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Qingshui zushi temple. Photo by lienyuan lee.

Top 10 Outstanding Facts about Zushi Temple

The Changfu Temple is a Taoist temple located on Sanxia Old Street in New Taipei, Taiwan. The main Deity worshiped at Changfu Temple is Master Qingshui, also known as Zushi-Gong.

The Qingshui Zushi Temple in Sanxia is well known in Taiwan for being unsurpassed when it comes to the amount of craftsmanship and art that has gone into its construction. The design and intricate stone carvings found throughout the temple make it one of Taiwan’s most artistic places of worship. It is a must-see for many visitors to the country, as well as the focal point of religious worship, culture,
and the economy in Sanxia.

1. Zushi Temple is dedicated to worship Qinshui Zushi

Zushi temple. Photo by JakGajewski.

Sanxia Zushi Temple is devoted to Qingshui Zushi, a Northern Song Dynasty (960 – 1279) monk from Anxi County in Fujian Province’s Quanzhou Prefecture. Qingshui Zushi studied monasticism at Anxi’s Qingshui Temple, where he later received his title.

In 1769, after Anxi immigrants settled in Sanxia (now a district of New Taipei City), they began construction of the temple and named it Changfuyan to worship Qingshui Zushi. Following its completion, worshippers were divided into groups based on surname and alternated between managing the temple and Qingshui Zushi’s Birthday Festival.

2. The temple has undergone a total of three constructions

Zushi temple. Photo by lienyuan lee.

After WWII, its ownership was transferred to Sanxia Township, and it was placed under the care of art master Li Mei-shu (1902 – 1983), the neighborhood warden in the Sanxia Street area at the time, who began the temple’s third reconstruction.

As the project progressed, he invited masters of temple architecture to participate and brought students from sculpting programs on board to finish the cast bronze and other temple works together.  The ornate elegance of the temple is the hard-earned result of Master Li’s decades of reconstruction work.

3. Sanxia Zushi Temple is a decorative art marvel due to its stone sculpture work

Zushi temple. Photo by 雲角.

Sculptors are typically concerned with the visible form of their work; Li Mei-shu sought underlying elegance in his. The 130 columns, sculpted from andesite and granite, are divided into three categories: dragon columns, flower-and-bird columns, and calligraphy columns.

Each dragon column pair consists of one dragon facing upward and one dragon facing downward. This is known as the fantian fudi (reverse) style of pairing. Several Chinese calligraphy masters’ work is inscribed on the calligraphy columns, including Yu Youren (1879 – 1964), Yan Xishan (1883 – 1960), Chia Ching-teh
(1880 – 1960), and Kao Pai-shih (1901 – 1969).

4. Octagonal dragon columns are inspired by the warring period of swords

Temple altar, Zushi temple. Photo by D. Gordon E. Robertson. Wikimedia

The two dragon columns closest to the main hall were carved in three layers of openwork carving, each with an octagon in the center. They were inspired by The Warring Period of Swords. A  popular novel published during the Qing Dynasty that depicted the story of Pai Yuan stealing the magical Dragon Whisker Fan to assist General Sun in winning a war.

Each column is encircled by a carved dragon. One spiraling upwards and the other downwards, and deities are carved among the clouds and on the dragons. Each carved character is distinct and vivid. These columns are unquestionably
masterpieces of the sculptor’s art due to their superb traditional stone carving techniques.

5. Front columns feature a hundred birds resting on plum blossom tree

Li Mei-love shu’s of birds is evident in a pair of columns in front of the Zushi Temple. The sculptors went through books of local and foreign bird illustrations to complete this pair, carving fifty birds on each column for a total of 100 birds.

The depiction of these birds landing on the core of the column, which is depicted as a plum blossom tree, represents imperial China as a major power in its region. Representatives from the non-governmental organization, BirdLife International, visited the temple at one point. They were astounded by the number and variety of bird sculptures on the columns, nicknaming it the Bird Temple.

6. Three-layered octagonal columns are inspired by Investiture of the Gods

The third set of columns is inspired by the Investiture of the Gods, another Chinese novel. The sculptors completed them in accordance with Master Li’s design.

The majority of the characters appear in groups of four. They include the Four Fairies (Xiangu) and the Four Marshals (Yuanshuai). At times, the openwork carvings have three or four layers. The soldier characters’ intense, lifelike expressions lend them a heroic demeanor.

7. There are five gates in front of Zushi Temple

The five gates in front of Qingshui Master Temple represent the temple’s honorable and prestigious status. The temple’s stone sculptures and carvings are the work of skilled sculptors. The front gate’s stone lions are both lively and refined. Mr. Li designed the lions, who have a more energetic and dynamic style.

8. A sacred pig contest is held annually 

Changfu Temple holds a sacred pig contest on Zushi’s birthday. Gong’s the sixth day of the first month of the Chinese lunar calendar. Farmers would compete by raising the largest pig, which would be decorated with ornaments on competition day.

The meat from the largest pig is then be distributed among the devotees after it has been sacrificed to the mountain deities. Animal rights activists have been vocal in their opposition to this tradition in recent years. Majority of temples that practice this rite have begun to use symbolic pigs. Changfu Temple still uses an actual pig.

9. There are blank panels at the back of the temple

Steps further into the temple lead to a back terrace and more shrine-filled rooms. The temple has blank panels towards the back. The names at the bottom of these panels are dedicated to those who have contributed to the reconstruction process and are just waiting to be decorated.

The stone carvers’ and craftsmen’s workshop has been converted into a shed to store imported parts.

10. The temple is still unfinished to this day

The committee in charge decided that the completion is taking too long. They have opted to import cheaper parts manufactured on the Chinese mainland. Despite this, the temple’s beauty has not been diminished. It remains a popular destination for both locals and tourists.