Zoufang Wen Temple in Pingyuan, Guangdong

Zoufang Wen Temple is located at the entrance of Zoufang Village, Renju Town, Pingyuan County, Meizhou City. It was built in the ninth year of the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty (1794), initiated by the scholar Liu Qixian. Zoufang Wen Temple is a temple for literary worship, where private schools were set up during the Qing Dynasty, and ceremonies to worship heaven and earth were held in spring and autumn to pray for peace and good weather. During the Republic of China period, it served as an elementary school, as well as the office for Zou Huang Township and Zoufang Township. After the liberation, Zoufang Wen Temple was successively used as the office for Zou Huang Commune, Zoufang Brigade, Zoufang Management Area, and Zoufang Village Committee. In 1992, the temple underwent roof maintenance. From September 2002 to March 2003, comprehensive maintenance was carried out on the main building. The main body of Zoufang Wen Temple is a four-story pavilion-style structure with a hexagonal plan, each side measuring 8.92 meters long and 19.85 meters high, with a hip-and-gable roof and a mortise-and-tenon beam framework. The front of the main gate features nine levels of granite steps, with a platform below the steps. Zoufang Wen Temple was designed according to ancient Chinese theories of yin and yang, the five elements, and so on, for selecting the site and designing the building, integrating functions such as education, water town control, wind elimination, and worshiping heaven and earth. The architectural design fully reflects the building skills of the Qing Dynasty. It has high value for the study of ancient folk customs and ancestral hall architecture. It is a key cultural relic protection unit in Guangdong Province.