Deities of flowing water

作品賞析

Artist Chen Fei-Hao created Deities of Flowing Water based on Matsu’s special local beliefs concerning corpses found washed ashore—that the spirits of the dead persons become gods. In the early days, when Matsu’s fishermen discovered floating corpses from shipwrecks, they would properly dispose and bury them. Sometimes the fishermen would make wishes to them for a good catch. If the wish comes true, they will repay the favor by building temples for them. Therefore, some ghosts are transformed into gods, like the local gods who appear in the film: Daunting Marshal Chen of Xiju, Manager Mei Shigao of Nangan, Lord Yang’s eight envoys of Beigan, and others. Chen Fe-Hao arranged the video clips of Matsu temples, historical archives, and natural landscapes, and paired them with self-written narrations to present the stories of the temples and gods in the form of this video, exploring the local customs and cultural ideas hidden in folk beliefs.