【Introduction】
In 1715, the 54th year of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing dynasty, the City God (Chenghuang) Temple was constructed by order of the county magistrate Zhou Zhongxuan, who asserted that chenghuang meant the city wall and moat, and there must have been an identity of a divine local official who takes charge of the place surrounded by the wall and the moat. Henceforth, all people could be protected and blessed by the deity, who, as the guardian of the city, could be worshipped; and steles bearing inscriptions were built for the City God.
With great changes seen during the course of time, most of the old monuments and buildings didn’t survive in Zhuluo county, except the City God temple, which is still located at the site where it was originally built. The existence of this temple testifies the relationship between urban development and religious faith in Taiwan. The temple underwent several restorations and refurbishments. The present-day structure was rebuilt between 1936 and 1940 (between the 11th and 15th years of the Showa period). A master architect, Wang Jinmu, from Quanzhou of Fujian was consigned to the project of supervising the construction of the mainframes. Laid out in the shape of the Chinese character“工”, the overall structure of the building facing west is composed of four major sections consisting of the main entrance hall, the obeisance pavilion, the main hall, and the rear hall. The roofs employ layered roof eaves; the octagonal caisson ceiling over the obeisance pavilion, the hallway to the main hall, and brackets of the side-wings were all built by wedge joints without using nails. The craftsmanship was at the peak of its contemporary and the overall presence is solemn. This is Wang’s first architectural masterpiece completed in Taiwan representing the Quanzhou Xidi School. Other works include Koji Pottery masterpieces located at the wall panels of the main hall, which were the result of a competition between Master Chen Zhuanyou and Master Lin Tianmu. In addition, the colored Door Gods reflecting an exquisite and lively style was painted by Master Chen Yufeng.