Fuxue Confucian Temple

The Confucius Temple is located in the western part of the old city of Jinan, south of Daming Lake. The current protected area of the Confucius Temple, while slightly smaller than its heyday, roughly extends from the south of Minghu Road to the north of the Confucius Temple's shadow wall, from the west of Xihuazhengzi Street, Fuxue West Court Street, and Fuxue West Pavilion Street to the east of Xiangmen Lane and Donghuazhengzi Street. The surrounding streets are mostly named after the Confucius Temple, such as Dong and Xi Huazhengzi Streets, named after the brick patterns used on the temple walls (commonly known as Huazhengzi), and the short street on the north side of the Donghuazhengzi Street is called "Xiangmen Lane" because it is located next to the east gate of the temple, and the short street on the east side of Xiangmen Lane is called Panbi Street because it is located outside the east wall of the temple. == History ==

The Fuxue Confucius Temple of Jinan was established during the Xining period of the Northern Song dynasty (1068–1077) following the regulations of the Confucius Temple in Qufu, Shandong Province, and is one of the earliest Temples of Confucius. During the Jin period (1213–1216), the temple was destroyed by war and became even more dilapidated by the end of the Yuan dynasty. It was rebuilt in the second year of the Ming Hongwu era (1369). In the tenth year of the Chenghua era (1474), the magistrate Cai Sheng added two pavilions and built Fangshu Screens. In the thirteenth year of the Chenghua era (1477), the censor Liang Ze expanded the main hall and two pavilions, and built Jimen, Lingxing Gate, and Minglun Hall. It was repaired several times afterward. Although it underwent repairs during the Qing dynasty, the basic layout remained unchanged. In 1946, the Second Experimental Primary School of Shandong Province was established, using the Confucius Temple as its campus. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, it was renamed Furong Street Primary School. In 1964, the school demolished buildings such as Minglun Hall and built a three-story office and teaching building, relocating the school gate to No. 248 Daming Lake Road. In 1965, the school was officially renamed Daming Lake Road Primary School. In February 2003, during the first session of the 11th Jinan Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), Cui Dayong, Deputy Director of the Municipal Bureau of Culture, submitted a proposal entitled "Proposal to Relocate Daming Lake Road Primary School and Other Units for the Restoration of Fuxue Confucian Temple of Jinan" to the conference. In September of the same year, nine employees of the Shandong Provincial Museum of Culture and History, including Cai Fengshu and Han Mingxiang, jointly wrote a letter to provincial leaders suggesting the restoration of the Temple. In 2004, relevant departments of Jining City began to formulate restoration plans. On September 10, 2005, the "Millennium Restoration" project of Confucian Temple finally commenced, restoring the remaining buildings such as the Dacheng Hall, Pan Reservoir, Dacheng Gate, screen walls, and dressing rooms, and rebuilding other structures. In October 2006, the restoration of the Dacheng Hall was basically completed. On June 9, 2007, the buildings south of the Dacheng Hall were basically completed and opened to the public for one day. In February 2009, the construction of the Zunjing Pavilion's wooden structure was completed. According to long-term vision planning, reconstruction of ancient buildings such as Qisheng Temple, Jiaoxiao Temple, Wenchang Temple, Xueshu, Kuixing Tower, and Shepu will also be carried out north of the Confucian Temple; while south of the Confucian Temple, the original streets and lanes will be preserved to restore the old cultural atmosphere. After the demolition of buildings on the west side of the Confucian Temple, Minghuan Temple and Xiangxian Temple will also be rebuilt, forming a westward layout parallel to the main axis of the Confucian Temple. == Structure ==

Organization According to historical records, the scale of this Confucian Temple is large, with a length of 247 meters and a maximum width of 66 meters. The architectural complex is built around the north–south central axis, with the following buildings along the central axis: screen walls, Dacheng Gate, Lingxing Gate, Pan Reservoir and stone arched bridge, Ping Gate, Ji Gate, Dacheng Hall, Minglun Hall, Huanbi Pavilion, and Zunjing Pavilion. The screen wall is located south of the temple gate, forming a character "一". Upon entering the temple gate and heading north, there is Lingxing Gate, flanked by square and round pavilions named "Zhongju" and "Zhonggui" respectively. Further north is the semi-circular Pan Reservoir with a stone arched bridge spanning its center. Beyond that is the Ping Gate, with "Zhongying" and "Yuxiu" two pavilions on the east and west sides respectively, and dressing rooms on the east and sacrificial rooms on the west. was accidentally discovered. In September 2009, a new statue of Confucius, 2.72 meters tall, was officially completed, and later the Four Sages and twelve sages were reinstalled, with statues of Confucius' disciples placed in the east and west corridors on the south side of the Dacheng Hall. The Dacheng Hall was originally situated on a spacious terrace. With the passage of time, the building has deteriorated, the ridge beasts were smashed during the Cultural Revolution, and the foundation of the hall is now level with the ground, lacking its former grandeur. During the reconstruction, engineers employed the method of "dismantling and raising", which involved completely dismantling the main hall, carefully marking its components, raising the foundation, and then attempting to reuse the original materials as much as possible in the reconstruction. After reconstruction, the Dacheng Hall has been raised by 1.5 meters, restoring its former lofty height. Originally, there were two imperial stele pavilions in front of the Dacheng Hall, one on each side, hexagonal in shape with yellow glazed tile roofs, built during the Kangxi period. The sites and remnants of these pavilions still exist, and some inscribed steles have been preserved. During the construction of the Dacheng Hall, two stone steles were unearthed in front of the hall. Other buildings == Inscriptions and stone carvings ==

In the 1950s, there were still 27 Ming and Qing stone steles preserved in the Confucian Temple, including seven plaques in the Dacheng Hall, one plaque in the Minglun Hall, and several other stone carvings. During the Cultural Revolution, most of these cultural relics were destroyed. By the time of the survey in 1982, only a few survived, including the "Reconstruction of the Steles of the Confucian Temple of Jinan" from the Tongzhi period of the Qing dynasty and the "Prohibition of Teaching and Guidance for Jinan Fuxue Professors and Tutors" from the Daoguang period. In addition, in 1991, during the repair of buildings at Daming Lake Road Primary School, an important stone carving was unearthed, namely the "Portrait of the Venerated Sage" stele. This stele was originally erected near the Dacheng Hall. The inscription in seal script on the stele reads "Portrait of the Venerated Sage," and it is recorded that "Wu Weiyue imitated the brushwork of Wu Daozi to depict the image of the Venerated Sage." In the center, there is an intaglio carving of Confucius teaching, and on the lower right side, there is an inscription in clerical script stating "Brushwork of Wu Daozi." This stele is currently housed in the Jinan Museum. == See also ==