Zheng Chenggong Temple

　　Zheng Chenggong Temple is situated south of Changhua’s Nanyao Temple. Its exterior architecture is notably eye-catching and unique, differing from conventional temples. It stands as a lofty representation of tribute to a national hero. During the Ming Dynasty, Zheng Chenggong was honored as the Prince of Yanping, and later revered as the Sacred King Who Opened Taiwan, hence the temple is also known as the Sacred King Who Opened Taiwan Temple.

　　Zheng Chenggong (1624~1662)　　Zheng Chenggong, originally named Sen and childhood name Fusong, styled Damu and also known as Mingyan, was born on July 14, 1624, in Shirinohama, Hirado City, Japan, to a family from Shijing, Nan’an. His father was Zheng Zhilong and his mother was the daughter of the Tagawa family from Hirado City, Nagasaki, Japan. In the third year of the Chongzhen era of the Ming Dynasty (1630), at the age of 7, he returned from Japan to Anping (now Anhai Town, Jinjiang) to study and was given the name Sen. At the age of 11, he once composed an essay on the topic “Sweeping, Greeting, Responding, Advancing, and Retreating” assigned by his tutor, writing the astonishing line: “The conquests of Tang and Wu were no more than sweeping; the abdications of Yao and Shun were merely advancing and retreating.” Later, he studied the classics, history, and military strategy diligently, practiced swordsmanship and archery, passed the examination for a government-supported scholar at 15, and entered Nanjing at 21... Details+