Blessings on Cars
Taiwan’s Temple Car-Cleansing Rituals Offer Spiritual Safety on the Road

By Lin Hsien-Yun / Tainan

AUG 2025

In Taiwan, where chaotic intersections, scooter swarms, and unpredictable drivers—affectionately dubbed “sanbao” or the “three treasures” of traffic—are part of daily life, many car owners turn to a higher power blessing before hitting the road. Whether it's a gleaming new electric vehicle, a second-hand sedan, or a roaring heavy motorcycle, there's one common ritual many drivers won’t skip: bringing the vehicle to a temple for a spiritual cleansing known as jingche (淨車).

This centuries-old ritual is rooted in the belief that every vehicle, like a home or a person, can accumulate negative energy—or sha qi (煞氣). And in a place where traffic accidents are all too common, why not add a spiritual seatbelt for peace of mind?

At temples like Taipei’s Dalongdong Baoan Temple or Tainan’s grand and historic Kaiji Jade Emperor Temple, you’ll often see vehicles pulling into the temple courtyard, awaiting their turn to be blessed by a resident Taoist priest. In fact, Kaiji Jade Emperor Temple offers the service daily, even extending into the evening hours and moving the ritual indoors if it rains—evidence of how ingrained and adaptive the tradition has become in modern life.

Inside the Ritual: Smoke, Chants, and a Splash of Symbolism

The ceremony is anything but casual. A Taoist priest begins by placing ceremonial tools on the engine to "press down the evil spirits." Chanting powerful incantations, they walk around the vehicle, sprinkling fu shui (blessed water) inside and out, using sacred texts such as the “Golden Armor Mantra” (金剛神咒) from the Jade Emperor Scripture. This is said to activate the Five Camp Generals—celestial soldiers tasked with clearing negative forces.

Some priests also use the Guanyin Mantra during the water blessing and the Zhuxiang Shen Zhou for smoke offerings. At the end of the ritual, a small statue or image of the Martial God of Wealth (Wu Cai Shen) may be placed at the front of the car to guard against harm. For the final touch, furong shui—a type of sacred herbal water—is sprinkled throughout the car’s interior, ensuring no corner is left spiritually unclean.

Once complete, drivers tie a red charm ribbon in a figure-eight knot (symbolizing prosperity) under the steering wheel, and a peace amulet is hung on the rearview mirror using a live (non-permanent) knot. This allows the charm to be easily removed and “recharged” at the temple after a few months. And whatever you do—don’t look back when driving away. Superstition holds that turning back may undo the ritual, allowing negative energy to cling once more.

More Than Magic: It’s About Mindset

As Master Wu Jiaxiong of Kaiji Jade Emperor Temple explains, the ritual is not just for new cars—second-hand cars are especially recommended for cleansing. “Before you drive it, someone else has already touched it,” he says. “If that person carried negative energy, it could transfer to the car and to you.”

Still, even Master Wu acknowledges that the ritual is more about psychological comfort than mechanical protection. A cleansed car won't make up for speeding, distracted driving, or poor road etiquette. “Spiritual safety is one thing,” he says, “but the best protection is still driving responsibly.”

In a land where tradition and technology coexist in surprisingly harmonious ways, the jingche ritual serves as a reminder: even in the age of self-driving cars, some Taiwanese still believe in letting the gods ride shotgun.

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