| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
CHINA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The Temple of Confucius is located in Guozijian Street, inside Anding Gate. It has a 600 year old history: originally the temple was built in 1302, it was used as a place for sacrifices to Confucius during the Yuan (1271 - 1368), Ming (1368 - 1644) and Qing (1644 - 1911) Dynasties. It’s the second largest temple constructed for Confucius, the greatest thinker of ancient China. The first one you can see in Qufu, Shandong Province. The temple occupies an area of 22 000 square meters and consists of four courtyards. In the front courtyard you’ll see 198 stone tablets with the names of 51 624 Jinshi who passed the triennial imperial examinations. Dacheng Palace (Hall of Great Accomplishment) is the main building in the temple, memorial ceremony for Confucius was held here. There are many instruments used for the ceremony during the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911) in the palace. You can see the yellow-glazed roofs and remarkable picture of two flying dragons, they play with a pearl among the clouds. These were used in the imperial palaces only. It shows the importance of the Confucius Temple at that time. The temple lost its religious function during the bourgeois revolution in 1912. It’s just a museum now. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
