Confucius Temple

Confucius 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, visitors see none of the densely rich decor of many other temples. Even the usual stone lions are missing from the temple's entrance. The columns, doors, and windows in Confucius Temple are also different, as they bear no inscriptions. This indicates, it is said, that nobody dares flaunt his literary prowess before Confucius the Master.

There are also no images in Confucius Temple. It is said that in ancient times, Confucius temples contained images of Confucius the Sage, but different craftsman carved them in different likenesses. This lack of uniformity upset Emperor Tai Tsu 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 Shih Tsung, it was decreed that all existing images of Confucius be replaced with memorial tablets. This rule is still followed today.

Standing outside of Tacheng Hall, the main hall of this temple, visitors 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. It is said that in ancient times, the first emperor of the Chin 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.

Every year on September 28, a festival is held at dawn to celebrate the birthday of Confucius. Parts of the dawn ceremony date back nearly 3,000 years. The ceremony includes a ritual dance, costumes, music and other rites.

The Confucius Temple is located in Talung Street in Taipei City.

Here is an interesting article to read:

• International adulthood ceremony held at Taipei Confucian Temple (January 7, 2007)