Taiwan's Matchmaker Gods: A Map of Deities for Every Dating Need

At seven o'clock in the evening, Dadaocheng Dihua Street. A line snakes into the alley in front of Xi'an City God Temple, mostly women aged 25-35, some holding red envelopes, others carrying red slips with their matchmaking criteria. ¹

On the same night, in front of the Zaidian Wu Temple next to Chihkan Tower in Tainan. A man stands before the Cane Yue Lao praying to "cut romantic entanglements" — the Cane Yue Lao specializes in cases of romantic infidelity among the Four Great Yue Lao in Tainan. ²

On yet another night, on the 8th floor at No. 50, Jing'an Road, Zhonghe, New Taipei. A gay couple burns incense before the Rabbit God, because this is one of the few temples in the world explicitly dedicated to same-sex matchmaking, since its founding in 2006. ³

Three people praying to "Yue Lao" at the same time. Three statues. Three completely different sets of rules.

30-second overview: When Taiwanese people say "praying to Yue Lao," it's a plural concept. Even in Tainan alone, there's the so-called "Tainan Four Great Yue Lao" dividing responsibilities: seeking love, seeking stability, cutting romantic entanglements, and seeking reconciliation; in the north there's Dadaocheng Xi'an, Songshan Xi'an (two temples with the same name), Dadaocheng Longshan Temple, and New Taipei Weiming Tang's Rabbit God (for same-sex matchmaking); in the central and southern regions there's Taichung Le Cheng Gong, Lukang Tianhou Gong, and Kaohsiung Guandi Temple; in the east there's Hualien Sheng'an Temple and Taitung Tianhou Gong. Each temple has its own "specialty." Followers are taught: the more detailed your matchmaking criteria, the better, because leaving blanks gives Yue Lao loopholes to exploit — from the red thread design in the Tang dynasty's "Marriage Broker's Shop" to today's customized spec sheets, this belief system has quietly evolved over more than a thousand years into a contract for outsourced matchmaking.

Yue Lao Isn't One Person: From Tang Dynasty Red Threads to Taiwan's Division of Labor

The name "Yue Xiaolao" (Old Man Under the Moon) first appeared in Li Yu's Tang dynasty work "Xu Xuan Guai Lu · Yingqin Dian." ⁴ In the story, Wei Guotuo meets an old man at the South Market in Songcheng, who is reading a book recording all fates under the moonlight, using red threads from his bag to tie the feet of destined lovers together. The old man tells Wei that his future wife is a three-year-old girl selling vegetables at the market, but Wei doesn't believe him and sends someone to assassinate her, accidentally slashing the girl's forehead. Fourteen years later, Wei marries the daughter of the prefectural magistrate of Xingzhou, and his wife often wears a flower to cover the scar on her forehead.

This narrative archetype gave Yue Lao several fixed symbols: red threads, the Book of Fate, moonlight, and the inability to change one's destined partner. These settings from twelve centuries ago still exist today, but the premise of "cannot be changed" has been circumvented by Taiwanese believers.

The way around it is through division of labor. One island nurtures more than ten Yue Lao deities, each specializing in different areas from north to east, and believers choose temples first, which is equivalent to choosing topics first. Whether you want new romance, stable relationships, reconciliation, cutting romantic entanglements, or same-sex matchmaking — different troubles go to different deities. From the outside, it looks like superstition, but from the perspective of belief structure, it's extremely practical: believers no longer "entrust" themselves to a single god, but instead route their needs to the corresponding professional channels.

Four Temples in Northern Taiwan, Four Different Narrative Rhythms

Taipei Dadaocheng Xi'an City God Temple, built in 1859, is one of the most famous Yue Lao temples in Taipei. ⁵ Yue Lao has a separate space, where followers report their names, lunar birthdays, addresses, and matchmaking criteria before casting lots to draw the red thread. The temple's famous "Century of Harmony" red slips and red envelopes have made Xi'an famous for its "speed" — many followers describe this Yue Lao as having "high efficiency," and bringing red envelopes back as an offering is an unspoken understanding.

Taipei Songshan Xi'an City God Temple, located at No. 439, Section 4, Bade Road, Songshan District, shares the same name but is a different temple. The main deity is the City God, with Yue Xiaolao as an attendant deity. The temple's famous "Yuanfen Lamp" can be placed in front of the Yue Lao Hall, and followers believe lighting the lamp accelerates the arrival of good fortune. ⁶ The Liberty Times once published a special report titled "Two Xi'an City God Temples in Taipei: Different Approaches to Wealth and Love" comparing the differences between the two temples: Dadaocheng Xi'an is known for its "Century of Harmony" red slips and red envelopes, while Songshan Xi'an is known for its "Yuanfen Lamp" rituals and the Five Wealth Gods worshipped alongside. The coexistence of two Xi'an temples in Taipei reflects how the same divine system develops localized ritual vocabularies in different administrative districts.

Dadaocheng Longshan Temple, built in 1738, has a 290-year history and is a Grade II national historic site. However, the Yue Lao Hall was only independently added in 2001. ⁷ The temple clearly states: "Please worship the deities in the temple in order, do not go directly to the Yue Lao Hall to seek the red thread, as this is disrespectful" — there's a default rule at Longshan Temple for praying to Yue Lao: first worship Guanyin Bodhisattva, then other deities, and finally the Yue Lao Hall. To draw the red thread, you must obtain three consecutive positive lots, and any negative or laughing lot means "the timing is not right."

New Taipei Zhonghe Weiming Tang Rabbit God Temple, founded by Lu Weiming in 2006, is one of the few temples in the world explicitly dedicated to same-sex matchmaking. ⁸⁹ The story of the Rabbit God Hu Tianbao was first recorded in Yuan Mei's Qing dynasty work "Zi Bu Yu." In the early Qing, Hu Tianbao fell in love with a young prefectural magistrate, was killed, and was posthumously deified as the Rabbit God in the underworld, responsible for same-sex love in the mortal realm. Weiming Tang is located on the 8th floor of a building near Jing'an Metro Station in Zhonghe, and the temple describes its mission as "most religious groups are unfriendly to the LGBTQ+ community, making it difficult for them to find spiritual comfort." Although the original text only deals with male homosexuality, the temple clearly states "regardless of sexual orientation, the Rabbit God is willing to protect," and female homosexuals and other LGBTQ+ groups are also welcome to worship.

Four temples, four different narrative rhythms. Dadaocheng Xi'an is the fast-paced rhythm of tourist crowds, Songshan Xi'an is the continuous rhythm of lamp rituals, Longshan Temple is the slow rhythm of ritual order, and Weiming Tang is the special rhythm of identity politics.

The "Tainan Four Great Yue Lao" Are Named: Originally Five in 1933

When visiting Tainan to pray to Yue Lao, almost every travel guide lists the "Tainan Four Great Yue Lao": the Broad-Mouthed Yue Lao at Daguanyin Pavilion, the Yarn Yue Lao at Dadiangong, the Cane Yue Lao at Zaidian Wu Temple, and the Vinegar Jar Yue Lao at Chongqing Temple. ¹⁰

But the academic basis for this "Four Great" title is quite interesting. Published in the 8th year of the Japanese colonial period (1933), the "Tainan Prefecture Temple Directory" records the temples in the city that enshrined Yue Lao, which were actually five: Dadiangong, Taiwan's First Temple Tian Tan, Chongqing Temple, Daguanyin Pavilion, and Puji Hall. After the war, Professor He Peifu from National Cheng Kung University directly stated in 2015 (Minguo 104): "The title 'Tainan Four Great Yue Lao' has no historical basis — it was first written by me and later adopted by others." ¹⁰

In other words: the "Four Great" label used today by the Tourism Bureau, temples, and travel guides is a circulating version that emerged after 2015 from a scholar's report. The title itself is named, but the division of labor phenomenon is real.

📝 Curator's Note: Folk beliefs are often imagined as "traditional," but in reality, many details are chosen, named, and circulated in modern times. The interesting thing about the "Tainan Four Great Yue Lao" case is that the namer himself came out in 2015 saying "there's no historical basis, I wrote it first" — the history of faith is transparent here. For those who pray, whether they know or not that the "Four Great" is named doesn't affect the real feeling of seeking love.

Tainan's Four Great Yue Lao: Each with Their Own Scope of Ability

Daguanyin Pavilion's Broad-Mouthed Yue Lao is responsible for "seeking love." The Yue Lao statue has a broad mouth and large ears, and the temple explains it as "able to listen to the needs of the faithful and speak well of love." ¹⁰ Followers must first worship the main deity → cast lots → seek love threads and yarn, then pass through the incense burner. The temple suggests writing matchmaking criteria on red slips and placing them in front of the Yue Lao.

Dadiangong's Yarn Yue Lao is responsible for "seeking stability." In front of the Yue Lao altar sits cosmetic powder, which sounds like "yuan fen" (fate). The yuan fen is applied around the eyebrows (the couple's position in face reading), women apply the powder to their cheeks, men apply it behind the ears and neck, walking clockwise around the incense burner three times, believing it will enhance romantic luck. ¹¹ Dadiangong is one of the earliest Mazu temples built in Taiwan, and Yue Lao is an attendant deity in this temple, but according to media reports, the number of couples matched each year is counted in "hundreds."

Zaidian Wu Temple's Cane Yue Lao is responsible for "cutting romantic entanglements." The Yue Lao statue has a stern expression and holds a cane, specializing in handling "abandoning family and children, romantic infidelity, and difficult-to-resolve unfaithful spouses or couples." ¹⁰ This division of labor is special: it deals with old problems rather than new partners — unfaithful partners and entangled third parties all fall under the Cane Yue Lao's jurisdiction.

Chongqing Temple's Vinegar Jar Yue Lao is responsible for "seeking reconciliation." The vinegar jar is a jar for holding vinegar, and followers stir it three times to pray for winning back a change of heart. The stirring method is clearly divided into two types: stirring clockwise three times to pray for a century of harmony, stirring counterclockwise three times to pray for the other party to return to their senses. ¹²¹³ The vinegar jar custom existed during the Qing Dynasty's Daoguang, Xianfeng years — according to Liu Jiaming's notes, the vinegar jar was originally placed under the Bodhisattva's seat, and when trying to win back a relationship, one must sincerely pray and tie their own hair around a bamboo stick before stirring. Now the process has been simplified, but the physical action of "stirring the vinegar" remains.

Four different scopes of ability, four concrete objects (mouth / yarn / cane / vinegar jar). They're all Yue Lao, but when praying, you must first clarify what you want: a new partner, stability for an old one, cutting a relationship, or returning to the original one?

Other Yue Lao in Central, Southern, and Eastern Taiwan: History and Modernity Coexisting

Taichung Le Cheng Gong was established in 1753 (the 18th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign), main deity Mazu (Hasixian Mazu), and the building is listed as a third-grade historic site in Taichung City. ¹⁴ However, the Yue Lao Hall was only added after 2005 ¹⁵, and although it's young, it has become widely known on PTT and Dcard social media platforms for its "effectiveness in reconciliation." Le Cheng Gong's contemporary influence has nothing to do with the temple's age, and everything to do with social media — a 270-year-old Mazu temple became repeatedly recommended among young people in the 2020s because of a Yue Lao Hall that was added within the last 20 years.

Lukang Tianhou Gong (Mazu Temple) is another example. The Yue Lao was established in 2007, with a temple age of less than 20 years, but the enshrined "Standing Pose Yue Lao" is famous for its fast red thread drawing speed, and the temple has a "fate tree" where one can tie prayer cards. ¹⁵ Followers are actually praying to a Yue Lao deity that was established within 20 years in a 400-year-old Mazu temple — the structure of faith itself is accumulating new channels.

Kaohsiung Guandi Temple (Wu Temple) has a unique Yue Lao worship process: when adding incense money, one receives a "Yuanfen Letter," Yue Lao incense, two red threads, and candy. The process is to worship all deities in order, then place the letter and offerings on the Yue Lao table, and after 10 minutes, burn the letter and one red thread, keeping the other red thread at home under the pillow. One burned, one kept — this is the identification ritual of Kaohsiung Wu Temple's Yue Lao. ¹⁶

Crossing the Central Mountain Range to the east, the density of Yue Lao temples drops sharply. Hualien Sheng'an Temple, located in Ji'an Township, main deity Queen Mother of the West, and the Yue Lao enshrined in the temple makes this the only temple in Hualien that worships Yue Lao. ¹⁷ Taitung Tianhou Gong has a 120-year history, main deity Mazu, and the tradition of Yue Lao worship is passed down orally among eastern believers. The two eastern Yue Lao temples reflect the same structure as the central and southern regions: the main deity is the Queen Mother of the West or Mazu, and Yue Lao is an attendant deity, but for eastern believers seeking love, this is their closest option — crossing the Central Mountain Range to Taipei or Tainan to pray to Yue Lao is not a daily choice.

From these five central, southern, and eastern Yue Lao temples, we see a common structure: the main deity is not Yue Lao, but Yue Lao's separate hall was added, promoted, and amplified by social media in the 21st century, eventually becoming almost equal to the main deity. The contemporary expansion of Yue Lao is growing on top of the existing temple infrastructure of Mazu temples, Guandi temples, and Queen Mother of the West temples.

Conditions Should Be As Detailed As Possible: Followers Fear Yue Lao Loopholes

If there are so many Yue Lao deities and such a fine division of labor, how do followers "place orders" with Yue Lao when they arrive at the temple?

Almost all Yue Lao temple guides agree on one rule: the more detailed your matchmaking criteria, the better. You should write height, appearance, personality, occupation, values, religion, and geographical preferences, avoid using vague adjectives like "good person." ¹⁸¹ The temple teaches followers to write their criteria on red slips, and some temples even provide standard forms with fields for name, birthday, address, and matchmaking criteria.

Why should the conditions be so detailed? On the surface, it's "to help Yue Lao find the right person," but the underlying logic is more direct: leave blanks, and Yue Lao will have loopholes to exploit. If you only write "hope to meet a good person," any kind of "good person" might be sent — the word "good person" is too broad, and followers actually hand over the right to interpret to Yue Lao. Writing down the conditions is equivalent to eliminating possible "bad matches" in advance.

This logic is almost identical to modern consumers placing orders with platforms. The more precise the order, the closer the delivered product will be to expectations. The only difference is that the recipient of the order here is a deity, not an algorithm.

📝 Curator's Note: The mainstream folk consensus that "conditions should be as detailed as possible" seems to be a taboo against Yue Lao, but it actually reflects contemporary followers' distrust of faith. The classical assumption of "sincere heart, then divine response" assumes that the deity knows what you really want, and the follower only needs to send their wishes purely; the contemporary "conditions should be as detailed as possible" assumes that the deity might misjudge or match randomly, and the follower must define the specifications. For more than a thousand years of red thread beliefs, in Taiwan's 2020s, it has been modified into a matchmaking spec sheet.

Temple-Hopping Culture: Treating Multiple Yue Lao as Markets to Browse

Choosing temples based on their scope of ability and writing conditions down to every detail is not enough — there's another level: "visiting multiple Yue Lao temples."

On social media platforms like PTT and Dcard, there are many records of "which Yue Lao temples I visited this month" and "I've prayed at all the Yue Lao temples in northern and central Taiwan and Tainan's Four Great Yue Lao." Media reports from Klook mention that some followers even visit 2-3 times a week, treating Yue Lao temple worship as a regular schedule, and even when traveling to other counties and cities, they always include Yue Lao temples in their itinerary. ¹⁹²⁰

The logic of temple-hopping has three levels. The first level is "insurance": praying to more deities increases the probability of love arriving. The second level is "risk diversification": if this Yue Lao doesn't respond, there's always the next one. The third level is "testing": seeing which temple truly "responds," equivalent to using actual results to reverse-verify which Yue Lao is most suitable for oneself.

Temple authorities usually don't object to temple-hopping — the spirit of polytheism is "more worship is not taboo." But the taboo of "only one red thread can be drawn" limits the temple-hoppers: you can worship at many temples, but you can't take a red thread from each temple home. ¹⁸ Folk saying goes "too many red threads will attract bad luck," but the actual logic is: the promise of "which Yue Lao belongs to me" must be singular.

You can visit many temples, but you can only have one red thread. This tension reflects the contemporary follower's balance between "worshipping broadly" and "being loyal to one."

From Red Threads to Spec Sheets

More than a thousand years ago, in the Tang dynasty, the old man under the moon that Wei Guotuo met in Songcheng's South Market had a book that recorded "all fates under the heavens," and the red threads in his bag were used to tie people's feet. That version of Yue Lao held all the information and made a single decision, and all humans could do was accept.

More than a thousand years later, in Taiwan, the Yue Lao that followers pray to are not one, but more than ten, each with their own specialty. The conditions are written by the followers themselves as spec sheets, and if the matching result is unsatisfactory, they can move on to the next temple. Under the same "Yue Lao" mythological framework, the internal power relationship has been completely reversed: from deities deciding humans, to humans placing orders with deities.

This reversal didn't happen at a single point in time — it wasn't when any particular temple announced reforms to Yue Lao beliefs in a certain year. It's the result of the accumulation of four things: the establishment of divisions of labor (2001 Longshan Temple Yue Lao Hall, 2005 Le Cheng Gong Yue Lao Hall, 2006 Weiming Tang, 2007 Lukang Tianhou Gong), social media recommendations, temple-hopping culture, and increasingly detailed conditions.

In the next decade, will Yue Lao beliefs continue to split into more divisions of labor? After Weiming Tang opened a special channel for same-sex couples in 2006, will there be "international marriage Yue Lao," "divorce and remarriage Yue Lao," and "unmarried partner Yue Lao"? The more precise the followers' matching needs, the more deities there might be.

The red thread that was tied in the Tang dynasty, at the other end in the 21st century, is no longer just tying people's feet, but also a list of increasingly contract-like conditions.

References

Extended Reading

• Taiwan's Same-Sex Marriage and Gender Equality — The broader social context of Weiming Tang's Rabbit God as one of the world's few LGBT-dedicated temples
• Taiwan's Volunteer Culture and Civic Participation — The intersection of folk beliefs and community culture