God Of War Temple – Tainan

From the highest point of the Chikan Towers I stopped to marvel at the contrasting views before me. Below is the perfectly preemed Chikan Lou gardens where every leaf on every tree and bush is cut and placed with impeccable taste and imaculate precision to preserve a feeling of honour and dignity in the now over three hundred year old Fort. Ahead unfortunately, is the less attractive site of scaffolding wrapped around tall concrete buildings and a slightly neglected, peeling billboard that probably hasn’t served its purpose in months. Then I notice further back, hidden behind two buildings is a beautiful, deep red rooftop and realise that I had spotted Tainan’s God Of War temple and so I tell the others and we head through the back streets to get a closer look. However, it is only after stopping and trying one bite of everything on a little old Taiwanese ladies noodle shop menu and washing it down with bubble tea that we arrive at the temple.

From the outside you can see the full stretch of the deep red left wall which is often recognised by tourists and visitors when mentioning the temple as it is rare to be able to see the full side of any Taoist temples. Many temples are very similar and follow a generic layout design but this one inparticular has a number of distinct features such as the left wall which makes it that little bit more special and memorable.

Built in 1665 the temple is heading towards 400 years old and has a mighty 300 year old plum tree in the back courtyard that has aged with it. Originally it was the deity Guan Di who was solely worshipped here and that is why sometimes if you talk to locals about the temple or try to do some research you may find calling it by its other name ‘DaGuanDi temple’ will get you a bit further. Guan Di is the patron saint of soldiers and is widely worshipped in both Taoism and Buddhism which means you will most likely be able to recognise his image from the hundreds of paintings and statues of him all around Asia. – Hard to miss, he’s the one with the bright red face and long black beard often holding a pole with a blade on the end (this is a traditional Chinese weapon known as a Guan Do).

However, the temple also has yet another name. It is also known as the Sacrificial Rites Martial Temple due to regular rituals that were performed there by Official Government members in the 1700’s. These sacrificial rituals were performed to honour general Guan Di’s ancestors on the 13th of May every year and often repeated again in the Autumn season. During the occupation years, the Japanese government held the rites to hold two out of three rituals performed a year.

The temple’s layout is unique in that it is not symmetrical. The back of the temple stretches out far to the left and does not extend at all into Yongfu road on the right which is what a traditional layout would do. The unforgettable bare red wall which can be seen from this road is special in itself but also serves as a huge contrast to the decorative interior of the temple, making it that more spectacular when you venture inside.

How To Tell Confucius, Taoist and Buddhist Temples Apart

One of my favorite things about Taiwan is that smack in the middle of a built up, bustling, concrete city you can find a beautiful, unspoiled, temple. At first I thought it was quite sad, these beautiful, old, historic temples being over shadowed by high-rise buildings and scaffolding but now I find something quite wonderful and almost magical about it. Sometimes you might even walk straight past one without even realizing. In almost every city in Taiwan if you look above the roof tops or look to the end of an insignificant little alley you can spot a magnificent temple whose beauty is a breath of fresh air in a busy concrete jungle.

The one thing I began to feel bad about however, was that whilst appreciating the intricate architecture and elaborate artwork, I didn’t always know what the name of the temple was or even which religion it belonged to. Throughout history, the Chinese people have lived in a multi religious society. Some temples even accept both Buddhists and Taoists to pray there. So, I made it my mission to learn the few obvious differences between Buddhist, Confucius and Taoist temples. I researched different deities, paid attention to the paint colours used and brushed up on a few traditions practiced by each belief. Now I’m getting the hang of it I thought I would put together a simple ‘how to’ guide for telling temples of different faiths apart. 

The basic differences:

Confucius

 Confucius temples are the easiest to spot. They are much less ornate than Buddhist or Taoist temples. Usually they are plain, stick to a simple colour scheme and are very organized and peaceful. When it comes to layout, they tend to have three courtyards with the main structure in the middle of the most central courtyard. This central structure is called the Dachengdian – this translates as ‘The Hall of Great Achievements’. They also tend to not feature any images, this is because unlike a lot of religions, Confucianism is about following the teachings more than worshipping the man himself. That is why if you are ever to see a statue or painting of Confucius, often they are small and discreet. Since the Tang Dynasty, Confucius temples have been built in or on the grounds of a school and so if you are ever unsure what type of temple you are looking at; just look to one side or out of the front and if you see a school, you know it is a Confucius temple. 

 

This Primary School is by the left side entrance to the Tainan Confucius temple.

Taoist

 Taoist temples are definitely the most elaborate of temples. They are decorate with many bright colours, statues of numerous Gods and have ornate carvings and statues literally from the roof to the furthest corner at the back of the temple. When stood outside a Taoist temple, you will be able to find statues of a dragon and tiger, usually either side of the main gate and on the roof there will be beautiful, detailed carvings of dragons, Koi carp and mythical characters symbolising parts of important stories from traditional folk lore. Sometimes, the smaller and more hidden the temples is, the more elaborate its carvings and decorations are such as the one in the photograph below which a stumbled upon at the end of a tiny alley way in Tainan. 

There are numerous Gods and deities worshipped within Taoism and you can expect to find a number and combination of these as figurines dotted around. The most common one I have found is the female Deity Matsu (also known as Mazu). She is the Goddess of the sea and gives protection to fishermen and sailors. Taiwan being an island means that many people live by the sea and have jobs based around trade and fishing, therefore she is a popular and important deity to the lives of the Taiwanese people.

Buddhist

There are a few main characteristics of Buddhist temples that are hard to miss. Firstly, many of them are built in the Pagoda style and usually have three or five levels making them hard to miss. Secondly, unlike Taoist or Confucius temples, every Buddhist temple has a large bell. I find that usually they are on the left or right when you very first enter a temple. These bells are used only once a year and are rung 108 times on New Years Eve to represent the 108 worldly desires mentioned in Buddhist teachings. Thirdly, there will always be a large statue of Buddha. Often this is the ‘center piece’ as I like to call it. It will be in the middle of the temple and hard to miss as they are usually large, stone statues that are highlighted with coloured lighting just incase it hadn’t already grabbed your attention. Many of the older temples may have Buddha statues carved out of marble or emerald jade – a precious stone that the Chinese are very fond of.

In general, bright colours such as green, gold, orange and yellow are used to decorate the walls and ceilings. Opposite to Confucius temples, Buddhist temples tend to like their figurines and paintings of Buddha. Often you will find one main statues and many smaller ones (some have hundreds), along with paintings telling his life story. Along with this there will be warrior figures carved out of the walls to represent guardians of heaven. Although Foo Dogs can be found outside, usually I have found that they prefer statues of Monkeys, Elephants and sometimes quite nasty looking demons to protect the temple from evil spirits. 

One of my favorite features which you can often find on the bannister of a staircase or on door handles are paintings, carvings and statues of Lotus flowers. These both look beautiful and have great meaning. They refer to the Lotus Sutra mantra of Buddhism.