Yuan Ching Guan
Yuan Ching Guan500 meters to the east of Chen-ling Road on Xiaoxi Street is the temple known as Yuan Ching Guan (see map 
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Yuan Ching Guan has been listed as a national historical monument. Because the god worshipped there is the Jade Emperor, or conventionally known as the “Lord of Heaven,”Changhua City residents are accustomed to referring to this temple also as “Altar of the Lord of Heaven.” This is also one of the few temples in Taiwan whose designation as temple uses the word “Guan (觀).”
During the 28th year of Qing Emperor Chienlong’s rule (1763), the population of Changhua consisted of emigrants primarily from Zhangzhou prefecture and marginally from Quanzhou prefecture. In addition to being a center of belief for the migrants at the time, Yuan Ching Guan was also once the Quanzhou guild hall, an establishment somewhat similar to the modern hotel, offering temporary lodgings for migrants and travelers from the Quanzhou prefecture, hence surrounding the temple were once “wing-rooms” for accomodations; its later renovation into Yuan Ching Guan was funded by the people of the seven counties of the Quanzhou prefecture. As Quanzhou was also called at the time “Wen-lin,” a plaque which says “Wen-lin, the Blessed Land” is also hung above the front hall of Yuan Ching Guan. According to The History of Changhua, before the front plaza of Yuan Ching Guan there was once a theatre stage, and on the ninth day of the first month of the lunar calendar, the day the Jade Emperor descends to the human realm, a sacred ritual performance in commemoration of the god will be staged, and the temple would be filled with pious worshippers.
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| 高級青斗石雕成的「雲龍御路」 | 雕工精美的石柱 |
In Yuan Ching Guan can been seen intricately crafted decorative art pieces, including wood, stone, tile carvings, clay statues, and what not. The materials used to build Yuan Ching Guan were mostly basalt and granite excavated from Quanzhou. The twin lion statues, one male and one female, before the Sanchuan Hall entrance appear almost lifelike and are beautifully proportioned. On the two sides of the inner gate are sculptures of twin dragons teasing with pearls and that of a fierce tiger with its cub. In the courtyard is the carving of a “Dragonic Divine Passage” made out of basalt of the most premium class. The dragon columns of the central hall are of an octagon style.
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| Tile carvings—the After-Carve | Koji ceramics with brilliant colors. |
The wood carvings of Sanchuan Hall are the most distinct items of the entire temple, created using a sculpting technique known as “scrape-lift”; save for the windows, none of the carvings made with openwork techniques.
To the two sides of Sanchuan Hall can be seen exquisitely crafted tile carvings and Koji ceramics. A tile carving is composed of two layers, the top layer being larger in size, and is sculpted only after adhered to the wall—a technique known as the After-Carve. The lower layer is an ovular-shaped tile, and is sculpted before processed in a kiln, hence called the Prior-Carve. On the walls to the two sides of the hall are decorated with Quilin and Phoenix Koji ceramics.
