Prince Zhu Gang, the third son of Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang who founded the Ming Dynasty, ordered to build this temple to commemorate his mother Empress Ma. The construction started in 1383 and was completed in 1391. Unfortunately, the main building of this temple excluding the Hall of Great Mercy was burnt down in 1864 due a fire. In 1881, Zhang Zhidong, the provincial governor of the Shanxi Province ordered to build the Temple of Confucius on the ruins of Chongshan Temple. However, it was changed into Shanxi Folk Customs Museum in 2003.