As the Lunar New Year approaches, a temple in Tainan has completed the early reconstruction of an environmentally friendly golden furnace, and devotees assisted in covering its costs.
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The new golden furnace has finally been completed, and workers are busy positioning it. This temple in Tainan, with nearly 300 years of history, is renowned for attracting wealth, and boasting a thriving incense culture. The temple administration decided it was time to construct a new, environmentally friendly furnace, and around 350 bricks reclaimed from the original furnace became highly sought-after lucky charms.
The reclaimed bricks are covered in layers of black ash, but this isn’t due to neglect. Over the past decade, thousands of worshippers have burned joss papers as offerings, imbuing the bricks with smoke and turning them into symbols of wealth for believers. So when the temple offered some of these sought-after bricks to the public for the price of a donation for the new furnace, the devotees enthusiastically participated.
One citizen claims he will pledge a donation, saying that this is such a rare occasion. Temple Chairman Wu Ming-Chung (吳明忠) says that the bricks are significant because they come from the furnace. He says this is the first environmentally friendly golden furnace and the old bricks inside will keep you safe.
Although considering fortune-attracting artifacts as lucky charms for blessings is a welcomed practice, if you’re seeking good fortune you must also put in personal effort.