January 26, 2016 ,we visited Tiejhen Mountain and Jenn Lann Temple in Daijia Town with Taoyuan Hiking Team . I was very excited that it was so close and far to me.
1949-1955 my elder sister and I were sent to live and received elementary education on the town with my dear grandmother ,due to my younger sisters and brother coming one by one. In the meanwhile, the KMT military suffered defeat in Mainland China and came to Taiwan ,a small part of them temporary living in half of our school house.Watching the soldiers routine trainings and listening the stories of battlefields was attractive to the pupils. Not enough schoolrooms, we were often reading under the trees or two classes used the same room by turn .
Taking a trip on foot in spring and summer to Tiejhen Mountain was unforgettable memories, we walked in line to the destination- The Sword Well ,the legend said that 1662 Koxinga's army passed through the area,suffering from no water , Koxinga drew a sword and prayed to God ,and then spring up here . So that local people built a temple and a well to memorize the events.
In that time, we went to and fro school on foot and took off our shoes holding by the hands ,because most parts of our schoolmates no shoes , bottom skin of our feet asleep no more feeling hard，cold or heated. My grandmother gave me two dimes as pocket money every day ,by the way ,there were many vendors around a big old tree of The Jenn Lann Temple, I used to buy a guava and ate on the long street.
The Jenn Lann Temple is one of the most famous Matzu Temple in Taiwan ,has over two hundred years of history ,though the residents of the town busy in celebrating Matzu birthday on March every year,such as playing Taiwanese local opera,treating the visitors and relatives and following Matzu to go back her mother's home which is The Peikang Chaotienkung of Yunlin county. Till now,it has become a world famous religious ceremony and has attracted domestic and international tourists.
We were jogging around the grand park in the Tiejhen Mountain which was the military camp in the past and opened to the tourists recently, except The Sword Well I didn't find anything what was similar scene to me . While we were walking in downtown Daijia ,unchanged temple and the old tree still stand here . The passing of time changed the features of the town ,but unchanged Matzu cultural and an honor to Koxinga's.
變與不變
二〇一六年一月二十六日我們桃源健行隊拜訪了大甲鎮的鐵砧山和鎮瀾宮，我非常興奮來到這個親密又疏離的地方。
一九四九至一九五五年，姐姐和我被送到這個小鎮和親愛的外婆居住並接受基礎教育，因為兩個妹妹和弟弟接二連三報到。在這同時，國民黨的軍隊在中國大陸戰敗並來到台灣，其中有一小部分軍隊暫時駐在我們一半的校舍，觀看士兵們的常規訓練和聽戰場上的故事，對小學生有致命的吸引力。由於校舍不夠，我們經常在樹下讀書或兩個班級輪流上下午共同使用一個教室。
當時春秋兩季遠足到鐵砧山是難忘的記憶，目的地就是劍井，傳說一六六二年國姓爺鄭成功的軍隊經過這裡，苦於無水可飲，國姓爺拔劍向天禱告，泉水從此處湧出，因此地方人士建國姓廟及劍井紀念此事。
在那年代，我們上下學步行來回，脫下鞋子提在手上，因為大部分的同學都沒有鞋子打赤腳走路，我們的腳底皮都像睡著似的，感覺不到疼痛和 冷涷,或燙腳。外婆每天給我兩角零用錢，在經過鎮瀾宮旁的大樹下圍繞著許多小販，我會順道買一個芭樂沿著長長的街道邊走邊吃。
鎮瀾宮是全台灣著名的一座媽祖廟，有超過兩百年的歷史，當地居民每年三月都忙碌的為媽祖慶祝生日，如盛大公演台灣地方戲曲歌仔戲，宴請親友和來賓，伴隨媽祖回雲林縣北港朝天宮的娘家。流傳至今，它已經變成世界著名的宗教慶典活動，吸引了許多國內和國際的觀光客。
我們繞著鐵砧山廣大的公園漫步，這𥚃過去是軍事基地，近年開放給旅客遊憇，除了劍井我看不到曾經熟悉的景物。當我們走進大甲市區中心，不變的是媽祖廟和老樹仍屹立這裡。隨著時光流逝改變了小鎮的容顔，不變的是媽祖文化和對國姓爺的尊崇。
