Taiwan Religious Culture Map

Changhua Confucius Temple is designed as a series of four buildings separated by three courtyards. The buildings are the Lingxing Gate, the Ji Gate, Dacheng Hall, and Chongsheng Shrine. The temple’s architectural layout is the result of the reconstruction of 1830. Spatial arrangement in the temple reflects that of Confucian temples in mainland China—its Minglun Hall is to the left of its Dacheng Hall. In ancient times, it was a tradition in the Zhangzhou and Quanzhou areas to set up a Chongsheng Shrine in each Minglun Hall in an educational institution. However, the addition of Xiangxian Shrine and Minghuan Shrine on either side of Chongsheng Shrine behind the temple’s Dacheng Hall is definitely a Taiwanese practice.

The Lingxing Gate, the main entrance to the temple, is a five-kaijian design (kaijian refers to the ancient Chinese architectural unit denoting the openings between the pillars). Its roof ridge is divided into three sections, each of which has swallow tail extensions at both ends. Lingxing means the Star of Learning (the God of Knowledge in Chinese mythology). The gate is so named because Confucius is seen as the reincarnation of the Star of Learning. Unlike other temples, no door gods are painted on the door panels. Instead, 108 metal studs decorate the doors in accordance with Confucian temple traditions. The heavenly vessels, six bamboo-shaped cylinders along the roof ridge, are a major feature of the temple; other Confucian temples typically have just two. They symbolize loftiness, and imply that in his nobility of character Confucius can be seen as a conduit between heaven and earth and that his teachings are a link between the ancient past and the present. On each side of the entrance is a drum-shaped stone. The exquisitely carved spiral design on the stones represents Jiaotu, the fifth son of the dragon in Chinese mythology, who protects the lair from intruders; they therefore act as guardians to the temple.

On the left side of the Ji Gate is the Dismounting Stele, on which is carved in both Chinese and Manchurian, “All court officials, soldiers, and civilians shall dismount from their horses here.” It was intended to remind all horse riders of any status to dismount and walk to show the utmost respect to Confucius. Meanwhile, the phrase Wall of Supreme Knowledge, carved on the stele on the right, is derived from the Analects of Confucius: “The walls surrounding the home of Confucius are several ren (an ancient unit of length) tall. It is impossible to see the beauty of his residence from outside the walls.” This metaphor describes the unfathomable depths of Confucius’ knowledge.

The Ji Gate is the second gate of the temple and the first of this architectural design among Confucian temples in Taiwan. The Ji (halberd) is an ancient weapon. It was said that all military personnel must leave their weapons at this gate before entering the temple in a show of respect for Confucius. The brick carvings in the walls on both sides of the gate are another unique feature of Changhua Confucius Temple; they are rarely seen in other temples in Taiwan. The peony and vase carvings symbolize fortune and peace. A pair of Chiwen (the second son of the Chinese mythological dragon) can be found here, each with a dragon head and a fish tail. According to legend, Chiwen like to spew water and are therefore installed on rooftops for protection against fires. A bell cast in 1811 and inscribed with the words “Changhua County, Taiwan Prefecture” hangs inside the gate. The moon gates on the sides were octagonal before reconstruction. They are called lǐmén, the door of etiquette, and yìlù, the path of righteousness.

Dacheng Hall is an independent structure, not connected to Lingxing Gate or Chongsheng Shrine. The shrine which houses Confucius’ memorial tablet stands in the center of the hall, with carved wooden panels over it for decoration. The hall’s wooden pillars, adorned with circling dragons and decorated capitals, provide both ornamentation and structural support. The hall has a width of five kaijian and a hip-and-gable roof with double eaves, one above the other. An open arcade surrounds the building. In front of Dacheng Hall is a platform where ceremonies to pay respects to Confucius are carried out. Inside the hall, inscription plaques bestowed by various Qing emperors are hung. Among them are plaques from the Yongzheng Emperor, the Qianlong Emperor, the Jiaqing Emperor, the Xianfeng Emperor, and the Tongzhi Emperor, all praising Confucius’ superior knowledge and personal character.

The sides of Dacheng Hall’s foundation platform were built with special brick masonry techniques. Inset areas were filled with lime to set off four red-brick patterns of Buddhist swastikas, incense burners, ancient coins, and turtle shells, symbolic of auspiciousness and fortune.

The pair of granite dragon columns in Dacheng Hall was installed during the temple’s 1830 reconstruction. A single dragon circles each column. The dragon on the left column has its mouth open while the one on the right keeps its mouth closed. Each dragon holds a pearl in the four claws of one front foot. The cloudlike grain of the granite serves as natural decoration and some parts of the columns were done in openwork carving to give the dragons depth.