Degaochuo Shangdi Temple

Degaochuo, originally known as Zhugaochuo (Bamboo Pole Hamlet), was named because its location atop Kanting Mountain featured towering thorny bamboos that resembled tall bamboo poles. During the period of Zheng's rule in Taiwan, this hamlet had not yet been settled by Han Chinese. Renhe Village had Xiawan to the south of Hutou Mountain and Dalin and other hamlets to the north. In the early Qing Dynasty, Chen Yuan-heng from Nan'an County, Quanzhou Prefecture, led a group to settle here, naming it Zhugaochuo. Subsequent settlers included the Chen clan from Tongan County, Quanzhou Prefecture; the Wang clan from Nan'an and Jinjiang Counties, Quanzhou Prefecture; the Liu and Lin clans from Jinjiang County; and the Cai clan from Longxi County, Zhangzhou Prefecture. Whether settling directly or relocating from elsewhere, the population gradually grew denser. However, no temple was built, and deities were still worshipped at the Xiawan Shangdi Temple. Perhaps they had already invited the incense burner (or spirit tablet) of Shangdi Gong or even carved statues for home worship, celebrating Shangdi Gong's birthday and ascension according to custom. In the 1770s (Qianlong 40s), a plague raged, and household deities failed to suppress it. The villagers then went to Xiawan, specifically the Kanjian Temple, to respectfully invite the sacred statue of Shangdi Gong into the hamlet to eradicate the plague and disaster, eventually eliminating the epidemic. After the situation stabilized, the elder Chen Yu-qiong proposed building a temple to enshrine Shangdi Gong. The temple was completed in the Xinchou year (1781, the 46th year of Qianlong). Mr. Chen also donated an incense burner, inscribed horizontally with 'Xuan Tian Shang Di', with 'Renhe Village' written on the left and 'Degaochuo' on the right, marking the beginning of this temple's construction.