Xingtan is synonymous with education. The allusion of Xingtan comes from a fable in Zhuangzi, which said that everywhere Confucius went, he called his disciples to give lectures in Xinglin, and sat on Xingtan at rest. Later, according to Zhuangzi's fable, people called Xingtan the place where Confucius gave lectures, and it also referred to the place where people gathered to give lectures.

Xingtan was built to commemorate Confucius' lecture. When Daofu Kong, the forty-fifth grandson of Confucius, supervised the renovation of the Confucius Temple, he moved the main hall backward, removed the ground as an altar, and planted apricot trees around it, called apricot altar. Xingtan is a glorious symbol of Confucius' education.

Xingtan is in front of Dacheng Hall of Confucius Temple in Qufu City, Shandong Province. According to legend, this is the place where Confucius gave lectures. "Zhuangzi Fisherman's Chapter" contains Confucius swimming in the shade forest and sitting in the apricot altar. Disciples read books, bore bullets and played drums. Before the Song Dynasty, it was Dacheng Hall. In the second year of Tiansheng, when Daofu Kong, the 45th grandson of Confucius, supervised the repair of the Confucius Temple, he moved the site of the main hall to build an altar, planted apricot trees around it and named it Apricot Altar.