The Stories of Confucius in Taiwanese Temple
文、圖 / 歐修梅
台灣的漢人聚落幾乎都有「大廟」，是當地人的信仰、娛樂、商業、教化、聯誼、地方自治的中心。
In Taiwan, there is a “grand temple” in every traditional Han community. It is the center for religion, entertainment, commerce, education, social gatherings, and community governance for locals.
地方的「大廟」各有不同的主祀神明，再陪祀以其他神明。至聖先師孔子在官方系統的孔廟雖為主祀，但也常常成為各地大廟的同祀神，信眾常常會親切地稱呼為「孔子公」。
The local “grand temples” have their own primary deities, accompany by other gods. Although Confucius, the Great Sage and Teacher, is the primary deity in official Confucian temples, he is also often enshrined as an accompanying god in other grand temples. Devotees affectionately refer to him as Lord Confucius.
台南市關廟區的山西宮就是當地的「大廟」，主祀關聖帝君，另設有「孔子殿」，祀奉孔子。
Shanxi Temple is the “grand temple” in Guanziling, Tainan, dedicated to the worship of Saintly Emperor Guan Yu. Within the temple, there is a Confucius Hall that worships Confucius.
值得特別注意的是孔子神像後方的九幅神龕畫，是潘麗水藝師（1914~1995）的白描木版畫—孔子行跡圖。這組作品有幾個值得重視之處：
The nine shrine paintings behind the statue of Confucius are particularly noteworthy. They are woodblock prints featuring the “plain-sketch” technique by artist Pan Lishui (1914–1995), depicting scenes from the life of Confucius.There are a few noteworthy aspects of this set of artworks:
首先，這一組作品是潘麗水藝師職業生涯的最後期作品之一，山西宮落成於1982年，而潘麗水藝師在1985年就因身體狀況而處於半退休狀態，作品數量減少許多。
First, this set of artworks is among the last pieces created by artist Pan Lishui in his career. Shanxi Temple was established in 1982, and by 1985, Pan had become semi-retired due to health issues, leading to a significant decrease in the number of his creations.
再者，潘麗水藝師的門神畫、樑枋畫、寺廟壁畫在臺灣備受推崇，相對來講，白描的作品相當少見，山西宮的這一組白描木版畫是其中之一。
Second, artist Pan Lishui’s door gods paintings, beam and bracket paintings, and temple murals are deeply adored in Taiwan. His plain-sketch works are relatively rare. The set of plain-sketch woodblock prints at Shanxi Temple is one such example.
最後，這一組作品描繪的是孔子生平的幾個故事，有受困的孔子，也有受人尊敬的場景。我們可以想象當長輩帶著子弟來到廟裏參拜孔子公，藉著寺廟中的繪畫作品向晚輩介紹孔子的事跡，這其實就是最樸素也最深入的教化形式了。
At last, this set of artworks depicts a few stories from the life of Confucius. In one scene, he appears stranded, while in others, he is shown with great respect. We can imagine that, when elders bring youngsters to the temple to worship Lord Confucius, they might use these paintings to introduce the stories and deeds of Confucius to the younger generation. This serves as the simplest, most straightforward, and yet profound form of education.
