Taiwanese

Koxinga Shrine (延平郡王祠)

When people talk about 'history' in Taiwan, the first place that usually comes to mind is "Tainan". The city which was at one time the capital of the island and even though it isn't the political capital today, is still often referred to as the "Capital City" (府城).

Tainan is one of the oldest developed cities in the country and if you've spent any amount of time in Taipei, a walk through Tainan almost seems as if you're been transported to a completely different country.

Tainan's modern history of development stretches back to when the Dutch East India Company established a fort and trading post in the area in 1624. The city then became the capital of the Kingdom of Tungning (東寧王國) after the Dutch were expelled which was then followed by the Qing, the Japanese Empire and the current Republic of China.

Through all these turbulent periods of political and foreign rule, the people of Tainan have been able to absorb those foreign cultures, cuisines and architectural styles and build a unique city with an identity of its own with arguably the best cuisine in the whole of Taiwan.

While Taipei might currently occupy the position as the political capital of Taiwan, Tainan is certainly the cultural capital and if you want to really experience Taiwan's 'folk culture' at its best, a trip to Tainan is the best recommendation anyone can give you. The amount of historical and cultural sites available for both domestic tourists as well as international travellers is enough to keep you busy for days.

In this post I want to introduce the Koxinga Shrine (延平郡王祠), a shrine of great importance with regard to Taiwan's history. This shrine has a history unlike any other in Taiwan and at over three and a half centuries old has not only withstood the test of time but also several periods of political upheaval as well as destruction on several different occasions.

Before we start talking about the shrine however, I think its important to offer readers a bit of an introduction to the man for which it is dedicated to - a local folk hero in Taiwan who is revered and respected by the people of Taiwan as well as in both Japan and China.

Koxinga (鄭成功)

One of the most interesting figures in the last few hundred years of Chinese and Taiwanese history, the man known as Koxinga (國姓爺) or Zheng Cheng Gong (鄭成功) was born near Nagasaki in Japan in 1624 to Zheng Zhilong (鄭芝龍) a pirate and merchant of Chinese origin and a Japanese woman named Tagawa Matsu (翁氏 / 田川マツ).

Koxinga lived in Japan until the age of seven when he returned to China with his father to further his studies. At the age of fourteen he took an imperial examination and was awarded the status as a 'Xiucai' (秀才) or "scholar" which started him on his path to civil service and in part cemented his loyalty to the Ming Dynasty (明朝).

In 1644, Koxinga began his studies at the Imperial Nanking University, now known as Nanjing University (南京大學). That same year however saw attacks from a peasant rebellion from within the empire which weakened the already crumbling dynasty. Soon after the decision was made to open the gates of the Great Wall to allow Manchu (滿族) armies from the north to come in and put an end the the insurrection.

Unfortunately for the Ming, the exact opposite happened and the Manchu's sought to take tactical advantage of the weakened state and take control of China.

The final blow to the Ming came when Emperor Chongzhen (崇禎) committed suicide rather than being taken prisoner by the Manchus ending the three century old dynasty (1368-1644).

The Qing Dynasty (清朝) was established later that year.

The defeat of the Ming Dynasty and the suicide of the emperor had a tremendous impact on Koxinga's life and saw the young man returning to his home base in Fujian where his family held a considerable amount of power and influence.

As Ming-loyalists, the Zheng family sought to drive the Manchu's out of China and restore the dynasty with the first step being the establishment of the Southern Ming (南明) in Nanjing. Unfortunately the dynasty and its emperor, Emperor Longwu (龍武) were short lived as the Qing quickly consolidated power and moved their forces south to quell the rebellion.

When the Qing invaded Fujian in 1646, Koxinga's father was forced to surrender, his mother (was rumoured to have been) raped and murdered and Emperor Longwu was captured and executed thus ending any hope for either the Southern Ming or the Ming itself.

Despite the loss of the Southern Ming and even the loyalties of his father, Koxinga continued his struggle against the Qing recruiting many to his cause. While Koxinga's forces were considerably smaller than that of the Qing, he used his Naval superiority to his advantage launching raids on Qing-held territories within the Fujian area and enjoyed a series of military successes that caused major headaches for the newly established dynasty.

In 1661, Koxinga turned his attention to Taiwan, which at the time was under Dutch control. The plan was a simple one - force the Dutch off of the island and transform it into military base which could be used by his forces in an attempt to retake the mainland and restore the Ming.

With a fleet estimated at 400 ships and over 25,000 soldiers, Koxinga first seized the Peng Hu islands as a strategic base between China and Taiwan for which to plan attacks on both areas. Less than a year later, Koxinga negotiated a treaty that saw the Dutch vacate Taiwan with their belongings and more importantly their lives and ended 38 years of Dutch rule over the island.

Once in control of Taiwan, Koxinga and his clan sought to make reforms and govern the island as a temporary seat of government for the Southern Ming. This meant that Taiwan would not only become the base of operations for the loyalist movement, but also an example of how Ming governance could be maintained.

Despite progressive reforms and an effort to develop infrastructure in Taiwan, Koxinga died of Malaria only a year into his clan's rule of the island leaving Taiwan under the control of his son Zheng Jing (鄭經) who formed the Kingdom of Tungning (東寧王國) and ruled Taiwan from the time of his father's death until 1683.

Koxinga died at the early age of 37, but in his short time on this earth he led a very eventful life. Despite having lived in Taiwan for no more than a year, Koxinga is often honoured as one of the most important saints in Taiwanese folk religion known as Kaishan King (開山王) or the Yanping Prince (延平郡王) and has temples, schools, universities, streets, etc. all named in his honour.

In China he is celebrated as a national historic figure who brought Taiwan back under the sphere of 'Han Chinese influence' while here in Taiwan he has been deified and ironically is often associated with a "Free Taiwan" and a figurehead within the Taiwanese Independence movement.

Interestingly the life of Koxinga somewhat mirrors that of former President Chiang Kai-Shek, who (a few hundred years later) in order to regroup and make an attempt to retake the mainland retreated to Taiwan and ultimately died here.

The failure of both men to achieve their goals has for better or worse helped to shape Taiwan into the free, sovereign country that it is today. History has been much fairer to Koxinga than it ever will be to Chiang, who committed terrible atrocities during his governance.

History

The "Koxinga Shrine" that we see today can also be referred to as the "Yanping Prince Shrine" (延平郡王祠) or the "Kaishan King Temple" (開山王廟). Koxinga has been enshrined at the temple for well over 350 years but the shrine itself has ultimately become a bit of a chameleon and a political tool for whichever regime has controlled Taiwan since his death.

I'm going to separate the history of the shrine into a few different sections and give a brief explanation of what happened during each:

- Kingdom of Tungning 東寧王國 (1662 - 1683)

In 1662, the same year Koxinga died, his son Zheng Jing (鄭經) had a small shrine built in his father's honour. The small shrine became known as the Kaishan King Temple (開山王廟) which showed the reverence people in Tainan held for the man who drove the Dutch out and helped to develop the city.

Qing Dynasty 清朝 (1683 - 1895)

Given Koxinga's history of of anti-Manchu aggression, the subject of his worship in Taiwan a bit of an issue for the Qing empire who took control of Taiwan. In order to appease the people of the area and not cause any uprisings the shrine was left intact and renovated in 1745 and 1845.

 - Japanese Era 日治 (1895 - 1945)

As Koxinga was of mixed Japanese ancestry, the shrine became a strategic location for the colonial government to promote Japanese nationalism in Taiwan. The shrine, which was known as the Kaishan King Temple (開山王廟) was converted into the Kaishan Shinto Shrine (開山神社), the first Shinto shrine on the island which showed the importance the Japanese put on appeasing the local population with the inclusion of Koxinga as a Shinto god.

The conversion of the shrine into a Shinto shrine meant that the original design of the structure was changed from that of traditional Chinese to that of Japanese-style while some of the elements of the original design were respected.

- Republic of China Era 民國 (1945 - Today)

At the end of the Second World War, the shrine was in bad shape due to allied bombs which destroyed most of its exterior. In 1947 the government repaired the shrine but in 1963 a major renovation took place that changed the architectural style to that of what would be more common in Northern China removing all elements of Japanese influence.

The shrine was designated a national historic site in 2010 and since then it has been open to the public for tourism purposes.

Design

The design of the Koxinga shrine is surprisingly a lot like that of a typical Confucius Temple. It is a walled structure with a large courtyard and a main hall in the middle. The colours coincidentally are also predominately red and green, which are considered auspicious in Chinese culture. The colours and architectural design are indicative of the Northern Chinese style that we see in the Confucius Temples throughout Taiwan but is honestly a bit confusing considering that Koxinga himself was a resident of Southern China.

The roof of the main shrine building was also constructed in a similar way and is adorned with several different mystical animal sculptures along the trusses.

When you enter the complex you are met with a Japanese-style gate (Tori) which is a remnant of the Japanese Colonial Era and would have indicated the entrance to a Shinto Shrine. Today the top of the gate is decorated with a Republic of China star on the top and is a point of contention for the people of Tainan.

Beyond the gate is the main entrance to the shrine which seems plain from the outside but opens up to an airy and spacious room that offers excellent views of both the courtyard and the main building of the shrine as well as the walls along the perimeter. To both the left and right of the main entrance are two separate shrines dedicated to Chang Wan-Li (張萬禮) and Gan Hui (甘輝) who were fellow Ming loyalists and served in Koxinga’s army as generals.

The main hall is a simple one with a life-like statue of Koxinga in the middle which serves as the main shrine as the temple but also seems as if a king is sitting on his throne, which I’m sure was intentional. The main shrine is a beautiful example of Taiwanese wood-working skills and the intricate carvings on the Taiwanese cypress shouldn’t be missed. The roof of the main shrine is where you’re going to see more of the Northern Chinese architectural influence and further similarity to a Confucius Temple as it is adorned with mystical animals along the trusses.

On either side of the main shrine are rooms with spirit tablets as well as rooms with interactive displays which offer visitors a bit of a history lesson about the shrine and some of the artifacts which remain from when it was originally built.

The entrance to the shrine for Koxinga's mother. 

Behind the main shrine is a small shrine room (similar to the Chongsheng Shrine 崇聖祠 in a Confucius temple) dedicated to Koxinga's mother Tagawa Matsu. Koxinga was a noted momma's boy and the love he had for his mother fuelled a lot of his rage against the Manchu's after her untimely (and precarious) death. The shrine to Koxinga's mother is a simple one with a spirit plate in her honour but also an important one considering the political implications of having a Japanese woman enshrined in the temple.

Outside of the main walls of the shrine is a small park with man-made lakes and a giant stone statue of Koxinga riding a horse facing the road. The small park is tree covered and relaxing while the giant stone statue seems to be a bit out of place, but whatever.

The Koxinga Shrine with its current design is a bit of an enigma. It doesn’t make much sense for a shrine dedicated to a Southern Chinese Pirate-King to be designed with Northern Chinese style architecture. It also didn't make sense for the former one-party state (which had its capital in Nanjing rather than Beijing) to build the shrine in such a way but what you see today is what you get. From the historic photos I’ve seen from the original shrine as well as when it served as Taiwan’s first Shinto shrine, the shrine complex has undergone a tremendous amount of changes over the years and I’m sure will change again sometime in the future.

Getting There

If you're like me, you might want to do a walking tour of Tainan while you've visiting the city. There are quite a few places to visit in the city's historic West District including the Confucius Temple, the Martial Arts Hall, the Hayashi Department Store, the City God Shrine, the Grand Mazu Temple, Fort Provintia, etc.

If you're not like me, I still I highly recommend a walking tour as you'll be able to see a lot more of the intricate details of Taiwan's most historic city that you'd likely miss if you were travelling by car or scooter.

If it is extremely hot though, as it often is in Taiwan, you can take the free shuttle bus from the High Speed Rail station or if you're already in town you can take Tainan City Bus 17, 18 or 100 from the Tainan Train Station.

 

Address: #152 Kaishan Road. Tainan City, West Central District. (臺南市中西區開山路152號)

With a history spanning over three centuries, this shrine has withstood the test of time and has proven that no matter what direction the political winds blow that Koxinga, the Pirate King will remain a constant presence in Taiwan serving as a folk hero for the people of this country and an important historical reminder that Taiwan is a beautiful country with a rich history.


Taoyuan Confucius Temple (桃園孔廟)

The Confucius Temple in Taoyuan is one of the newest temples dedicated to the sage in Taiwan and while it may not have the history as the temple in Taipei, Tainan or Hsinchu, it does offer a pretty great balance in terms of beauty and the natural environment that surrounds it.

This is probably my favourite Confucius temple in Taiwan and I don't say that just because I live in Taoyuan, I say it because of the size of the temple, the beautiful colours, the open space and of course the natural environment that surrounds it.

With this post I'm not going to go into as much detail as I did with my post about the Taipei Confucius Temple as the this one isn't as significant historically to Taiwan, but I will take bits and pieces from the post about Taipei's temple to explain some of the aspects of this temple that are similar to other Confucius temples found throughout Taiwan.

For a bit of history though, the Taoyuan Confucius Temple was constructed in 1989 and like other Confucius Temples it consists of a Dacheng Hall (大成殿), Dacheng Gate (大成門), Lingxing Gate (櫺星門) and a Chongsheng Hall (崇聖祠). The temple follows the same strict zen-like simplicity that you see in other temples but for me this one stands apart in the beautiful reds that are on the pillars and around the temple.

The key difference between this temple and other temples found throughout Taiwan though is that this is only Confucius Temple that has a statue of the sage himself. Since the Ming-Dynasty it has been tradition for temples dedicated to the memory of Confucius to only have spirit-tablets (神位) within the confines of the temple.

This temple splits from tradition and while the statue of Confucius isn't in the main shrine room I was quite surprised while walking along the side halls and seeing a giant statue of the sage looking right at me.

If you haven't read my previous blog about the Taipei Confucius Temple, I'm just going to explain briefly below the different parts of the temple and what is their purpose:

Dacheng Hall (大成殿)

Dacheng Hall is the main shrine area of any Confucius temple. The hall, which is known in English as the "Hall of Great Achievement" sits in the architectural centre of the entire complex and is also in the middle of a large granite courtyard. Inside the hall is a very simple set up with the Confucius spirit tablet set up on a nicely decorated table.

The table in the Taoyuan temple is quite a bit more ornate than other temples but pretty much remains similar to all of the other Confucius temples in Taiwan. There are an additional two shrines in the room found upon the west and east side walls and are dedicated to the four sages (四配) Yan Hui (顏子), Zengzi (曾子), Zisi (子思子) and Mencius (孟子) who were Confucius scholars and authored books which continued the philosophy.

Lingxing Gate (欞星門)

The Lingxing Gate acts as the main entrance to the temple - It's a necessary part of any Confucius temple and symbolizes Confucianism's 'willingness to accept anyone with talent and virtue'. The gate at the Taoyuan temple is much different than what you see at the Taipei temple and despite a different set of colours it looks like a gate that you'd likely see in front of any large temple in Taiwan. The gate sits directly beside the road and welcomes people in a grand way to visit the temple. While standing under the gate make sure to look up and enjoy the beautiful detail on the 'roof' part of the gate.  

Chongsheng Shrine (崇聖祠)

The Chongsheng Shrine is situated behind the main Dacheng Hall and is used as a shrine room to venerate the ancestors of Confucius as well as the various Confucian sages and philosophers throughout history. This shrine room is not unlike a shrine room that you'd find in any large Taiwanese home and is an important place for ancestral worship. 

The descendants of Confucius have spread out throughout China, Taiwan and Korea so it's important for them to have a place to worship. The shrine room isn't often open to visitors but you can look through the windows to see inside and if it is open you can walk in and see a smaller shrine room that is quite similar to the much larger shrine in Dacheng Hall.

Confucius Ceremony

Every year on September 28th the nation celebrates what is known as "Teachers Day" (教師節) which in actuality is the birthday of Confucius. Teachers Day is the most important and also the most active day of the year at Confucius Temple's all around the country. The ceremony that takes place at the temple each year pays homage to the most important educator in Chinese history but also pays homage to all the teachers who work tirelessly to educate the students of this country.

Confucius's philosophy of "educating all without discrimination, and teaching students according to their talent" is a core value of the education system in Taiwan and no matter what issues I have with the system that is in place in Taiwan, it is an admirable quality that no one with a sincere desire to learn, no matter what their class or character is given the opportunity to receive an excellent education. The Confucius Memorial Ceremony is an elaborate event that celebrates a tradition that deserves a lot more attention than a short description, so I hope to be able to attend the ceremony this year and give a better description of it! 

It's hard after so much research on these temples to say that I have a particular favourite - The Taipei Temple has a history intertwined with modern Taiwan and the fusion of traditional architecture with southern architecture is quite cool. The Tainan temple is the oldest temple of its kind in Taiwan and the massive trees around the temple make it a sight that shouldn't be missed.

For me, I like that the Taoyuan temple is so large that it dwarfs the others - I like that it is nestled into the side of Tiger Head Mountain (虎頭山) with hiking trails and wildlife all around it. I love the large red pillars within the temple as well as the large opens spaces inside that make it extremely easy for a photographer to get beautiful shots especially since the temple is rarely very busy. 

It's obviously not a competition to say which one is the best, but the Taoyuan temple has a special place in my heart because of all the factors I listed above. It's not convenient to get to and it's certainly not the popular tourist attraction that the other two are and at times it seems like parts of the temple aren't properly taken care of, but that shouldn't stop you from trying to check it out if you're in the area! 

For more information about Taiwan’s Confucius Temple’s please check out my Confucius Temple Guide.


Taipei Confucius Temple (台北孔廟)

When I first started writing this blog a few years back, I wasn't as organized with how I would present photos and information as I am now, nor did I really imagine that the blog would get as much attention as it has. I planned on posting photos quite often but hadn't really considered that the content would often be just as important to people visiting the blog as the photos were. To that effect I made a few posts that combined locations and didn't really provide the information that certain places actually deserved.

This was the case when I posted about Taipei's Confucius Temple (台北孔廟) as well as its neighbour Bao-An Temple (保安宮) which happen to be two of Taipei's most important places of worship and also travel destinations for tourists. My plan is to rectify that by giving each location the proper respect and making separate blog posts using both new and old photos as well as giving more detailed information.

I know a lot of people don't share my passion for temples in Taiwan and posting about them isn't as great for traffic in the short term, but I think that temples of this importance and cultural significance deserve a much better effort on my part, so here we go:

Taipei's Confucius Temple (台北孔廟) located in the city's Da-Tong district (大同區) is a popular tourist attraction in Taipei and is an excellent example of southern Fujianese architecture. The temple is open year round to tourists with a full time tourism bureau kiosk inside the gates offering guided tours to visitors and it also acts as a Chinese cultural centre holding free Chinese calligraphy lessons as well as other classes that bridge the gap between China and Taiwan as well as the west.

The temples are known throughout Asia as "Temples of Literature" but it's important to not confuse them with temples dedicated to the Wenchang King (文昌大帝) who is otherwise known in Taoism as the "god of literature". The difference between the two is that while there are various religious celebrations dedicated to the Taoist God and during exam times students will visit to pray for good grades, that doesn't actually happen at a Confucius temple as they're set up more to promote education and venerate an individual who is thought to be the greatest teacher who ever lived.

The simplicity of the temple may make the average tourist think that it pales in comparison to its much larger and more spectacular neighbour Bao-An temple (or any other Taoist temple for that matter), but that is really not the point of a Confucius temple - They are set up to seem like an ancient school and while inside may seem like a library but there is certainly a lot to notice when you're there.

There are of course various Confucius temples found throughout Taiwan and while the Taipei temple was not the first to be constructed (Tainan's Confucius temple was the first in Taiwan built in 1665) nor is the the most beautiful (Taoyuan's is the most beautiful in my opinion) but the temple does have an interesting history and that history relates to the modern development of Taiwan through the Qing Dynasty, the Japanese Colonial era and the most recent Republic of China period of Taiwan's history.

History

The Taipei temple's origins date back to the Qing Dynasty (清朝) when the empire established a proper base of operations in Taipei years after the defeat of the descendents of Koxinga (鄭成功) and his clan of Ming-loyalists (who occupied parts of Taiwan and were considered a major annoyance to the newly formed empire) and started to develop the city.

History has shown that for the majority of time that the Qing controlled Taiwan they were mostly uninterested in the island referring to it as a "ball of mud beyond the sea" which added "nothing to the breadth of China" (海外泥丸,不足為中國加廣) and were ultimately unable to expand their land control any further than the western coastal strip due to disinterest and the fact that Taiwan's Indigenous groups (who had lived on the island for tens of thousands of years) weren't exactly interested in making friends with strangers.

This fact is important to remember when you hear about Chinese claims of sovereignty over the island as the Qing couldn't even come close to controlling the entire island the way the Japanese did.

In 1875, almost two hundred years after the Qing took partial control of the island they established "Taipei prefecture" and almost immediately set in motion plans to construct a Confucius temple to serve the literati, matters of the court and impose imperial culture on the people of the island. Construction work on the temple began in 1879 with parts being finished in 1881 and the rest reaching completion in 1884. The location of the temple was different than today and is actually on a site near Taiwan's presidential palace in the governing district of the capital.

The lifespan of the original temple was cut short due to the breakout of the first Sino-Japanese War (甲午戰爭) and the ultimate signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki (馬關條約) which ceded control of Taiwan and the Penghu islands to the Japanese empire. When Japan took control of Taiwan they quickly moved to quell any sort of resistance and also put much more effort into achieving complete control of the island than the Qing did.

Taipei being a major economic centre for the Qing meant that the population of the city was likely very loyal to the empire and uprisings were often held forcing the Japanese to strong arm the population and institute new policies that would promote Japanese culture and language.

In 1907 the original temple was torn down and replaced with the Taipei First Girls School (臺北市立第一女子高級中學) causing most of the ceremonial objects and tablets within to be destroyed or disappear. This is where the story gets interesting however - The harsh policies implemented by Japan didn't last that long and when the situation cooled down, life in Taiwan wasn't actually that bad. The Japanese brought with them modern education and helped to develop the island making life here more bearable and coincidentally more efficient - something which continues to this day.

When those policies were eased up a group of people including several Japanese members of society formed an organization which aimed to collect support and more importantly donations for the construction of a new temple. Land owners in the area ultimately donated over 180,000 square feet of land for the temple in Daodaocheng (大稻埕) which meant that the next step was to find an architect to construct the temple.

This was an issue for the people in Taipei because no one actually had any skill or experience building an actual Confucius Temple. The history lesson up to now might have been a bit boring but for me this is the part that gets interesting - The organization that was tasked with construction of a new temple now had the land and the funds necessary to build a temple, but they needed someone with the building and design expertise to bring it all to fruition.

They contacted a well-known builder from Fujian province named Wang Yi-Shun (王益順) who was well-known in Taiwan at the time for his masterpiece of renovation work which he had completed on the Mengjia Longshan Temple (艋舺龍山寺) as well as on the Hsinchu City God Temple (新竹城隍廟) - giving him a resume like no other! The organization contacted him shortly after he completed work on the City God Temple and he agreed to their terms becoming the chief engineer in charge of both design and construction of the new temple.

Wang is still considered one of the best carpenters of the late Qing dynasty and has a reputation for creating a fusion of the most important characteristics of Southern Chinese and Fujian-style architecture with that of traditional northern Chinese buildings like that of the original Confucius temple in Qufu.

Due to Wang's influence the newly constructed temple became the only Confucius temple in Taiwan (of which there are many) which was designed with Fujian-style adornments while still finding its inspiration from the original Qufu Confucius temple (山東曲阜孔廟) in China's Shandong Province.

Purists may argue that liberties were taken with such a fusion of styles but I think it's important to remember that the blending of styles allowed for some familiarity and more appreciation of the temple as the majority of Taiwan's earliest immigrants came from Fujian province and were not well well-versed in Northern-Chinese architecture.

Construction on the temple commenced in 1927 and on September 28th 1930, Teacher's Day (Confucius' birthday) was celebrated in Taipei for the first time in decades. At the time of the celebration the temple was only partially completed, however Wang Yi-Shun returned to China where he died shortly after at the age of 70.

After Wang's death, further additions were ultimately added to the temple complex which were completed in 1939. Shortly after completion the Second World War broke out and the Japanese ended the period of relative harmony as the nation prepared for war and because of this, Chinese cultural ceremonies were banned meaning that the Confucius temple was about to enter another difficult period.

After Japan surrendered to the allies, they were forced to relinquish control of Taiwan to the newly formed Republic of China which was led by the Chinese Nationalist Party (中國國民黨). The government quickly set up shop in Taiwan shortly and was ultimately forced to fully retreat to Taiwan with millions of people when they lost the Chinese Civil War in 1949.

In 1950 on the occasion of the 2500th birthday of Confucius, President Chiang Kai-Shek (蔣中正) visited the temple and gifted it with a large plaque with his personal calligraphy - The plaque read "Education for All" (有教無類) and the temple thus entered the modern period where it was gifted to the Taipei City Government in order to ensure that education and Confucian philosophy should be a priority for the nation.

Design

Confucius temples tend to be uniform in their simplicity - Unlike the overwhelming beauty of Taiwanese folk temples and Taoist temples - Confucius temples stand alone in their almost "zen-like" nature in that they don't have shiny gold or bronze decorations and murals all over the walls with hundreds of sticks of incense creating a haze throughout the temple.

The simplicity exhibited in Confucius temples throughout China, Hong Kong and Taiwan is meant to be a show of respect to Confucius as well as the importance of his philosophical views of education and his influence on Chinese culture and history.

One of the common features of all Confucius temples is that there is no imagery or statues of Confucius. This is a rule that goes back almost 500 years to the Ming Dynasty (明朝) when the emperor decreed that all Confucius temples should be uniform and only have "spirit tablets" (神位) rather than images of the sage. This practice has endured in Confucius temples up until today but if you really want to see the guy you don't have to go far as the neighbouring Bao-An temple has a shrine set up to the sage.

  • Dacheng Hall (大成殿)

Dacheng Hall is the main shrine area of any Confucius temple. The hall sits in the middle of a large granite courtyard with a large elevated platform in front of it as well as on the sides. Inside the hall is a very simple set up with the Confucius spirit tablet set up on a nice red table with an "Education for all" (有教無類) plaque above it. The phrase was taken from the Analects of Confucius (論語) and was written in calligraphy by none other than the glorious dictator Chiang Kai-Shek himself.

The simplicity of the shrine room is a stark contrast to what you'd see at a Taoist temple but there is beauty in simplicity and if you have the chance to walk inside the shrine room (it's not always open to the public) I recommend stepping in and checking it out.

There are an additional two shrines in the room found upon the west and east side walls and are dedicated to the four sages (四配) Yan Hui (顏子), Zengzi (曾子), Zisi (子思) and Mencius (孟子) who were Confucius scholars and authored books which improved upon the philosophy.

The key things to notice in the hall would be the spirit tablets but also the 'seven-levelled' pagoda in the middle of the roof which is thought to suppress evil. There are also 72 clay owls under the pagoda. You should also check out the 42 large pillars inside the shrine room and on the outside as well. The wooden trusses below the roof are also painted in the southern Fujian style so it sets the hall apart from others in Taiwan and China. 

  • Lingxing Gate (欞星門)

The Lingxing Gate acts as the main entrance to the temple. It's a necessary part of any Confucius temple yet the main gate at the Taipei temple is unlike any other and is where the architect and designer Wang Yi-Shun had the most influence.

The gate is decorated with beautiful ceramic murals on the sides featuring bird and flower patterns as well as different events in the life of Confucius. The ceramics are part of the reason why this temple has set itself apart from the rest and shouldn't be missed. The gate acts like a park and there is a lot of greenery in and around the gate.

It is a popular hangout for local senior citizens who want to come and have a chat with friends or have some peace and quiet from city life. One interesting thing to note however is that Wang Yi-Shun passed away before the gate was completed so if you have a sharp eye you may notice subtle differences in the wood work around the gate.

  • Chongsheng Shrine (崇聖祠)

The Chongsheng Shrine is situated behind the main Dacheng Hall and is used as a shrine room to venerate several generations of the ancestors of Confucius as well as the various Confucian sages and philosophers throughout history. This shrine room is not unlike a shrine room that you'd find in any large Taiwanese home and is an important place for ancestral worship.

The descendants of Confucius have spread out throughout China, Taiwan and Korea so it's important for them to have a place to worship. The shrine room isn't often open to visitors but you can look through the windows to see inside and if it is open you can walk in and see a smaller shrine room that is quite similar to the much larger shrine in Dacheng Hall.


The Taipei Confucius temple is generally not a very busy temple, but it is a well-known tourist attraction in close proximity to an MRT station. There are sparse groups of visitors throughout the day and the temple really only experiences massive crowds of people on Teacher's Day (September 28th). If you are in Taipei at that time and want to experience an ancient tradition that venerates China's most important sage you will have to wake up early as the ceremony starts at 6am and is often attended by mayors and presidents alike.

The temple is a short walk from Yuanshan station (圓山捷運站) on the red line of the Taipei MRT. There are signs that lead tourists in the direction of the temple and it is quite easy to find. If you visit, you are free to enjoy the temple and the park next to it - There is a tourist information bureau just outside the temple that will provide information about the temple in several different languages.

I realize that this was a long post, but I thought the temple deserved a much better effort on my part and hope that the detail in this blog, which I spent quite a bit of time translating from Chinese helps people to better understand the temple and how unique it is - something I didn't actually realize before doing all of this research!

For more information about Taiwan’s Confucius Temple’s please check out my Confucius Temple Guide.