Qingping Confucius Temple

Qingping Confucius Temple

Qingping Confucius Temple is a cultural relic protection unit of Shandong Province.

Qingping Confucius Temple is located in Qingping Town, Gaotang County. It was first built in 1173 during the 13th year of the Dading era of the Jin Dynasty and is now a key cultural relic protection unit of Liaocheng City.

The Confucius Temple, also known as the Temple of Confucius or Literary Temple, is a place dedicated to the worship of Confucius, the ancient Chinese philosopher and educator. It is composed of structures such as a memorial archway, ceremonial gate, Pan Pond, Lingxing Gate, Dacheng Gate, Dacheng Hall, Chongsheng Shrine, and side halls. Currently, only the Dacheng Hall, which enshrines Confucius, remains at Qingping Confucius Temple. The Dacheng Hall faces south and features a five-bay width and four-bay depth, covering an area of 277.8 square meters. It has a hip-and-gable roof covered with glazed tiles, carved beams, painted rafters, and is topped with yellow glazed tiles, giving it a magnificent golden appearance. Judging from the architectural style, it was repaired during the Qing Dynasty, but the beam frame largely retains the architectural style of the Ming Dynasty. There are 17 ancient cypress trees around the temple, some nearly a thousand years old, towering majestically with lush and vigorous foliage.

To the south of the temple lies a screen wall, located about 100 meters away. The screen wall stands 5 meters tall, is 10.25 meters wide, and 1.27 meters thick. Its overall structure is built with blue bricks and topped with glazed tiles. In the center is a round green-glazed decorative piece with floral edges, surrounded by a cross-shaped openwork design. Its architectural style is quite unique. The characters “太和元气” (Taihe Yuanqi, meaning "Supreme Harmony and Vital Energy") are fired onto the wall. The square blue bricks of the screen wall all bear the stamp “Twenty-fifth Year of Qianlong,” leading to the inference that the screen wall was built during the Qianlong era of the Qing Dynasty. Historical records indicate that during the Song Dynasty, Cheng Hao used the term “vital energy” to describe Confucius’ philosophy, and Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty began using the phrase “Taihe Yuanqi” to praise Confucius’ teachings. From this, it can be deduced that when the Confucius Temple was originally built, this screen wall was created to honor the sage and express reverence for him.

According to local legend, to the north of the screen wall once stood blue-gray stone-carved dragon pillars. From the southern side of the screen wall, these pillars could be seen through the openwork design, hence the wall was also called the “Translucent Dragon Wall.”

Qingping Town: Located in the southwestern part of Gaotang County, Qingping Town borders Provincial Road 009 to the east, connects to the Gaolin Highway to the north, reaches Linqing to the west, and neighbors Chiping to the south. It governs 61 administrative villages, has a population of 41,000, covers an area of 106 square kilometers, and includes 110,000 mu of arable land. The area contains the largest forest farm in western Shandong, spanning 30,000 mu (currently applying for national forest park status), making it the county’s only town approved as a central town by the provincial government. The town also houses historical sites such as the Qingping Ancient City Gate from the Northern Song Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty Stone Gate Ancient Stone Carving Group. The Translucent Dragon Wall and the Confucius Temple are both provincial-level cultural relics. The famous Tang Dynasty statesman Lü Cai was born here, adding to the area's long history... More details about Qingping Town++

Further Reading:

· Fourth Batch of Shandong Provincial Cultural Relic Protection Units