Taoist Priest

More than one hundred fifty years ago, a man named Shu brought his only son from China to Taiwan.

His name, Shu, means ‘tree’ in Chinese. Shu came from Fukien, he was a ship-builder. Because of his career, Shu had traveled from harbor to harbor around China. He always brought his son, Tian-Siang, with him. Tian-Siang roamed with his father around the coastal areas; hence, he learned a lot of Chinese dialects from his playmates.

Finally, they came to Taiwan, where they settled down and never left. We don’t know why Shu decided to stay in Taiwan. We just know they arrived at a place called Kam-ma-ka, ‘at the foot of the crag’, which is still known in Chupei City, in the north of Taiwan.

Later on, Tian-Siang became a Taoist priest of the Ching Wang Fu ( Temple of the King Ching) at Kam-ma-ka.

One day the medium of Ka-ma-ka was possessed by an unknown god. Via this medium, the god spoke in a weird language, which nobody can understand. People gathered around the medium. The god spoke angrily because nobody understood him. People are restless and helpless. Tian-Siang was the only one knew what the god was talking about. He is the god of King Ching. He wants to stay here to protect the people.

That’s why Tian-Siang became a Taoist priest. As a Taoist priest, he had to be a translator between god and ordinary people, to draw magic figure or do some magic to heal the sick. He even helped to find the lost bull or improve people’s misfortunes.

I heard this story from my elders. Shu is my first generation elder to Taiwan. Tian-Siang is the second.

My granddad was also a Taoist priest. My youngest uncle is the last one to be a Taoist priest.