Chaolin Temple Introduction
Zhaoling Temple is dedicated to the deity Li Nezha (commonly known as Prince Nezha), and serves as a joint temple for the communities of Silin, Sihchun, and Luntung in Chaozhou Township, Pingtung County. The temple is part of the traditional Minnan settlement layout, with a protective boundary formed by the Four Camps of East, West, South, and North. As such, Zhaoling Temple not only has significant value as an asset of traditional architectural craftsmanship but also embodies the cultural characteristics of village settlement and spiritual belief. It acts as a rare communal faith center for the three villages and has been designated as a county historical site in Pingtung County. According to legends, the deity worshipped at Zhaoling Temple was brought from mainland China approximately 200 years ago. At that time, medical resources were scarce, and the deity would perform divination every day, providing herbal prescriptions to treat the villagers. Yet, due to the hardships faced by the local residents, they were unable to construct a temple for worship until one day the deity possessed a medium and instructed the villagers to collect floating cedar wood from the river between Silin and Luntung for constructing the temple. This led to the founding of Zhaoling Temple. Both the front and back halls of Zhaoling Temple feature curved, swallow-tail style roofs, with the front hall decorated with the motifs of Fire Dragon Pearls and Carp spitting water. The back hall's roof displays decorations of double dragons and gourds. The gable ends of the front hall feature decorative clay pieces shaped like lion heads, while those of the back hall are adorned with stucco decorations depicting the Four Arts of Qin, Chess, Calligraphy, and Painting. The roofs above the left and right doors are embellished with charming pieces of Cantonese glazed pottery depicting fruits and seafood. Within the main hall, the central ridge displays a painted phoenix design, with a unique fish-shaped Taiji symbol at its center.
