GuangHe Temple, Xinpu

壁畫彩繪是台灣寺廟裝飾中，不可或缺的一項，壁畫的主題不外乎忠孝節義的民間故事及宗教神話傳說，位於新埔的廣和宮內的壁畫也一樣，但不同的是，壁畫裡的仙女們個個身材姣好、穿著性感，風格頗異於傳統寺廟彩繪。

Mural painting is an essential component of the temple decorations in Taiwan. The themes of the painting mainly present loyal, filial piety, or justice folk stories or religious related stories. The mural painting in GuangHe Temple has the same theme, however, the the fairy tale ladies in the painting dressed sexy is quite different from the traditional mural painting

廣和宮是新埔第一大廟，位於老街的菁華地帶。廟前廣場曾是清代與日據時代的民防演練、政見發表及農民曬穀之處，可以說是與民眾生活密不可分，曾經風光一時。

GuangHe Temple is the largest temple in Xinpu and located at the center of the Old Street. The temple square was used for the defense drills, rallies, and rice-drying field during Qing Dynasty and Japanese Colonial Era. This place had a glory past and was the main gathering place for the local residents.

廟內供奉的是客家原鄉的守護神「三山國王」。三山國王原本是中國潮洲的普遍信仰。客家人移墾至台灣後，也將這個信仰帶入台灣，因此是客家人獨有的信仰，所以只要廟裡有供奉三山國王的地方，肯定就是有客家人聚集。

The temple is dedicated to the “SanShan King” who is the patron saint for Hakka. “SanShan King” was the local belief in Chaozhou China originally. After the Hakka natives moved to Taiwan, they brought this belief that became the only belief for them. Once you see the “SanShan King” in the temple, you would know this is a gathering place for the local Hakka residents.

Photo by Netliang

廣和宮歷經幾次的整建，交趾陶換上了新的油彩，雖缺乏古樸之感，但這些作品是交趾陶大師蘇陽水少數留於台灣的作品之一，仍值得一看。

After a several renovations and new paint on the JianZhi Pottery in GuangHe Temple, they lost the original look. However, they are still one of the few remaining works of the famous Master Su, YangShui in Taiwan. They are worthy to see.

Photo by Netliang

屋頂的交趾陶是由蘇陽水弟子所翻修，一樣為不可多得的佳作。

The JianZhi Pottery on the roof was re-done by the students of Master Su, YangShui. They are hard to find now.

Photo by Netliang

廣和宮最大的建築特色為採取「對場作」，以中軸線為界，左右兩邊分別由不同的師傅建造施工，來合力完成整幢建築。仔細欣賞的話，會發現左右兩邊看似相似的結構，在樣式及手法上其實並不相同，相當的有趣。

The main architectural feature for the temple is “ parallel work”. The central axis was the boundary with each side designed by different masters and built together to complete the whole building. They look similar in distance; however, they are quite different in a closer look. It’s very interesting!

Photo by Netliang

彩繪壁畫是近幾年重新繪製的，色彩鮮豔、畫風大膽，這是廖姓畫師刻意突破傳統畫風的表現。對於一向保守的寺廟來說，這些身材玲瓏有致，穿著曝露的仙女壁畫出現在這裡，頗受爭議，但也因為這樣，讓早已門口羅雀的廣和宮，開始吸引遊客到訪。

These are the new drawing that was done by Master Liao. Using vivid colors and sexy design, Master Liao deliberately broke away from the traditional mural painting style. The exquisite body and dress exposed have become a controversial topic among all the conservative temples. However, GuangHe Temple has attracted many visitors because of that. Read More