Chaolin Temple Introduction
Chaolin Temple is dedicated to the deity Chuantan Marshal Li Nezha (commonly known as Prince Ya), and serves as a joint temple for the communities of Silin, Sichun, and Lundong in Chaozhou Township, Pingtung County. The temple, along with the four camps of East, West, South, and North, forms a traditional Minnan settlement boundary that protects the village. Therefore, Chaolin Temple is not only valued for its traditional architectural craftsmanship, but also possesses unique cultural features that represent the settlement and spiritual belief boundaries of the community. Particularly, it serves as a common center of faith for three villages, which is quite rare in Taiwan, and it has been designated as a county historical site in Pingtung County. According to legend, the deity of Chaolin Temple was invited from the mainland to Taiwan about two hundred years ago. Due to the scarcity of medicine at that time, the deity would conduct divinations daily to prescribe herbal remedies for the villagers. However, due to the difficult living conditions of the local residents, the temple could not be built to honor the deity until one day, the deity descended during a divination session and instructed the villagers to gather floating cedar wood from the creek between Silin and Lundong for the construction of the temple. This marks the origin of Chaolin Temple's establishment. The front and rear halls of the temple feature swallowtail-style roofs, with the front hall adorned with cut-and-paste decorations of fire dragon pearls and koi fish spitting water, while the rear hall showcases decorations of double dragons and gourds. The gable walls of the front hall are designed in the shape of lion heads, and the rear hall is decorated with clay sculptures of traditional arts, such as the four arts of chess, calligraphy, painting, and qin (a traditional Chinese instrument). The roof above the left and right doors is adorned with cute decorative tiles of fruits and seafood. In the main hall, the central ridge features a painted phoenix design, and at its center lies a unique fish-shaped Tai Chi diagram.
