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Home Travel in Guizhou Anshun Confucian Temple
Anshun Confucian Temple

   Lingxing Gate
Anshun Confucian Temple
(ān shùn wén miào 安顺文庙), also called Fuxue Palace (fǔ xué gōng 府学宫), is located at the northeast of Anshun City (ān shùn shì 安顺市). Covering an area of about 8000 square meters, the temple is a group of ancient buildings. It was first constructed during the year 1368 in the Ming Dynasty (míng cháo 明朝), and ruined in 1622. Then in 1624, it was reconstructed. The several-times renovations and expansions during the Qing Dynasty (qīng cháo 清朝) make the temple perfect. It is the earliest as well as the largest official Confucian temple in Guizhou Province (guì zhōu shěng 贵州省). At present, there exist 22 architectures in the temple.

     The Palace Wall
In front of the temple, there is a screen wall facing the gate on which there are inscriptions to eulogize the great man. At the entrance of the temple, there are the Li Gate (lǐ mén 礼门) and Yilu Gate (yì lù 义路), which are both festoon gates. Between the two gates, there is a carved wall with inscriptions of man and flowers, which called Palace Wall (gōng qiáng 宫墙). On the head of the wall, there is a stele on which there are four Chinese characters “宫墙数仞"(gōng qiáng shù rèn), which means there are lots of palace walls. At the left foot of the Palace Wall, there is a Dismount Stele (xià mǎ bēi 下马碑).

Dacheng Hall The Confucian Temple has four terraces. Except for the fourth terrace, the other three terraces are well preserved. And every terrace is gradually become higher and higher for they are built according to the slope. The first terrace can be divided into the upper and the lower courtyard. There is a half-moon shaped pond called Panchi Pond (pàn chí 泮池). Upon the pond, there bestride an arched stone bridge with three holes. Above every holes, there inlaid the carved dragon head or lion head, overlooking the surface of the water. In old times, people who had pass the provincial civil service examination should go through the bridge, and this is called Youpan (yóu pàn 游泮). Going through the bridge, there is a stone archway called Lingxing Gate (棂星门). On both sides of which there are the Jiexiao Hall (jiē xiào cí 节孝祠) and Minghuan Hall (míng huàn cí 名宦祠).

The Carved Pillars in front of Dacheng Hall On the east and west ends of the second terrace, there built two pavilions, namely, Guixiang Pavilion (guì xiāng gé 桂香阁) and Zunjing Pavilion (zūn jīng gé 尊经阁). It was used for putting up the list of the officials who would attend the sacrifice of Confucius. At present, only the Guixiang Pavilion is preserved. Stepping up the nine stone stairs, you are entering the third terrace. There is an architecture with suspension roof, called Dacheng Hall (dà chéng diàn 大成殿). In front of the hall, there is a pair of pillars which is 3 meters high and two people can just get their arms around. The pillars are carved by a whole piece of stone. And there are the engravings of a dragon entwining around the stone pillar. On the foot of each pillar, there is a carved lion carrying the dragon on its back.

Anshun Confucian Temple
Location: Wenmiao Road (wén miào lù 文庙路), Anshun City
Admission fee: RMB 30
Opening hours: 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Transportation: you can take bus No. 11 in Anshun City to get to the Confucian Temple directly
Attractions nearby: Wulong Temple