Kaihua Temple
開化寺的山門Kaihua Temple (see map 
), the first temple to appear in Changhua, was built in 1724, and is known by the local residents also by the name of “Guanyin Temple.”
Kaihua Temple comprises one gate, the main gate, one main hall, and one rear hall. In front of the main hall is a pair of stone lions. In the main hall is worshipped the goddess Guanyin, in the rear hall the Emperors of the Three Offices, on the east side Madam Zhusheng, and on the west side the Gods of Complexion. The Gods of Complexion, worshipped only here out of all the temples in Taiwan, is based upon the tale, dating back to the Qing Dynasty, of a doctor couple who cured dermatologic diseases and whose reputation grew such that they were later worshipped as gods. Many parents now take their adolescent children here to see these gods in the hope that their children’s pimple problem can be cured.
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| The plaque “boundless compassion” | The Gods of Complexion |
Currently in this temple are hung plaques of significant historical value, such as the one which reads “commemoration of the renovation of Guanyin Temple” received in 1774, “prosperous be the temple” received in 1794, t “heart of compassion” received in 1900s, “boundless compassion” received in 1871, and “salvation blessed by compassion.”
The oldest of the plaques is the one which reads “salvation of all-encompassing compassion” received in 1774 and that which reads “prosperous be the temple” in 1794. In Kaihua Temple are housed two, and in Ding Guang temple four, plaques dating back to Qing Qienlong Emperor’s rule; these temples indeed live up to their reputation as the most historically valuable temples of Changhua.
