Temple of Confucius, Beijing 北京孔庙

About Temple of Confucius, Beijing

Xianshi Gate, Dacheng Gate, Dacheng Hall, and Chongsheng Temple organize the main axis, while the inscription steles connect the place with scholarly achievement and the imperial examination tradition. The architecture makes the act of honoring Confucius visible through a progression of thresholds and ritual spaces. Follow that sequence before crossing to Guozijian, where Biyong Hall adds the teaching and ceremonial lecture side of the same scholarly neighborhood.

The temple was first built in 1302, during the Yuan dynasty, and completed in 1306; the following year Confucius was posthumously granted the title 'Great Accomplishment, Ultimate Sage, Culture-Propagating King' (大成至圣文宣王), the edict for which still stands on a stone stele before the temple gate. The temple fell into disrepair amid wars at the end of the Yuan dynasty, was renovated in 1411, and had the Chongsheng Shrine (崇圣祠) added in 1530.

In 1906 the ritual honoring Confucius was elevated to a grand sacrifice, and the Dacheng Hall was enlarged from seven bays to nine in a renovation completed by 1916; the temple first opened to the public in 1928. It was named a Major Historical and Cultural Site Protected at the National Level (全国重点文物保护单位) in 1988, and housed the Capital Museum from 1979 until that museum's move to Baiyun Road in 2006.

Behind the temple stands a forest of nearly two hundred stone steles inscribed with the Thirteen Confucian Classics, copied over twelve years by Jiang Heng (蒋衡), a tribute student from Jintan, Jiangsu. Before the steps of Dacheng Hall grows a cypress nearly 700 years old, planted by the Yuan-dynasty scholar Xu Heng (许衡) and known, according to legend, as the 'Touch-Evil Cypress' (触奸柏) for knocking the cap off a corrupt Ming minister.

What to look for

• Dacheng Hall and axial gates: read the increasingly formal sequence through the temple courts.
• Jinshi inscription stele forest: connect the stone records with the examination and scholarly traditions commemorated here.

Location & getting there

Getting to Temple of Confucius, Beijing

The temple stands on Guozijian Street, east of the imperial academy, with a connecting side gate between the compounds.

• Use Temple of Confucius and Guozijian Museum as the destination, distinguishing it from Yonghe Temple in the same wider neighborhood.