Nanjing Confucian Temple

Nanjing Confucian Temple

Nanjing Confucian Temple

Nanjing Confucian Temple is located to the north of Dacheng Hall Back Street. The lintel originally bore a vermilion plaque inscribed with the characters “Confucian Temple,” and there used to be a cypress memorial archway outside the gate, inscribed with “The Premier Academy of the Southeast.” Behind it were four study rooms, which served as self-study spaces for students. Further back was the Mingde Hall, built in the Southern Song Dynasty (1139), whose current name was inscribed by Wen Tianxiang. In the later period of the Eastern Wu, Sun Hao, the last ruler, erected the Tianxi Stele here in the eighth month of the first year of the Tianxi era (276) to glorify the great achievements of his four generations of ancestors. The stele bears the *Tianfa Shenwen* (Heavenly Decree Inscription), hence it is also called the *Tianfa Zhonggui Stele*. During the Jin Dynasty, the stele broke into three pieces, and later generations referred to it as the Three-Section Stele.

The Confucian Temple was the site of the “Premier Academy of the Southeast” during the Six Dynasties period. The Mingde Hall is the main building of the temple. While national Confucian temples across the country are commonly called “Minglun Hall,” Nanjing’s is uniquely named “Mingde Hall” because the plaque was personally inscribed by Wen Tianxiang, the heroic statesman of the Song Dynasty, to express his aspirations—and this name has been retained ever since.

To the east of the Mingde Hall, there used to be some auxiliary structures, some of which no longer exist, while others have been repurposed. Behind the Confucian Temple is a small earthen hill called Weishan, on which stands the Jingyi Pavilion, surrounded by plum blossoms and green bamboo. In the later period of the Eastern Wu, Sun Hao, the last ruler, erected the Tianxi Stele here in the eighth month of the first year of the Tianxi era (276) to glorify the great achievements of his four generations of ancestors. The stele bears the *Tianfa Shenwen* (Heavenly Decree Inscription), hence it is also called the *Tianfa Zhonggui Stele*. During the Jin Dynasty, the stele broke into three pieces, and later generations referred to it as the Three-Section Stele. It is said that the stele remains under Weishan. It was inscribed by Huang Xiang, Jiangsu Province’s earliest renowned calligrapher recorded in ancient historical texts. His script blends seal and clerical styles, exuding a majestic, vigorous, and expansive flair—truly groundbreaking. The Qing Dynasty’s Kang Youwei praised the stele, saying, “Its brushwork is mightier than any from ancient or modern times.”

The interior of the Mingde Hall has now been converted into the Ya Yue Palace (Elegant Music Palace). The reconstructed elegant music of the Spring and Autumn Period draws upon the latest archaeological findings to perform grand court music of antiquity, primarily featuring large sets of bianzhong (chime bells) and bianqing (chime stones), along with all eight traditional musical categories: metal, stone, silk, bamboo, earth, leather, gourd, and wood. Dressed in distinctive classical attire, the performances are refined, profound, and exquisitely beautiful, recreating the astonishing elegance of ancient Chinese court music.