Guyuan Confucius Cultural Hall

Guyuan Confucius Cultural Hall

Guyuan Confucius Cultural Hall

Guyuan Confucius Cultural Hall is a public cultural venue established with government support and funded by social donations. It is dedicated to promoting traditional Chinese culture and providing moral education. By commemorating Confucius, it promotes traditional Chinese culture and advances the development of social ethics, professional ethics, family virtues, and personal integrity, as well as the “Four Major Projects” of etiquette, integrity, harmony, and compassion. It is also one of the patriotic education bases in Yuanzhou District.

In early 2000, a social initiative was launched to build the Confucius Cultural Hall. Once proposed, the initiative received widespread support from all sectors of society, and relevant departments at the district, county, and municipal levels also offered enthusiastic guidance. The Autonomous Region Department of Culture allocated a construction subsidy of 50,000 yuan, while the Guyuan City and Yuanzhou District governments provided a subsidy of 100,000 yuan. Over the years, social contributions totaled 413,000 yuan. After site selection, land acquisition, water and electricity installation, the Dacheng Hall was completed in September 2006. The hall is a Qing-style imitation building with a brick-concrete-wood structure, featuring a double-eaved hip-and-gable roof in a five-bay-by-seven-bay layout, three-sided colonnades, eighty-three colorful brackets, eight windows and twelve doors, and a construction area of 155 square meters. On the two gable walls are brick carvings depicting “Peaches and Plums All Over the World” and “The Three Friends of Winter: Pine, Bamboo, and Plum.” In front of the hall are nine-plus-five-tiered steps, flanked by stone inscriptions of the “Eight Virtues”: benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, filial piety, fraternal duty, loyalty, and trustworthiness. The stone railings are carved with reliefs of the “Ten Scenic Spots of Guyuan,” and the central step is inlaid with an imperial carving of a “Qilin Spitting a Jade Book.” Three simple exhibition rooms were built on the north side, and five auxiliary rooms on the south side. The total investment reached 536,000 yuan.

The cultural hall has established an exhibition area for notable historical and contemporary figures from Guyuan, collecting and organizing information about these figures to inspire local residents and strengthen their confidence in contributing to the development of their hometown. It also features a calligraphy and painting exhibition hall and a stele corridor that displays poems, inscriptions, and artworks by historical figures related to Guyuan, as well as works by local artists, aiming to uncover the region’s rich cultural heritage and enhance the cultural stature of Dongyue Mountain. A classic recitation room has been set up to host extracurricular classes for youths in classic literature recitation, calligraphy, and fine arts, thereby promoting traditional Chinese culture. Especially on occasions such as Confucius’ birthday, Qingming Festival, and Dragon Boat Festival, traditional commemorative ceremonies are held to foster patriotism.

Currently, with an investment of 700,000 yuan from the Guyuan Municipal Government and managed by the Yuanzhou District Government, the project has been carried out following the overall urban and district planning. In the second half of this year, facilities including the exhibition hall, calligraphy and painting gallery, classic recitation room, management office, stage combined with a pavilion, stele corridor, main gate, Jade Belt Bridge, Zhuangyuan Stele, and perimeter wall have been completed. The total planned investment exceeds 4 million yuan.

Confucius (551–479 BCE), whose given name was Qiu and courtesy name Zhongni, was a native of Zouyi (present-day southeastern Qufu, Shandong Province), Changping, the State of Lu. He was a philosopher, educator, and statesman in the late Spring and Autumn period, the founder of Confucianism, and one of the most influential figures in Chinese history and culture. His influence extends globally, especially across Southeast Asia, making him one of the world’s cultural icons.

Confucius’ ancestors were the younger brother of King Zhou of the Shang Dynasty, Weizi Qi, who inherited the worship of the Shang 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, Lu... More detailed information about Confucius ++