Confucious
Temple
 According
to historical records, in 478 BC, the year after Confucius' death, Lord
Ai of the State of Lu had Confucius' housein the center of Qufu designated
as a temple in commemoration of his life. After extensive restoration and
expansion, it reached its present scale in the Ming Dynasty. Covering 140,000m2
of land, the compound consists of over a hundred halls, towers, pavilions
and other buildings clustered around 9 courtyards, including Dacheng Hall,
the main hall and housed under the triple-roofed 23-meter-high Kuiwenge
and the Apricot Altar Pavilion where Confucius lectured his disciples surrounded
by ancient cypress trees and over a thousand steles.
In December1994, The Confucius Temple, Residence and Confucian Woods was
listed in the Chronology of Recognition of World Heritages in China by UNESCO.
Confucious
Woods
Located in the north of Qufu is the Confucian Woods where the tombs of Confucius
and most of his descendants are entombed. Confucius passed away in April
479 BC and therefrom his descendants were buried with him and the place
gradually grew into a cemetery with over 100,000 tombs and 4,000 steles.
Zi Gong, Confucius' disciple, started planting trees at Confucius' tomb
and now there are over 10,000 trees in the wooded forest, Kong Shangren,
well-known writer and author of the "Peach Blossom Fan", was buried
also here.
Confucius
Residence
To the east of the temple is Confucius' mansion. It was once the home of
Confucius' eldest grandson"s Yamen and named Lord Yansheng's Residence.
During the Han Dynasty, Emperor Gao Zu , named Liu Bang, worshipped Confucius
in great veneration and conferred on Confucius' ninth generation direct
grandson and his sons an official post supervising sacrifices to Confucius
on behalf of the country . In the course of history, many lavish titles
were conferred on Confucius and his descendants. The title of Yansheng was
given to his descendant in the Song Dynasty. In the 10th year of the Ming
Hong Wu reign, an independent Residence of Lord Yansheng was built with
the Yamen in the front and the household residence at the back . It has
480 rooms and houses many files and relics.
In December 1994, The Confucius Temple, Residence and Confucian Woods was
listed in the Chronology of Recognition of World Heritages in China by UNESCO.
|
