BOEN BIO TEMPLE

Boen Bio is one of the Confucian temples in Indonesia and considered as the largest in South East Asia. In the past, the Dutch called it "The Church of Confucius". The temple, built in 1883 and formerly named Boen Thjiang Soe, was located in the District of Kapasan Dalam. With regard to its Majestic figure, it is a pity if such a temple was located inside the slum part of the district. The Confucian philosopher, K'ang Yu Wei,once visited the temple and proposed to relocate the building onto the big street, Kapasan 131, Surabaya. On September 4, 1906, the reconstruction began and finished on July 6, 1907. Thus, The present temple is just as the temple, when it was rebuilt in 1907.
The uniqueness of the temple is the absence of Kimsin (the statues), but it has got Sinci (spirit tablets),instead. Precisely on the top of the highest altar, there lies a red lamp which symbolizes T'ien (The Almighty God). Just below the altar, there are 9 Sincis, and each of them was put inside a Sinci Kham (the tablet cabinet): the one on the very top and at the far back side is the tablet of Prophet Confucius; the ones in the middle and a little bit lower are the tablets of Gan Yan, Cingcu, Cusu, and Mencius; the others, which are on the lowest front, are the Sincis of the prophet's 72 distinguished diciples (from his 3000 diciples).
The exterior and the interior of the temple is full of symbols and meanings, derived from the teaching of Confucius, compiled in the Four Books and The Five Classics. Historically, Boen Bio confirms the existence and acceptance of Confucianism in the plural society of Indonesia in a different era.
Boen Bio has been visited by national and worldwide visitors, among others, there were ambassadors of foreign countries, historians, architects, experts on religion, social scientists, and university students. To celebrate Confucius' birhtday, the local people in Kapasan District holds a ceremony and a puppet-show for the whole night. On King Hoo Ping worshipping, thousands packages of food material aaare distributed annually for the poor to share the joy.