The Cide Palace[1] or Temple on Dianziding Street,[2] also known as the Dianziding, Liujia, Mazu, or Tianhou Temple,[1] is a temple northwest of Lotus Lake in Zuoying District, Kaohsiung, on Taiwan. In Chinese, it is formally distinguished by its address[2] to differentiate it from the separate Cide Palace north of Kaohsiung's airport.
History
The temple was originally built as an unnamed temple to the Chineseearth godTudigong. In 1821, the temple was renamed the Palace of Kindness and Virtue[2] and rededicated to both Tudigong and Mazu, the deified form of Lin Moniang, a medieval Fujianese girl now revered as a sea goddess and as Queen of Heaven. In 1941, amid the Second World War, the Japanese occupation government converted to an agriculture office and later a regimental branch office.[2] The Japanese ordered the demolition of the palace,[citation needed] but it was rebuilt from 1973 to 1976.
Services
On Mazu's birthday according to the Chinese lunar calendar, the temple hosts a Taiwanese opera group who performs on a stage in front of the temple's main hall.
