Shanghai Confucius Temple

Confucius Temple is located at 215, Wenmiao Road and it is the only ancient architecture which is dedicated to Confucius in the central Shanghai. It was built in the year 1368-1398 for worshipping Confucius who was belived to be a great educator, thinker and founder of Confucianism in China. It has been one of the top learning institutions for several years in shanghai.

Shanghai Confucius Temple

Shanghai Confucius Temple

the temple of Confucius is one among the four ancient stone carving groups of china and famous as the Treasure house of the Stone Carving Art. It consists of more than 28 ancient buildings which is built with the large number of the stone carvings which includes Dacheng Hall, Xunjing Pagoda and Minlun Hall. Most of the building have been pulled down or destroyed and others are well preserved.

This temple has mainly three courtyards. The first among them consists of Minglun Hall, Jiexiao Hall and Panchi Pond and they all are well preserved. There is one bridge over Panchi and its archways are built using the lion heads and stone dragon. If you will walk through Lingxiang Gate, the carved stone arch you will come across the second courtyard, where you will find kuiwen Tower which were used by the emperors for stroring books and Zunjing Tower was used for storing scriptures. Both of these buildings are built with multiple eave roofs. At the centre of the Confucius Temple, lies the third courtyard which consists of Dacheng Hall, Dacheng Gate and Tower of bell and drum.

Shanghai Confucius Temple

Shanghai Confucius Temple

Dacheng Hall is the main building of the Confucius temple and has the main hall for worshipping Confucius. It has a look of great serenity and solemnity. In the southeast of this hall there is one huge ball which weighs 1.5 tons and is called Dacheng Bell. It is made using exquisite techniques. The shoulders of this bell are carved with the dragon patterns of autumn and Spring Period. On the lower part of the rim of bell there are four couples of the dragon which encircles the shining pearl towards each other. You can also see the carved paintings which depict the journey of Confucius made in 24 orderly lined carriages. It is told by the people that the sound of the Dacheng bell is very mellow and loud and it can last up to 3 minutes. There is open air in front of the Dacheng Hall’s main door and there is a statue of Confucius in Bronze holding sword. When you will enter the hall, you will find the golden statue of Confucius in the middle and besides this statue there are two outstanding students Zeng Shen and Yan Hui.

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