Hangchuan Ancient Architectural Confucius Temple

Hangchuan Ancient Architectural Confucius Temple

The Hangchuan Ancient Architectural Confucius Temple is a cultural tourism attraction.

Located in Xueping, east gate of Shanghang County, also known as the Confucius Temple, the Academy, or the Educational Palace, it was first built in the 16th year of the Jiading era of the Song Dynasty (1223 AD), boasting a history of 786 years. The entire Confucius Temple is dignified and majestic, standing grandly with a rigorous layout and imposing momentum. The temple features soaring towers with upturned eaves, and halls adorned with carved beams and painted rafters, resplendent and magnificent. Its architectural and sculptural craftsmanship is extremely refined, earning praise as “an unparalleled gem among ancient architecture and an apex of palace-style architecture.” This temple is one of the older and better-preserved ancient Confucian temples still existing in Fujian.

Confucius (551–479 BC), whose given name was Qiu and courtesy name Zhongni, was a native of Zouyi in Changping, the State of Lu (present-day southeastern Qufu, Shandong). He was a thinker, educator, and statesman of the late Spring and Autumn Period, the founder of Confucianism, and one of the most influential figures in Chinese history and culture. He also had a profound impact worldwide, especially in various Southeast Asian countries, making him one of the world’s cultural luminaries.

Confucius’s ancestors were Weizi Qi, the half-brother of King Zhou of Shang during the late Yin dynasty. Qi upheld the Shang ancestral rites and was enfeoffed in the State of Song. His sixth-generation ancestor, Kong Fu Jia, was the first to adopt the surname Kong. His fifth-generation ancestor, Mu Jin Fu, fled to the State of Lu to escape turmoil and later settled in Zou of the State of Lu… More detailed information on Confucius ++