EPISODE 15:

PIGS OF GOD - PART II

HSINCHU COUNTY, TAIWAN

In 1781, a group of 1,200 Hakka Chinese militiamen from the outskirts of Hsinchu county Taiwan, banded together to fight off a radical uprising that began in the south. After a brutal battle, the Hakka militia successfully defended their home from the uprising, but lost over 200 soldiers in the process. These men, now known as Yimin-Ye, were buried together and deified. Each year during the Yimin Hakka Festival, the spirits of these soldiers are honored with Shen Dzu offerings.

Unlike Sanxia’s birthday festival for Zushi-Gong, the Yimin festival is far less traditional, and has changed a lot in recent years. In the past there were upwards of 200 Shen Dzu offered to Yimin-ye, but now there are usually thirty or less. Mr. Yang and his crew at the Shen Dzu farm work tirelessly around the clock during the Yimin festival weighing, transporting, slaughtering, and preparing Shen Dzu. There is an incredible amount of work that goes into facilitating events of this scale, and Mr. Yang has a motto to boot, “two hours of sleep, six hours of standing.”

But in these changing times, there seems to be a conscious awareness that the Hakka Shen Dzu are losing their draw. When put on display in their neighborhoods for slaughter, far fewer people come to meet and take photos of the pigs. Families and festival organizers attempt to spice things up with popular music and transportable shows with pyrotechnics and pole dancing women in skimpy outfits. What results is a strange mashup of old and new culture, where Shen Dzu fade into the background despite the incredible amount of money, time and resources that get poured into their creation.