Nanjing >> Confucius Temple

Attraction Typ: Historic Site

Location: City Centre - South

Recommend: 5 Star

Confucius Temple

Confucius Temple was a place to worship and consecrate Confucius, the great philosopher and educator of ancient China.

Confucius Temple(Chinese:夫子庙；pinyin:fūzǐmiào) is also known as Fuzimiao in Chinese. The temple was first constructed in 1034 during the Song Dynasty to complement the Jiangnan Examination School, where the imperial examinations were administered. Scholars came to the temple to pray for success and demonstrate their humble respect for Confucius. Burnt down and rebuilt several times, the current structure dates from after World War Two. Its traditional sweeping eaves give the architecture a Ming and Qing flavor.
The temple's most outstanding feature is a beautiful collection of 36 jade panels detailing the Sage's life (551-479 BC)hanging on the walls of the main hall. Based on the famous set of Ming period paintings titled "Pictures of the Sage's Traces," each panel measures about two meters in height and one meter in width. These panels, however, are new, donated by a local company in 1998. Fuzi Miao is perhaps at its best around the time of the Lantern Festival (fifteen days after the Lunar New Year), when a special exhibit of multi-sized and multi-colored lanterns themed around the twelve animals of the lunar cycle lend a festive air to the temple. The area around the temple consists of a series of tourist shops, snack bars, restaurants and tea cafes of Ming and Qing style.