DATE:1683

LOCATION: WUFEI WARD, TAINAN CITY

DESCRIPTION:

This temple is located in front of the tomb of the five consorts of the exiled Ming prince of Ning-ching, Chu Shu-kuei. They were the ladies Yuan, Wang, Hsiu, Mei, and He. In 1683, when defeat seemed imminent for the Ming-loyalist forces on Taiwan, the prince resolved to martyr himself for the cause of his dying empire. His five wives took their lives first as a sign of their fidelity and devotion, hanging themselves together in the palace hall. Their bodies were interred at a tomb on Cassia Bud Hill. In 1746, two censors of the imperial court visited Taiwan and publicly praised the five ladies for their loyalty and virtue. They ordered Taiwan's maritime magistrate Fang Pang- chi to repair the tomb and erect a memorial tablet inscribed with an epitaph identifying the grave. In front of the tomb a temple was built in a "double dragon" design. On the right side is the Yi Ling Chun Shrine, housing the remains of two retainers who died with their lord the prince.