Zongsheng Temple Introduction
During the Qing Dynasty's Qianlong and Jiaqing eras, the Zeng clan, originally residing in Guangdong, China, immigrated to Taiwan. After several generations of hard work, their family business thrived. To express their gratitude to their ancestors and honor their heritage, the descendants of the Zeng family built the Zongsheng Temple in 1929. The temple enshrines Zeng Shen, a direct disciple of Confucius, who was posthumously awarded the title "Zongsheng Gong" by successive emperors for his filial piety. The Zongsheng Temple is a structure that combines the traditional Hakka siheyuan layout with exquisite Baroque architectural elements. It is currently one of the largest and most ornately decorated clan temples in Taiwan and is regarded alongside the Tianshui Hall in Beipu, northern Taiwan, as one of the most important clan temples in the north and south of Taiwan. Covering an area of 1,100 ping, the Zongsheng Temple features a four-sided courtyard layout with two halls and two wings. It incorporates decorative techniques such as pebble washing, clay sculpture, wood carving, painting, calligraphy, and cut-and-paste Chiouzi ceramics, applied to the entrance hall, roofs, beams, columns, and gables. For example, the gate tower located in the square is impressive due to its animal sculptures. Additionally, there are swallowtail roofs, water-shaped horsebacks, fire-shaped horsebacks, and Chiouzi ceramic birds. Notably, on the columns of the main hall, one can see "bamboo leaf characters" written with bamboo leaves, which is a rare form of calligraphic art. Entering the main hall, one finds the ancestral shrines of generations of ancestors, with the sacrificial table designed according to ancient customs, adorned with a plaque reading "Tiangjing Diyi," which expounds on Zengzi's philosophy of life. The left and right side halls preserve the sacrificial space of the Zeng Yu-zhen lineage and six major houses: "Jiuling," "Xishan," "Nanshan," "Duantang," "Huangkeng," and "Shenpo." This ancient structure fully showcases the Confucian values, cultural beliefs, and social organization of the Hakka people, representing a valuable cultural asset.
