The Jiading Confucius Temple is located in the urban area of Jiading. It was first built in the 12th year […]
The Jiading Confucius Temple is located in the urban area of Jiading. It was first built in the 12th year of Jiading in the Southern Song Dynasty (1219). It was once the location of the county school in ancient Jiading. It is one of the relatively complete Confucius temples currently preserved in China.
In front of the temple, there are ancient trees, and the architecture is antique. Many of the buildings here are ancient relics. Coming here for a walk and a look can make you feel the strong Confucian culture and historical atmosphere.
In front of the Confucius Temple, there are three stone pillar archways. The one in the middle is the ‘Yanggao’ archway built in the late Ming Dynasty. The two characters ‘Yanggao’ are from ‘The Analects of Confucius’, meaning to praise Confucius’ profound knowledge. The two archways on the east and west sides, ‘Xingxian’ and ‘Yucai’, were built in the Southern Song Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty respectively, implying the educational purpose of the Confucius Temple. There are 72 stone lions carved on the pillar caps of the stone railings in front of the archway. The carving is exquisite. There are also three stone arch bridges side by side.
The Lingxing Gate, which was built in the Yuan Dynasty, is the first gate of the Jiading Confucius Temple. The semicircular pool (called Pan Pool) inside the Lingxing Gate was dug in the Southern Song Dynasty.
The Dacheng Gate is the second gate of the Confucius Temple. Inside the gate, there are seven turtles on the left and right, each carrying seven stone tablets on their backs. The tablets mainly record the renovation of the Confucius Temple and the county school and the activities of sacrificing to Confucius in the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties.
Walking along the flagstone road surrounded by ancient cypresses, you will arrive at the Dacheng Hall. The Dacheng Hall is the main building of the Confucius Temple. It was first built in the Southern Song Dynasty. In front of the majestic hall, there is a stone platform, which makes it even more majestic. The hall retains the architectural structure of the Ming Dynasty. Inside the hall, there is a statue of Confucius. There are also utensils used for sacrificing to the sage, including musical instruments such as bianqing, guqin, sheng and xiao. Nowadays, on Confucius’ birthday (September 28th), a grand ceremony of sacrificing to Confucius is held in front of the hall.
There are also buildings such as Minglun Hall, stele corridor and Danghu Academy in the Confucius Temple. Minglun Hall was once a place where scholars of all generations gave lectures and gathered. Now it has become the exhibition hall of the Chinese Imperial Examination Museum. Inside the hall, there are materials on the imperial examination of all dynasties in China. You can also see the examination papers of number one scholars and successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations.
Nowadays, the Danghu Academy is a simulated examination room for the imperial examination. The wax figures of examinees inside vividly show the scenes of ancient examinations.
Inside the stele corridor on the west side of Minglun Hall are stele inscriptions of calligraphers from various dynasties from the Tang Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty. Among them, the inkstone inscriptions and poetry inscriptions of Huang Tingjian of the Song Dynasty, Shen Zhou, Wen Zhengming, and Dong Qichang of the Ming Dynasty are particularly precious.
In addition, the Huilongtan Park is adjacent to the Jiading Confucius Temple. Nearby, there are also attractions such as Qiuxia Garden, Jiading Museum, and Fahua Pagoda, which are all worth a visit and can be reached on foot.
Opening hours: closed all day on Monday throughout the year; open from 08:30 to 17:00 from Tuesday to Sunday throughout the year.
