A Rare Glimpse into Taiwan’s ‘Entering the Spirit’ Ritual — With a Vegetarian Twist

By Lin Hsien-Yun / Tainan

AUG 2025

If you thought temple ceremonies in Taiwan were all incense smoke and solemn chanting, think again. In the southern city of Tainan, a centuries-old ritual called ru shen (“entering the spirit”) offers a fascinating, and sometimes surprising, window into the island’s folk religion.

Traditionally, ru shen marks the moment a freshly carved deity statue is imbued with divine power. Before the chisel even touches the wood, a small cavity is made in the statue’s back, and ritual “treasures” are placed inside — the god’s first breath of life. In the old days, this often meant live creatures: venomous centipedes, buzzing hornets, even snakes or lizards. The fiercer the animal, the stronger the god’s spirit was believed to become. It’s not unheard of for a Taoist master to be tasked with inserting thirty live hornets — and if one escapes mid-ritual, the count starts again.

But at Sanping Guangji Temple in Tainan, things took an unexpected turn. A disciple named Zhong, hailing from Gaofengshan, was preparing to “enter the spirit” for Pu’an Patriarch when the temple’s presiding master presented him not with wriggling creatures, but with… peach and willow heartwood, sacred talismans, and a crisp NT$2,000 bill. Locals quickly dubbed it the “vegetarian version” of the ritual.

As for the NT$2,000 note, temple advisors liken it to a time capsule — a snapshot of Taiwan’s currency for future generations who may one day open the statue and discover what 21st-century money looked like. Whether a divine blessing or simply a curious keepsake, it’s an addition that has left locals smiling, and perhaps a little envious.

For travelers, witnessing a ru shen ceremony is like stepping into the crossroads of Taiwanese tradition: part folk magic, part living history, and always tinged with the unexpected. And in Tainan, even the gods seem to have a taste for something a little different.