Confucian Temple

Most historic Chinese towns boast a temple dedicated to Confucius, although the iconoclastic spasms of the Cultural Revolution left many battered and bruised. A modest and pretty retreat, this well-tended temple to the dictum-coining sage is cultivated with maples, pines, magnolias and birdsong. Originally dating to 1294, when the Mongols held sway through China, the temple moved to its current site in 1855, at a time when Christian Taiping rebels were sending much of China skywards in sheets of flame. The layout is typically Confucian, its few worshippers complemented by ancient and venerable trees, including a 300-year-old elm. The towering Kuixing Pavilion (Kuíxīng Gé) in the west is named after the God of the Literati. The main hall for worshipping Confucius is Dacheng Hall (Dàchéng Diàn), complete with twin eaves and a statue of the sage outside. The magnolias on either side of its main door are garlanded with ribbons left by the devout. In line with Confucius championing of learning, a busy secondhand market of (largely Chinese language) books is held in the temple every Sunday morning.