Last weekend, I came across Confucius Temple in Hsinchu, which is centrally located in the city near the glass museum and zoo. Temples dedicated to Confucius are common in most major Taiwanese cities and have a much more calm demeanor than the standard Taoist/Chinese temples.
On Teacher’s Day each year, there are often celebrations at these temples as they are seen as shrines to the Chinese culture of education.
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Last weekend, I took the chance to venture to a part of Taipei I hadn’t yet seen to visit Confucius Temple, located in a northwestern district of the city. It is located near Bao-an, a large Taoist temple, so I was able to see both sites in one visit quite easily.
I was struck by how minimal this temple was compared to a complex designed for the gods. There were incense pots, but not much incense in the air. There was artwork, but nothing like the extravagant displays in other temples. Where other temples can be chaotic, this was quite relaxing.
Starting off is an HDR. I took this hoping to increase the dynamic range, so I tried not to overdo saturation here. I think it worked well – because of the very bright sunlight, it was impossible to make out the shadows of the surrounding buildings in the original.
With such an empty place, I took the chance to look around at the different designs and architecture. This was a good chance to practice composition of different shapes and forms.
Filed under taiwan2010
