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In 1815 (the 20th year of the Qing Emperor Jiaqing), Xiàdànshuǐ Subprefect Magistrate Wú Xìngchéng, aiming to revive local culture and education, joined forces with Senior Licentiate Guō Cuì, Lín Mèngyáng, and others to propose the construction of Píngdōng Academy (also known as the Confucian Temple). Though the academy was relocated and renovated several times, it retained its original layout of lecture hall, ritual hall, and dormitories, fully displaying the spatial characteristics of a traditional academy. It is a historic monument of long standing in Píngdōng and the only academy building within the region. Píngdōng Academy was first built inside today’s Zhōngshān Park, with 36 dormitories; the front hall served as the lecture hall, while the rear hall enshrined Emperor Wénchāng, Chéng Zǐ, Zhōu Zǐ, and others. In 1895 (the 21st year of Emperor Guāngxù), the academy was converted into a Confucian Temple dedicated to Confucius, with Mencius, Yán Zǐ, Zǐ Sī, and Zēng Zǐ as the Four Sages, and Zhōu Zǐ, Zhū Zǐ, Chéng Yí, Chéng Hào, and Zhāng Zǐ as the Five Confucians. Lacking funds for maintenance, the temple gradually fell into disrepair. In 1937, the Japanese authorities then ruling Taiwan planned to move the temple elsewhere, but at the urging of Japanese scholars for its preservation, it was dismantled and reassembled at its present site on Shènglì Road according to its original appearance. After relocation, however, long-term neglect left the temple in a state of decay. Not until 1977 did the then Píngdōng County magistrate commission the renowned architect Hàn Bǎodé to oversee restoration; by 1979 the temple had regained its former appearance. After the renovation, the courtyard was enlarged, front and rear halls were linked by a covered walkway, the central hall was converted into the Hall of Great Achievements, the rear hall into the Hall of Honoring the Sages, a single-slope cloister was added, and a screen wall inscribed with “Nine-Rèn Palace Wall” was erected. Four steles recording the academy’s construction history were also preserved. In 1985, Píngdōng Academy was designated a Grade-3 national historic monument, a well-preserved site of profound cultural value.