《TAIPEI TIMES》 Exhibit offers close-up look at imperial temple inscriptions

By Hung Jui-chin and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer

A special exhibition of tablets from Tainan’s Confucius Temple is to open at the city’s Koxinga Museum on Saturday, the first time in 334 years that the tablets are leaving the temple’s gates.

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The eight tablets — which have adorned the temple’s main hall for centuries — were bestowed by generations of Qing emperors, from Kangxi （康熙） to Guangxu （光緒）, Tainan Bureau of Cultural Affairs Director Yeh Tse-shan （葉澤山） said.

The biggest tablet is the Kangxi emperor’s 4.8m inscription bearing Confucius’ epithet “Exemplar of teachers for all times” （萬世師表）, Yeh said.

The bureau has applied for national treasure status for the tablets and research is ongoing, he said, adding that the tablets have never been exhibited.

The exhibition will allow viewers to inspect the material and colors of the tablets up close without compromising security, as the tablets are extremely valuable, the bureau said, adding that volunteers will help keep order.

In addition to the imperial tablets, former presidents Lee Teng-hui （李登輝）, Chen Shui-bian （陳水扁） and Ma Ying-jeou （馬英九） and President Tsai Ing-wen （蔡英文） each gave the temple additional tablets, the bureau said.

The exhibition will be open for one year and transport of the artifacts is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, the bureau said

Built in 1667, the Tainan Confucius Temple was the first in Taiwan and was the only academy to offer a classical education during the Qing Dynasty.

Additional reporting by CNA

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES