Tan Shui Pavilion Introduction
Tanshui Pavilion (with a history of over 200 years) is located in Tanyali, Tanzi District, Taichung City, serving as the faith center of the area. During the Qianlong period, a wooden statue of Guanyin floated to Xiatanzi, emitting a faint light at night; the ancestors built a small stone temple at the water's edge under a bamboo grove for worship. In the sixth year of the Jiaqing period (1801), locals, noting the growing number of devotees, pooled resources to build a pavilion to worship at "Tanshui Pavilion," marking its inception. In the fourth year of the Daoguang period (1824), it was renovated, and plaque was erected by the villagers as a memorial. In the fourth year of the Guangxu period (1878), with donations from donors Lin Keqing and Lin Zhenchun, the pavilion was renovated and expanded; thereafter, the temple remained intact with a continuous flow of worshippers. In the ninth year of the Republic of China, a flood damaged the temple walls and columns. Villagers Lin Qiongzhang, Fu Zhiqing, and Lin Xiwa advocated relocating the temple, with donor Lin Fengyuan donating land for two-fifths to be used as temple ground. The temple was rebuilt in April of that year, and completed in the twelfth year of the Republic of China. In the fifty-seventh year, due to frequent roof leaks, local enthusiast Dai Chunbo initiated a fundraising for renovation, with donations from devoted worshippers and Wu Tian generously donating forty-one pings of land in front of the temple for access, leading to repairs and expansion in July of the same year; it was completed in the winter of the sixty-fifth year, and a management committee was established in the seventieth year. Half a century has passed, and Chairman Dai worked diligently to gather resources, purchasing eleven houses behind the temple in the eightieth year, transforming them into the Hall of the Great Hero, completed in the ninetieth year. The original back hall and the side rooms often leaked, so a renovation team was formed in the ninety-third year, dismantling and expanding them into a central hall, preserving the main hall (Guanyin Hall), creating a rare temple-in-temple structure. In May of the ninety-sixth year, 160.8 pings of land was acquired for the temple premises, completing the current temple appearance by the end of the ninety-sixth year, and a grand ceremony for blessings was held in the year of the Rat. The Tanshui Pavilion's expansion project was completed between January of the ninety-fourth year and July of the ninety-seventh year. The front hall of Tanshui Pavilion enshrines Guanyin, alongside the absent Dragon Maiden, set in splendid gold. The base statue "Water Flow Guanyin" is also enshrined here. The second floor of the back hall enshrines Shakyamuni Buddha, Medicine Buddha, Amitabha Buddha, Manjushri Bodhisattva, Samantabhadra Bodhisattva, Dharma-protecting Weituo Bodhisattva, and General Kalantha Bodhisattva; both sides feature the Eighteen Arhats and a wall of myriad Buddhas. The first floor provides space for the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and a wall of myriad Buddhas. The third floor of the central hall enshrines the Jade Emperor, the second floor houses the Three Officials, Shennong, Xuantian Shangdi, Doumu Xingjun, Nandou Xingjun, Beidou Xingjun, and the Sixty-First Zodiac Star Monarch; the first floor enshrines the Heavenly Mother, Guan Sheng Emperor, Zhushe Niangniang, the Most Holy Preceptor, Wenchang Dijun, the Artisan Preceptor, Chenghuang, the True Ruler of Life, the God of Wealth, and the Marshal of the Central Altar, with meeting rooms, offices, and service counters on both sides. The Tanshui Pavilion's grounds are expansive, the temple architecture grand, and it serves as a solemn and beneficial place for preaching, with a comprehensive structure rich in ancient charm. The north end featured a green-tiled cultural corridor (now demolished), and a quaint hexagonal pavilion was built in the southwest, surrounded by lush greenery, as the former site of Tanshui Pavilion before relocation; it has now become a cherished spiritual haven for the locals to pray for blessings. Text source: Tanshui Pavilion Guanyin Temple.
