 |
| 4/25 | 3/19 | Mon. | Wu-Yuan Taiwanese Opera | Wife Exchanged | 19:00-21:30 |
| 4/26 | 3/20 | Tue. | Hong Ming Taiwanese Opera Troupe | The 18-year Wait | 19:00-21:30 |
| 4/27 | 3/21 | Wed. | National Taiwan College of Performing Arts | The General | 19:00-21:30 |
| 4/28 | 3/22 | Thu. | Shiang-Cheng Taiwanese Opera Troupe | As the Queen | 19:00-21:30 |
| 4/29 | 3/23 | Fri. | Baoan Temple Teachers’ Taiwanese Opera Troupe | The Jinhua Case | 19:00-21:30 |
| 4/30 | 3/24 | Sat. | Wulongyuan Puppet Show Troupe | The Living Buddha
(daytime show) The Heavenly Mother
(nighttime show) | 14:00-16:30
19:00-21:30 |
| 5/1 | 3/25 | Sun. | Chen Mei-Yun Taiwanese Opera Troupe | Getting Higher | 19:00-21:30 |
| 5/2 | 3/26 | Mon. | Sheng Ping Troupe Company | Journey to the South
(daytime show) The Hero Cries (nighttime show) | 14:00-16:30 19:00-21:30 |
| 5/3 | 3/27 | Tue. | Minju Women’s Taiwanese Opera Troupe | The War Romance | 19:00-21:30 |
| 5/4 | 3/28 | Wed. | Yihuayuan Troupe | Sent from Heaven | 19:00-21:30 |
| Venue: Main Courtyard of Taipei Baoan Temple Time: Daytime shows 14:00-16:30 Evening shows 19:00-21:30 |
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