Chaolin Temple Introduction
Zhaoling Temple enshrines the deity Zhongtanyuan Shuai Li Nezha (commonly known as Prince Ye) and serves as the joint temple for the communities of Silin, Sichun, and Lundong in the Chaozhou Township of Pingtung County. This temple, along with the East, West, South, and North camps, forms a traditional Minnan settlement boundary that protects the village. Therefore, Zhaoling Temple not only has cultural asset value in traditional architectural craftsmanship but also features the cultural characteristic of establishing a boundary for village settlement and spiritual beliefs. As a common center of faith for the three villages, it is particularly rare in Taiwan and has now been designated as a county historic site in Pingtung. According to legend, the spirit of Prince Ye was invited from the mainland approximately two hundred years ago. Due to the lack of medicine at the time, Prince Ye would ride the palanquin daily to provide herbal prescriptions for the villages. However, the local residents lived in great hardship, delaying the construction of a temple for him. One day, Prince Ye descended in spirit form and instructed the villagers to gather driftwood from the creek between Silin and Lundong to build the temple, which is the origin of Zhaoling Temple's establishment. The front and rear halls of Zhaoling Temple feature a swallowtail style roof; the front hall's ridge is adorned with cut and paste decorations of a fire dragon pearl and a koi fish spouting water, while the rear hall's ridge features decorations of double dragons and gourds. The gables are decorated with cut and paste lion head designs in the front hall, and mud sculptures of traditional arts in the rear hall. The roofs above the left and right door frames are adorned with whimsical fruit and seafood Takou pottery. Inside the main hall, the central ridge is beautifully painted with a phoenix design, and there is a fish-shaped Tai Chi diagram at its center, which is a very unique design.
