One Day Cultural Tour of Taipei

Longshan (lungshan) Temple is a famous old temple in Taiwan. It is for worshiping Guanshiyin Budda and other divine spirits. Longshan (lungshan) Temple is facing the South. Its architecture is a three-section design in shape. There are the front hall, the rear hall and the right/left dragons protecting the middle hall. The layout is square and serene. The temple was built in Qianlong 5th year in Qing Dynasty. Due to natural disaster and damages caused by men, the temple was restored for several times. The doors, beams, and poles are beautifully decorated. There is a pair of bronze dragon poles in the front hall, four pairs of dragon poles in the middle hall. The sculptures are delicate. There are also exquisite wood sculptures. Among them, the well and Budda setting in the main hall are highly appreciated. The temple has many Chinese poems, verses and lyrics on signs. These add a touch of literature in addition to the religious and sightseeing value.

There are great decorative lamp fairs and temple activities on historical festivals. On each 1st and 15th day each month of lunar year, regular visitors will come to the temple for worship ceremony. The temple attracts many people. At normal times, there are domestic/foreign tourists visiting the temple. Longshan (lungshan) Temple is not only a temple, a sightseeing attraction, but also a second-degree historical site. There are traditional streets/shops, antique shops, Buddhists article shops, and Chinese medicine shops surrounding the temple. These places are great to visit due to their richness in folk art.

The Taipei Confucius Temple is right across Dalong Street. This temple honors one of the greatest philosophers and teachers of all time, Confucius, as well as other philosophers. Confucius valued simplicity, and simplicity is the dominant characteristic of his temple. Here you see none of the densely rich decor of many other temples; even the usual stone lions are missing from the entrance. The columns, doors, and windows here are also different, in that they bear no inscriptions. This indicates, it is said, that nobody dares flaunt his literary prowess before the Master. Nor are there any images in this temple. In ancient times, Confucius temples contained images of the Sage, but different craftsman carved them in different likenesses. This lack of uniformity upset Emperor Tai Tsu (reigned A.D. 1368) of the Ming dynasty, who decreed that all new Confucius temples would henceforth contain only memorial tablets and no images. Later on, during the reign of emperor Shi cong (1522-1586), it was decreed that all existing images of Confucius be replaced with memorial tablets. This rule is still followed today. Standing outside of Dacheng Hall, the main hall of this temple, you can see a pair of upright cylinders in the center of the roof. These are called book-hiding barrels, and there is a story behind them. In ancient times, the first Emperor (reigned 246-214 B.C.) of the Qin dynasty wanted to keep his people illiterate so that they would not challenge his rule; he had books burned and scholars killed. To save their beloved books, students hid them in rooftop containers built to look like chimneys.

Located at the confluence of the Danshui and Keelung rivers, DaLong Cave (Longdong) developed very early. The center of worship here is Bao-an Temple, built in 1825. This is a large temple, and its construction was different; in addition, all of the wood and stone materials--and even the artisans--had to be brought over from mainland China. For these reason, the temple required a full quarter-century to complete.

This temple features the usual dragon pillars, and also a pair of stone lion that are not so usual. Normally, of the two lions (one male, one female) that guard a temple, the male has an open mouth and the female a closed mouth; here, however, both have open mouths. It is said that they are not lions at all but a "humane beast" and a "law beast," stationed there as an appeal to respect the law and carry out good government.