About Confucius and Mencius

Located in the south gate of Qufu City, Shandong Province, it is a temple dedicated to Confucius. It was built in 478 BC, with Confucius' former residence as the temple and palace specifications. It is one of the three ancient buildings in China and occupies an important position in the history of world architecture. The Confucius Temple in Qufu is a temple dedicated to Confucius. It is the first and model of more than 2,000 Confucius temples in China, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Singapore, the United States and other countries. It is said that the Confucius Temple was built in 478 BC, and the year after the death of Confucius (478 BC), Lu Aigong converted its old residence into a temple. Since then, successive emperors have continuously sealed Confucius and expanded temples. In the Qing Dynasty, Yong Zhengdi ordered a major overhaul and expanded it to a modern scale. There are nine courtyards in the temple, which are divided into left, middle and right roads with the north-south axis, with a length of 630m and a width of 140m. There are more than 460 temples, halls, altars and pavilions, with 54 doorways. 13 "Imperial Monument Pavilion" has 65,438 buildings. Shengji Temple, Ming Tombs Pavilion and Dacheng Hall display a large number of stone inscriptions. In particular, the Han stele preserved here is the largest in China, and there are also many treasures in previous dynasties. The number of steles is second only to Xi 'an stele forest, which is called the second stele forest in China. Confucius Temple is an ancient architectural complex in China, second only to the Forbidden City in scale, and it is a model of ancient large-scale temple architecture in China.

The overall design of Confucius Temple is very successful. Shinto is on the front, and cypress trees are planted on both sides to create a solemn atmosphere and cultivate the reverence of temple worshippers; The main body of the temple runs through a central axis, the left side is symmetrical and the layout is rigorous. Nine yards before and after, the first three yards are collar yards, and there are only a few smaller doorways. Rows of pines and cypresses are planted in the courtyard, creating a refreshing and clear-headed environment, while a deep tunnel is dug between the towering pines and cypresses, which not only makes people feel the long history of Confucius Temple, but also sets off Confucius' profound philosophy ideologically. The high plaque at the entrance of the building strongly praises Confucius' achievements, giving people a strong impression and admiration. After entering the Fourth Hospital, the building is magnificent, with yellow tiles, red walls and green trees, which complement each other, showing the profoundness of Confucius' thought and the great achievements of Confucius. The length of people who worship Confucian sages in the East and the West is 166 meters respectively, which also shows the long history of Confucianism.

There are more than 0/00 buildings and 460 rooms in Confucius Temple, with an ancient building area of about 16000 square meters. The main buildings are the Monument Pavilion of Jinyuan in Ming Dynasty, Kuiwen Pavilion, Xingtan, Defeng Tiandi Square, Dacheng Hall rebuilt in Qing Dynasty, Bedroom Hall, etc. There are many Song-style characteristics in the practice of Jingu Damu, such as sparse barrels, long melon seeds, slow arch of coffins, jumping off two of the six shops, and the appearance of the stigma shop is the same as that of the repair shop. There are cloisters around the main hall, which is a common closed temple in Song and Jin Dynasties and a rare example. Dacheng Hall, Sleeping Hall, Kuiwen Temple, Xingtan, Dachengmen and other buildings adopt wood-stone mixed structure, which is also a relatively rare form. The layout and details of the bucket are flexible. According to needs, the number, density and length of each leveling department are different. Even in order to make up for the visual vacancy, the compartment, Wandan and Gua are lengthened, so that the lengths of two adjacent barrels in the same building are different and the same.

Confucius Temple has preserved the inscriptions 1044 since the Han Dynasty. There are records of feudal emperors paying homage, closing Zen, offering sacrifices to Confucius and building Confucius Temple, as well as poems and inscriptions of emperors, generals and literati visiting Confucius Temple. The characters are Chinese, Mongolian, Basiba and Manchu, and the calligraphy style is a real cursive seal, which studies feudal society and politics. Precious economic, cultural and artistic historical materials, including more than 20 Han Dynasty inscriptions and Chinese characters, are the places where the largest number of Han Dynasty inscriptions are preserved in China. Monument to Ceremony, Monument to the Book of Rites, Monument to Confucius and Shi Chenbei are Han Li's representative works, while Monument to Zhang Menglong and Monument to Jia Shijun are Wei Ti's models. In addition, there are calligraphy works by Sun Normal University, Mi Fei, Dang, Zhao Mengfu, Zhang Qiyan, Li Dongyang, Dong Qichang, Weng Fanggang and others, inscriptions by Yuan Haowen, Guo and others, and 584 calligraphy posts of Yu Hong Lou by Kong's calligraphy collection. The inscription on the Confucius Temple is a treasure house of ancient calligraphy art in China.

The famous stone carvings in Confucius Temple include Han Dynasty stone reliefs, Ming and Qing stone pillars, and carved sacred pictures in Ming Dynasty. There are more than 90 stone reliefs in the Han Dynasty with a wide range of subjects, which are not only the records of people's social life, but also the reflection of historical stories, myths and legends. There are various carving techniques, such as line carving, relief carving, reduced ground carving, ground carving, plain land and line land; Relief is deep and shallow, smooth and rough. The style is rigorous and fine, or bold and unconstrained, with smooth lines and beautiful shapes. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, there were 74 stone pillars carved in pounds, including 56 flat reliefs and 18 high reliefs. Most of the flat carvings restored on the ground are Xiaoyunlong and Fenghuang Peony, which were carved in Yong Zhengdi in the seventh year of Qing Dynasty, and flowers such as peony, pomegranate and lotus were carved in Chongsheng Temple with beautiful composition, which is a relic of Hongzhi in the seventeenth year of Ming Dynasty. Exquisite stone carving is a relief dragon column; There are ten columns on the front eaves of Dacheng, each of which is six meters high and the highest. The two pillars of Chongsheng Temple are vigorous and lively, with the highest level. In addition, the characteristics of Yunlong stone in shallow relief in Shengshimen, Dachengmen and Dachengdian also have high artistic value. Since the 20th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty (1592), sacred monuments have been added in the Confucius Temple based on wood carvings of Song and Jin Dynasties. It was painted by Mao Fengyi, a Confucian scholar in Qufu, and by Yang Zhi in Yangzhou. There are * * * 120 stone carvings in Suzhou, which vividly reflect the life of Confucius. It is one of the early large-scale comic books in China, with high historical and artistic value. For more than two thousand years, the Confucius Temple in Qufu has been continuously destroyed and repaired, and it has never been abandoned. Under the protection of the state, it developed from Confucius' private residence into a huge building complex similar in scale and shape to the palace. It has been delayed for a long time and the records are rich, which can be said to be an isolated case in the history of human architecture.

Meng Temple: Also known as Yasheng Temple, in the south of Zouxian County, it is the place where Mencius was worshipped in past dynasties. Mencius, a famous guest, was a famous thinker in the Warring States Period. Meng Temple is rectangular, with five courtyards and 64 halls, covering an area of more than 60 mu. The sub-temple is located on the north-south axis and is the main building in the temple. According to records, it has been rebuilt 38 times. The existing buildings were rebuilt after the earthquake collapsed in Kangxi period of Qing Dynasty. There are 7 halls, with a height of17m, a width of 27m and a depth of 20m, with double cornices, lying by the mountain and paved with green glazed tiles. There are 26 octagonal stone pillars under the eaves, and the sleeping halls are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the central axis. There are more than 350 stone tablets in the temple, and the ancient trees in the temple are lush and spectacular.

Meng Temple is a rectangular ancient architectural complex with five courtyards. Taking the main building as the center and the north and south as the central axis. Symmetrically arranged from left to right, some places have made appropriate arrangements according to local conditions. Walking forward one by one, the layout is rigorous, the buildings are patchy, the buildings are magnificent, the courtyards are different, and the patterns are different, which fully embodies the creative ability of the working people and the characteristics of ancient buildings in China. It is a masterpiece of ancient architecture in Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties.

The south gate of Mengmiao is Xingxingmen. Inside the gate, there is a square on the left and right. The left side is called "connecting the past and the future" and the right side is called "coming to learn from the scriptures". In the center of the north wall of the first courtyard is the "Yasheng Temple Stone Square". The second brick tunnel into the hospital is surrounded by Gu Song Cooper, and there is a "Taishan Meteorological Gate" in the north. Entering this door is the third entrance to the yard. There is a door on the left and right of this yard, which leads to the outside of the temple. The left name is "the gate of literacy" and the right name is "the valve of lifting", which are the main paragraphs that came out of the Mencius Temple in the past. There is a "Yasheng Square Wood" on the south side of "Valve Maintenance"; There is a "sacrificial vessel library" on the south side of the gate. On the south side of "Yin Zhi Gate", there are three towers of "Provincial Sacrificial Place". On the north wall of this hospital, there are three doors side by side. The gate in the middle is the "Saints Gate", and the "Kangxi Imperial Monument Pavilion" is built on the left side of the gate. On the left is "Seven Sages Gate"; On the right is the "tribute gate". The fourth entrance of Chengshengmen is divided into three roads: East, West and Middle. In the middle is the main building of Meng Temple, which is divided into temples, and behind it is the sleeping hall. There are seven pavilions in front, left and right of the temple, and there are Skyquake Well and Qianlong Imperial Monument Pavilion in the courtyard. The "Seven Sages Gate" on East Road includes "Qi Temple", followed by "Meng Mu Hall". From the Seven Immortals Gate to the Seven Temples, a large number of ancient steles are erected on both sides of Yong Road, which is called "Forest of Monuments in Mengmiao". There is a small courtyard in the "tribute gate" on the west road, a small gate leading to the "Asian Temple" on the east wall of the middle road, and a small gate called "Zhai Gate" on the north wall. The walls around this small courtyard are inlaid with dozens of small stone carvings, like the poems of famous people in past dynasties. In the "Zhai Men", there are three towers of "Yan Zhitang". There are two tall ginkgo trees in front of the main hall, which were planted in the Yuan Dynasty. The ancient wisteria is wrapped around the ginkgo tree, soaring in the air, winding and wonderful. There are small doors on both sides of the terrace in front of the "Asian Temple". The east name "Ritual Gate" leads to the East Road "Qi Temple" Courtyard; The west name is "Yilu", which leads to the "main temple" in the backyard of "Zhiyantang" on the west road. There is also a small door on the west side of the "Sleeping Hall", which leads to the last small courtyard "Burning Silk Pool" on the West Road. There are 64 temples in Mengmiao, including 2 pavilions, 4 wooden squares and 1 stone square.