Temple to Mencius in Liang

Temple to Mencius in Liang

The Temple to Mencius in Liang is a cultural relic protection unit of Kaifeng City.

The Temple to Mencius in Liang was built to commemorate the visit of Mencius, the great scholar of the Warring States period, who traveled to Daliang, the capital of the State of Wei, for his studies. It was first established during the Northern Song Dynasty. The Temple to Mencius in Liang during the Northern Song Dynasty was located in the southwest corner of the inner city of Dongjing (Kaifeng) (now around Bao Gong Lake).

In the early Ming Dynasty, Governor Fang Dami donated over 300 taels of silver and ordered local officials to gather craftsmen to renovate it. The newly built Temple to Mencius had a main hall with six bays. In the center was enshrined Master Mencius, with his disciples Wan Zhang and Gongsun Chou on either side. The gate was inscribed with the characters “Benevolence and Righteousness.” Behind the hall, a lecture hall with six bays was built, inscribed with the words “Innate Goodness.” To the east and west, there were 18 rooms each for students. This made the Temple to Mencius achieve the dual goals of “honoring the virtuous with ceremony” and “dedicating oneself to learning,” reaching its peak. It was later destroyed by the flooding of the Yellow River in the 15th year of the Chongzhen era of the Ming Dynasty (1642).

In the 12th year of the Shunzhi era of the Qing Dynasty (1655), Prefect Zhu Zhiyao relocated the Temple to Mencius in Liang and built it behind the Minglun Hall of the new prefectural school, naming it the Temple to Mencius Academy. In the 28th year of the Kangxi era (1689), Governor Yan Xingbang renamed the Temple to Mencius Academy as the Fu Ci (Governor’s Shrine), and also rebuilt the Temple to Mencius and the academy to the north of the Kaifeng Prefecture Confucian Temple, east of the Examination Hall, and west of Shoudao Street (now Beidaomen Street).

Couplet for the Temple to Mencius in Liang by Shen Chunxiang:

Traveling a thousand li, why speak only of profit? There is also benevolence and righteousness.

For hundreds of generations to come, none will fail to be inspired—how much more so for those who had the privilege of learning directly from him.