Name : Temple of the Eighteen Lords (乾華十八王公廟 (新廟) )
Location : LINK
Fun Facts
Do you know there’s a temple in northern Taiwan where a dog is worshipped as a deity? Highway No. 2 in Shimen District of New Taipei City, the Chien Hua Temple of the Eighteen Lords is built around a fascinating local legend.
More than 150 years ago, a boat carrying seventeen people and a dog capsized in the nearby coast, claiming the lives of all seventeen passengers while the dog miraculously survived.
As the villagers prepared a mass burial for the victims, the loyal dog is said to have leapt into the grave, sacrificing its own life out of grief. Moved by its extraordinary devotion, the locals honored the dog as the “eighteenth Lord”.
Today, the Eighteen Lords are revered as deities of wealth, and the temple attracts countless visitors praying for prosperity, successful business ventures, and financial blessings.
How to Pray to the Dog God?
Inside the temple stands a bronze statue of the Dog Deity. Visitors are encouraged to gently pet different parts of the statue while loudly reciting a series of prayer phrases. Each part of the dog symbolizes a different wish for wealth and prosperity, making the ritual one of the temple’s most distinctive traditions. Some of the prayer phrases include:
- Pet the dog’s head — May you build a new mansion
- Pet the dog’s ears — May new business opportunities come your way
- Pet the dog’s mouth — May your wealth grow rapidly
- Pet the dog’s feet — May your home be filled with gold bars
- Pet the dog’s feet — May your home be filled with gold bars
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