Temple of Confucius in Qufu Shandong
Situated in Nanmennei in Qufu, the temple was used to worship Confucius. It could be traced back to 478 BC, and fifty-three tablets have been erected there by emperors over the centuries. The temple complex is the second largest historical building complex in China with an area of 16,000 square meters and has a total of 460 rooms.
The main part of the temple consists of 9 courtyards on a central axis, which is oriented in the north-south direction and is 1.3km in length. The first gate is named “Lingxing Gate” meaning that Confucius is a star from heaven. The building is the remaining courtyards forming the heart of the complex. With yellow roof-tiles and red-painted walls, they are surrounded by dark-green pine trees to create a color contrast with complementary colors. The Hall of Great Achievements is usually considered to be the temple’s most impressive building. The Hall’s features include 28 stone pillars carved with dragons. Each pillar has nine dragons. The pillars are about 500 years old. The hall of Great Achievement served as the principal place for offering sacrifices to the memory of Confucius. In the center of the courtyard in front of hall stands the “Apricot Platform”, which commemorates Confucius teaching his students under an apricot tree. Each year at Qufu and at many other Confucian temples a ceremony is held on September 20 to commemorate Confucian’s birthday.| Want a quick enquiry ? |
