Siting Differences: The Pragmatic Response of Chinese Temples' Layouts in Bali

Long-established maritime trade and commerce activities of the Chinese have generated close relationships with the local rulers. This opened the opportunity for the Chinese to express the cultures and values of their ancestral homeland in the host land where they settled, and to be accepted by the locals as they adapted to the Balinese environment. This study, therefore, presents an in-depth understanding of how and why these temples come to be sited, involving an analysis in examining the application of Chinese traditional principles to different geographical situations. This qualitative descriptive study used a phenomenological approach, as the genesis of this study has proceeded from the initial observations and findings of cultural mixture in Chinese temples in Bali. The differences between Chinese temples' siting in Bali can be understood by reference to their broad-scale and specific locations. There is the implication that pragmatic and conceptual compromises have been influenced by the difference in cosmography from China, the status of the Chinese community as ‘guests'; also, pragmatic and economic obstacles have sometimes prevented the Chinese community from procuring ideal sites.