《TAIPEI TIMES》 Volunteers move collapsing temple to rescue mural

By Wu Cheng-ting and William Hetherington / Staff reporter, with staff writer

Volunteers on Saturday moved a collapsing Buddhist temple in Kinmen County’s Lieyu Township （烈嶼） 3 meters in a bid to save its historical mural.

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Temple administrators said they had to act quickly after it was discovered that the temple’s foundation had eroded, adding that they will use industrial equipment in the next few days to move the temple a further 92m to a temporary location.

When the temple held a fundraising campaign to have the mural commissioned, it called on women who had married out of the village to contribute funds, Kinmen Cultural Heritage Research Society director-general Yeh Chun-pei （葉鈞培） said.

The mural was therefore dubbed the “Daughters’ Mural,” he said, adding that it is important to the community due to this connection.

The mural was painted in 1914 by craftsman Lin Tian-chu （林天助）, who based it on the Ming Dynasty novel Sun Pang Yan Yi （孫龐演義） — a story about Warring States period political strategists Sun Bin （孫臏） and Pang Juan （龐涓）.

Society secretary-general Chen Jung-wen （陳榮文） said Lin was a locally renown artist whose works can be found throughout the county.

Lin’s works often drew inspiration from Ming-era and later novels like The Romance of the Three Kingdoms （三國演義）, Chen said.

The mural is particularly recognized for its artistic value, as the porous surface of the temple’s limestone walls meant it had to be completed in a single session, Chen added.

Donglin （東林） community and Lingjhong Temple administrative leaders reached a consensus on the historical and cultural value of the mural, Chen said, adding that original plans to tear down the temple will be abandoned in favor of donating it to the county government.

Chen said many of the 100 volunteers who turned out on Saturday were locals who live elsewhere and came back to help.

The volunteers pulled ropes to the beat of a drum to move the temple along tracks laid on the ground, he said.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES