ChenWen Academy (南天修文院懿德分院)
Today we went to Xiluo to visit some family. Nearby their place is an old temple - Chen Wen Academy. I have seen this building a few times but never really cared to check more information about this place. The building has a really long history, but it's not a popular place to visit.
The academies were built in 1797 as Wen Chang Temples to worship five emperors of learning during Qing Dynasty rule in Taiwan. The scale of the academy isn't large, but scholars often meet here to learn about poetry.
During the Qing Dynasty, there were four famous schools in the Yunlin District: Lungmes School, Kweiwen School, Shuwen School, and Chen Wen School.
Chen Wen School is the only one left, well-preserved and maintained.
Next to the academy, you can also see Nantian Xiuwenyuan Jude Branch. It's a temple dedicated to Confucius and Mencius.
It's not a typical temple; inside, you can find tables and chairs instead of Gods.
Wenwu Temple (鹿港文武廟)
Another old religious place to visit is the Wenwu Temple in Changhua. This place is 3-in-1; you can see the Wenchuan (Wenkai) Academy, Wenchuang Shrine, and the Martial Temple.
Lukang is the oldest city in Changhua and used to be an important seaport in the 18th century. During that time, it was the second largest city in Taiwan.
Lukang is named one of the 10 small tourist towns in Taiwan.
In Lukang, you can find many old temples like Longshan Temple and Matzu Temple. The city has over 200 temples dedicated to a variety of deities.
In this town, two terms originated: ekang (下港) and tengkang (頂港), which refer to the south and north of Taiwan. The exact meaning is "below the harbor" and "above the harbor."
The Wenwu Temple is a building consisting of the Wenkai Academy on the left, Wenyu Temple in the center, and Wu Temple on the right, which were built at different times. The Wenyu Temple and Wu Temple were built in 1812. The Wenkai Academy was established in 1824. This place is a mix of a literature and martial arts temple.
The Wu Temple is dedicated to Guansheng Dijun. This temple doesn't have Door God paintings on the door, which is different from the official style of temples.
The Wenchang Shrine is the place where Lukang's literati gathered together and formed Ba She. It was the first association to study poetry. The Shrine is dedicated to the God of Scholarship - Wenchang, the Creator of Chinese characters - Cang Jie, and the God of Literature - Kuixin.
During the Japanese occupation, the Wenwu Temple served as a military camp and was once used as a classroom for Lukang Public School. In 1914, twenty-five people donated money for the renovation of this temple. In 1975, some buildings were destroyed by fire. After 10 years, the building was rebuilt but different from the past.
In front of the building, you can also see Dianchi Lake.
