Although many people appreciate Confucius as one of history's great thinkers and teachers, relatively little attention has been devoted of late to temples built in his honor.
Apart from the patronage of thousands of desperate student supplicants -- and their families -- praying for wisdom and good grades each year, the temples are occasional tourist attractions for complex annual ceremonies in which offerings are made to Confucius.
While the oldest Confucian temple in Taiwan is in Tainan, there are temples dedicated to the famed philosopher all over Asia.
Keeping alive an appreciation of the Confucian legacy, the Council for Cultural Affairs yesterday announced the launch of its "Taiwan Confucian Temple" Web site (confucius.cca.gov.tw).
"We hope to use this Web site to inform everyone of the history of Confucian temples as a social institution," said Kao Ming-shih (
"Originally, Confucian temples were schools. We tried to bring this educational perspective into the creation of the database," Kao said.
The NT$5-million project, the result of eight months' work, is part of the council's National Repository of Cultural Heritage project.
The project seeks to increase cultural and historical awareness through the Internet.
"On this Web site, we've tried to combine the most modern technology with the most ancient of knowledge. With the importance of the Internet today, we think it is important to use up-to-date methods to keep people interested in culture and history," council Chairwoman Tchen Yu-chiou (陳郁秀) said.
The site offers photographs, maps and commentary on the importance of Confucian temples in Asian cultures as well as a history of Confucius and the philosophical sect of Confucianism.
After entering the site, users can embark on a virtual tour of the Tainan Confucius Temple, learn about the origins and proceedings of the Confucius Ceremony, or learn about Confucian history.
The Web site also includes a section for children, complete with an interactive game.
The Web site has both English and Chinese versions.
"We've worked hard on the English version of the Web site because we want to increase understanding of Taiwanese culture in the international community," said Kuo Chen-wu (
To promote the Web site, the council is also holding a drawing contest. To enter, users must participate in a quiz on Confucius Temple facts available on the Web site. Winners will be announced on May 27.
Taiwan’s Liu Ming-i, right, who also goes by the name Ray Liu, poses with a Chinese Taipei flag after winning the gold medal in the men’s physique 170cm competition at the International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation Asian Championship in Ajman, United Arab Emirates, yesterday.
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
A year-long renovation of Taipei’s Bangka Park (艋舺公園) began yesterday, as city workers fenced off the site and cleared out belongings left by homeless residents who had been living there. Despite protests from displaced residents, a city official defended the government’s relocation efforts, saying transitional housing has been offered. The renovation of the park in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), near Longshan Temple (龍山寺), began at 9am yesterday, as about 20 homeless people packed their belongings and left after being asked to move by city personnel. Among them was a 90-year-old woman surnamed Wang (王), who last week said that she had no plans
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
RSS