The Confucian Temple
cctv.com 02-21-2006 10:51
Qufu, in Shandong Province, is the hometown of Confucius, a great thinker, statesman and educator in China's history, who founded of the Confucian school of philosophy around the 5th century BC. The name Confucius is a transliteration of his Chinese title 瀛斿か瀛, although he is often know in Chinese simply as 瀛斿瓙 Master Kong.
The Confucian Temple, in the center of Qufu City, was built in 478 BC. Most buildings there today date from the Ming dynasty. There are 466 halls, pavilions and other rooms intact, covering a total area of 21.8 hectares. Repeated improvement and expansion has turned the temple into a palatial complex with nine rows of courtyards. The Great Accomplishment Hall 鐩涚哗娈, the major structure of the temple, is 33 meters tall, roofed with yellow glazed tiles. The front 10 stone columns are carved with dragons. In addition to a statue of Confucius, the hall also houses stone inscription from the Ming Dynasty, which tells the life story of Confucius in 120 pictures.
The Confucian Family Mansion 瀛斿簻, right next to the Confucian Temple, was the residence of Confucius' descendants and perhaps one of the greatest residences for an aristocratic family in China, outside of the Imperial palaces. Covering an area of 120,000 meters, the family mansion now houses a large number of documents, files and cultural relics. Again, the current structures largely date from the Ming Dynasty.
The Confucian Cemetery, occupying more than 200 hectares, has served as the family graveyard of Confucius and his descendants for more than 2,300 years. This is located in what is called the Confucian Forest 瀛旀灄. Some 70 odd generations later, the descendants of Confucius are still buried here today.
Together, the Confucian Temple, Confucian Family Mansion and the cemetery were included in the UN鈥檚 world cultural heritage list in 1994.
Editor:Wang Ping Source:CCTV.com
