Longshan Temple

Jiantian Historic Temple (劍潭古寺)

No matter where you go in Taiwan, it’s highly likely that you’ll encounter a 7-11 or a temple along the way - finding either is about as simple as finding a cup of coffee, and when you’re a tourist, you’re blessed with a multitude of choices to compete for your precious, but limited travel time.

For most people, visiting one or two of what are considered Taipei’s ‘Top Three’ temples is more than enough ‘temple-time’ during a short visit to Taiwan, but there are a number of impressive places of worship in the capital, as well as around the country, where tourists can spend time learning more about the history and culture of this country than they ever will in most of its museums.

I’ve been writing about Taiwan for almost a decade now, and even though I’ve spent a considerable amount of time recommending that people travel outside of the capital in order to better understand, and enjoy all that this beautiful country has to offer, it’s also important to face the fact that not every tourist has the opportunity, or the time to make their way down south. So even though I’d personally highly recommend anyone who visits Taiwan to pay a visit to Tainan’s Confucius Temple, its Grand Mazu Temple or Lukang’s Longshan Temple over most of the places of worship on the ‘Top Three’ list above, like I said, not everyone has the ability to leave Taipei.

Fortunately, there are a number of historic places of worship within the Greater-Taipei area that wonderfully compliment the city’s so-called ‘Top Three’ temples, so if you’ve discovered, like I have, an interest in visiting this sort of destination, here are some of the others I recommend checking out while you’re in town:

Today, I’m going to introduce another one of the city’s more prominent places of worship, and one that should be on your list of places to visit if you have some extra time while you’re in town. Boasting a history that is arguably longer than any other place of worship in Taipei, there’s certainly something special about this temple, but to tell the truth, it’s also somewhat of a confusing place as even locals have a difficult time understanding its significance.

Most commonly referred to either as Jiantan Temple (劍潭寺), or Jiantan Historic Temple (劍潭古寺), what I personally find interesting about this temple is the addition of the word “ancient” or “historic” (古) to its title in both Chinese and in English. There are surprisingly very few places of worship in Taiwan that make the concerted effort to put the word ‘historic’ directly in their name - although in some cases I think they’d prefer you just assume that’s the case - nevertheless, as one of Taipei’s ‘first’ places of worship, this one holds a special place within the history of the city.

The other thing that I think is important to point out about the name of this temple is the name ‘Jiantan’ (劍潭), which is probably confusing for tourists who might not be so familiar with Taipei’s geography. These days, the name ‘Jiantan’ is more or less synonymous with the Jiantan MRT Station (劍潭捷運站), which is home to Shilin Night Market (士林夜市), another one of Taipei’s most popular tourist destinations. Unfortunately, if you’re thinking that a visit to this temple could be combined with a visit to the night market, you might be disappointed. It’s actually not that close.

Never fear, though, as I move on below, I’ll provide a detailed explanation of the temple’s confusing history, how you can get there, all of which should help anyone who reads this better understand the temple, its special architectural design, and ultimately the history of the area we refer to as ‘Jiantan’ today. Before I start though, I have to say that even though this temple is one of the city’s oldest places of worship, it unfortunately doesn’t receive as much attention as it deserves, and very little has been written about it in the English-language, so I hope this article answers any questions you might have about it.

Jiantan Temple (劍潭古寺)

Legend has it that during the 17th Century, while Koxinga (鄭成功) and his army were sailing up the Keelung River, on their way to remove the Dutch from the island, they came upon a sudden and massive storm caused by river serpents. Attempting to prevent them from going any further, the storm was so violent that many in the army wanted to turn around. Koxinga, being the ever-so-clever pirate and experienced captain, was undeterred by the serpent’s interference in his plans, drew his sword and subdued the serpent. However, while in the midst of the fierce battle, his ‘sword’ was lost in the deep pool of water where the serpent lived.

For those of you who are unaware, the words “jian” (劍) and “tan" (潭) when put together basically translate as “Sword Pool” or “Sword Pond,” so even though the Koxinga legend is just local folklore, he was such a prolific figure in Taiwan’s history that a story about him mistakenly dropping his sword into a pool of water was reason enough to give a place a name.

Obviously, when it comes to the origin of the name, historians point to factual events that took place between Dutch traders, and the local indigenous people, but with regard to this temple, the legend of Koxinga is of particular note as you’ll discover later.

Its important to note that there was once a pond along the banks of the Keelung River that had been referred to as “Jiantan” for several hundred years. Located at a point of the river where the it curves between the areas we know today as Dazhi (大直) and Shilin (士林), that pond has since disappeared due to river diversion projects that sought to control water levels and prevent parts of the city from flooding during typhoons.

Today, the area we refer to as Jiantan covers several hundred hectares of land within the city, and even has a mountain that shares the same name.

Link: Jiantan Mountain (劍潭山)

Jiantan Temple during the Japanese-era

If one legend weren’t enough, another explains that in 1634 (崇禎7年), a monk named Huarong (僧侶華榮和尚) was dispatched from his monastery on Putuo Mountain (普陀山) to deliver a stone statue of Guanyin to Taiwan. Arriving in Taiwan at the port in Tamsui (淡水), he continued south on the road to Keelung (基隆), but along the path he encountered a massive red snake that was blocking the way. Personally, I’m not particularly a huge fan of snakes, and if I encountered one while hiking in Taiwan, I’d likely turn around, but for Huarong, this was deemed as an auspicious event.

Note: The number ‘eight’ is an auspicious number for Buddhists, referring to either the Dharma Wheel (法陀) or the Eight Great Bodhisattvas.

Instead of taking off like I would have done, he set up camp for the night where the Buddha appeared before him in his dreams and instructed him to go to the local port (probably in Bangka), and solicit donations from eight merchant captains. When he woke up, he made his way to the port where he came across the eight ships in his dream and when the merchants on the ships heard his story, they donated graciously to his cause. With the money donated by the local merchants, Huarong had a thatched hut built on the location where he came across the red snake, and that became the home of the Guanyin Statue, instead of its original destination in Keelung.

Later, in the early eighteenth century, the thatched hut, which had become known as the Guanyin Pavilion (觀音亭) was replaced by a more formal temple, known as the “Western Temple” (西方寶剎). That name, however, wasn’t one that would remain for very long as the temple was renamed Jiantan Temple (劍潭寺) in 1746 (乾隆11年).

Over the next century, Jiantan Temple became one of the more prominent Buddhist temples in northern Taiwan, resulting in a number of restoration and expansion projects to accommodate the number of monks who came to serve at the temple. Then, when the abbot of the Bangka Longshan Temple (艋舺龍山寺) took administrative control of the temple, he once again oversaw another expansion project that would not only benefit Jiantan Temple, but Longshan Temple as well with monks being able to travel back and forth between two of northern Taiwan’s most important temples.

For the next half century, things more or less stayed the same at the temple, but when the Japanese took control of Taiwan in 1895 (明治28年), the situation changed almost overnight. When the Governor General of Taiwan, Kodama Gentaro (兒玉源太郎) requested monks from the Rinzai school (臨濟宗) of Zen Buddhism to come to Taiwan to promote Japanese Buddhism, the influence of Japanese-style Buddhism started taking over on the island, and Jiantan Temple was promptly converted into a Myoshin Temple (妙心寺).

Link: Huguo Rinzai Temple (臨濟護國禪寺)

The interesting thing to keep in mind was that during the Meiji Restoration (明治維新), which started decades before the Japanese took control of Taiwan, Buddhism was classified by the government as a source of foreign interference. It was during this time that the more than a thousand year old tradition of fusion between Buddhism and Shinto were forcibly separated with the Buddhist temples that were constructed next to Shinto Shrines torn down. Here in Taiwan, though, Buddhism, had a long established a foothold on the island thanks to places of worship like Jiantan Temple, thus they became one of the tools that the Japanese authorities used to help bring the two peoples together.

Ironic given that Buddhism was suppressed back in Japan.

From the outset, the Japanese brought Buddhist monks with them to serve roles within the military as ‘chaplain-missionaries’, offering spiritual guidance during the initial years of the occupation. In addition to serving the military, the monks began to construct language schools and charity hospitals where they would focus on improving the lives of average Taiwanese citizens as well as promoting Japanese-style Buddhism. Over the next few decades, the temple continued to grow, and between 1918 and 1924, the temple was completely reconstructed, making use of modern construction techniques to ensure its longevity. The irony however was that just over a decade after the rebuild was completed, the temple was then forced to relocate due to an expansion project at the Taiwan Grand Shrine (臺灣神宮), which was also located on Jiantan Mountain (劍潭山) to the rear of the temple.

With insufficient funds available for the construction of a new temple, the administration came up with a plan to have the buildings completely deconstructed, and then reconstructed with the materials that could be salvaged in a new location. Migrating several kilometers away to the Dazhi (大直) area, the temple was carefully put back together again. However, the new plot of land that was allocated for the temple wasn’t nearly as larger as the original space, so alterations had to be made, and as you may have noticed from the historic photo above, it is considerably smaller today.

In its current location for nearly a century, Jiantan has been restored several times, repairing elements of the temple that have allowed it to remain intact while also bringing it back to life by refining the building’s decorative elements which were once its defining features.

As one of Taipei’s first major places of worship, predating many of the capital’s other major temples, Jiantan Temple has a long and storied history and while it’s not uncommon for places of worship to be moved to a new location, the experience of deconstructing the temple and sending putting it back together in another location is reminiscent of the nearby Lin An Tai Mansion (林安泰古厝), which had a similar experience.

In 2004 (民國93年), Jiantan Temple was officially recognized by the Taipei City Government under the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act (文化資產保存法) as a protected heritage building (歷史建築).

Link: 臺北市歷史建築列表 (List of Taipei City Protected Heritage Buildings)

Whether you refer to this temple as Jiantan Temple (劍潭寺) or Jiantan Ancient Temple (劍潭古寺), it’s up to you, but one of the things that sets this one apart from many of the other historic temples around Taipei is that it features a little park where it proudly displays its history. Some of the objects within the park, mostly stone tablets and pillars are things that you probably won’t see anywhere else in the capital, but are much more common in Tainan where historic temples are found on almost every street corner. If you visit the temple, I highly recommend you take some time to check out some of the objects on display, even though they are admittedly pretty old and in some cases the words that have been etched on the stone have started to fade.

Deities Enshrined at Jiantan Temple

As you saw from the history detailed above, from the outset, Jiantian Temple was dedicated to Guanyin (觀音), the Chinese version of Avalokiteśvara, the Buddha of Compassion. With a statue brought directly from Putuo Mountain (普陀山), one of China’s four sacred Buddhist mountains, it shouldn’t be much of a surprise to anyone that the figures enshrined within the temple are for the most part, Buddhist. That being said, similar to what you’ll experience if you visit Bangka’s Longshan Temple, which is also primarily a Buddhist place of worship, over the years, figures from Chinese folk religion have been added over the years to the shrine. In Taiwan, this is something that has become quite common, so within the temple you’ll also find shrines dedicated to ‘deities’ who you won’t traditionally find in Buddhist temples elsewhere, especially in other countries where Buddhism is the predominant religion.

  • Guanyin (觀世音菩薩) - As noted earlier, Jiantan Temple was (historically) dedicated primarily to the Buddha of Compassion, Guanyin (觀音), one of the most prolific Buddhist figures in Taiwan. Within the shrine room, you’ll find several different statues dedicated to different incarnations of Guanyin, with two large statues of a sitting Guanyin on either side of the main shrine. The original statue has since been moved to a new location within the main shrine and is somewhat difficult to see amongst the crowd of Buddhist figures in the main shrine. The most important difference between the various statues of Guanyin is that the original is regarded as a ‘Child-Bearing Guanyin’ (送子觀音). In front of the historic statue, you’ll find a version of a sitting Guanyin and as is usually the case, she is accompanied by her two acolytes, a pair of children who went to her side while she was meditating at Mount Putuo, Longnu (龍女) and Shancai (善財童子).

  • Shakyamuni Buddha (釋迦牟尼) - In one of the most recent changes to the ‘ancient’ temple, a statue of Shakyamuni Buddha was added to the main shrine in the post-war period. The jade statue was added shortly after the Foguangshan Organization took over administrative control of the temple, which is something I’ll talk briefly about below. The statue holds a ‘seal’ (降魔印) for subjugating demons. The interesting thing about the statue is that its appearance isn’t typical for a Chinese-style Buddha statue. It appears more as if it came from South East Asia, more specifically the Myanmar area. It possibly came to Taiwan with Chinese refugees from the Yunnan region, but I’m not particularly sure about its origin. During my visit to the temple, I inquired about the design of the statue, and the person who I was talking to was surprised that I could tell the difference between an image of the Buddha from Myanmar compared to one that you’d typically find in Taiwan, but the explanation I received as to its origin wasn’t particularly convincing, and its likely that there were some politics involved that they didn’t really want to mention.

  • The Prince of Yanping (延平郡王) - Looking back to the legends of the naming of Jiantan, you might remember that one of the local folklore stories claims that Koxinga (鄭成功) threw his sword into the pond to dispatch a violent serpent that was preventing them from advancing. What I didn’t mention was that Koxinga would later go on to defeat the Dutch and proclaim a kingdom of his own in the south of Taiwan, known as the Kingdom of Tungning. Given that Koxinga’s legend shares a relationship with the local area, and his being deified in Taiwan after his death, it shouldn’t be a big surprise that there is a shrine dedicated in his honor at the temple. When you find a shrine dedicated to Koxinga in Taiwan, he’ll either be referred to as the Prince of Yanping (延平郡王), a title bestowed upon him by a Ming Emperor, or Kaishan Shengwang (開山聖王). Interestingly, if you climb Jiantan Mountain to the rear of the temple, you’ll find an entire temple dedicated to Koxinga, known as the Taipei Koxinga Temple (成功廟開臺聖王).

  • The Eighteen Arhats (十八羅漢) - On either side of the Main Hall, you’ll find wood-carved representations of the ‘Eighteen Arhats’, who are basically like the twelve disciples of Jesus. The original followers of the Buddha, the ‘Arthats’ are figures each of whom has attained enlightenment, but have dedicated their lives to being reincarnated on earth until everyone attains enlightenment. A common image in Taiwan, you’ll find nine of the arhats on each side of the shrine, and each of them appears quite differently, so you might want to take a moment to look at them as they are all interesting characters.

With regard to the statues in the shrine room, there has been somewhat of an unresolved controversy in recent years as the administration of the temple is now overseen by the large and powerful Foguangshan (佛光山) organization. The controversy revolves around a differing outlook between the followers of the original temple and the new organization that took over. Long story short, the main shrine was originally dedicated to Guanyin, but it was adjusted to provide a seat to the Shakyamuni Buddha, instead.

The historic statue of Guanyin was thus moved to a level below the Buddha, which, angered the followers of the temple. Likewise, some of the other statues of Guanyin that were originally in the temple were moved outside of the temple where they would get rained on and polluted from dirty air.

In the time since the controversy, which made headlines across the country, changes have been made to bring the statues of Guanyin back inside the temple, but the main shrine continues to place the Buddha in the main seat, which doesn’t particularly reflect the history of the temple.

Link: 主神換位 劍潭古寺主位觀音變佛陀 (TVBS)

Jiantan Ancient Temple Timeline

Obviously, Jiantan Temple couldn’t be considered an “ancient” temple if it didn’t have a long history. As one of the first Buddhist places of worship in Taipei, there is clearly a long and interconnected history that coincides with the development of Taiwan’s capital into the high-tech economic powerhouse that it is today. That being said, the history of the temple tends to be a little confusing, and not very well detailed in either Chinese or English. I’ve done my best to put together a list of events with regard to the temple’s history that should give readers an idea of the timeline of events over the past three centuries of its history.

Click the dropdown below to read more:

  • •1634 (崇禎7年) - Buddhist Monk Huarong (僧侶華榮和尚), travels to Taiwan from his monastery on the famed Putuo Mountain (普陀山) to welcome a stone statue of Guanyin to the island.

    •1718 (康熙57年) - A Buddhist temple named the ‘Western Temple’ (西方寶剎) was established along the banks of the Keelung River with Jiantan Mountain to its rear.

    1746 (乾隆11年) - Jiantan Temple (劍潭寺) is officially established.

    1773 (乾隆38年) - The temple goes through its first period of restoration.

    1800 (家慶5年) - The temple goes through another period of restoration.

    1836 (道光17年) - The temple goes through a period of expansion, making space for an official residence for the monks who stayed on-site.

    1843 (道光24年) - The abbot of Longshan Temple in Bangka assumes administrative control over the temple, and materials are donated to once again expand and restore the grounds.

    1895 (明治28年) - The Japanese Empire takes control of Taiwan.

    1899 (明治32年) - During the Japanese era, the temple became a Myoshin Temple (妙心寺), part of the Rinzai Sect (臨濟宗) of Japanese Buddhism.

    1914 (大正3年) - The monks living at the temple initiate a fundraising campaign to have the temple reconstructed.

    1918 (大正7年) - With the fund raising campaign completed, famed craftsman Chen Yingbin (陳應彬) is contracted to oversee a complete overhaul and redesign of the temple.

    1924 (大正13年) - The reconstruction project on the temple is completed, with a brand new traditionally Chinese-style design fused with Japanese elements and construction techniques.

    1937 (昭和12年) - Shortly after the expensive reconstruction of the temple is completed, an expansion project at the nearby Taiwan Grand Shrine (台灣神宮) forces the temple to relocate to another location a short distance away. Due to a lack of funds, the temple is more or less deconstructed, and then reconstructed in its original location.

    1945 (民國34年) The Second World War comes to an end and the Republic of China takes control of Taiwan

    1978 (民國67年) - A restoration project takes place, repairing and restoring some of the aging elements of the temple, and replacing the roof tiles with Taiwanese-style yellow tiles (黃色琉璃瓦).

    2004 (民國93年) - The temple is officially recognized as a protected heritage building (歷史建築).

    2007 (民國96年) - A restoration project takes place that restores the shape and design of the roof to its original 1924 design and all of the original decorative elements are carefully reproduced to reflect the original appearance of the temple.

    2017 (民國106年) - A newly constructed Guanyin Shrine is consecrated within the temple.

Architectural Design

The story of Jiantan Temple’s architectural design is a bit of a complicated one, and is something that you may have noticed in the timeline above has been altered several times, throughout its three-century long history. Over the years, the temple has been renovated, expanded, restored, reduced in size, and ultimately moved to an entirely new location.

Fortunately, thanks to the dedication of Japanese-era photographers, we have a pretty good idea of how it originally appeared prior to its migration, as you’ll have seen in some of those photos above. I’m not going to spend too much of your time talking about the temple’s past glory, or what is missing. Instead, I’m only going to focus on what you’ll experience when you visit today, which itself is a beautiful place of worship, full of complex design and decorative elements, some of which are uncommon in Taipei today.

If we take into consideration that the temple migrated to its current location during the Japanese-era, you’ll also discover that even though it maintains many traditional Taiwanese temple features, it is also a case-study in the fusion of Taiwanese-Japanese design of the era, which makes it quite special.

As I mentioned earlier, when the temple was forced to migrate, they lacked the necessary funds to construct an entirely new building. Thus, it was decided that instead of demolishing the original temple that they would have it deconstructed as carefully as possible in order to recycle the original materials to bring it back to life. Unfortunately, due to a lack of space on the plot of land that was allocated to the temple, and the difficulty of deconstructing the original, the end-result was a temple that was considerably smaller than the original.

The current design retains much of the original wood and stone that was used to construct the temple, which have been recycled. The size of the building is officially measured in ‘bays’ (開間), an ancient style of measurement that you won’t see mentioned very often in Taiwan these days, except for at historic places of worship like this. Essentially a ‘bay’ was the space between columns that held up the roof. Generally-speaking that was about 3.6 meters in length. Using this method, Jiantan Temple is officially eleven bays in length (面寬十一開間), which makes it just about 40 meters (131 feet) wide.

Keeping with the traditional design of a Hokkien-style temple, the facade of Jiantan Temple resembles that of the Front Hall (前殿) at Lukang’s famed Longshan Temple (鹿港龍山寺) in that it features a ‘Five Door Hall” (五門殿) style of design. In this style of design, there is a central wing that features the temple’s three main doors, with separate ‘dragon’ and ‘tiger’ wings (龍虎翼廊) on either side. Both of the wings feature a Swallow-Tail Roof (燕尾屋脊), which are equal in height, while the central portion is much higher. This style of roof, which is indicative of Hokkien-style architectural design differs from the typical style of ‘hip-and-gable’ roof that you’ll find at many Chinese, Japanese or Korean-style Buddhist temples. Yet it is one of the most common styles of architectural design with regard to the historic temples, mansions and ancestral halls around Taiwan.

Essentially, a ‘Swallow-Tail Roof’ is a roof that features an upward-curving ridge, resembling the tail of a swallow, and is typically adorned with a number of decorative elements, which are most often porcelain carvings (剪瓷雕). Depending on the amount of cash you have available, and how much you want to show off your wealth, this style of roof could be either single or dual-layered to add even more complexity. In this particular case, you might think with the varying heights between the wings and the central portion of the building that it is dual-layered, but it’s actually only a single-layer roof as the roofs over the wings are independent of the other. Nevertheless, despite the curvature of each of the roofs being one of their key features, you’ll notice that the mid-section is the most prominent as the two wings only feature half-curves, and neither of them reach as high as the mid-section.

One area where the Hokkien-style Swallow-Tail roof resembles that of a hip-and-gable roof is that the roof eclipses the base of the building in size, extending well beyond the front of the building. Thus, to help support the weight of the roof, you’ll find a number of pillars used for support both within the interior and on the exterior as well. The most prominent of these support pillars are located on either side of the middle door, and are beautifully-carved stone dragons that encircle the columns.

Link: Hokkien Architecture (Wiki)

While the temple may seem somewhat subdued in its design from afar, the devil is really in its finer details as the closer you look, the more exquisite you’ll discover its decorative elements are thanks to the 2007 restoration work that went into the temple (mentioned on the timeline above). It was at this time that the yellow cylindrical bamboo-like tiles (燒筒板瓦) that covered the roof were completely replaced as were almost all of the cut-and-stick decorations (剪黏), which are integral to Hokkien-style design.

The newly-designed decorative elements were part of a long research project that ultimately restored the original elements that you would have found at the original temple, when it was still in its original location. In this case, the temple contracted Pan Kundi (潘坤地), a master craftsman who is most well-known for his contributions to the restoration of Dalongdong’s Bao-An Temple (大龍峒保安宮), a Taiwanese national treasure, and recognized by UNESCO for its contribution to the preservation of cultural heritage.

One of the problems that might arise when you visit the temple today is that the ‘finer details’ mentioned above are abundant, and you may find yourself spending quite a bit of time looking at the decorative elements on top of the ridges, between the ridges, and along the ends of each of the them and contemplating their meaning. Never fear, I’ll do my best to answer some of those questions with the help of my telephoto lens!

Starting with the more obvious design elements, you’ll notice the ‘Double Dragon Pagoda’ (雙龍寶塔) directly in the middle of the apex of the roof. This is a decorative element that is common at Buddhist temples, and represents a number of important things - First, it is used to ward off evil spirits and fire, but it also represents ‘filial piety’ and ‘virtue’. Another way of interpreting it is by explaining that ‘pagodas’ were traditionally buildings where Buddhist texts were kept, so having the dragons encircling the pagoda in this way is a way of ‘protecting the Buddha’ or ‘precious things’.

The next thing you’ll probably notice is that on each of the ridges, there is a dragon-like creature facing toward the pagoda. In fact, this creature is referred to as an “Aoyu” (鰲魚), and is basically a carp that is in the process of transforming into a dragon featuring the head of a dragon and the body of a fish. Similar to the Dragon-Pagoda’s nature of helping to ward off fire or other disasters, the Aoyu are known for their ability to ‘swallow fire and spit water’ meaning that they’re also there to offer protection to the temple.

Conveniently located just under the two Aoyu in the mid-section, you’ll find one of the ‘Four Heavenly Kings’ (四大天王) accompanying them. Known as important Buddhist figures with regard to ‘protection’, in Mandarin, the names of the kings go together to form the idiom “fēngtiáoyǔshùn” (風調雨順), or “seasonable weather with gentle breeze and timely rain,” and by this point you’re probably wondering just how often temples burn to the ground. With the amount of candles and incense that are burnt in these temples, it probably shouldn’t be too surprising that it does, unfortunately, happen from time to time.

Two of the four Heavenly Kings on the far left and right.

The design of each of the kings is slightly different, but its important to offer a bit of detail:

  1. Virulhaka (增長天王) - holding a jeweled double-edged sword

  2. Vessavana (多聞天王) - holding a jeweled umbrella

  3. Dhatarattha (持國天王) - holding a pipa (a traditional musical instrument)

  4. Virupakkha (廣目天王) - holding a dragon in his hand

Link: Four Heavenly Kings (Wiki)

Once again, looking carefully along the Xishi Ridge (西施脊), the flat part of the top ridge, you’ll find some pretty intricate decorative elements in the space between the Four Heavenly Kings. Directly under the Dragon Pagoda, there is a mural that depicts the folklore story of ‘Guanyin conquering the phoenix’ (老古板的古建築之旅). The story, which originated in the Song Dynasty (宋朝), is a popular one in Taiwan that has been converted into a Taiwanese opera, which is often performed outside of temples. In the story, “Dapeng” (大鵬金翅明王), the Chinese manifestation of the Hindu deity Garuda turned into a human and came to earth to wreak havoc, forcing Guanyin to appear to make an appearance and back him under control. Legends regarding the mythical ‘Dapeng Phoenix’ appear throughout Chinese history, but in most of the stories, one of the commonalities is that it is often subservient to the Buddha or Guanyin.

One thing that confused me, and sent me down a bit of a rabbit hole looking for information, were the five animals located below the Guanyin mural. It is common to find ‘four’ animals depicted in this particular space within Taiwan’s temples, known as the ‘Auspicious Four Beasts’ (四祥獸), most often represented as a Tiger, Leopard, Lion and Elephant (虎豹獅象) - just like the so-called ‘Four Beasts Mountains’ in Taipei. Once again, as with the other decorative elements discussed so far, the presence of the beasts is meant to help suppress evil spirits and protect the temple. In this case, however, there are ‘Five Auspicious Beasts’ thanks to the inclusion of a Qilin (麒麟), a mythical Chinese chimera.

Link: Four Beasts Hiking Trail (四獸山步道)

Swallow-Tail roofs not only feature an upward-curving ridge at the apex of the roof but also often have eaves that descend from the ridge to the lower section of the roof where you’ll find a platform for additional decorative elements. Known in Taiwanese as the ‘paitoh’ (牌頭), you’ll find another set of elaborate murals at the end of each of the roof’s eaves.

There are two murals in the mid-section, and another one on each of the ends of the eastern and western wings. Two of the murals depict events from the life of the Buddha, while the other two are related to Guanyin.

Speaking of the wings, they feature similar decorative elements along their ridges, but in both cases are a bit more subdued, with simple depictions of peonies (牡丹), phoenixes (鳳), qilin (麒麟) and peacocks (孔雀).

Link: Animals & Mythical Creatures (Buddhist Symbols)

Moving on from the roof, located directly in front of the middle door in the centre of the building, you’ll find a beautifully designed Tiangong Incense Cauldron (天公爐) that features the words ‘Taipei Jiantan Historic Temple’ (台北劍潭古寺) carved on the bowl. The design here is slightly different than what you’d see at other places of worship in Taiwan as it is quite narrow compared to the cauldrons you’ll find at other temples. What remains the same is that you’ll find 'dragons grabbing pearls’ (雙龍戲珠) on either side and an octagonal-covered roof with three legs that represent a ‘tiger’ (寅), ‘horse’ (午) and ‘dog’ (戌), which are considered the ‘triad of heaven, earth and man’ (天地人).

Note: The ‘double dragons grabbing pearls’ (雙龍戲珠) are part of an ancient Chinese-language idiom that symbolizes humanity’s constant pursuit of happiness. It has also become an important image with regard to weddings as the harmony between husband and wife and mutual respect, humility and tolerance.

On either side of the cauldron you’ll find the beautifully-carved traditional stone dragon pillars (龍柱) that I mentioned earlier. The pillars, which aren’t from the original temple, are thought to be a product of the early 1900s, although you won’t find a date carved on them to prove that. Still, they’re well over a century old and have recently been given a bit of restoration. Featuring dragons that encircle each of the pillars. You’ll also find depictions of people and animals walking along each of the dragon's backs.

Directly in front of the cauldron, you’ll find a stone-carved Dragon Ramp (龍陞) between the ground and the platform in front of the doors. Also referred to as a ‘Royal Ramp’ (御路), the sloping ramp is reserved for the passage of royalty, or for whenever one of the statues has to be moved outside of the temple. Even though Taiwan doesn’t have any royalty, and the only royals to have ever visited the country were from the Japanese imperial family, these sloping ramps are a common feature among the temples you’ll find across the country.

Another common feature that the temple shares with most other places of worship in Taiwan is that there is a name plaque located above the middle door. The beautifully inscribed plaque (牌匾) features the temple’s name scripted in calligraphy and obviously if you take a look at it, it’s in pretty good shape, but in this case you can see the date it was placed, which was in August of 1981 (民國70年8月).

Speaking of recent additions, the shrine is currently home to lacquered wooden sliding panels with golden latticed windows. The wood-carved latticed windows (木柵窗格) don’t actually look like typical ‘windows’, but they feature intricately carved floral designs with birds and peacocks.

Finally, if you find yourself standing on the platform by the central door, you’ll discover that there are some really intricate and beautifully hand-carved wooden figures (木雕) that are used to decorate the trusses and eaves that connect to the pillars, which are instrumental in working together to help to support the weight of the roof. The carvings, which feature lions and murals, like the lattice windows below are all painted gold and make the exterior of the temple much more beautiful.

Before I move on to briefly describing the interior of the temple, I think it’s important to note that if you search for images of the temple online, you’re going to notice a stark difference between some of the photos you’ll find.

Prior to 2007, the temple looked considerably different, and very much more ‘plain’ that what you’ll see today. As I mentioned earlier, the design of the roof was completely changed to reflect the temple’s original design and it was during that restoration project that most of the decorative elements that I’ve described above were added. Given that the master craftsman mentioned above is known for not only his skills with traditional Hokkien cut-porcelain carvings (剪瓷雕), but also his wood-carving skills, it’s safe to say that all of the decorative elements that we enjoy today are thanks to his genius and hard work.

I won’t spend too much describing the interior of the temple, simply due to the fact that Hokkien-style Buddhist temples place an incredible amount of detail on the decorative elements of the exterior of the building while the interior is much more subtle. That being said, it has to be mentioned that, like the Lukang Longshan Temple, the temple features a beautifully designed ‘caisson’ (八卦藻井) in the main shrine room. Also known as a “Ba-Gua ceiling,” it would be an understatement to say that it is a masterpiece of architectural design. Octagonal in shape, each side of the caisson symbolizes eight symbols in Taoism that represent the fundamental principles of reality.

Somewhat difficult to describe properly, a caisson is basically a sunken layered panel in a ceiling that raises above the rest of the ceiling almost as if there were a dome above it. The layers of the caisson are often beautifully decorated and with a design at the center which in this case is just a painted flower that has a lamp hanging from the middle.

The most amazing thing to keep in mind about these caissons is that they are designed using expertly measured interlocking pieces that connect together in a way that means that neither beams nor nails are used to keep them in place. They simply lock together to form a six-layer deep spider-web of beauty. It takes a considerable amount of skill and patience to make one of these, so if you visit, one of the first things the people at the temple will do is make sure you take note of it.

As mentioned above, the interior of the temple is split into three sections with the main shrine in the middle. The wing to the left of the main shrine room is used for administrative purposes while the wing on the right is home to the Koxinga Shrine. The passage ways from both of the wings feature a couple of objects that should be noted. First, on the left wing, you’ll find a drum hanging within the passageway while on the right wing you’ll find a large stone bell, both of which are common within Buddhist temples as a way of indicating the time, attracting crowds, and announcing the beginning of preaching.

Finally, one last thing I’d like to point out is the ‘Dragon Altar’ (案桌) in the middle of the shrine - the altar features a painted dragon with the words ‘Jiantan Buddha’ (劍潭佛祖) on it. Likely one of the oldest parts of the current temple (save for the Guanyin statue), the altar dates back to the reign of Emperor Daoguang (道光) of the Qing Dynasty, placing it somewhere between 1821 and 1850. On either side of the altar, you’ll find some stone pillars with calligraphy engraved on each of them. Speaking to the history of the temple, they tell a story of how the migration of the temple to its current location wasn’t an optimal decision, but was forced upon them by the Japanese. I’d attempt to translate the text, but I have to admit that its beyond my level. Nevertheless, the sentiment is a bit salty.

The text is provided below for anyone interested:

Note:「寶劍劫灰塵爐火重新光大直,澄潭涵法雨川流終古擁觀音」and「庚辰劍潭古寺移築大直」

Getting There

 

Address: #6, Alley 805, Bei-An Road, Zhongshan District, Taipei

(臺北市中山區北安路805巷6號)

GPS: 25.085910, 121.554330

Conveniently located a short walk from an MRT station, visiting the Jiantan Historic Temple is actually quite straightforward, and is easily accessible for any tourist who’d like to visit. That being said, there are faster options than the MRT if you’re taking public transportation, so I’ll provide directions for both the MRT and the bus routes that will get you there below.

MRT

Located across the Keelung River from Taipei in Neihu’s Dazhi (大直) neighborhood, taking the MRT is obviously one of the most convenient methods of getting to the temple. That being said, even though the MRT drops you off pretty much at the temple’s doorsteps, its convenience doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s the quickest way to get there as the Brown Line trains are considerably slower than the normal underground MRT, and you’ll likely have to pass by Songshan Airport on your way there.

Nevertheless, if your preferred method of transportation is to take the MRT, simply get yourself on the Brown Line either at Zhongxiao Fuxing (忠孝復興) or Nanjing Fuxing (南京復興), heading in the direction of Nangang Station (南港捷運站). Getting off the train at Jiannan Road Station (劍南路捷運站), you’ll take Exit #1 and walk straight along Beian Road (北安路) where you’ll notice Jingye Park (敬業公園) on your right and the temple about a minute away on the left.

Bus

Similarly, given that the Jiannan Road MRT Station is located next to the Miramar Shopping Mall (美麗華百樂園), famed for its giant roof-top ferris wheel, there are a number of bus routes that will help you get there just as easily as the MRT. The closest bus stop to the temple is the Jiannan Road Stop (捷運劍南路站), directly in front of the MRT Station, so if you end up taking a bus, the walking route to the temple follows the same route.

Given the popularity of the Miramar Shopping Center, there are far too many bus routes that service this bus stop, and since Internet links for these things in Taiwan are notoriously unstable, I’m not going going to link to each of the routes individually here. I highly recommend travelers make use of the Taipei eBus website, or download the Bus Tracker Taipei app on your phone (Android | iOS) or use the Real-Time Bus Tracking service offered on the eBus website.

Here are the following routes that service the Jiannan Road Stop: Neihu Express Line (內湖幹線), Red #3 (紅3), Blue #26 (藍26), #28, #33, #42, #72, #208, #222, #247, #256, #267, #268, #287, #556, #620, #646, #681, #683, #902, #957, #1801

Youbike

If you’re feeling adventurous, you can easily hop on one of Taipei’s convenient shared Youbikes and make your way along the Keelung River all the way to Dazhi where you’ll be able to park the bike in front of the Jiannan Road MRT Station and make your way to the temple. If you’d like to make use of a Youbike, one of the best routes would be to grab a bike at the Yuanshan MRT Station (圓山捷運站), and make your way along the Dajia Riverside Park (大家河濱公園) where you’ll cross the pedestrian section of the Dazhi Bridge (大直橋), and from there making your way toward the Jiannan Road Station. There are of course a number of routes that you could take to get there, though, so I recommend opening up Google Maps on your phone and mapping out a bike route from wherever you’re starting from!

If you haven’t already, I highly recommend downloading the Youbike App to your phone so that you’ll have a better idea of the location where you’ll be able to find the closest docking station.

Link: Youbike App - Apple / Android

To be frank, I don’t really spend very much time in the Neihu area of Taipei. I’ve visited most of Taipei’s most important places of worship over the years, but this temple was one that I’ve always had on my list, but took quite a while to actually get around to. It’s not that I didn’t think it was important, or that it should be high on the list of places that people should visit when they’re in town, I just personally only find myself in that area when I’m hiking along the Jiantan Mountain ridge. Nevertheless, if you find yourself in the city and the temples are of particular interest to you, I highly recommend checking out some of those listed above, and if you’ve still got time left, head over to this one to check it out as well!

I suppose that doesn’t particularly sound like a rousing endorsement of the temple, but I’m not sure how much appeals to most short-term tourists. I have to say, though, that the temple was a lot more beautiful than I expected, and if the photos in this article are any indication, you’re in for a treat if you visit, especially since its a much more quiet place of reflection than some of the other major temples that tourists visit.

References

  1. 劍潭古寺 (Wiki)

  2. 劍潭 (Wiki)

  3. 劍潭寺 | Jiantan Temple (台灣宗教文化地圖)

  4. 劍潭寺 (國家文化資產網)

  5. 劍潭古寺 (台灣好廟網)

  6. 劍潭古寺 (Tony的自然人文旅記)

  7. 巴字第974號:劍潭古寺 (地球上的火星人)

  8. 中山區 劍潭古寺 — 隱身於熱鬧商場旁之臺北盆地最早古剎,有段被迫搬遷的過往 (Mobile01)

  9. 剪黏藝術欣賞(五) 劍潭古寺 (老古板的古建築之旅)

  10. 劍潭古寺 (淡水維基館)

  11. Jiantan Temple (Travel Taipei)

  12. Hokkien architecture | 闽南传统建筑 (Wiki)


Lukang Longshan Temple (鹿港龍山寺)

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When planning a trip to Taiwan, one of the stops that is always high on the list of places to visit is Taipei’s historic Longshan Temple - and for good reason - the bustling temple in the city’s historic Wanhua District (萬華區) offers tourists a first-hand experience with the vibrancy of Taiwanese religion, culture and the traditional architecture that is considered ‘exotic’ by a lot of foreign visitors.

What though do those tourists who are able to invest a bit more time exploring Taiwan do?

Well, they get out of Taipei and head south - Then they visit the ‘other’ Longshan Temple.

Yes, there is more than one Longshan Temple. (There are a handful of them actually)

Taipei’s Longshan Temple tends to be the busiest of the lot, but that is really only because it is conveniently located within the capital and is easily accessible thanks to the amazing MRT system. Don’t get me wrong, it is an amazing place to visit - I’ve been there a hundred times and I’ll probably go a hundred more times.

But, (yes, there is a but) Taiwan’s first “Longshan Temple”, the most historic of the group, not only stands out as one of the most attractive of the bunch - it is also regarded as one of the most beautiful temples in the whole of Taiwan as well as one of the best remaining examples of a building constructed during the Qing dynasty with traditional Fujian-style architecture.

Located in the historic village of Lukang (鹿港), the temple is just one of the many amazing destinations the small coastal village has to offer. Needless to say, if you haven’t heard of Lukang, you really should take some time to check it out. What might seem a small village in the middle of no where is actually an action packed day trip with some of the coolest historic sites you’re going to see in Taiwan. This is why it has become such a popular destination for both domestic and foreign tourists alike. Lukang is a village that has been frozen in time and provides visitors with an amazing snapshot of what the Taiwan of olde was like.

Longshan Temples of Taiwan

The Longshan Temples of Taiwan have a history that is directly related to the early migration of Hokkien Chinese settlers from China’s Fujian Province (福建省). Starting in the early 1600’s, due to the political instability of the Ming Dynasty (明朝), many people hailing from the Fujian and Guangdong (廣東省) areas made the decision to emigrate across the Taiwan strait and throughout various parts of South East Asia.

In Taiwan’s case, the Hokkien people sought to make a go of it in what was a very under-developed land bringing with them only their language, culture, cuisine and folk religion as well as what little possessions they could fit on the boat.

The original Longshan Temple, constructed during the Tang Dynasty (唐朝) somewhere between 618-619, received its name thanks to its location on “Longshan” (龍山) or Dragon Mountain in Anhai, Fujian.

The original, like every other ‘Longshan Temple’ that followed is dedicated to the Buddha of Compassion, whom in the Chinese Buddhist tradition takes the form of Guanyin (觀音菩薩), a female Buddha.

  • Non-Chinese Buddhists are likely more familiar with Tibet’s Buddha of Compassion who appears in human form as the Dalai Lama.

Here in Taiwan, the tradition that these temples would be dedicated to Guanyin has continued, but as the centuries have passed they started to accommodate Taoist and local folk-religion deities as well - many of whom also happen to hail from the Fujian region.

Even though you can now find several deities housed within Taiwan’s various Longshan Temples, the fact remains that essence of religious worship that takes place within is rooted in Chinese Zen Buddhist tradition.

Something that I can’t underscore enough about the religious experience in Taiwan compared to the west is that temples here have the ability to house gods from what are considered to be ‘different’ religions yet there are never any problems that arise from this. The religious experience here is one of tolerance and should certainly act as a model for those around the world who would use their beliefs to cause harm to others.

Today there are five temples in Taiwan with histories that date between 160 - 370 years which were all constructed during the Qing dynasty.

Lugang Longshan Temple (鹿港龍山寺) - 1647

Tainan Longshan Temple (台南龍山寺) - 1715

Monga Longshan Temple (艋舺龍山寺) - 1738

Fengshan Longshan Temple (鳳山龍山寺) - 1765

Tamsui Longshan Temple (淡水龍山寺) - 1858

Daxi Longshan Temple (大溪龍山寺) - 1868

Each of the temples differs in its design, but they all share a similar history and purpose making the Longshan Temple’s of Taiwan an important place of worship and of course, historical value.

Lukang Longshan Temple (鹿港龍山寺)

The oldest of all of the Longshan Temple’s in Taiwan is located in Changhua County’s Lukang Village - With a history that is said to date back to 1647. and is considered to be one of the most historic in all of Taiwan.

Something I’ve learned over the past few years though is to take some of these historical “facts” with a grain of salt.

Does the Lukang Longshan Temple in fact date back to 1647? Technically yes and technically no.

The history of a ‘Longshan Temple’ in the area most certainly dates back to the mid-1600s. However that history doesn’t necessarily relate to building that we see today. The original was actually a much smaller shrine, in another part of the village and was constructed solely to house a statue of Guanyin that was brought to Taiwan from the original Longshan Temple.

The temple we see today moved to its current location in 1786 and since then has been expanded upon, renovated and restored on several different occasions with reconstructions in the 1800s forming the basis of the structure that we continue to enjoy today.

So, while it may not be as old as advertised, Its still quite old.

History

To make things a bit clearer, I’ve gone ahead and translated some of the more important historical events over the temple’s long history:

  • 1647 - Immigrants from Quanzhou (泉州) bring a statue of Guanyin from the original Longshan Temple in Fujian on the voyage across the Taiwan strait and set up a small shrine on what is now a small alley near Dayou Street (大有街).

  • 1786 - The original shrine moves to its current location across town on a larger plot of land.

  • 1798 - After only a decade the newly constructed temple turns out to be far too popular and needs to be expanded to accommodate the amount of people who visit. The expansion sets in stone (literally) the layout for the temple which confines the complex to the 5,300 square meter plot of land that we still see today.

  • 1897 - Two years after the Japanese Colonial Era began, the Japanese authorities rented out the rear hall of the temple to create a Pure Land Buddhist (浄土仏教) shrine to accommodate Japanese Buddhists who lived in the area. Part of the temple is also used as a school for teaching the Japanese language to the local people.

  • 1904 - The temple joins a network of Pure Land Temples (淨土真宗本願寺派 / じょうどしんしゅうほんがんじは) and the Guanyin statue is relocated to the Rear Hall and replaced with a statue of Amida (阿彌陀佛) in the Main Hall.

  • 1921 - In what would become one of the worst tragedies in Lukang history, a fire completely destroys the Rear Hall of the temple taking with it the historic statue of Guanyin.

  • 1938 - Reconstruction of the Rear Hall is completed.

  • 1961 - Sixteen years after the Japanese Colonial Era ended, it is decided that the Main Shrine of the temple would revert back to Guanyin and the statue of Amida would be moved to the Rear Hall.

  • 1983 - The temple is awarded the designation as a ‘First Class National Historic Site’ (國家第一級古蹟) making it a protected historic building.

  • 1999 - On September 21st the powerful Jiji Earthquake (集集大地震) rocked Taiwan and created mass destruction all over the country. The temple was badly damaged as a result of the quake, so another massive reconstruction project is started to repair the damage.

  • 2002 - Reconstruction project is completed.

  • 2005 - Josh visits for the first time and falls in love (with the temple).

Design

When most people talk about the Lukang Longshan Temple, they only briefly mention the temple’s long history - Numbers are thrown out and people nod their heads and think “cool”, because when it comes to this temple, its not its age that really matters.

This temple is often described as one of the best remaining examples of Southern Fujian Qing-style architecture remaining in Taiwan. Does the average tourist really understand what any of that means though?

When you walk around the temple you don’t really have to really understand the complexities of historic architecture to realize that this temple is a masterpiece of design.

Interestingly though, whenever you search for “Southern Fujian Architecture” or “Hokkien Architecture” (閩南風格) most of the search results will feature a photo of the temple as the prime example of the characteristics of this style of architecture.

Hokkien-style architecture shares many similarities with other styles of Chinese architecture but there are of course several different ways that make buildings constructed in this style distinctive from others. First, the material used to construct this style of building is usually a mixture of red brick and wood. For most commoners in China, the usage of the colour red was frowned upon because “red” was typically reserved for imperial buildings. The Hokkien people it seems didn’t really care much about that though.

Swallowtail Roof

Another important characteristic is the “Swallowtail Roof” (燕尾脊) which refers to having a roof with an ‘upward-curving ridge’ shaped like the tail of a swallow. This design tends to vary in terms of the degree of the curve as well the number of layers on the roof but is something quite common throughout Taiwan.

Finally, to compliment the swallowtail roof designs, the Hokkien style often includes colourful porcelain carvings (剪瓷雕) which became common not only on the roofs of temples but also homes and ancestral shrines as well. The porcelain designs range from plants and animals to mystical creatures from Chinese mythology including dragons and phoenixes.

As one of the most well-preserved temples of its kind, the Lukang Longshan Temple combines all three of these architectural designs with beautiful red brick, swallowtail designed roofs on the main halls and gates and expertly crafted porcelain figures decorating the buildings.

The temple also follows the traditional ‘Three-Hall-Two-Courtyard’ design (三進二院) which refers to the three halls - The Front Hall (五門殿), Main Hall (正殿) and the Rear Hall (後殿) which are separated by the front courtyard and the rear courtyard and surrounded by passage ways on the perimeter of the building.

If you take a look at the diagram above, you may discover that the temple is constructed to resemble the Chinese Character “日“ which translates into English as either “sun” or “day”.

You could easily spend hours of your day enjoying the minutia and intricate designs of this temple, so I hope the following descriptions of each section helps to point out some of the things that you should pay close attention to when you visit.

Even if you can’t read Mandarin, I recommend checking out this site to see some historic photos of the temple as well as some sketches that beautifully illustrate the layout of the temple.

The Main Gate (山門)

The Main Gate of the temple, often referred to as the “Mountain Gate” (山門) is one of the most impressive you’ll see in Taiwan. The courtyard in front of the gate is decorated with red lanterns that lead up to the beautifully constructed wooden gate. Between the layers on the roof is a plaque that reads “Longshan Temple” (龍山寺). There are also red lanterns hanging off of the layer below that read “Lukang Longshan Temple” (鹿港龍山寺).

Not only is the gate held up on the front end by wooden pillars, it is also connected to a brick base that forms the entrance and also part of the wall that surrounds the entire perimeter of the temple.

The Main Gate is not only impressive from a distance but when you get close enough you can easily see the mastery it took to design such an intricate roof with the pillars holding the gate up.

Before entering the temple make sure to take some time to stand under the gate looking up at the beautiful work and all of its intricate pieces.

Paper Incinerator (惜字塔)

In the front square before you enter the temple quietly sits a relic of the past that isn’t widely talked about in English-language articles. What looks like a simple brick tower is actually a paper-burning incinerator that is of cultural and historic significance.

To describe it simply, Taiwan is a very humid place which makes it easy for things (like paper) to rot or become moldy. Before we had dehumidifiers and air conditioners people had little recourse to preserve the books they had, so as a show of respect for the written word, when people finished reading something they wouldn’t just leave it around. Likewise, throwing books in the garbage was simply not an option, so they took the book to an incinerator like this one and burnt it so that the words would live on in eternity.

I know, it sounds weird, right?

This practice was especially common with the Hakka people of Taiwan who constructed these special furnaces in the areas where they lived. As time went on, these towers became more and more unnecessary, so in many places around the country they’ve unfortunately been torn down.

In recent years however there has been a push to preserve them as they are of cultural and historical significance. In Taoyuan for example two of these incinerators, which are known as “Miracle Terraces” (聖蹟亭) have been restored and are open to the public as cultural shrines.

The paper incinerator at the temple looks like it hasn’t been in use for decades and sits quietly in a corner, still though, most people, including locals walk by it and don’t pay it any attention despite its historic significance.

Front Hall (五門殿)

The “Front Hall” is a actually a very simplistic term for what the main entrance of the temple actually is; In Chinese, the name translates directly as the “Five Door Hall” and is sometimes referred to as the “Five Door Portal”. No matter how you like to translate the name of the Front Hall, it consists of five doors with the three in the middle separated by four stone pillars.

Directly in front of the centre-most door is an incense cauldron with beautifully carved calligraphy on it.

On either side of the cauldron are stone pillars that have a dragon encircling the column.

On the walls you’ll find traditionally carved windows that are made out of wood and allow for the natural flow of air through the gate. On the windows you’ll find various designs including dragons, tigers, phoenixes which together symbolize prosperity and longevity.

On the interior it is important to pay attention to the ‘Door Gods’ (門神) that are painted on the doors.

When the doors are open they will face the inside of the temple and when the temple closes at night they’ll face the exterior. The ‘Door Gods’ have somewhat faded over the years but this style of artwork has started to become something of a lost art in Taiwan, so its great that we can still enjoy these.

The Door Gods on the main door in the centre represent Skanda (韋馱), the guardian of Buddhist Monasteries as well as Sangharama (伽藍), the Buddhist name for popular historical figure known as Guan Yu who is highly regarded for his ability to offer spiritual protection and grant blessings. The remaining four doors each have one of the Four Heavenly Kings (四大天王) who bestow wealth, success, peace and protection.

Theatre Pavilion (戲殿)

The ‘Theatre Pavilion’ is traditionally an area where temple performances would take place.

Temples constructed in Taiwan within the last century have (for the most part) constructed their performance stages in a separate area from the rest of the temple, usually outside of the main gates. This has allowed for larger, more mobile stages and more space for the audience, while reducing the amount of noise within the temple.

Truthfully, in all my years of temple hopping I can only count a handful of times where the Theatre Pavilion was actually constructed in such a central location in the temple.

Once you enter the Front Hall, the Theatre Pavilion is a large flat space with a spider-web caisson decorating the ceiling above it.

Few performances are held in this area anymore but the open space it provides in addition to the caisson above make it an especially grand spot that you won’t find at many other temples in Taiwan.

The Caisson (八卦藻井)

While doing research for this post I learned a new word - I’ve never actually known the English word for these so-called ‘spider web ceilings’ but whenever I see them I’m absolutely amazed by them.

In the case of this temple, the “caisson” is jaw-droppingly beautiful. There are so many adjectives that could be used to describe how beautiful the craftsmanship on this ceiling is but I’m at a loss for words - and if you have the chance to see it, I’m sure you will be too.

Known as the most beautiful “caisson” (藻井) in all of Taiwan, the “Ba-Gua ceiling” as I’d prefer to call it is an architectural masterpiece found in many East Asian temples and palaces. The reason I call it a “Ba-Gua” ceiling is because it is octagonal, a shape that has particular significance in local folk religion and culture.

Note: Bagua (八卦) refers to eight symbols in Taoism that represent the fundamental principles of reality and are interrelated with each other. At the centre of the Bagua is the Yin-Yang symbol. (Wikipedia link)

This particular caisson was constricted during the temple’s 1831 reconstruction and there are claims that it is one of the oldest of its kind in Taiwan.

A caisson is basically a sunken layered panel in a ceiling that raises above the rest of the ceiling almost as if there were a dome above it. The layers of the caisson are often beautifully decorated and with a design at the centre - in this case a beautifully painted dragon.

The most amazing thing about these caisson’s is that they are designed using expertly measured interlocking pieces that go together in a way that mean that neither beams nor nails are used to keep them together.

They just lock together to form a six-layer deep spider-web of beauty.

The Ba-Gua ceiling here commands respect and has become one of the most defining features of the temple. If you are visiting, I can’t stress it enough that you need to spend a few minutes with your head in the air appreciating the beauty and genius of this architectural masterpiece.

Worship Hall (拜殿)

To make a bit of a comparison, the Worship Hall at the temple is similar to something like the front patio of a house - It is more or less just a large covered platform that allows people to perform religious rituals without actually entering the Main Hall.

On the left and right side of the Worship hall sit a couple of century-year old trees that offer a bit of shade in front of the hall. Likewise each side of the hall has a station that allows people to light candles and incense for their prayers. In the centre there is another large incense cauldron with beautiful calligraphy carved on it. Behind the cauldron sits a large table where people can place offerings and is where you’ll often find beautiful floral decorations donated by visitors to the temple.

Of note when it comes to the design are the two stone dragon columns on either side of the incense cauldron - The columns which date back to 1852 are each carved with a dragon encircling the pillar. The dragons each have a pearl in their mouth and one in their foot while showing their fangs. The way the dragons encircle the columns make them is said to make them almost lifelike as they seem like they’re constantly in motion.

On the back of each column you’ll find the same four creatures featured in the windows of the Front Hall - A Phoenix (鳳), Qilin (麟), Crane (鶴) and Turtle (龜) - known as the ‘four spirit animals’ and together represent an idiom in Chinese (鳳毛麟趾、鶴算龜齡) that is really hard to translate to English but more or less refers to the rarity of the animals, how precious they are and the longevity of their lifespans (稀奇珍貴、祥瑞長壽) - certainly a metaphor for the temple.

Also of note are the two octagonal passageways on either side of the Worship Hall that lead to the the rear area of the temple. The passageways have become quite popular with photographers, especially wedding photographers who you might run into while touring the temple.

If you visit the temple make sure to take a few photos from the two doors as they’ve become quite iconic.

Main Hall (正殿)

To start, the roof of the Main Hall is actually quite simple; Following the same design as the other sections, the roof is a double-layered swallowtail design. On each of the tips you’ll find a dragon that is facing a pagoda in the middle.

Interestingly the Door Gods at the Main Hall mirror those of the Front Hall and consisting of the Four Heavenly Kings (四天大王), Skanda (韋馱), and Sangharama (伽藍). This time however they are painted a bit differently representing different aspects of their character. In this case they appear more ‘compassionate’ and ‘scholarly’ while they appear a bit more threatening on the outside.

Note: The scary, threatening Door Gods are considered to be “martial” (武) representations while the compassionate representations are considered ‘scholarly’ (文).

The interior of the hall is really where the design of the temple really shines - It is dark, not very well-lit and constructed with a network of stained wooden beams that hold everything up.

In the centre of the building, the ceiling rises almost a level higher than at the entrance - On the sides there are windows on both the east and west ends that allow for natural light to flow into the building offering a bit more light on the inside.

On the far right of the shrine room you’ll find statues dedicated to the Eighteen Arhats (十八羅漢), the original disciples of the Buddha. Next to them you’ll see desks nearby where there are attendants watching over the building and are there to answer any questions you may have.

The main shrine consists of several different statues of Guanyin, the Buddha of Compassion.

The largest statue is a replacement for the original that was brought to Taiwan in the 1600s. Accompanying the large image of Guanyin are several others which were carved out of wood or molded out of bronze.

Once again, to the direct left of the main shrine you’ll find martial representations of Sangharama (伽藍) and to the right Skanda (韋馱) whose purpose is to act as spiritual bodyguards for Guanyin.

You’ll also find a shrine dedicated to the Goddess of Childbirth (註生娘娘), The Monkey King (齊天大聖) and the Dragon King (龍王).

Rear Hall (後殿)

The Rear Hall of the temple is considered the youngest part of the entire complex due to the fact that it had to be rebuilt after a fire destroyed the original hall.

The new version of the hall dates back to 1938, during the Japanese Colonial Era and its design us a reflection of the era with a mixture of both Japanese and Chinese styles.

The exterior of the hall is a simple one that follows the Hokkien style of design making using of the swallowtail roof. The doors and the interior however are constructed completely of Taiwanese Cyprus and the Stone Dragon Columns are more ‘Japanese’ in design than the columns in the previous two halls.

To the sides of the Rear Hall you’ll find two round doors which used to be the dorm rooms for the temple abbot. Today the room to the right has been converted into a kitchen and the room on the left is partly used for storage and also allows guests to go to visit the back garden or the public restrooms.

On the doors of the Rear Hall you will find General’s Heng and Ha (哼哈二軍) who are mythical generals that date back to the Shang Dynasty (商朝). They’re mostly known today in their capacity as ‘Door Gods’ at Buddhist Temples.

Like the exterior, the interior of the hall is very simple in design with shrines dedicated to various Buddhist figures. In front of the shrines there is ample floor space that allows for the nuns who hold daily prayer services to take a seat on the floor.

In fact, the main reason why I don’t have many photos of the interior of the Rear Hall is due to one of the daily prayer services taking place at the same time of my visit. Even though I missed out on getting better photos of shrines inside, I did enjoy taking photos of the ladies who were busy chanting.

As mentioned above, the Rear Hall is home to several Buddhist figures which include Amida (阿彌陀佛), Sakyamuni Buddha (释迦牟尼) and the Medicine Buddha (藥師佛) - known as the ‘Three Treasures’ (三寶佛).

You’ll also find statues of Manjusri (文殊菩薩), Puxian (普賢菩薩), Jizo (地藏王菩薩), the Wind God (風神), Rain God (雨神), the God of Literature (文昌帝君) and the Zhenwu Emperor (玄天上帝).

Last but not least in the courtyard in front of the Rear Hall you’ll find an old well known as the “Dragon Stream Well” (龍泉井) which used to be where the people who lived and worked at the temple got their water. Today the well is closed up but you can still see that there is water inside.

Getting There

 

Lukang isn’t particularly a large town and is easily walkable - If you arrive in a car or on a scooter the best thing you can do is just find a parking space walk around to better explore the magic of the historic village.

Home to several historic temples, buildings, businesses as well as an old street were you can sample local delicacies, there is certainly more than enough to do while you’re in Lukang and if you plan your day well enough you should be able to explore for an entire day (or more if you have the time).

If you get tired of walking there are bicycle rental vendors all over the city - I’d recommend saving yourself some money and getting a Youbike instead. 

Lukang doesn’t have its own railway station, so if you want to visit using public transportation you have a few different options:

  1. Take a Ubus direct to the village from Taipei Bus Station ($350NT).

  2. Take a bus from Taichung - You can choose either Bus #6936 from Taichung HSR Station or Bus #6933 from Taichung Railway Station.

  3. Take a bus from Changhua - From the Changhua Railway Station you’ll find buses that frequently travel back and forth. (Buses: 6900, 6901, 6902, 6909, 6933, 6934, 6936 - Website)

  4. Take a scenic ride with a YouBike from Changhua Train Station on the six kilometre ride to Lukang - There are stations all over Changhua City as well as in Lukang to get a bike. Make sure to download the YouBike App so you’ll know where to get a bike.

Whatever method you choose to get to the village, I can’t stress it enough that once you’re there you should walk around and enjoy the quiet ambience of one of Taiwan’s most historic villages. You’ll easily be able to walk through the village and see all of the most important sites without needing a car or a scooter.

The Lukang Longshan Temple is located at “No. 81, Jinmen Street” (彰化縣鹿港鎮金門街81號) and is open to the public and to tourists everyday from 6:00am - 9:00pm.

Okay, so this post turned out much longer than I actually expected - And I really only scratched the surface when it comes to the history and design - You could write a thesis about this place and you still wouldn’t come close to describing all of the fine details. 

I suppose it is arguable whether or not Lukang‘s Longshan Temple is factually one of the “oldest” temples in Taiwan, it is however the oldest “Longshan Temple” in the country and when it comes to its beauty, it really does stand out as one of the most stunning places of worship in Taiwan. Its age and adherence to traditional architectural styles place it very high on the list of the most important historic temples to visit and I can assure you that if you do have the chance to go, you’ll certainly be glad you did.

Visiting Taipei’s Longshan Temple is obviously much more convenient for the majority of people who travel to Taiwan, but if you’re one of those people who takes a little bit of extra time to explore the country, a visit to Lukang and the many historic temples within the small village should be high on your list of things to do.


Tamsui Longshan Temple (淡水龍山寺)

When tourists visiting Taiwan want to experience a bit of traditional culture they almost always make their way to Taipei’s beautiful Longshan Temple. The historic temple is one of the best and most easily accessible examples of Taiwanese traditional culture, art and architecture and is always packed full of worshippers going about their daily routines.

What many fail to realize however is that Taipei’s popular Longshan Temple is only one of several temples around Taiwan (as well as China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, etc.) which share the same name.

There are currently eight temples throughout Taiwan and its outlying island territories where you can find a ‘Longshan Temple’ - Of those eight temples, five of them are historically significant in buildings which date between the 17th and 19th centuries.

For westerners, I suppose its easiest to compare how the various denominations of the Christian church have set up a network of branches all over the place.

Here in Taiwan the situation is very similar with major temples like Longshan Temple (保安宮), Qingshui Temple (清水祖師廟), Bao-An Temple (保安宮), Confucius Temple (孔廟) all having branches in several locations throughout the country.

While the majority of Taiwan’s most significant Longshan Temple’s were constructed in the 1700’s, the baby of the group, Tamsui’s Longshan Temple might not have such a storied history, nor is it as popular as its siblings but it does nonetheless have a charm of its own and should be on the list of every tourist’s itinerary if they are planning to visit Tamsui.

Before we get into the history of the Tamsui Longshan Temple though, I think I should give a brief explanation of the common features of all of these temples:

Longshan Temple (龍山寺)

The Longshan Temple’s of Taiwan have a history that is directly related to the early migration of Hokkien Chinese settlers from China’s Fujian Province (福建省).

Starting in the early 1600’s, due to the political instability of the Ming Dynasty (明朝), many people hailing from the Fujian and Guangdong areas made the decision to pack up and move across the Taiwan strait and throughout South East Asia.

Bringing their language, culture, cuisine and folk religion, the Hokkien people sought to make a go of it in what was then a very under-developed Taiwan.

The original Longshan Temple which received its name thanks to its location on Dragon Mountain (龍山) in Fujian, was constructed during the Tang Dynasty (唐朝) somewhere between 618-619.

The temple, like every other Longshan Temple that followed it is dedicated to the Buddha of Compassion whom in the Chinese Buddhist tradition takes the form of Guanyin (觀音菩薩), a female Buddha. Non-Chinese Buddhists are likely more familiar with Tibet’s Buddha of Compassion who appears in human form as the Dalai Lama.

Here in Taiwan the tradition that these temples would be dedicated primarily to Guanyin has continued but as the centuries have passed they have evolved and started to accommodate Taoist and local folk religion deities as well - many of whom also hail from the Fujian region.

Even though you can now find several deities housed within Taiwan’s various Longshan Temples, the fact remains that the majority of the religious practices that take place inside are rooted in ancient Chinese Zen Buddhist tradition.

Something that I can’t underscore enough about the religious experience in Taiwan compared to the west is that temples like Longshan Temple have the ability to house gods from what are considered to be different religions yet there are never any problems that arise from this. The religious experience in Taiwan is one of tolerance and should act as a model for those around the world who would use their religious beliefs to cause harm to others.

The Hokkien people who brought with them their cultural and religious practices constructed their first Taiwan branch of Longshan Temple in Changhua’s historic port town of Lugang in 1647 and later constructed several others.

Today there are five temples in Taiwan with histories that date between 160 - 370 years which were all constructed during the Qing dynasty.

  1. Lugang Longshan Temple (鹿港龍山寺) - 1647

  2. Tainan Longshan Temple (台南龍山寺) - 1715

  3. Monga Longshan Temple (艋舺龍山寺) - 1738

  4. Fengshan Longshan Temple (鳳山龍山寺) - 1765

  5. Tamsui Longshan Temple (淡水龍山寺) - 1858

Each of the temples differs in its design, but they all share a similar history and purpose making the Longshan Temple’s of Taiwan an important place of worship and historical value.

Tamsui Longshan Temple (淡水龍山寺)

Tamsui’s Longshan Temple was originally constructed in 1853 by residents of the Tamsui port area who had immigrated from the Quanzhou (泉州) area of Fujian.

Unfortunately after only a few short years the temple burnt to the ground.

In 1858, the current version of the temple was reopened and even though it has been repaired and renovated several times over that period of time, it still maintains its original design.

In comparison to the other Longshan Temples around Taiwan, the Tamsui version is a considerably smaller place of worship - Its beauty however lies in its design and its simplicity.

The entrance to the temple is strangely in a dark, covered traditional market that makes the temple seem somewhat mysterious from the outside. The elaborately decorated traditional stone-front temple facade even on the brightest of days is barely visible.

The entrance however opens up to a beautifully naturally lit interior that tends to transform depending on the weather. On sunny days the temple shines - on rainy days the colours of the temple are accentuated by the dull grey skies with clouds of burning incense.

Coincidentally the temple has become a popular place or photographers for this very reason. Its a very photogenic place

As is tradition, the temple was constructed sitting in the west and facing east (座西朝東) and has a simple ‘two-hall and two-passage-way’ design (兩殿兩廊式). Basically what this means is that the temple was constructed according to Feng Shui for great energy and is rectangular in shape with two different sections - a common design for temples. The entrance area forms one of the ‘halls’ (殿) with an open-air courtyard in the middle. There are two covered walkways (走廊) on either side that lead to the rear hall where the main shrine is located.

Considering its size, the temple only has one shrine room but the decorations in the interior not only show their age but the expert craftsmanship of Taiwanese temple architecture. The wood and stone work inside is beautiful, especially the large wooden plaques with calligraphy that hang from the ceiling.

The main shrine is (of course) dedicated to Guanyin (觀音菩薩), the Buddha of Compassion. But what you might find interesting is that all three of the shrines in the temple are dedicated to popular female deities from Buddhism, Taoism and Chinese folk religion.

The statue of Guanyin is a large golden one with beautifully hand-painted calligraphy in the background. To her right is a shrine to the Goddess Mazu (天上聖母), the patron-saint of Taiwan and to her left is a shrine to the Goddess of Child Birth (註生娘娘) rounding out the all-female cast of deities.

It probably goes without saying that when people pay a visit to the Child Birth Goddess they’re looking to have success in becoming pregnant or divine protection for a safe and healthy delivery.

Guanyin, the principle deity of Longshan Temple on the other hand serves a myriad of different roles - Known as the goddess of mercy, her name loosely means that she ‘hears the cries of mankind’ and seeks to help solve people’s problems. A visit to Guanyin is thus important when seeking protection for your family, health, career, etc.

Finally, Mazu, as mentioned above, serves as the patron-saint of Taiwan and especially those who work on the seas -  There are over a thousand places to workshop Mazu around Taiwan with most shrines historically constructed in port areas by fishermen who wanted to express gratitude for watching over them while out at sea.

As the patron-saint of Taiwan however Mazu has over the years transcended her traditional role as protector of the seas to the protector of the nation. People of all walks of life in Taiwan pay respects to the goddess and also request protection for theirselves and their families.

Getting There

 

Tamsui’s Longshan Temple is a short walk from the Tamsui Metro Station (淡水捷運站) and makes for a great visit if you are taking the time to visit the Danshui Old Street (淡水老街).

Somewhat hidden within a bustling traditional market, there isn’t much signage in English that will point you in the direction of the temple which means that you’ll probably want to follow Google Maps for this one.

From the Metro Station you’ll want to follow Zhongshan Road (中山路) into the downtown area of Tamsui making a right turn when you arrive at Zhongshan Road Lane 8 (中山路8巷).

From there you’ll walk up the hill for a minute or two before you turn right into a market alley on Qingshui Street (清水路) which you will walk down for a minute before turning left and seeing the main entrance to the temple.

While visiting Danshui, apart from the other obvious tourist destinations, you may also want to consider visiting the local Qingshui Temple (清水祖師廟) and the historic Fuyou Temple (福佑宮), one of Danshui’s most important and historic places of worship.  

If you are like many other tourists who make visiting Tamsui part of their Taipei itinerary you’ll definitely want to include a visit to the local temples to enjoy a bit of the storied history of the area that you will completely miss while walking down the so-called “old street”.

Tamsui played an instrumental role in the development of Northern Taiwan and you don’t have to look very far for its history. Its on display all over its streets. Try not to be like all the other tourists walking around with their giant ice-creams thinking they’ve seen the real Tamsui.

A visit to Tamsui’s Longshan Temple will be a completely different experience than what you will have at Taipei’s temple - The relative peace and quiet of the Tamsui temple allows guests to walk around and really appreciate the fine details of the beautiful artwork and architecture without a billion other people getting in the way.