Shunzhuang Opera House

Shunzhuang Opera House

The Shunzhuang Opera House is located at the Dongyue Temple in Shunzhuang, Henglin. It is a Qing Dynasty structure that was renovated in 1993. The opera house faces south toward the main hall of the Dongyue Temple. Its layout is convex-shaped, built with a brick-and-wood structure. The protruding front section serves as the stage, featuring a hip-and-gable roof with upturned eaves. The wooden beams on the front and side eaves are supported by bracket sets that hold up the roof framework, with the roof crowned by double dragon ridge ornaments. The front stage is 6 meters wide, 4.4 meters deep (spanning five rafters), with a ridge height of 9.3 meters and a stage floor height of 2.3 meters. The backstage consists of three rooms in a flush-gable structure, spanning a total width of 9.2 meters, 6.4 meters deep (spanning six rafters), with a roof height of 8.5 meters. Originally, there were two horizontal plaques above the stage opening, inscribed with “For the Sake of the People” and “The Phoenix Comes in Grace.” A couplet hangs on the stone pillars on both sides of the stage: the upper line reads, “If goodness is not advocated, ancestral misfortunes will linger—once exhausted, goodness must arise;” the lower line reads, “If evil is not eradicated, ancestral virtues will accumulate—once depleted, evil must perish.”