The Quanzhou Confucian Temple, a millennium-old ancient architecture that tops Southeast China
◆ The Quanzhou Prefecture Confucian Temple is one of the 22 World Heritage sites in Quanzhou, Fujian. Compared to other regional Confucian temples of the same level, the Quanzhou Prefecture Confucian Temple ranks first in architectural scale among the 'Confucian Temples of the Seven Provinces in Southeast China'.
◆ The Quanzhou Confucian Temple was built during the Tang Dynasty, with its main layout formed in 1137. It covers an area of over 5,000 square meters and is the largest existing Confucian temple complex in Southeast China, incorporating architectural styles from the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties. The overall architecture faces south with the main buildings aligned along the central north-south axis, preserving the stone foundations and platforms from the Song Dynasty, while the wooden components were reconstructed in the Qing Dynasty according to the original appearance.
◆ The main building, the Dacheng Hall, is a typical Song Dynasty double-eave hip-roof structure, supported by 48 white round stone pillars. The front eaves of the hall feature two relief-carved dragon golden pillars and six relief-carved dragon eave pillars, with the roof covered in yellow glazed tiles... This style represents the highest architectural standard in ancient China and is rare among Confucian temples nationwide, fully reflecting the cultural prosperity and special political status Quanzhou gained from overseas trade during the Song and Yuan dynasties.
◆ The interior decoration of the Dacheng Hall is also extremely luxurious. Looking up, one can see the dougong (bracket set) and lifting beam wooden structure, with plaques hanging from the beams inscribed with the calligraphy of Emperor Kangxi's 'Exemplar of Teachers for All Ages', Emperor Qianlong's 'Unborn People', Emperor Jiaqing's 'Great Achievement of the Holy Collection', as well as plaques from the Qing Dynasty emperors Xianfeng, Tongzhi, and Guangxu, indicating a very high standard. On both sides, there are Confucian musical instruments, dance instruments, and ritual vessels.
◆ The Quanzhou Prefecture Confucian Temple is also a grand ancient architectural complex. On the west side, there is the Confucian sacrificial building group (including the Lingxing Gate ruins, Dacheng Gate, Pan Pool, Pan Palace, Dacheng Hall, etc.), and on the east side, there is the provincial-level local educational building group (including the Yuying Gate, Xue Pool, Minglun Hall, etc.), with historical figures from Quanzhou since the Ming and Qing dynasties worshipped in the Cai Qing Temple, Li Wenjie Temple, and Zhuang Jichang Top Scholar Temple.
◆ The exterior of the Quanzhou Prefecture Confucian Temple is characterized by red tile sloping roofs, dragon ridges, swallowtails, brick walls, and whitewashed walls, reflecting the organic combination of Central Plains culture from the Song Dynasty and the ancient Minnan architectural art.
Address: Quanzhou Prefecture Confucian Temple, Fujian Province
Tickets: Free
The scale is second only to Qufu and the third largest Confucian Temple in Beijing. The scale is magnificent, and the temple front square and the three buildings in the temple are quite large. One of the 22 World Heritage Sites in Quanzhou is also a key cultural relics protection unit in the country. It is worth mentioning that Dachengmen's link is written "unanimous resistance to the end, strive for the final victory", it is estimated that during the war of resistance, there was a military command here.
Quanzhou Fu Confucian Temple was built in the late Tang Kai (976 AD) and the main structure was formed in 1137 AD. It was also renovated many times. The entire complex sits north and south, and the main building runs through the central axis. The buildings retain the stone foundation and platform foundation of the Song Dynasty, and the wooden components of the building were rebuilt according to the original appearance of the Qing Dynasty. It is commendable that the entire complex contains the architectural forms of the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasty. Not only is it large-scale, majestic, but also well preserved. Interestingly, Quanzhoufu Confucian Temple is not a simple Confucian Temple, but a combination of left and right temples. On the west side is the Confucian Temple part of the Confucian sacrifice, and on the east side is the Quanzhoufu Educational Architecture Palace part. It is a great contribution to the dissemination of Confucian ideas. It is reported that Quanzhou has walked out of 2,454 seniors, 8 literati and more than 20 prime ministers in history. It is really worthy of being the highest university in ancient Quanzhou.
Fuwen Temple is an important attraction in Quanzhou Ancient City, and it is also an attraction with more tourists. The Confucian Temple here is quite large. Dacheng Palace has to go in and see. There are some southern Anhui buildings around the Confucian Temple, which are also some cultural monuments. It is recommended to see. The Temple of Confucianism is doing activities recently, mostly cultural and tourism activities, and there is currently a photography exhibition on Quanzhou's world heritage in Dacheng Palace.
Quanzhou Fuwen Temple, located in Zhongshan Road, Licheng District, Quanzhou City, Fujian Province. The construction of the late Tang Kaiyuan was initially "Lu Siqi Temple", and the fifth generation of the late Tang Dynasty was changed to "Xuansheng Temple". The Northern Song Dynasty Taiping Xingguo period (976~984) moved to the current site, which is the largest existing scale in southeast China, including the ancient Confucian Temple complex in the four dynasties of Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing.
When I went there on the evening of April 27, I happened to encounter a large party program shooting. It was more amazing that when we walked in, the security guard did not stop us. When we walked to a very central location, we were told by the staff that the shooting was taking place here. Non-staff can't enter. The personnel on the scene were either staff with headset or actors in ancient costumes, and we felt like we had crossed, walked back, and exited when the door was stopped by a fence, wondering how we had just entered magically. The scenes performed by actors in ancient costumes are quite interesting and quite substituting.