Taipei Confucius Temple Audio Guide

Taipei Confucius Temple: what does the audio guide cover?

1. 01

   Welcome to Taipei Confucius Temple

   Taipei Confucius Temple: By 1881 the main hall, the Yi Gate and the Chongsheng Shrine were finished.

   Welcome to the Taipei Confucius Temple, a calm courtyard of ritual and learning in Datong District, on Dalong Street in northern Taipei. Step in and the city's traffic seems to soften. In its place you get red walls, sweeping roofs and a sense that this place has always been about study. Here is something to keep in mind as we walk. The Confucius temple you see today is not the first one in Taipei. The original was built in the Qing dynasty, was lost in the Japanese era, and was rebuilt here in the late 1920s. So you are standing inside a second chapter of the story, and a very handsome one. The temple is within walking distance, to the west, of Yuanshan Station on the Taipei Metro. Dalongdong Baoan Temple is nearby too, so the neighborhood rewards a slow wander. Over the next few stops we will follow the temple's founding, its disappearance and rebuilding, the craftsmanship in its roofs and ceramic panels, and the rituals that still bring people here.

2. 02

   A Prefecture Builds Its Temple

   Taipei Confucius Temple: The revival began in 1925, when Chen Peiken, Koo Hsien-jung and others pushed to rebuild the temple at Dalongdong, laying it out on the traditional plan of a Confucian temple.

   Our story begins in 1875, when the Qing court made Taipei a prefecture city for northern Taiwan. A prefecture needed a proper Confucius temple, and in 1879 construction began inside the southern gate of the city. Two temples were planned, a literary temple on the left and a martial temple on the right, both facing south. Two officials oversaw the work: Xia Xianlun, the military commissioner for Taiwan, and Chen Xingju, the Taipei prefect. By 1881 the main hall, the Yi Gate and the Chongsheng Shrine were finished. Then the gentry of Taipei suggested raising donations, and work began on the Li Gate, the Yi Path, the Lingxing Gate, the Pangong Pond and a surrounding wall. In 1884 the temple was finally complete. The temple is said to be modeled on the original Confucius temple in Qufu, in Shandong. In the years that followed, while Liu Mingchuan was governor of Taiwan, a major ceremony was held at the temple every year, an important event for the scholars of the day.

3. 03

   Lost, Then Reborn in Dalongdong

   Taipei Confucius Temple: Tradition holds that when a chiwen stirs the sea, rain falls, so the figure was set on roofs to guard against fire.

   In 1895, Japanese troops occupied Taiwan. Resistance was strong in those first years, and the Japanese military occupied the Confucius temple. Most of the memorial tablets of Confucius and the ancient sages were damaged or destroyed, and many ceremonial objects and musical instruments were lost. The buildings fell into disrepair and the ceremonies stopped. In 1907 the temple was torn down to make way for the Taipei First Girls High School. Soon after, a pavilion was built within the school to hold the carved tablets of Confucius and the sages. The revival began in 1925, when Chen Peiken, Koo Hsien-jung and others pushed to rebuild the temple at Dalongdong, laying it out on the traditional plan of a Confucian temple. Construction began in 1927, and in April 1928 a ceremony marked the laying of the main beam of the main hall. Before work began, a specialist was even hired to check the geomancy of the site. Later, the Executive Yuan approved the donation of the temple and transferred authority over it to the Taipei City Government. In July 1972 the Taipei Confucius Temple Administration Committee was formally established.

4. 04

   Fujian Craftsmanship Overhead

   Look up, and you are looking at the work of Wang Yishun. He came from Xiti Village in Huian County, Quanzhou, and was the most famous carpenter of the late Qing, known for building temples in Fujian Province. The organizers admired his designs so much that they hired him as chief engineer, responsible for both design and construction. He brought the best features of southern Chinese architecture to Taipei, which is why this temple is described as a typical example of southern Fujianese architecture. Among Confucius temples in Taiwan, Taipei's is the only one decorated with southern Fujian style ceramic ornaments. Search the roof ridges for the dragon-headed, fish-tailed creatures called chiwen. There are 14 of them. Tradition holds that when a chiwen stirs the sea, rain falls, so the figure was set on roofs to guard against fire. Then look for the ceramic panels. One shows a scholar reciting a poem in praise of plum trees, whose noble, pure character he loved. Another shows the great calligrapher Wang Xizhi, famous for his passion for geese. It is said that watching them so long deepened his calligraphy. A third panel recalls a poem about plucking chrysanthemums by the eastern fence and gazing at the distant southern mountains. Notice, too, that the Lingxing Gate here was built as a temple-style gate rather than a simple honorific arch, which gives the entrance real grandeur.

5. 05

   Before You Head Off

   Part of the temple's design is still unfinished. When it was first built, four buildings on the two sides could not be completed for lack of funds. The vacant land on the east was meant for the Minglun Hall and the Zhuzi Shrine. On the west, after Taiwan's restoration, a modern concrete Minglun Hall rose, used for assemblies, lectures, scripture readings and calligraphy. The temple is still a place of living ritual. Every year on September 28, a ceremony with traditional music and stylized dancing honors Confucius. Students often come with their parents before the college entrance exam to ask for blessings. The temple's listed opening hours are Tuesday to Sunday, from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., and it is closed on Mondays, so check before you go. When you walk back out, compare the temple's quiet courtyards with the lively neighborhood around it. How does Dalongdong feel different once you have seen how much care went into this one corner?