Architecture –The Beauty of Confucius Temple

I have been living in Tainan for the past two years. Tainan is located in southern part of Taiwan, and also considered the fifth largest as well as the olderest city compares to the others. A place that is worth a while to visit is the Confucius Temple. The temple is been around for hundres of years, and it is been well maintain for its touristy purpose.

When you come to Taiwan, Tainan city is a must visit location because of its history. Moreover, you must visit the Confucius Temple when you visit Tainan because of the beauty of the temple.

The temple was built since the Qing Dynasty in 1897, the architecture layout and the building configuration was based on the traditional Confucian temple. When you visit the temple, you must focus on those parts that define its beauty. For instance, the Hong Gate and Pan Gong are located at the main entrance of the temple. The Hong gate is at the west gate and the Pan Gong is on the east side. They are the shape of an honorific arch with a swallow tail ridge and a middle that opens up as an arch with circular windows on the either side. Furthermore, on the south side of the temple, you can see a very high wall from the front door. This wall is called Wanren Gongqiang which is required at any Confucius temple. There was a literary origin of this wall which comes from The Analecs of Confucius, and the meaning of the origin was basically to emphasis the Confucius' well rounded knowledge and his high morals that is worthy for us to follow. He had thought us that there is no short cut for learning. For those who wish to make effort to learn must go through the Hingmen Gate or the Pangon Gate. The final architecture I would like to point out is the Lingxing Gate, and it is placed in the front also required in any Confucius temple. The one in Tainan has a roof and is like a tower with a gate underneath. In the middle part of the entrance, you can see a pair of very beautiful coiled dragon stone pillar to support the structures as the foundation. There are also all kinds of bird and flower patterns carved on the wall besides the dragon stone pillars. These carvings are usually in a simply form and style that brings out the gracefulness of the Confucius Temple.

I strongly recommend those who are interested to visit Tainan to check out the Confucius Temple. If you enjoy ancient history and their building structures, you can find yourself lost in time enjoying a moment of ancient dream.