Lecheng Temple

In a nice and warming afternoon, I rode my loyalty Lancelot to my destination,"Lecheng Temple"(樂成宮). I hadn't been there because it's located in the East Section which is too far for me to get there. After consulting the map and the information from the Internet. I took fourty minutes going there by my motorcycle. According to the historical information, in 1753, a Lin family arrived at here from the mainland. To pray for a peaceful life and the security of the family, they took a sculpture of Matsu(媽祖) with them, and called here "Matsu of Hanshi"(旱溪媽祖).

Many legends of Great Taichung, especially the event that Matsu helped the people in "eighteen village"(十八庄) eliminated a sea of dangerous insects and turtles, which has been passed down to this time. Until now, in every eleventh of March of Chinese Lunar calendar, they held "Surrounding the eighteen villages march"(繞十八庄繞境活動). People in eighteen village express their most pious worship to Matsu and Matsu also blessed them in return with rich harvest and peaceful life. Therefore, Lecheng Temple has been a religious center of this area. After two large expansion in 1920s and 1980s, it became the style that we could see now. In the terrible earthquake in September 21th, 1999, Lecheng Temple suffered a serious damage.

After being repaired for several years, what it's like was what it used to be. According to the build, repair and extansion, it is like a symbol of development of the Great Taichung.

The temple has a big scale and various kinds of decorations. For example, the Ching-tou Stone Lions (青斗石獅), the stone column with dragon pattens (雕龍畫柱) and the sculptures made from Chiao-Chin-clay (交趾陶) were the unique features of this temple.

Different from the Matsu Temple. there were also many Gods worshipped here: Matsu, Jade Emperor(玉皇大帝), Guan Yin(觀世音菩薩), Xuan Wu(觀音), Guan Yu(關羽), Cai Shen(財神), Songzi Niangniang (註生娘娘), Wenchang(文昌), The Old Man under the Moon(月老), Hua Tuo(華陀),and etc.

It took a long time to worship and pray for all the Gods in the temple. A special spot in the temple is the room for "the old man under the moon", who was the God that blessed the people for good marriage, so many young men and women came here and worshipped for him.

Moreover, the office of the Lecheng Temple printed the way of praying for good marriage and published it outside the door to let people know that.

I took a lot of souvenirs in the temple, which were provided for free.

The Folklore Park

The weather today was very hot, at 2:00 p.m., I rode my Lancelot to my destination: The Folklore Park. The Folklire Park is located in Taichung Peitun District. Taichung City Government comissioned Asia University to manage the Folklore Park. With the combined efforts of the university and the socity, the precious cultural resources of the Folklore Park can be put to even better social and educational uses.

The Folklore Park is the firse Folklore Park in Taiwan, and it's aimed at providing the people of Taiwan with recreation and with the place where there can reflect about the past and experience how our ancestors led their life. The park will host seminars about folk customs and provide a space for folk art exhibition or performances, so as to raise the quality of people's lives and allow them to see the first-hand traditional Southern Fujianese-style architecture and taste Taiwan's down-home century flavor.

The park has three major parts: The Folklore Museum, The Folklore Park and the Traditional Chinese Landscape Courtyard. A hyouse made of pounded earth, a Folk Arts Plaza and Folklore Plaza serve as additional attractions. The courtyard contains flowers, trees and interesting rocks, and a fish pool.
The park arounds with folklore artifacts and leisure functions. Enter the gatee and turn right, you can see the Folklore Museum, which is housed in a traditional siheyuan(四合院). These historically representative building shows how people lived in Taiwan during the late 19th and the early 20th century. The house central hall is where the ancestors and deities were worshipped. The one finds after tables, taishi chairs(太師椅), and eight-demigod table(八仙桌), calligraphies(書畫), offerings(供品). All of the demonstrate a way of life in which great care was taken in performing funeral rites for parents and worship of ancestors.

The Courtyard Garden: One enters the scenic courtyard designed by Fang Su-Chou(仿蘇州) through the side door of the Folk Art Museum. The courtyard features a lotus pool, a shade pavilion, a round arch, an arched bridge, and a covered arcade. Lingering here in a light breeze as the fish dart playfully in the water is an excellent way for family and friends to experience the beauty of traditional Chinese architecture and classical courtyard.

The Folk Art Performance Plaza is specially provided for holding celebrations on birthdays and anniversaries and putting on demonstrations of folk arts as well as such performance as traditional Chinese vaudeville(雜耍), dragon dancing(舞龍), lion dancing(舞獅), top twirling(打陀螺), shuttlecock kicking(踢毽子), diabolo dancing(拉扯鈴), kite flying(放風箏), and the reading of latern riddles(猜燈謎).

Many years ago, my family and I went there to visit. A lot of people tookpictures, played games, danced the diabolo and flew the kites. However, few and few people wanted to get here. The exhibition and shops had few visitios. Does it seem that our culture has eliminated gradually? The folklore lark is like a little museum, preserving the memory of the childhood of the last generations. If one day the Folklore Park failed to run, does it mean that the traces we left will disappear forever?

Today, I rode my Lancelot passing by the government of Taichung City, which has been the politicial center of the Great Taichung since the period of Japanese colonization.

However, today I'd like to go to another building: the Municipal Office Building(台中市役所). This building was pretty staring and it was designed of the style of Baroque(巴洛克) and Classicism(古典主義), which has been popular in the red-bricked architecture. It's a critical witness of the development of Taichung City for the past one century, and it also has preserved many kinds of precious traces for us.

In the western Taiwan, people reclaimed many fields and farmlands and build many irrigation ditches. This area had formed an important area of the agriculture. After 1895, the time of the Japanese colonization, the authority set several managment stations to take over these irrigation devices to control the distribution of the water as well as the amount of the harvest. The management station in Taichung was the largest part of the whole land at that time.

In the middle period of the Japanese colonization, the authority decided to enlarge the controlling area and extended this Municipal Office Building to the scale we saw today.

After the recovery of Taiwan, the Municipal Office Building had been the Taichung office of KMT and it was returned to the government of the Taichung City and became one part of the official institutions.

After 921 earthquake in 1999, the old building had a great damage. The government registrated it as a historical spot in Taichung City and made some payment for its repair.

In 2005, the mayor of Taichung City, Jason Hu(胡志強)'s promoton, it became the space of art and culture again for the citizens in Taichung City.

Today, I saw an exhibition in Municipal Office Building. To honor the contribution for Wang Erth-Chang in creating and promoting of art. The government held "the Eastern Fauvism: Wang Erth-Chang Commenmorate Exhibition" in Municipal Office Building, showing Mr. Wang's works of art in his several periods of his life, including oil paintings, paintings in watercolors and Chinese paintings..., and Mr. Wang's achievements in martial art.

PS: The Eastern Fauvism: starting from our minds, using the bright colors and forceful using of brushes.

Mr. Wang was born in Hopei Provience, China in 1919. His family loved collections which inspired his interest in art and formed his great ability. Mr. Wang's paintings presented the balance and harmony of the world. These vivid works provided us a feeling of the beauty of the nature. Just like his paintings, he looked very gentle, calm and steady. He was also very versatile in many kinds of art works.

The exhibition in the first floor is oil paintings, and there were the introduction of his life, his Chinese paintings and martial art.

On the second floor, there were many Chinese paintngs and his martial exhibition.

On the third floor, most specially, there was a simulation of his workshop.

The third floor was the top part of the building, which preserved the wood structure. I opened the small window secretly, and took a look at the view outside the window.

Municipal Office Building and the train station of Taichung City have witnessed the historical development of the Taichung City. From Japanese colonization, Martial demonstration time to the period of democracy. It is still keeping company with us and preserves the historical traces for us. Standing at the door of the building, I could feel I was standing in the stream of the time and became a part of the long time stream as well.

The Taichung Confucius Temple

Although the weather today was a little cloudy, I still continued my cultural journey in Taichung City. The place I planned to visit was "The Taichung Confucius Temple." Go along the "Jhong-gang Rd." to the crossroads and enter in the Sanmingshi Rd..After getting into the Yucai St. in front the Taichung First Senior High School. Turn left and get into Shung-shin Rd. and you could see the Taichung Confucius Temple.

There hadn't been Confucius Temple in Taichung in the early period. In 1970s the local authority started the plan to build the Confusius Temple. The period of construction was two years. The temple was build employing the temple-style architecture of the Song Dynesty, which was featured by simplicity and harmony.

The temple's layout follows the arrangement of the Confucius Temple of Chufu, Shan-tung Provience in China, where is the hometown of Confucius.

It boasts great structual complexity and a wealth of exquisite decoration. Each hall of the temple features color painting in the Song style, and the predominant decoratine motif consist of curling grass and flowers. The temple is one of the few outstanding models in Taiwan, and as such is worthy of studying and appreciation.
On the Li-hsing Rd., there are two tables inscribed with the words "The Unchanging way of Antiquity" and "Virtue Rivaling Heaven and Earth." These inscriptions honor Confucius' profound virtue and contribution to our Chinese culture. It is the sole Confucius Temple in Taiwan with such tables, and is an emblem of the cultural heritage of Taichung City.

Lingxing Gate is the first getway when getting into the Confucius Temple, and it adds innovate touches to the Chufu style. It's only opened for the Shidian(釋奠) sacrifices, and is closed again after the sacrifices have been completed, Nowadays, the Lingxing Gate is only opened when the nation's head of the nation arrives to take part in the sacrifices. To show the highest reverence for the Confucius' ideas. The opening of the Lingxing Gate comforms to time-honored ceremonial details.

The screen wall at the Taichung Confucius Temple faces the Lingxing Gate. All four sides are adorned with many carvingd depicting episodes in Confucius' life as a wandering teacher.

The pool behind the Lingxing Gate is semicircular in shape, which is commonly known as a "half- moon pool" and it's full of carp. In ancient times, topranking participants in the imperial examination would walk by this type of pool on their way to honor Confucius at the temple. It was customary for the test-takers to pull up some plants and put them on the hats in a ritual called "strolling by the pond"(遊泮)

The walkway(甬道) leads straight from the pool to the courtyard in front of the Great Perfection
Gate(大成門). The walkway is ilned with stone laterns and shaded by old trees growing in the yard on their sides.

The fire pavilion() and sacrificial basin() are representing located on the eastern and western sides of the walkway. These vessels are used for the ceremonial burning of silk and burying of hair and blood when Shidian ritual is held on Confucius' birthday.

The Great Perfection Gate is the main entrance to the main temple.

The Jin dram(晉鼓) and the large bell(鏞鐘) in Great Perfection Gate are used in the Shidian ritual.

The most important temple is the "Great Perfection Hall."

There is a tablet honoring the "greatly perfected sagely teacher Confucius." There is no image of Confucius and no couplets in the Confucius Temple.

The Sage's Shrine(崇聖祠) is located directly behind the Great Perfection Hall. The Sage's Shrine contains the ancestral tablets of former sages, worthies, and scholars and draws attention to the system of reverence for ancestors upheld in China for several thousands years. The Shine's layout is similiar in many respects to that of a family temple or ancestral shine.

There's a school on the right hand side of the Eastern Gallery and a classroom in the right part of the Sage's Shrine. Arts and skills are taught in these areas. They contains books, newspapers, and magazines, and there are old-style tables and chairs. It's open free of charge to the public for reading and study.

Two years ago, when I was in the third year of the senior high school. My school,Taichung First Senior High School, held a ceremony for being adult for all of us. It also prayed that we can get good grades in the Joint College Entrance Examination.

For thousands of years, millions of students went to Confucius temple through all the China to pray for their good grades in examinations, but how many of them could achieve their ideal goals? Two years ago, we determined to get good grades in this temple, but we left here very soon. Now I stood here alone, with some meloncholy instead of pleasure. For these years, I got a lot but also lost a lot.