Leshan Confucius Temple

Leshan Confucius Temple

Leshan Confucius Temple is a Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit and a classic red tourism attraction.

Leshan Confucius Temple is located at No. 66, Yu’etang, in the downtown area of Leshan City. The temple was originally built during the Wude era (618–626 AD) of the Tang Dynasty. After several relocations over the dynasties, it was finally established at its current site in the 8th year of the Tianshun reign (1464 AD) of the Ming Dynasty. The temple faces east and sits to the west, covering an area of approximately 20,000 square meters, with a construction area of 1,089.36 square meters. The existing ancient buildings were reconstructed during the Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty.

In April 1938, Wuhan University relocated westward to Leshan and operated on the site of Leshan Confucius Temple in Yu’etang. Communist Party members Feng You Shen, Chen Shang Wen, and Cao Cheng Yi also came to Leshan. When Hou Fang Yue from the Provincial Party Committee was sent to Leshan to rebuild the Party organization, he reconnected with these three Party members. In the autumn of the same year, the Wuhan University Party Branch was established, with Yu Ming as the secretary. As the number of Party members increased, three Party groups were gradually formed: the Science and Engineering College group, the Liberal Arts and Law College group, and the Women’s group. In the winter of the same year, due to the growing number of Party members, the branch was upgraded to a special branch, which included three subordinate branches—originally the three Party groups. By 1940, the number of Party members had grown to more than 30. The branch organized Party members to secretly carry out anti-Japanese activities both on and off campus, founding the “Anti-Japanese Issues Research Society” and the “Minjiang Reading Society” to promote the Party’s anti-Japanese stance and expose the reactionary actions of the Kuomintang diehards. In July, due to the Kuomintang’s sudden arrests of Communists in Leshan, particularly targeting Wuhan University, exposed Party members had to be evacuated, leaving only about ten members to continue some covert activities. After 1941, the Leshan Central County Committee of the CPC, following a cautious approach and individual contact methods, gradually cleaned up, restored, and recruited individual members among the branch’s Party members. By the autumn of 1941, there were more than ten Party members, divided into two branches. Subsequently, the Central County Committee organized the more discreet Party members into parallel groups that were isolated from the original Party organization, led by Zhou Zhao Hu, who maintained direct contact with the Central County Party Secretary. During the 1946 summer vacation, Wuhan University relocated back to Luojia Mountain in Wuchang, Hubei Province.

On May 21, 1986, the Leshan Municipal Government designated it as a municipal cultural relics protection unit; on April 16, 1991, the Sichuan Provincial Government designated it as a provincial cultural relics protection unit. It is currently managed and used by Leshan No. 2 Middle School.