Jiantan Temple

TAIWAN, Taipei

This temple is thought to have originally been built in 1634 by the monk Huarong and named Guanyin Temple. It was rebuilt and renamed Jiantan Temple in 1750. The temple underwent a number of reconstructions, with the most significant one taking place between 1912 and 1926. This major rebuilding was headed by the chief carpenter Chen Yingbin. When the Japanese Taiwan Grand Shrine was expanded, the temple was forced to move to its present location. The temple is listed as a Municipal Cultural Heritage Site.
The principal structures include the main temple gate and the main hall, as well as a forest of steles beside the temple. The three-bay main temple gate has a roof covered with green glazed tiles. The three-bay wide main hall has a single-eave overhanging gable roof. The roof ridge is decorated with colorful mosaic sculptures. There are two intricately sculpted octagonal dragon pillars in front of the hall. Within the hall there is a seated statue of Sakyamuni Buddha flanked by Manjusri and Samantabhadra Bodhisattvas. In front of the Buddha are the figures of Skanda Bodhisattva and the Dharma protector Sangharama. There are also Eighteen Arhats along the sides of the hall.
The forest of steles contains old stone columns, steles, stone wall panels and stone windows. Two stone pillars flanking the entrance are the remains of structures from the time of Emperor Jiaqing (reigned 1796–1820) during the Qing dynasty.