【Introduction】
Built in 1726 by the County Magistrate, Zhang Hao, the Changhua Confucius Temple was set up to serve as a center for Confucian scholarship following the incorporation of Changhua as a county. Dacheng Hall (Hall of Great Achievements) was the central structure of the original Confucius Temple with angled wings on the East and West. To the front there is a main walkway, the Halberd Gate, and the Lattice Star Gate. On the east and west sides respectively are the Gate of Etiquette and the Road of Righteousness. Behind the temple is a Sage Shrine; on the right side is the Hall of Moral Instruction with a school office in the back. Because it was not permitted to build a county school in a form of “si-he-yuan” (four-sided house with a courtyard), the East and West wings were later changed into independently detached buildings, separate from the Halberd Gate and the Rear Hall. This change has resulted in a distinctive feature for the overall layout. In 1759 County Magistrate Zhang Shizhen renovated the temple. The main walkway was paved in brick, and the Gate of Etiquette as well as the Path of Righteousness was moved outside of the Lattice Star Gate. In addition, a pond was dug and a tall wall was erected outside the pond. The Hall of Moral Instruction was also raised by more than two feet in height.
Renovation continued during the reigns of emperors Jiaqing and Daoguang, in which the foundation of the temple was raised, a pair of stone columns with coiled-dragon sculptures were placed in front of the Hall of Great Achievements, and additional stone columns along the corridors of the hall were built. These additions have provided a solid foundation for the present-day scale of the temple.
In the Japanese colonial period, the Gate of Etiquette, the Path of Righteousness, the pond, the wall, the Hall of Moral Instruction, and the office were all torn down to make way for urban development and the construction of roads. Today, only the Lattice Star Gate, the Halberd Gate, the Hall of Great Achievements, the Sage Shrine, and the East and West Wings remain intact, which form the present-day layout of four halls and two corridors.