The Confucius Temple

photos by Gao Mingyi

Any visit to Yonghe Gong must end with a tour inside the Confucius Temple, which is just down a small alley about 100 meters northwest of the Lama Temple gate. It is part of the Imperial College. Beginning in the Yuan Dynasty, this area housed the finest Chinese scholars.

A collection of steles in the courtyard greets you. They are engraved with the names of those who studied here and succeeded in the civil service exams. Stone drums aligned on the right side were carved during the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1736-1796).

The Confucius Temple is a heaven of quietness. The old trees, in particular, with their intricate textures and shapes that only time can create with much patience, are absolutely remarkable. Find one in particular - probably birds dropped seeds on the old cypress and thus, another tree grew on top of the trunk, adding its own beauty to this astonishing trick of nature.

The Hall of Achievements is the main building of the Confucius temple. More than 70 statues represent the best disciples of the Master, whose ideas and teaching have formed the very core of centuries of Chinese civilization.

Further on, a wide range of ancient musical instruments will spark your imagination. Ask one of the staff to show you how to blow in one of the small flutes made of clay and shaped like a flame. The sound is grave and full of poetic resonance.

At the back of the Temple, another hall displays 190 steles, each three meters tall, engraved with over 630,000 characters. They are referred to as the "13 classics" detailing the work of Confucius.

The Confucius temple is open to the public from 9 am to 5 pm.