There are Confucius temples everywhere. It is also called Confucius Temple, Supreme Temple, Xiansheng Temple, Wenxuan King Temple and so on. In the alternation of dynasties, the names of Confucian temples are more common. Confucius Temple in Nanjing, Confucius Temple in Qufu, Confucius Temple in Beijing and Confucian Temple in Jilin are also called "Four Great Confucian Temples in China".
Confucius Temple was built in the second year of Confucius' death (AD 478), and has been expanding and repairing from Han Dynasty to Qing Dynasty. During the Republic of China, after the Revolution of 1911, due to the influence of society and war, most of the buildings of Confucius Temple were destroyed, and the activities of offering sacrifices to Confucius gradually decreased. It was not until the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC) that the Confucius Temple began to be restored one after another, and the activities of offering sacrifices to Confucius gradually recovered its historical features.
Confucius Temple adopts a balanced and symmetrical architectural pattern, with the vertical axis as the main axis and the horizontal axis as the supplement. According to the main buildings on the vertical axis, Confucius Temple can be divided into nine courtyards and three courtyards. According to its nature, Confucius temples can be divided into five types: Qufu to Shengmiao, Guoxue Confucius Temple, Memorial Confucius Temple, Confucius Temple and Academy Confucius Temple.
The main buildings are Wan Ren Palace Wall, Star Gate, Chi Pan, Dacheng Hall and Zongsheng Temple. In addition, the Confucius Temple will also hold a series of sacrificial activities, such as offering sacrifices to the moon, dishes and incense. In 2006 and 2006, the dance offering sacrifices to Confucius was listed in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage by the State Council.
construction period
The earliest Confucius Temple in China was built in 478 BC, the year after Confucius died. According to Zuo Zhuan's Sixteen Years of Mourning for the Duke, in the second year after Confucius' death, Lu Aigong transformed Confucius' former residence in Qufu into a place to collect Confucius' relics before his death, and sent soldiers to guard it. He came to worship Confucius all the year round, and the construction scale and sacrificial content were relatively simple.
During the Han Dynasty, when Liu Bang, the Emperor Gaozu, passed by Confucius' former residence in BC 195 and BC 12, he personally offered sacrifices to Confucius with pigs, cows and sheep as gifts, which set a precedent for imperial sacrifices. In the post-Liu Che era, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty carried out the cultural policy of "ousting a hundred schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone", which made Confucianism a prominent school and began to occupy an orthodox position in ancient China society.
Therefore, the activities of offering sacrifices to Confucius have gradually attracted the attention of rulers and become an indispensable common ceremony of the country, and the expansion project of Confucius temples in various places has also begun.
Refer to the above content: Baidu Encyclopedia-Confucius Temple