Chaolin Temple

Chaolin Temple (Chinese: 朝林宮; pinyin: Cháolín Gōng) is a temple located in Silin Village, Chaozhou Township, Pingtung County, Taiwan.

Chaolin Temple
朝林宮
Location
LocationChaozhou, Pingtung County, Taiwan
Architecture
TypeTemplea
Date established1850s

History

Chaolin Temple traces its history to the 1850s, when a farmer surnamed Chen sought to donate his land and construct a temple to Nezha. A feng shui practitioner advised against the temple's construction, and it was not built in Chen's lifetime. After the feng shui practitioner had also died, Nezha began appearing to Chen's descendants, warning of heavy rains if the temple was not constructed soon. The rains that came caused flooding, and the floods washed the coffin of the feng shui practitioner into a pond. The coffin circled the pond three times, then sank and vanished.[1][2] A second origin story also involves floodwaters, in this case diverted by an apparition of a child, which saved the village. Afterwards, local leaders collected funds to construct a temple, and the Chen family donated land for its construction.[2]

Following the flood, Chaolin Temple was completed in 1909.[3] However, during Japanese rule, Chinese folk religion was repressed.[2] When the Kuomintang-led government required temples to be placed on a registry in 1973, township leader Chen Jung-chieh submitted Chaolin Temple under a neighboring address.[3][4] A community and elder care program that had launched in 2006 is hosted at Chaolin Temple.[5][6] Chaolin Temple was designated a historical site by the Pingtung County Government in 2006.[3][7] The temple received its own address in 2020.[3][4]

References
  1. Crook, Steven (20 April 2020). "Highways & Byways: Returning to the wild". Taipei Times. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  2. "財團法人台灣省屏東縣潮州鎮朝林宮" (in Chinese). Academia Sinica. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  3. Kuo, Chu-chen; Liu, Kay. "Century-old temple in Pingtung finally given an address". Central News Agency. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  4. "借用47年 潮州百年古蹟朝林宮終於有了門牌". United Daily News (in Chinese). 12 June 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  5. 簡, 惠敏 (11 March 2009). "關懷獨居老人" (in Chinese). Ministry of Culture. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  6. 陳, 信宏 (19 August 2008). "潮州朝林宮社區關懷據點啟用". China Times (in Chinese). Ministry of Culture. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
  7. 郭, 芊妤 (23 May 2007). "潮州朝林宮列為縣定古蹟" (in Chinese). Ministry of Culture. Retrieved 13 June 2020.


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