The Temple of Confucius in Qufu , Shandong Province is the "original", largest
and most famous of the temples of Confucius in China
and East Asia . Since 1994, the Temple of Confucius
has been part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Temple
and Cemetery of Confucius
and the Kong Family Mansion
in Qufu". The two other parts of the site are the nearby Kong Family Mansion and the Cemetery of Confucius .
Confucianism has
had the most enduring and profound effect over Chinese culture. As time went
on, Confucius became respected as a sage, and the temples to Confucius were
built as a landmark for all of China .
The temple
complex is among the largest in China ;
it covers an area of 16,000 square metres and has a total of 460 rooms. The Temple of Confucius
is a group of grand buildings built in oriental style. Together with the Summer Palace
in Beijing and the Mountain Resort of Chengde,
the Temple of Confucius
in Qufu is one of the three largest ancient architectural complexes in China . Because the last major
redesign following the fire in 1499 took place shortly after the building of
the Forbidden City in the Ming Dynasty, the architecture of the Temple of Confucius
resembles that of the Forbidden City in many
ways.
The main part of the temple consists of 9 courtyards arranged on a central
axis, which is oriented in the north-south direction and is 1.3 km in length. The first three courtyards
have small gates and are planted with tall pine trees, they serve an introductory
function. The first (southernmost) gate is named "Lingxing Gate"
after a star in the Great Bear constellation; the name suggests that Confucius
is a star from heaven. The buildings in the remaining courtyards form the heart
of the complex. They are impressive structures with yellow roof-tiles
(otherwise reserved for the emperor) and red-painted walls; they are surrounded
by dark-green pine trees to create a color contrast with complementary colors.
It mainly consists of these three parts.
Dacheng Hall
Dacheng means
master with great achievement, which truly describes Confucius. Dacheng Hall is
the main hall of the Temple
at its core. This hall is 24.8 meters (81feet) high on a base of 21 meters (69
feet), and is the highest building in the Temple
as well as being one of the three largest ancient halls in China .
Apricot Altar
Located in front
of the Dacheng Hall, Apricot Altar is said to be where Confucius preached. The
Altar is surrounded by red fences with hills behind them. One finely decorated
pavilion has a painted dragon and a stele engraved with Emperor Qianlong's
handwriting.
Kuiwen Pavilion
Kuiwen Pavilion, a
library, is in the middle of the Temple .
Kuixing was the legendary star responsible for literacy in ancient China . A famous
wooden pavilion, Kuiwen Pavilion was daintily designed with two stories. The
upper story houses classic books and writings given by emperors and kings while
the lower story houses items used by the emperors when offering sacrifices to
Confucius.
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