Zhang Family Temple ( zh, t=張家祖廟, p=Zhāngjiā Zǔmiào) is an

ancestral shrine An ancestral shrine, hall or temple ( or , vi, Nhà thờ họ; Chữ Hán: 家祠户), also called lineage temple, is a temple dedicated to deified ancestors and progenitors of surname lineages or families in the Chinese tradition. Ancestra ...

located in

Xitun District Xitun District or Situn District (, literally "western village") is the second-most populated district of Taichung, Taiwan. It is located on the western side of the city. Once considered part of the countryside, the district has seen rapid growt ...

Taichung City Taichung (, Wade–Giles: ''Tʻai²-chung¹'', pinyin: ''Táizhōng''), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality located in central Taiwan. Taichung has approximately 2.8 million residents and is the second most populous city of Taiw ...

, Taiwan. Built in 1904, the shrine is protected as a city monument.

History

The Matang

Zhang Zhang may refer to: Chinese culture, etc. * Zhang (surname) (張/张), common Chinese surname ** Zhang (surname 章), a rarer Chinese surname * Zhang County (漳县), of Dingxi, Gansu * Zhang River (漳河), a river flowing mainly in Henan * ''Zha ...

clan (馬堂張家) originated in

Ninghua County Ninghua () is a county of the prefecture-level city of Sanming, in western Fujian province, People's Republic of China, bordering Jiangxi to the west. The town of Shibi of Ninghua is well known as the cradle of the Hakka. Ninghua is also marked a ...

Fujian Province Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...

and migrated to central Taiwan. In 1870, several Zhang family members established a simple ancestral shrine in a house in Shangniupuzi (上牛埔子). When the land was taken by the

Japanese government The Government of Japan consists of legislative, executive and judiciary branches and is based on popular sovereignty. The Government runs under the framework established by the Constitution of Japan, adopted in 1947. It is a unitary state, c ...

to build

Shuinan Airport Taichung Shuinan Airport () was an airport located in Xitun District, Taichung, Taiwan. It had an area of 250 hectares. The name originates from Shuinan, a village in nearby Beitun District. History Shuinan Airport was built during the Japanes ...

, in 1904, family built another shine in its current location of Xiaqizhangli (下七張犁). After World War II, the Zhang family carried out a series of renovations to the building, including replacing the

roof tile A roof ( : roofs or rooves) is the top covering of a building, including all materials and constructions necessary to support it on the walls of the building or on uprights, providing protection against rain, snow, sunlight, extremes of temper ...

s and using

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

to reinforce the structure. On November 27, 1985, the

Taichung City Government The Taichung City Government () is the municipal government of Taichung, Taiwan. History Taichū City Government was established by the Governor-General of Taiwan and the Japanese colonial authorities on 1 October 1920. Following the hando ...

protected the building as a city monument, but did not protect the left wing because it was heavily altered during the renovations; it would later be protected as a historical building on August 6, 2009.

Architecture

The shrine complex is a ''

siheyuan A ''siheyuan'' (; IPA: ɹ̩̂.xɤ̌.ɥɛ̂n is a historical type of residence that was commonly found throughout China, most famously in Beijing and rural Shanxi. Throughout Chinese history, the siheyuan composition was the basic pattern used ...

'' that contains ten buildings that are made of different materials: six of

rammed earth Rammed earth is a technique for constructing foundations, floors, and walls using compacted natural raw materials such as earth, chalk, lime, or gravel. It is an ancient method that has been revived recently as a sustainable building method. ...

blocks, two of wood, and two of

straw Straw is an agricultural byproduct consisting of the dry stalks of cereal plants after the grain and chaff have been removed. It makes up about half of the yield of cereal crops such as barley, oats, rice, rye and wheat. It has a number ...

. The main hall is named "''Faxiangtang''" (發祥堂) and is used for worship. The left wing was used as the private residence for the Zhang family while the right was leased out to farmers; therefore, the two wings are noticeably not symmetrical. There are three wooden plaques (''bian'e'') that date to the Qing Dynasty.

Gallery

張家祖廟全景.jpg, Shrine courtyard 張家祖廟左外護龍.jpg, Left wing of the shrine, which was protected at a different time 台中發祥堂.JPG, The interior of the main hall 張家祖廟匾額.jpg, The three Qing Dynasty wooden plaques above a doorway

References

{{authority control 1904 establishments in Taiwan Religious buildings and structures completed in 1904 Temples in Taichung Ancestral shrines in Taiwan

History

Architecture

Gallery

See also

References