Chaolin Temple Introduction
Chaolin Temple is dedicated to the deity Zhongtan Yuanshuai Li Nezha (commonly known as the Prince), and it serves as a joint community temple for the villagers of Silin, Sichun, and Luntong in Chaozhou Township, Pingtung County. The temple, alongside the East, West, South, and North camps, forms a protective boundary of traditional Minnan settlements that guards the village. Therefore, Chaolin Temple not only holds cultural value in traditional architectural craftsmanship but also embodies the cultural characteristics of village settlement and spiritual belief boundaries. As a common center of faith for three villages, it is quite rare in Taiwan and has been designated as a county historic site in Pingtung. According to legend, the deity of Chaolin Temple was invited to Taiwan from the mainland about two hundred years ago. Due to the scarcity of medicine at that time, the deity would provide medical care for villagers every day through the practice of divination. However, because the local residents lived in great hardship, they could not build a temple for worship until one day when the deity descended in a spirit medium and instructed the villagers to gather floating cedar wood from the creek between Silin and Luntong for the temple's construction. Thus, this is the origin of Chaolin Temple. The front and rear halls of the temple feature swallow-tail ridges, with the front hall decorated with fabric cuts depicting fire dragon pearls and koi fish spitting water, while the rear hall showcases the dual dragon and gourd motifs. The gable ends of the front hall are adorned with lion-head designs, and the rear hall features mud sculpture decorations of musical instruments and brushwork. The ridges above the left and right door covers are embellished with cute fruit and seafood motifs in traditional pottery. In the main hall, the central ridge is painted with phoenix designs, and at its center, there is a fish-shaped Taiji diagram, which is a very unique design.
