Taiwan Religious Culture Map

Wan’an Religious Park mainly features Shamei Wan’an Temple with its mixture of Buddhist and Taoist elements. Since 2006, the temple has developed Da Shi Temple Park, where the deities Da Shi Ye (the god who is in charge during the Ghost Festival) and Guanyin are enshrined, and Hanyuan Temple with its accompanying Park of the God of Wealth, which houses eighteen stone sculptures of the God of Wealth. Ksitigarbha Park with its many stone sculptures was completed in 2011, and Sanzhong Park with its sculptures of the noble-spirited Three Heroes was established the following year. Heart Sutra Park was constructed afterwards. Built in 2014, Neige Sanzhong Temple’s dome-capped square structure is quite unlike traditional temples in its architectural style. Most recently, the stone sculpture of Baosheng Dadi, the God of Medicine, riding on a white horse was erected in Wan’an Temple Memorial Park next to Rong Lake in 2015, completing the religious park complex. The temples and individual religious parks dot the area around Jinsha Township’s Shamei Village, together forming a larger complex with some of the most innovative temple designs in Taiwan. This is particularly true of the paradigm-changing Hanyuan Temple and Neige Sanzhong Temple with their unprecedented Taoist architectural designs.

Wan’an Temple is comprised of two buildings connected by a wing that runs between them on the right hand side. The lower half of the outer façade was built with granite masonry, and the upper half with brick masonry. The temple structure itself is supported by brick walls with colorful painted ceramic tiling along the upper edge. It is topped with a load-bearing purlin roof. This construction method is more commonly adopted in structure with lesser width, in which purlins are directly supported by the gables at each end. This method can reduce the amount of building materials required for construction. The temple’s wood- and stonework are exquisite.

Located on Shaqing Road north of Wan’an Temple, Hanyuan Temple and its accompanying Park of the God of Wealth house stone sculptures of the eighteen Gods of Wealth, the most complete collection of God of Wealth statues in Taiwan. Located within the Park of the God of Wealth, Hanyuan Temple enshrines Tudigong (the God of the Land, and by extension, wealth). In Chinese tradition water is perceived as a symbol of wealth, so Tudigong guards major water outlets, preventing the wealth from escaping. The temple’s façade is composed of seven concentric square frames in gold to symbolize the gathering of money by the God of Wealth. With its complete absence of tile and wood and its use of modern architectural materials, Hanyuan Temple stands in stark contrast with traditional Taoist temples. The most iconic item in the temple’s décor is the golden peacock on the wall, which was entirely made by layering gold foil sheets on top of one another. This work is the only one of its kind in Taiwan. The dragon and tiger paintings on the main gate were also inspired by money—they are illustrated in strings of coins, a design that is unique.

An affiliate of Wan’an Temple, Sanzhong Temple enshrines the three loyal heroes of the late Song dynasty, Wen Tianxiang, Lu Xiufu, and Zhang Shijie. The temple’s main structure was completed in 2014. Unlike traditional temples, it adopted a design incorporating a dome over a square body. It serves dual functions as both  temple and museum. By referencing the Greek Pantheon and other famous ancient temples around the world, the architects who designed the temple came up with a blend of styles that resulted in a modern building infused with Taoist assimilationist culture. Its exterior is a complete break from tradition. Its most unique feature is the pair of white marble lions guarding the door, whose style is an imitation of the lions bestowed upon Xi’an’s Famen Temple by Tang dynasty Empress Wu Zetian (624 – 705). It also boasts a pair of longevity carvings—one a dragon and the other a turtle—done in ebony. The shrine has a stainless steel bracket system, unprecedented for shrines in Taiwanese temples. The relief decorations, material, and the height and thickness of Sanzhong Temple’s acrylic pillars are innovative approaches to temple-building in Taiwan. The reliefs of the thirty-six Heavenly Spirits and the seventy-two Earthly Friends embossed on the white marble of the temple’s side walls were inspired by the ornamentation on Lord Zhang Shijie’s heavenly palanquin in the original Sanzhong temple. Both of these works were created by China’s master stone carver Jiang Jiexiong (b. 1971).

The Heart Sutra Park displays Heart Sutra stone plaques in the calligraphy of twenty-one famous artists from history along with fifteen contemporary calligraphy masters. The collection includes plaques in the calligraphic styles of Wang Xizhi (303 – 361), Su Shi (1037 – 1101), Zhao Mengfu (1254 – 1322), Wen Zhengming (1470 – 1559), the Kangxi Emperor (1654 – 1722), the Qianlong Emperor (1711-1799), and master Hong Yi (1880 – 1942), among others. These writings, each with its own unique style and characteristics, honor these major artists’ achievements in the classic art of Chinese calligraphy.