The Southern Kong Family Temple in Quzhou

The Southern Kong Family Temple in Quzhou

Confucius, born in 551 BC and died in 479 BC, was a great thinker and educator in Chinese history, revered as a sage by emperors throughout the dynasties.

The Kong Family Temple is different from the Confucius Temple or the Temple of Literature. The latter are official temples established by the state, where government officials, scholars, and common people worship Confucius; the Kong Family Temple is where the direct descendants of Confucius lead their clan in worshipping Confucius and their ancestors.

The Southern Kong Family Temple in Quzhou is one of only two such family temples in China, commonly known as the "Southern Branch," and boasts a history of over 700 years.

In the second year of the Jianyan era of the Song Dynasty (1128), Kong Duanyou, the 48th-generation direct descendant and Duke Yansheng of the Kong family, led the elite members of the clan to accompany Emperor Gaozong of Song during his southern migration. In early 1129, Emperor Gaozong Zhao Gou granted Kong Duanyou residence in Quzhou in recognition of his service. In 1136, Emperor Gaozong decreed the temporary use of the prefectural school as the Kong Family Temple. This became the first family temple in Quzhou. In 1253, at the request of Kong Zhu, the 53rd-generation descendant and sixth-generation Duke Yansheng of the Kong family, Emperor Lizong of Song allocated 360,000 strings of cash and ordered the construction of a Kong Family Temple at the Lotus Dam in Linghu, northeast of the prefecture. This was the second family temple in Quzhou. In 1276, during the Yuan Dynasty, the temple was destroyed in war. Later, Kong Zhu single-handedly rebuilt the temple in the southern part of the city, marking the third family temple in Quzhou. In 1520, at the request of Kong Chengmei, the 60th-generation direct descendant and hereditary Imperial College Doctor of the Five Classics, the court approved the selection of the former site of the Linghu County School to build a new Kong Family Temple in Quzhou, along with a Kong Mansion on its western side. This became the fourth family temple in Quzhou, which is the current Southern Kong Family Temple in Quzhou.

The Southern Kong Family Temple in Quzhou has three axes: central, western, and eastern. The central axis features the Dacheng Hall, dedicated to the worship of Confucius. The western axis includes the Ancestral Halls of the Six Generations of Dukes, the Successive Hereditary Halls, and the Five Branch Halls, used to worship the successive ancestors of the Kong family; the Silu Pavilion houses wooden statues of Confucius and his wife, as well as an image of the First Sage. The eastern axis includes the Five Princes’ Hall and the Gratitude Officials’ Hall, dedicated to the worship of Confucius’s fifth-generation ancestors and historical officials who contributed to the Kong family in Quzhou. To the west of the temple lies the Kong Mansion, residence of the direct descendants, along with its garden. It is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

Confucianism, represented by Confucius, is the mainstream of traditional Chinese culture. To draw on the essence of Confucian emphasis on ritual education and moral practice, and to inherit the political ethics and integrity spirit advocated by Confucianism, in recent years the Quzhou Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection and Supervision has leveraged the cultural advantages of the Southern Kong Family Temple to promote Confucian integrity culture. A special integrity exhibition hall has been set up in the Silu Pavilion of the Confucius Temple, showcasing the essence of integrity in Confucian culture through calligraphy and paintings. The book “Confucian Thought and Political Ethics” has been specially compiled to encourage Party members and cadres to deeply study and explore traditional Chinese culture, continuously improving their cultural and moral cultivation. At the same time, discipline inspection and supervision agencies at both municipal and county levels have organized a series of educational activities under the theme “Learn Confucian Thought, Be an Integrity-Oriented Cadre” at the integrity culture education base of the Confucius Temple. Through theoretical seminars, knowledge competitions, speech contests, special lectures, and essay competitions, these activities aim to educate and guide Party members and cadres to “cultivate virtue through reading and discipline oneself with morality,” fostering a positive social atmosphere that values learning, integrity, honor, shame, virtue, and respect for the wise.

In 2006, the Southern Kong Family Temple in Quzhou was designated as a “Zhejiang Provincial Integrity Culture Education Base.”