56 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 8o 



because of the possession of farms or houses. Practically all temples 

 occasionally ask for contributions. Adherents give according to their 

 ability when the priests conduct funerals, exorcise demons, or help 

 by reading the scriptures. 



5. TEMPLES AS SACRED PLACES 



Temples are sacred places. Often the trees in the temple enclosures 

 are also sacred, and must not be cut down. Occasionally sacred 

 groves or trees are to be found near and on the grounds owned by 

 the temples. Sometimes the temples are built in ordinary places in a 

 city or village, or by the roadside, and the places are apparently holy 

 for no other reason than the presence of the temples. Yet there is 

 a very noticeable tendency to luiild temples, when possible, in places 

 where the natural l)eauty or the strange scenery arouse the feelings 

 of wonder and awe. Such places are apt to be sacred spots or holy 

 mountains, though not always. Very often where there are imposing 

 hills inside of the city walls temples will be found on their summits. 



At Suifu the Taoist temple called Pan Pien Si is situated on the 

 side of a very steep hill overlooking the Min River. The situation 

 is so beautiful that practically every artist who comes to Suifu paints 

 the temple and its surroundings. Across the Min River from Suifu 

 is a large, cracked rock through which Chu Ko Liang is supposed to 

 have marched his soldiers in order to deceive the aborigines who then 

 were in possession of Suifu. This is also the scene of a temple. 



Up the Min River from Suifu is Tao Si Kuan, a Taoist temple. It 

 is situated on a tremendous rock that reaches half-way across the 

 river so that it changes the direction of the stream. In this rock there 

 is a deep natural cave that is exposed in low water, but covered in 

 high water. The river rushes fiercely past the rock, especially in 

 high water, and part of the year there is a strong eddy on the opposite 

 side of the stream flowing in the opposite direction from the main 

 current. Boats are sometimes wrecked here. The place is such a one 

 as will naturally arouse fear, wonder, and awe. 



At Shuin Gien Si or Shiong Gien Si there is a Buddhist temple in 

 a cave half-way up a perpendicular clifl^. The rock is limestone, and 

 the cave is a natural one inside which there is dripping water which 

 is believed to have power to heal diseases. This cave can be reached 

 only by means of steps hewn out of the solid rock. A tree which stands 

 very near the steps is a fcugshiii tree. The temple has several stories, 

 the first story being on a level with the flat ground under the cliff, 

 and the last storv being in the cave itself. Hie stone of the cliff is 



