【Beichen Myōken Bodhisattva × Xuan-Tian Emperor】
— The golden-lineage of faith from Wudang’s Golden Summit to Shikong Jietian Temple in Taiwan
In Taiwan and Fujian, the worship of Xuantian Shangdi (the Dark/Mysterious Heavenly Highest Emperor) is among the most flourishing currents of Taoist devotion.
He is revered as “Yu Xu Shixiang, Xuantian Shangdi, Incarnation of the Golden Pavilion, Demon-Subduing Celestial Venerable,” the true northern deity of Water, a guardian who repels evil and protects the realm.
Yet in Buddhist texts, Xuantian Shangdi also appears in another form — Bodhisattva Myōken of the North Star.
“Myōken” literally means “wondrous eye,” the insight that perceives all wholesome and unwholesome dharmas, realizing the true nature of all phenomena, embodying both compassion and wisdom. Myōken is regarded as a manifested trace of Avalokiteśvara (Guanyin), commissioned by Medicine Master Buddha of Lapis-Lazuli Light (Bhaiṣajyaguru) to guide beings of Jambudvīpa.
Ancient records say: “Born of the Great Yin, the essence of the northern waters. Corresponding above to the stars of Xu and Wei, the turtle and serpent conjoined, he traverses the six directions, awe-inspiring to myriad spirits.”
As the lord of the northern water virtue, Xuantian Shangdi governs floods and quells fires, turning calamity into auspice — a celestial protector who averts misfortune and extends life.
🌕【Wudang’s Golden Hall: Gilded Summit, Zhenwu Patriarch Guarding the Heavens】
The sacred origin place of Xuantian Shangdi devotion is the world-famous Golden Hall (Jinding) on Wudang Mountain, set atop Tianzhu Peak in Hubei at an elevation of 1,612 meters.
Built in the 14th year of the Yongle reign (1416 CE) by imperial decree of the Yongle Emperor Zhu Di, the hall was cast to enshrine the Zhenwu Patriarch (Perfected/True Martial). The entire sanctuary is cast bronze with fire-gilding, 5.54 m high and 4.4 m wide, its mortise-and-tenon structure exquisitely tight and seamless.
Inside stands a gilded bronze statue of the Zhenwu Patriarch weighing over ten tons, flanked by the Golden Boy and Jade Maiden and the Generals of Water and Fire. The carving is delicate, the figures vivid and lifelike. Overhead hangs an imperial plaque inscribed by the Kangxi Emperor, reading “Golden Radiance, Wondrous Aspect,” shining through the ages.
The hall’s double-eaved hip roof denotes the highest rank in classical architecture; it faces east while seated to the west, symbolizing reverence to the sun and the seeking of light.
Since antiquity, Wudang’s Golden Summit has been the core sanctum of Zhenwu devotion — “a national treasure and the pinnacle of the Dao.”
🏯【Taiwan’s “Golden Hall” × Shikong Jietian Temple】
— A path of faith that set out from the ancient Taihe Mountain trail
In the Wai’ao highlands of Toucheng, Yilan, stands a sacred site often called “Taiwan’s little Wudang” — the Shikong Golden Summit Jietian Temple.
Its incense has never waned; it is one of the key ancestral temples through which Xuantian devotion took root in Taiwan.
In Daoguang 2 (1822), an image of Xuantian Shangdi was brought from Wushi Harbor in Fujian to Taiwan by Huang Ying. After many trials, it came to rest atop the Shikong settlement of Toucheng, Yilan. The first shrine was a humble thatched temple; because it stood high and its incense smoke rose straight to the heavens, people called it “Jietian Temple” — “the temple that connects to the sky.”
Shikong once bustled with life: a hundred households farmed, traded, and worshiped here. Each year on the 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month — the sacred birthday of Xuantian Shangdi — villagers climbed the mountain trail to the main peak, Taihe Mountain, to offer prayers and celebrations, with curling incense and resounding drums.
The name Taihe Mountain echoes Wudang’s alternate name “Taihe,” signifying “harmony between Heaven and humanity; the Dao in accord with nature.”
The ancient Shikong Trail was once a commercial mountain path — and a pilgrim road laden with faith and homesickness.
As times changed, mountain life grew inconvenient; after the 1970s, residents gradually moved downhill. In 1973 (ROC year 62), devotees rebuilt a new temple, the Wai’ao Jietian Palace, welcoming the deity to be enshrined below. Today it stands as one of Yilan’s most representative centers of Xuantian worship.
The Golden Summit Jietian Temple on the mountain still preserves its original form as the founding ancestral shrine, continuing a century of incense and devotion.
🌄【Wai’ao Jietian Palace × Taiwan’s First Traveling Palace】
Today’s Wai’ao Jietian Palace is magnificent and resplendent, honored as “Wudang’s Ancestral Temple — Taiwan’s First Traveling Palace.”
Its grand halls and ornate beams enshrine Xuantian Shangdi as the principal deity, along with the Lords of the Northern Dipper, Bodhisattva Myōken, and the Generals of Water and Fire.
On the 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month and the 9th day of the 9th lunar month each year, the temple holds the Birthday of Xuantian Shangdi and the Descent and Procession, drawing countless devotees in a majestic display.
The pilgrimage route starts at Wai’ao Jietian Palace, follows the Taihe Mountain Trail to the summit (about one hour), and reaches the ancestral Shikong Golden Summit Jietian Temple. The path winds through forest and ancient trees; at the peak, the vast Pacific opens before you, clearing the heart like freshly washed glass.
That feeling of “step by step ascending, heart by heart in pilgrimage” is precisely how Wudang’s spirit continues in Taiwan.
🙏 Conclusion
The might of Xuantian Shangdi is boundless; the compassion of Bodhisattva Myōken knows no end.
The Golden Hall’s radiance does not fade, and the flame of faith is handed down through the generations.
Whether it is the myriad-mountain pilgrimage to Wudang’s Golden Summit,
or the mountain-and-sea numinosity of Taiwan’s Golden Summit Jietian Temple,
both remind us —
cultivating truth and ferrying the lost all arise from a single clear thought.
📍 Recommended Pilgrimage Route
Wai’ao Jietian Palace → Taihe Mountain Trail → Shikong Golden Summit Jietian Temple (“Taiwan’s Golden Hall”)
📖 If you have the chance, visit Wai’ao in Yilan —
between mountain and sea, pay homage to Xuantian Shangdi and feel the power of faith and the quiet beauty of time.
👉 References:
Records of Wudang Mountain | Yilan County Cultural Affairs Bureau | Wai’ao Jietian Palace – Official Site
🔗 Wai’ao Jietian Palace – Introduction
🔗 Introduction to Wudang’s Golden Hall (online sources)