LegendDragons wrapped in silk
Before an emperor's visit the dragon columns of the main hall were covered with yellow silk, so that he would not see carvings finer than those of his own palace.
Source: Told by guides at the temple
The story
Confucius was born in 551 BC in the state of Lu, whose capital was Qufu, and spent most of his life here teaching. In 478 BC, the year after his death, Duke Ai of Lu turned three rooms of his house into a temple and kept his clothes, carriage and books there. In 195 BC the first Han emperor came to offer a sacrifice, and from then on almost every dynasty honoured him here and added to the buildings.
What stands now is mainly the work of the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1912): nine courtyards along one axis, from the gate in the city wall to the Hall of Great Achievement, with ancient cypresses, imperial stele pavilions and the library hall of the Song (960–1279). Together with the Kong family mansion next door and the family cemetery north of the town, it became a World Heritage Site in 1994.
Part of Qufu: Temple, Mansion and Cemetery of Confucius. Also there: Kong Family Mansion, Cemetery of Confucius.
What is here
The temple has its own ticket of 80 yuan, or is part of the 140-yuan combined ticket for the three Kong sites.
| Part | Ticket |
|---|---|
| Temple of Confucius | 80 yuan, or in the 140-yuan combined ticket |
If you have one minute
Before the Hall of Great Achievement
The main hall, rebuilt in 1724 after a lightning fire, is one of the three great halls of old China, with the Hall of Supreme Harmony in Beijing and the Tiankuang Hall at Mount Tai. Its roof is yellow-tiled, a colour kept for emperors, because Confucius was honoured as a king.
Look at the ten stone columns across its front: each is carved from a single block with two dragons coiling round a pearl in the clouds. When emperors came, the story goes, the columns were wrapped in yellow silk so that their dragons would not outshine the palace's.
Things people often get wrong
"Confucius is buried here." His tomb is in the family cemetery, Kong Lin, about two kilometres north.
"It is a religious temple with a priesthood." It is a temple of state and family ritual: sacrifices were led by officials and by Confucius's descendants. They are still held each autumn on his birthday.
People who stood here
We searched Chinese sources first for this list, then English ones.
- Confucius (teacher, 551–479 BC)He lived and taught on this spot; the Apricot Altar marks where, by tradition, he taught his students.
- Liu Bang (Emperor Gaozu of Han (206 BC–AD 220), about 256–195 BC)In 195 BC he offered a full sacrifice of ox, sheep and pig here, the first emperor to honour Confucius at his home.
- Sima Qian (historian, about 145–86 BC)He visited the temple, saw Confucius's carriage and clothes and watched students practise the rites, and wrote that he lingered and could not bring himself to leave.
- The Kangxi Emperor (1654–1722)In 1684 he knelt before Confucius in the Hall of Great Achievement and left the inscription "Teacher of ten thousand generations".
- The Qianlong Emperor (1711–1799)He came to Qufu eight times, more than any other emperor, and left steles in the stele pavilions.
- Liang Sicheng (architectural historian, 1901–1972)In 1935 he surveyed the temple and wrote a plan for its repair, one of the first modern studies of a Chinese monument.
Go deeper: from the city gate to the Hall of Great Achievement, six stops7 stops · about 1 min to read
Walk the axis from south to north; allow two hours. The temple and the mansion share a wall, so most visitors go on to the mansion next.
1. The gate in the city wall
The temple begins at a gate in Qufu's Ming city wall, inscribed "a palace wall ten thousand feet high", after a disciple's words that his master's learning was a wall too high to see over. Each morning at 8:00 an opening ceremony is held here.
2. The Kuiwen Pavilion
The temple's library, first built in 1018 and rebuilt in 1191, a tall wooden hall that held the books the emperors gave. It is said to have stood through the great earthquake of 1668 when buildings all round fell.
3. The Thirteen Stele Pavilions
Thirteen pavilions shelter over fifty steles given by emperors from the Tang (618–907) to the Qing, many resting on the backs of stone tortoises called bixi.
4. The Apricot Altar
A small pavilion in front of the main hall, planted round with apricot trees, marks where Confucius is said to have taught; the stele inside carries a poem by the Qianlong Emperor.
5. The Hall of Great Achievement
Inside, a seated statue of Confucius is flanked by his greatest disciples and followers, among them Mencius. Above hang plaques written by Qing emperors.
6. The Lu Wall
Behind the main halls, a wall marks where the Kong family is said to have hidden classic books when the First Emperor of Qin burned them in 213 BC. Found again in the Han, they became the "old text" classics.
The temple and the same years elsewhere
The year the temple was founded, 478 BC, Athens was forming the Delian League after the Persian Wars; the Parthenon was still thirty years in the future.