Taoist Architecture
For over 2,000 years, the Taoist temples were mainly built in the mountains. Taoism is a multi-divinity religion. This was also applied in the designs of Taoist temple. "Taoist Trinity" was comprised of the most divine gods in the religion. The Taoist incorporated the teachings of Confucius in the area of rites and propriety and applied this concept to the gods as well. The buildings that consecrated the gods of different levels thus influenced the overall layout of a Taoist temple. Hence, in Taoist temples, the Trinity Halls (Sanqing Halls) is the most important and prominent buildings in the compounds. The main hall of the Taoist temple is a classic imperial building. The Taoists primarily consecrate their founder Laozi, whose altar is placed in the center of the Trinity Hall. The Trinity Halls and the halls that consecrate other god of high status are all placed along the central axis of the temple, for example, Zushi Hall that consecrate Laozi, Yuhuang Hall, Shengmu Hall, Zhengwu Hall, Sangong Hall and so on.
Taoism is China's indigenous religion. It was during the Han Dynasty, Taoism was established as a religion comprising based on the teachings of the founder of Taoism C Laozi, and his book Tao De Jing. As Taoism originated from the common people, the earliest venues for religious activities were in the mountain regions. Hence, the primary Taoist buildings at that time were caves and an assortment of residences in the mountains and rural areas. During the period of Wei and Jin dynasties, Taoism began its development from the rural regions to the towns and cities in order to merge with the imperial authority. The proper nouns, just like "Gong" or "Guan", used in describing imperial buildings were soon used to denote Taoist building as well.
Most Taoist temples were built in the mountains. In the first place, Taoism teaches the role of nature and the relationship between human beings and the natural elementsHence, Taoist buildings must be located in a natural environment as well. They must also be in harmony with nature and their environments. When selecting an appropriate location for the temples, the concepts of the yin and yang and the Eight Trigrams must be at play. In selecting and appropriate location amidst a natural environment, the Taoists believe that a harmonious relationship can be struck when science, art and nature merge as one, and hence attaining immortality became a possibility. In order for the Taoist priests to attain immortality, they have to be close to heaven or a place that is out of this world. For purpose of good Feng Shui, some of the Taoism temples were built high up on the peaks of famous mountains. Some examples of such temples would be Mt. Wudang in Hubei province, Mt. Qingcheng in Sichuan province and Mt. Lao in Shangdong province. Perched on the top of these mountains, the Taoist temples are regarded as imposing towers.
Presently, all the existing Taoist temples are dated back to the Ming and the Qing dynasties. Yongle Palace Temple is China's earliest Taoist temple. It houses 28 lively statues that date back to Yuan Dynasty and are exquisitely crafted clay sculptures. Other well-known Taoist temples can be found on the Mt. Wudang in Hubei province and Mt. Qingcheng in Sichuan province - which are now parts of UNESCO World Cultural Heritage.
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