Taiwan Religious Culture Map

The Principle (chúnyáng) Hall has gone through multiple renovations since its first construction over 120 years ago. The current three-level structure and layout were designed by Chen Ying-Bin (1864 – 1944), a famous master of the Zhangzhou style of carpentry. Chih-Nan Temple’s Principle Hall is one of the definitive works of Master Chen’s later years. For its final 1992 renovation, marble was chosen for the exterior of the hall due to its strength and durability. The roof was reconstructed using bronze roofing tiles. The hall’s interior features Taiwan Incense Cedar, bluestone, and bronze tiles. The lifelike dragon columns inside the hall were carved in Quanzhou City, China and shipped to the temple after completion.

The majestic Sanchuan (front) Gate towering over the Principle (chúnyáng) Hall serves as a landmark for visitors to follow as they climb up the mountain. Upon its green granite surface are carved many figures from Chinese legends, including Seal Guardians, Sword Guardians, Flower Servers, Tea Servers, Door Gods, Parade Guards, and Temple Musicians. Two carved dragons can be seen on the roof of the gate guarding a fiery pearl in the center. On either side, phoenixes rear up in fury at the ends of the upward-curving swallowtail roof ridge. The gate also features six carved stone dragon columns—two columns are wound about with two dragons fighting over a pearl, another two feature people, warhorses, birds, and fishes on their lower halves, and the final two columns are decorated with flowers, greenery, and animals. All of the columns display lifelike imagery in painstakingly intricate detail, down to every last dragon whisker and feather.

Chih-Nan Temple prides itself on being located on the most spiritual mountain in the world. This declaration stems from 1991, when Kao Chung-Hsing was nominated to be the President of the Religionist Association of the Republic of China , and religious leaders of many of the world’s great religions—Buddhism, Taoism, Catholicism, Christianity, Islam, Tiandiism , and Yiguandao —were invited to meet at Chih-Nan Temple. The leaders were unanimously impressed by the temple’s ideal geographic location and the extraordinary view from the mountain, naming it “the most spiritual mountain in the world.” This eulogy is carved into a plaque hanging over the Principle Hall.

Of the four halls of Chih-Nan Temple (the Principal Hall, Dacheng Hall, Lingxiao Hall, and the Main Hall), Lingxiao Hall is the one located highest on the mountain. The design of its highest rooftop is done in the style commonly employed in Southern China’s Minnan Culture, with carved dragons, phoenixes, and floating pearls. The second layer of the roof features a more northern design, complete with animal figures and deities on clouds. The wall decorations and dragon columns were carved out of rare high-quality andesite (also known as Guanyin Stone, from its source at Guanyin Mountain). The otherwise austere carvings are ornamented with gold lacquer accents, causing them to glimmer from a distance. In the 1969 Hollywood movie The Chairman, Lingxiao Hall was used as the set for Mao Zedong’s palatial summer retreat. The movie starred Gregory Peck, who was later known for his roles in Roman Holiday and To Kill a Mockingbird.