Jiangyin Confucian Temple

Jiangyin Confucian Temple, located at No. 196 Renmin Middle Road, Jiangyin City, Jiangsu Province, is an ancient architectural complex with nearly a thousand years of history. It was first built in the third year of Jingyou in the Northern Song Dynasty (1036). The Confucian Temple, also known as the Temple of Confucius, is a shrine for worshiping Confucius through the ages and was also the location of the Confucian school officials' office in ancient times. Jiangyin Confucian Temple is one of the few Confucian sanctuaries in Jiangnan. Its overall layout adopts a palace-style symmetrical central axis, modeled after the Confucian Temple in Qufu, Shandong, and has become a symbol of the ancient cultural city of Jiangyin. The main building of Jiangyin Confucian Temple is the Dacheng Hall, originally named Wenxuanwang Hall and Xuansheng Hall. In the third year of Chongning in the Song Dynasty (1104), Emperor Huizong of Song, Zhao Ji, renamed it Dacheng Hall, meaning the great achievement of Confucius gathering ancient sages. The Dacheng Hall has a hip-and-gable roof, double eaves, and a beam-lifting structure. It is five rooms wide (16.2 meters), ten frames deep (12.28 meters), and 15 meters high. Inside the hall, there are seated statues of Confucius, the Four Attendants, and the Twelve Philosophers. In the center of the double eaves hangs a gold-plated plaque with the inscription "Dacheng Hall," which is said to be handwritten by Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty. Inside and outside the Dacheng Hall, there are also two plaques and two couplets. One plaque, "Model Teacher for All Ages," was inscribed by Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, and the other, "This is the Place of Culture," was inscribed by Emperor Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty. To protect the excellent cultural heritage of the motherland and promote the traditional Chinese spirit, the Jiangyin Municipal Government allocated more than 5 million yuan in 1995 for a comprehensive restoration of the Confucian Temple. The temple uses its east and west wing rooms to host various exhibitions throughout the year and uses the terrace, passageway, and Minglun Hall to carry out various public cultural activities. Every year, it holds events such as the Spring Festival Garden Party, the First Writing Ceremony, and the Jiangyin Folk Culture Festival, which are well received by the citizens.