Taiwan Religious Culture Map

Seated in front of the main Mazu statue in the shrine of the main hall is one of the original six statues made for the first Mazu temple in Meizhou, China. This statue was brought to Taiwan by monk Chunzhen in 1685 and is the oldest statue in Gongfan Temple. In 1881, Gongfan Temple organized a delegation to visit Meizhou to pay respects to the original Mazu temple, where there were six recesses in the stone altar of the shrine. Five Mazu statues sat in the first five recesses but the sixth was empty. Upon close examination, they determined that the base of the Mazu statue in Gongfan Temple matched the shape of the recess perfectly and thus confirmed that Gongfan Temple’s Mazu statue came from Meizhou’s original Mazu temple. The sixth Mazu statue measures about thirty-three centimeters in height. The patterns on the statue’s apparel were created with lacquered thread. The shoes on the statue were carved into tiny embroidered slippers known as three-inch lotus shoes (equivalent to four inches or ten centimeters and considered to be the ideal size for bound feet at the time). The statue’s posture is composed and solemn. The visage has been blackened by incense smoke yet still shows an expression of kindness.

The Bagua octagonal caisson ceiling in the main hall of Gongfan Temple was the work of Wang Shu-fa. Normally, the distinguishing characteristic of caisson ceilings built by craftsmen from Xidi is that the brackets are joined together in layers which converge at the top center. However, the caisson ceiling in Gongfan Temple leaves the roof beam exposed. This caisson ceiling design is unique in Taiwan. The caisson measures 4.6 meters in width. The supporting structure at the base of the caisson is carved into figures of four flying dragons wearing expressions of happiness, anger, sadness, and joy. A dragon fish sits between the top of each of the four main columns and the rafter which crowns it. The delicately sculpted figures on the eave extensions are based on characters in Chinese mythology who presented treasures to Mazu.

The Koji ceramics are located on the two sides of the Sanchuan Hall, the worship hall, and the main hall. These depictions of episodes from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and from folk stories were created by contemporary Koji ceramic masters Chen Tian-qi (1906 – 1990) and Yao Zi-lai (1911 – 2007). The creativity and quality of the craftsmanship are stunning. In particular, the pieces on the left side of the main hall illustrating the tale of “Arresting and Freeing Cao on the Huarong Trail” with Guan Yu holding his Green Dragon Crescent Blade and Cao in his red robe are fine examples of the ingenuity of the artisans.

The brackets that support the ceiling of the Sanchuan Hall were carved by masters from Zhangzhou, China when the temple was repaired during the Japanese Colonial Period. An interesting feature of these brackets is that they incorporate the Chinese characters “壬 (rén)” and “申 (shēn),” a stem and branch of the Chinese sexagenary calendrical cycle, into the supporting brackets, a highly unusual design in Taiwan. The repair happened to be carried out in 1932, a rén- shēn year, and the craftsmen came up with the idea of integrating the characters into the brackets to create this extraordinary effect.

The stone sculptures created during the Japanese Colonial Era temple reconstruction were created by Jiang Jiu, also known as Master A-jiu. The dragon columns in the Sanchuan Hall and the decorations at the corners of the temple are of particular note. An open-mouthed dragon curls up each column of the Sanchuan Hall and the two end up facing each other. The dragons are vivid and lifelike and seem to be rolling their bodies and baring their claws. This stance is typical of the Japanese Colonial Period. The decorations at the corners of Gongfan Temple are different from those seen in other temples. Most temple corners are decorated with carvings of powerful men in postures indicating that they are supporting the building structure. Such carved men are usually portrayed as laborers—topless and muscular—and their features are generally Western. This portrayal was a small act of revenge on the part of Taiwanese temple builders, and a reflection of their frustrations under the rule of foreigners such as the Dutch, Portuguese, and Japanese. They deliberately carved these figures as Western laborers, assigning them the heaviest work of supporting the temple structure. The laborer carvings at the corner of Gongfan Temple though, have a comical look with thick eyebrows, large eyes, and a modern haircut, and wear suit.

The main Mazu statue in the shrine in the main hall is about two meters in height. It was made by wood carvers Huang Gui-li and Lin Guan-chang during the Japanese Colonial Period, after the original was damaged beyond repair. Each of her two guardian generals—Qian Li Yan (or Thousand-Mile Eyes) and Shun Feng Er (Follow-Wind Ears)—was also carved by Huang Gui-li using an entire camphor tree. These two characters are spoken of in Chinese legend as having the power to see and hear everything. The statues are perfect in proportion and fearless in aspect. Huang Gui-li and his fellow Zhangzhou carvers also created phoenix cornices for the main temple columns, and depicted stories from Chinese mythology on the extensions of the beams to make the Sanchuan Hall even more splendid.