Happy Teachers' Day! / 教師節 迎接祭孔大典
◎Written By Yu-Fong Wang ◎Photograph by Chia-Tse Kao
To celebrate the annual Teachers' Day on September 28th, Kaohsiung City government held the usual memorial service to Confucius as usual. The ceremony attracted guests from both Taiwan and abroad. After the celebration, guests took a grand tour of this first outsourced-managed temple in Taiwan and enjoyed a great tea to end this wonderful day.
Confucius was born on the 27th day of the Eighth month on the Lunar Calendar, in the Zhou Dynasty. In 1952, a group of experts, invited by the Central Government, converted the date and decided that September 28th should be Confucius' Birthday as well as Teachers' Day.
The ceremony we see today is adapted from the traditional ceremony with slight changes. In 1996, after consulting various experts, the Ministry of Internal Affairs tried out a modified ceremony for two years running and from this, was able to create this 60-minute ritual.
Every year on Teachers' Day, the ceremony will take place at every Confucian Temple in Taiwan. Of course, there's no exception in Kaohsiung. Many people may not know that there are two temples in Kaohsiung. The older one, located inside the Jiucheng Elementary School, was built in 1685. Zuoying was the capital of the Fongshan County at that time, and the government decided to build a Confucian temple to memorize Confucius as well as to promote education. Apart from the Tainan one, it was the second Confucian temple ever to be built in Taiwan.
This temple has been an important center for education. During the Japanese colonial period, the Japanese government transformed the templeinto the Jiucheng Public School, which became the current Jiucheng elementary school. Due to the number of facilities used by the school, the annual celebration used to be held in a rather small area. In 1974, the Mayor, Yu-yun Wong, decided to build a new Confucian temple that was later completed in 1976. Ever since the completion, the annual celebration has taken place in this beautiful temple.
This well-known Confucian temple's layout was based on the Taihe Hall of Beijing's Forbidden City and the Confucian Temple in Qufu, Confucius's hometown. This typical Chinese temple, along with the one at Lotus Pond, nearby, has become a famous sightseeing spot. The usually plentiful number of visitors increases dramatically when the annual memorial ceremonies are taking place.
Something worth mentioning is that this Confucian Temple is the first temple, to be government owned, but privated founded. Featuring the spectacular architecture and scenery of the temple, the new investors have provided new dining facilities. Visitors now have a place to dine and enjoy the beauty of the architecture. New changes have brought new life to the temple by enabling it to be introduced to more people, exemplifying the integration of ancient tradition and modern culture.
◎文／王御風 ◎攝影／高嘉澤
一年一度的教師節９月28日登場，高雄市依例在孔廟舉行了祭孔大典，吸引許多來自中外的貴賓觀禮。在祭孔大典完畢後，賓客們參觀了這座全台首次委外經營的孔廟，在優美的環境中，品茗香醇好茶，發思古之幽情，度過別具意義的一天。
孔子出生於農曆周靈王21年８月27日，政府於民國41年邀集專家討論，確定當日換算成陽曆為9月28日，於是將9月28日訂為孔子誕辰紀念日及教師節。
現在我們看到的典禮儀式，雖是遵循古禮，但也有小小的改變，在民國57年，內政部邀集各方專家，並經過２年的試辦，將典禮濃縮在60分鐘內，成了今日我們所看到的典禮。
教師節當天，全台的孔廟都會舉行這項典禮，高雄市孔廟也不例外。實際上，高雄市孔廟有兩間，舊的孔廟在高市舊城國小內。這座孔廟興建時間相當早，在康熙24年（西元1685年）興建，由於當時左營為清代鳳山縣的首府，因此鳳山縣府興建此做為祭祀孔子及教學之用，除了台南府城外，這是全台第二間的孔廟。
左營孔廟，一直肩負著當地教育的功能。日治時期，日本政府將其改為舊城公學校，並成為今日的舊城國小，許多孔廟原有的設施，都成為學校用地，每年的祭孔大典，都只能在擁擠的地方舉行。民國63年，當時的市長王玉雲決定在附近營建新的孔廟，於民國65年落成，從此以後，每年的祭孔大典就在這個新孔廟舉行。
這座我們所熟知的孔廟，是仿北平故宮太和殿及曲阜孔廟興建，具備孔廟傳統形式的中國式建築，配合當地的蓮池潭，成為左營著名的觀光勝地，平日就有許多觀光客參訪，每年的祭孔大典，更是吸引許多人潮。
更值得一提的是，高市孔廟從去年（民國94年）開始，成為第一個委外經營的孔廟。新的經營者，結合了孔廟原有的美麗建築及潭光山色，推出許多餐飲服務，不但讓來此參觀者，有一個歇息用餐的場所，更吸引許多人在此停留，體會孔廟的建築之美，為孔廟注入了新活水，也讓更多人認識孔廟，可說是傳統與現代完美結合的典範。