The world is a big place, do you dare to travel to a cemetery?

Konglin, one of the three cemeteries in Qufu, Shandong, is the family cemetery of Confucius and his descendants. It is also the longest family cemetery in the world. In December 1994, it was included in the World Heritage List together with Confucius Mansion and Confucius Temple. It is one of the must-see places for foreign tourists visiting Qufu.

Konglin, originally known as the Holy Forest, although it is a family cemetery, is different from ordinary cemeteries. It is not only a world cultural heritage, but also famous for the Confucius family. There are so many tombs. Its scale and perfect preservation are unique in the world. When I walked into this place, my first reaction was that this was not a cemetery covering an area of ??more than 3,000 acres, but a museum of tomb culture: the circumference of the cemetery wall is 5,591 meters, and there are 100,000 tombs between the dense forests. There are more than 4,003 tombstones, 116 ancient buildings, and 85 pairs of stone statues and stone rituals from past dynasties.

Therefore, when visitors come here, what they see is no longer as simple as Confucius’ family cemetery, but a cultural symbol. When it is listed as a world cultural heritage, its significance will be highlighted even more. historical value and significance. When you walk into Konglin, you will see ancient monuments, such as the Eternal Changchun Arch. The four characters "Eternal Changchun" on the archway were engraved when it was built in the early 22nd year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty. They were rebuilt and reinforced during the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty. The stone square is also carved with exquisite patterns such as coiling dragons, dancing phoenixes, unicorns, horses, spotted deer, group flowers, and auspicious clouds. The presence of these carvings in the cemetery shows the historical status and value of the owner of the cemetery.

The gate of Confucius was built in the 22nd year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty and rebuilt in the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty. The second gate of Confucius was built in the 10th year of the reign of Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty. Zhushui Bridge was built in the second year of Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty. The three characters "Zushui Bridge" on the bridge are said to have been written by Yan Song, a powerful official of the Ming Dynasty. The corridor to Confucius's tomb was built in the fifth year of Xuanhe in the Northern Song Dynasty, and is engraved with mythical animals such as Huabiao, Wenbao, and Luduan. It also includes the hand-planted regular script by You Zigong. Although only the tree stumps are left, later generations erected monuments and pavilions to commemorate them.

The oldest cultural relic is the tomb of Confucius, which is also the soul of Kong Lin. Every tourist who enters Kong Lin will not miss this ancient tomb. The Tomb of Confucius is located in the south-central section of Confucius Forest, measuring 30 meters from east to west, 28 meters from north to south, and 5 meters high. It is a large-scale personal cemetery. The seal script on the front stele reads "Tomb of Dacheng Supreme Saint Wenxuan King", and the seal script on the back stele reads "Xuansheng Tomb". In front of the stele are a stone offering table, a drinking pool, a stone worship platform, and a brick wall with flower lattice, etc. In the east of Confucius's tomb is the tomb of his son Kong Li, and in the south is the tomb of his grandson Kong Ji. This kind of tomb layout is called carrying children and embracing grandchildren. At this time, when I turned around and walked out, I saw the tombs along the way were filled with descendants of Confucius.