The Hall of Great Achievement in the Zhangzhou Prefecture Confucius Temple

The Hall of Great Achievement in the Zhangzhou Prefecture Confucius Temple

The Hall of Great Achievement in the Zhangzhou Prefecture Confucius Temple is a National Key Cultural Relics Protection Unit.

The Hall of Great Achievement in the Zhangzhou Prefecture Confucius Temple is located at No. 2 Xiuxiu West Road, Xiangcheng District, Zhangzhou City, Fujian Province.

The main hall was first built in the fourth year of the Qingli era of the Song Dynasty (1044), relocated back to its original site in the second year of the Zhenghe era (1112) and the ninth year of the Shaoxing era (1139), and rebuilt in the eighteenth year of the Chenghua era of the Ming Dynasty (1482), having undergone multiple cycles of decline and revival. The Zhangzhou Prefecture School was also located here. The current structure consists of the ceremonial gate, the Hall of Great Achievement gate, side halls, the terrace, the altar, the Hall of Great Achievement, and more, covering an area of over 2,600 square meters. When Zhu Xi served as prefect of Zhangzhou, he led officials here every second day of the ten-day cycle to “instruct students in the Elementary Learning and explain correct principles.” Historical figures such as Zheng Chenggong and Huang Daozhou also came here to worship Confucius.

The main structure, the Hall of Great Achievement, is a Ming Dynasty building facing south, with a width of five bays (23.2 meters) and a depth of six bays (23.7 meters), featuring a double-eaved hip-and-gable roof. Massive granite pillars support the post-and-lintel wooden frame, with the lower eave framework consisting of three-step beams inserted into the gold columns, and rigid or single cantilevered eaves. The diameter of the gold columns reaches 0.8 meters. The upper eave features a row of bracket sets with curved arches and layered beams in a skipped-heart style above the architrave. Aside from the column tops and corners, one to two intercolumnar bracket sets are used, with the outer eave bracket sets extending seven tiers with single throw, triple downward angling, and single arch in a skipped-heart configuration. Above the bracket sets is a caisson ceiling. The roof eaves rise prominently, the gable peaks are relatively high, and the main ridge curves upward, with gable ornaments extending beyond the gable posts, retaining early Minnan architectural characteristics and featuring many Song and Yuan wooden construction techniques. The six coiled dragon pillars in front of the hall are vividly sculpted and exquisitely crafted, serving as important examples of large-scale Minnan hall architecture. The temple also houses steles commemorating renovations from the Yuan Dynasty's Yanyou era, the Ming Dynasty's Hongwu and Zhengde eras, the Qing Dynasty's Kangxi era, as well as from 1924 and 1936. Among them, the 1924 "Zhangzhou Prefecture School Renovation Stele" was written and inscribed by Kang Youwei in his later years, noted for its vigorous brushwork.

In 2001, the Hall of Great Achievement in the Zhangzhou Prefecture Confucius Temple, as a Ming Dynasty ancient structure, was included by the State Council in the fifth group of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units.

Further reading:

· Fifth Group of National Key Cultural Relics Protection Units