In China, Confucius has an extremely important position. It can be said that Confucius is not only the founder of Confucianism, but also the pioneer of civilian education, so he is widely respected and admired by scholars. Because of this, Confucius temples have been built all over the country to worship Confucius. Pingyao Confucian Temple has a large scale, and many historical sites have been preserved. It is the most complete and largest existing Confucian Temple in northern China.
Looking back at the history of Pingyao Confucian Temple, we can know that it was built in the early years of Zhenguan in Tang Dynasty, and most of the existing buildings are relics of Ming and Qing Dynasties. Now, from south to north, there are buildings such as Lingxingmen, Chi Pan, Dacheng Hall, Mingluntang, Zunjingge and Jingyiting on the central axis, and there are East and West Xuegong on both sides of the Great Hall.
Now you can enter Pingyao Confucian Temple from two entrances, namely Confucian Temple Street and Chenghuangmiao Street. If you want a quiet scene, you might as well enter from the north gate of Xiaochengmiao Street. After entering, the first thing I saw was a building that looked a little brand-new. This is the fourth courtyard of the Confucian Temple, built in the Ming Dynasty, and the last one. There is also a building opposite Jingyiting called Chaoshan Academy, which was built in Daoguang period of Qing Dynasty and later renamed Chaoshan Academy. Because it is a rebuilt building, it is generally more interesting.
Walking south from Jingyi Pavilion, we entered the Minglun Hall, the third courtyard of the Confucian Temple, which was built in the Ming Dynasty and was renovated in many periods in the Qing Dynasty. In the old days, it was the county school hall of the Confucian Temple and also a place to give lectures.
In front of Minglun Temple is Dacheng Hall, the second courtyard of the Confucian Temple, and the core area of Pingyao Confucian Temple. Leaving Minglun Hall, you can see Dacheng Hall of the Confucian Temple built on the platform, with a height of 1 m.. You can see a large relief on the wall behind it. If you look carefully, you can see clearly that it is a prime word, but this prime word is a little missing. It is said that only the champion can make up for this, but it is a pity that Pingyao people value business over literature, so there is no champion in the imperial examination system, so this point has not been made up so far.
This temple is a relic of the Jin Dynasty, with five rooms wide and five rooms deep, with a single eaves resting on the top of the mountain. We can focus on the ten rafters in the hall. Of course, the most exquisite thing is the oversized caisson and the rare large inclined beam in the hall, which replaced the wooden structure under the eaves paved in the repair room.
If you look carefully, you can also see the words "Rebuild the Heart on January 1st, the third year of the Wei and Jin Dynasties", and we can infer the history that Dacheng Hall was rebuilt on 1 163. It can be seen that this building is the earliest existing building in Pingyao Confucian Temple and the largest one for viewing.
After seeing the Dacheng Hall, the scenic spots of the whole Confucian Temple have basically ended, and the Lingxing Gate in front of the remaining gate was later rebuilt. However, the restored building is very spectacular and has a strong sense of retro, so you can visit it by the way.
But in fact, in the north gate of Pingyao Confucian Temple, near the Chenghuang Temple, you can see a building in the early Ming Dynasty, which is 4 meters high and 20 meters wide. The whole dragon wall is composed of high relief colored glass sheets, the lower part is divided into the sea, and the upper part is boundless mountains and clouds. There are nine colorful dragons in the middle. Each dragon has a different shape and looks lifelike.