Zhuxi Temple

Zhuxi Temple

Zhuxi Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

Zhuxi Temple is located in the South District of Tainan City and was named after its proximity to Zhuxi (Bamboo Stream). It is a temple of the Linji school of Zen Buddhism, with its main hall enshrining the Three Jewels of Buddhism: Sakyamuni Buddha, Medicine Buddha, and Amitabha Buddha. It is one of the Seven Temples and Eight Shrines of Taiwan Prefecture and also one of the Four Great Ancient Temples of Tainan, attracting worshippers year-round.

The founding year of Zhuxi Temple is debated—some say it was built in 1664 or 1665 and was then called “Little Western Paradise Temple”; others claim it was constructed in 1684 by Jiang Yuying, the prefect of Taiwan Prefecture, or in 1692. However, the official stance, based on research by Taiwanese historian Lu Jiaxing, who found a poem by Shen Guangwen referencing the temple, dates its establishment to the 18th or 19th year of the Yongli era of the Ming Dynasty (1664 or 1665), making it the earliest Buddhist temple established in Taiwan. Since its founding, the temple has undergone several renovations. In 1927, during the Japanese colonial period, it was rebuilt in a Sino-Western architectural style, and after World War II, in 1973, it was remodeled into its current form—a process that reportedly took ten years to complete.

Today, only the old mountain gate of Zhuxi Temple remains from the pre-renovation structure, with the rest designed in traditional Chinese classical style. The new mountain gate is in the form of a traditional Chinese archway, with an open courtyard situated between it and the main complex. The main structures include a three-story entrance gate, worship hall, main hall, and rear hall, flanked by bell and drum towers and meditation rooms. Inside the temple is one of the “Three Famous Plaques of Tainan,” known as the “Clarity of the World” plaque. Additionally, following the Xilai An Incident during the Japanese colonial period, although Tainan’s Xilai An was demolished, the statue of the Five Blessings King originally enshrined there was brought to the temple by monks and has been venerated there ever since.

Zhuxi Monastary

Must-visit reason: Taiwan's earliest-established Buddhist temple