Lee Meishu Memorial Museum

Sanxia -- Zushi Temple -- When Sanxia is mentioned, people immediately think of Zushi Temple. And when Zushi Temple is mentioned, the most direct association is Lee Meishu. Lee Meishu was an artist, painter, professor, councilor, and chairman of a farmers' association. Professor Lee's creative work primarily focused on depicting the beauty of Taiwanese local landscapes, adopting a realistic style. His beloved paintings of Sanxia scenery throughout his life embody his emphasized artistic philosophy of "wind, earth, people, and sentiment." The Lee Meishu Memorial Museum was established in 1995 with the aim of commemorating Taiwanese painter Lee Meishu and exhibiting his works. The museum houses Mr. Lee Meishu's lifetime masterpieces and various cultural artifacts, including original manuscripts detailing Lee Meishu's process in reconstructing Zushi Temple. In 2005, it was designated as a local cultural heritage museum by the Council for Cultural Affairs, Executive Yuan. The Sanxia Changfu Yan Qingshui Zushi Temple, built in the 34th year of Emperor Qianlong's reign (1769) during the Qing Dynasty, served as both the central temple for religious worship in Sanxia and a gathering place for local social and economic activities. In the Daoguang era (1833), it was damaged by an earthquake and subsequently expanded through fundraising. After Taiwan was ceded to Japan in 1895, due to local anti-Japanese resistance, the Japanese army occupied and burned down Zushi Temple. Consequently, it was rebuilt again in 1899 under the planning of local gentry. After the end of World War II, due to the passage of time and natural damage, the temple's structure and decorations faced severe deterioration, which led to Lee Meishu's involvement in the reconstruction of Sanxia Zushi Temple. In 1947, Lee Meishu spearheaded the reconstruction of Sanxia Zushi Temple. Guided by the spirit of Michelangelo's construction of St. Peter's Basilica, and responding to appeals from cultural figures and artists, he led the temple's reconstruction. He hoped that worshippers entering the temple would not only come to burn incense, worship Buddha, and pray for peace, but also absorb aesthetic and cultural education. Therefore, he put great effort into its architecture and design, paying particular attention to detail during the restoration process. He personally designed and supervised the carving work, including architectural components such as dragon pillars, *queti* (bracket arms), and *dougong* (bracket sets), recreating the beauty of traditional craftsmanship with extreme precision. Furthermore, he enhanced the temple's interior with vibrant colors and exquisite patterns, adding rich visual effects and making the overall architecture more artistically engaging. Zushi Temple thus gained widespread fame and was hailed as the "Eastern Palace of Sculptural Art." However, within the context of Taiwanese art history, Zushi Temple can be regarded as an unprecedented and unparalleled experimental ground. Led by an artist, it became a uniquely Taiwanese classical artistic paradigm, demonstrating how to integrate tradition and modernity on the foundation of local faith. Beyond its religious and historical significance, many decorative works were created by renowned artisans and artists of the time, enriching the aesthetics of religious art. To transform Zushi Temple into a temple with cultural, artistic, and educational functions, Lee Meishu enlisted prominent figures from the literary and art worlds, such as Yu Youren, Fu Juanfu, Yan Xishan, Ouyang Hao-nian, Lin Yushan, Chen Jin, Kuo Hsueh-hu, and others, to provide calligraphic and painting drafts. These drafts were then executed by national treasure-level masters from traditional schools, such as master stone carver Jiang Yinqiang and Chen Tian-si (a highly skilled apprentice of master carpenter Chen Ying-pin). They applied traditional techniques like wood carving, stone carving, and painting, combined with modern aesthetic concepts, to imbue Zushi Temple with new vitality, collectively giving birth to this "Eastern Palace of Art" – a folk temple art museum. In 2018, Sanxia Zushi Temple was designated as a municipal historic site by the Bureau of Cultural Affairs.