2021 Qufu one-day travel guide

Qufu in Shandong Province is the hometown of Confucius and is known as the hometown of saints. Everything here is full of simplicity and simplicity. As the origin of Confucianism and the core of Chinese etiquette, it is popular with Chinese and foreign tourists. Favored by you, let me share with you the specific play guide.

Qufu is famous for Confucius and is known as the "Holy City of the East". Having received traditional education since childhood, I have great respect for Confucian culture. This trip, in my mind, is a pious pilgrimage.

On the morning of August 25, when the sky was dark, our family of four drove onto the highway. Due to road maintenance, the speed of the car was slow. It took five hours to travel more than 300 kilometers and arrived at the Confucius Temple Hotel booked in advance at 12 noon.

After simply cleaning up and washing up, we went to the alley near the hotel to find a restaurant. I originally wanted to find a small restaurant for a simple meal, but I didn't expect that a small restaurant in a small alley would serve the famous local Kongfu cuisine. According to records, Confucius cuisine originated during the Baoyuan period of Renzong in the Song Dynasty, and gradually developed into official cuisine during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. Confucius cuisine is used when the Confucius Mansion receives the emperor, imperial envoys, distinguished guests, and at weddings, funerals, and birthday banquets. However, there are different specifications according to the different levels of the emperor, ministers, father and son. We ordered three Kongfu dishes, namely Kongfu tofu, flavored eggplant, and Kongfu crispy pork. Among them, Kongfu tofu has a very special taste. What impressed me most is that the bacon in this dish is tender, soft and fragrant, and The bacon I have eaten elsewhere is relatively dry and hard. My wife and daughter like the flavored eggplant the most. It’s crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, sweet and peppery.

After tasting the dishes of Confucius House, it was already past three o'clock in the afternoon when we returned to the hotel. We originally planned to take a short rest and visit the nearest Confucius House first. Since we were a little tired, my wife and I slept until five o'clock in the afternoon. It was too late and there was not enough time to visit the Confucius Mansion. I decided to take a short walk to the ancient city of Qufu to experience the local customs and customs.

We walked south along the Ming Dynasty City Wall and arrived near a city gate. Looking up, four big characters caught our eyelids - "Wanren Palace Wall", which was the handwriting of Emperor Qianlong. Unknowingly, we arrived at the outer gate of the Confucius Temple. My youngest daughter stood in front of the stone tablet "Confucius Temple, Confucius Mansion, and Confucius Forest" marked with the words "World Cultural Heritage" and asked me to take a photo. I heard from a tourist next to me that it was almost half past five, and there would be a city siege ceremony performance shortly. Arriving early is worse than arriving by chance. We happened to catch it and hurriedly found a place outside the cordon facing the city gate to wait to watch the performance. Looking up at the city wall, there is a big drum on the left side and a big bell hanging on the right side. The tourist next to me said: "Morning bells and evening drums, we will perform a performance later, and we need to beat the drums." As he spoke, men in colorful clothes on the city wall were already beating the big drums. Amidst the sound of the drums, the city gate slowly opened. A man wearing an official uniform of the Ming Dynasty walked out of the city gate and stood in front of the loudspeaker on the side of the city gate, reciting the speech of the city closing ceremony. Unfortunately, the crowd was too noisy and he could not hear it clearly. Amidst the sound of drums, a group of "ancient" soldiers filed out holding halberds and lined up majestically on both sides of the city gate in formation. Immediately afterwards, a group of girls in ancient costumes holding bamboo slips floated over and danced to the sound of drums. Here and now, with its ancient beauty and charm, I had the illusion that "the clothes are fluttering, the bells and congs are chiming, and the rings and pendants are jingling." It's as if I have entered the ancient holy scriptures in memory of Confucius.

Only a hundred meters away from the outer gate of the Confucius Temple and next to the tourist service center, there is an "Analects of Confucius Reciting Hall". Outside the hall, a group of children, dressed in ancient costumes, recited the Analects of Confucius in front of the camera. The sounds of reciting "Confucius said", "Zengzi said", and "Yanzi said" came and went. The youngest daughter was also inspired and interested. She turned her back to the Analects reciting hall and recited the famous lines of the Analects of Confucius in a precise manner, "I have to examine myself three times every day, have I been unfaithful in my plans for others? Have I not believed in my friends? Have I not learned to pass them on?" I used my mobile phone to record this culturally charming scene.

We walked along the streets with antique buildings and looked around. There were many shops selling local snacks and specialties along the way, the most numerous of which was Shandong Pancake Shop. The sky was getting dark. I looked at my watch and saw it was past 7 p.m. We noticed that many shops have begun to close their stalls, and some have already closed their doors. At this time, in other cities, it is the time when the lights are on and the shops are bustling.

Uncle Wang told us that when Confucius was about to die, Zigong was an official in the south and wanted to rush back to see his teacher for the last time, but transportation was inconvenient and he was unable to fulfill his wish. He planted a tree in memory of his respected teacher, but because he had not seen the teacher, he wrote one less horizontal line in the word "plant". The tree stump behind the stone monument is the tree he planted himself, but it was destroyed in a fire, and only the stump remains, which is now protected. Moreover, Zigong's filial piety was touching. The other students observed filial piety for three years and returned home. Only Zigong built a reed beside Confucius's tomb and guarded the tomb for six years before reluctantly leaving.

As you walk along the cemetery, the first thing you see is Kong_'s tomb. The inscription is "The tomb of Shenggong Shu of Yiguo". Confucius is the only direct grandson of Confucius, whose courtesy name is Zisi. He is an important inheritor of the Confucian school and one of the four saints (Confucius, Yan Hui, Zeng Shen, Meng Ke) who are entitled to enjoy the Confucius Temple. He is called "Zisizi". He was granted the title of "Shu Shenggong of Yi State", and later generations respected him as "Shu Sheng". He was the author of the ancient classic "The Doctrine of the Mean" ("Historical Records: Confucius Family" records that "when he was trapped in the Song Dynasty, Zisi wrote "The Doctrine of the Mean"". ) It is said that Confucius once taught Zeng Shen, and Mencius was his disciple.

Turn back from the tomb of Kong_ and see the tombstone of "Marquis of Sishui". This is the tomb of Kong Li, the only seedling of Confucius. It was named after the carp that Duke Zhao of Lu gave Confucius when he was born. Kong Li made no achievements in knowledge in his life, and he died before Confucius. Because he was the son of a saint, he was named "Marquis of Sishui" by Song Huizong. Uncle Wang told an allusion: Before his death, Kong Li once said to Confucius, "My father is much better than your father", and then said to Confucius, "My son is much better than your son", as a way to treat himself. Made a fair assessment.

The place on the left side of Kong Li's tomb is the resting place of the sage Confucius. "Historical Records: The Family of Confucius" records: Confucius "was born with his head on the top of the polder, so he was named Qiu. His courtesy name was Zhongni, and his surname was Kong." After Confucius's death, emperors of all dynasties, in order to strengthen their ideological rule over their subjects, showed their respect for Confucius. He was highly respected and continued to pursue titles and posthumous titles. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty named Confucius the "King of Wenxuan", raising his status to the same level as the emperor for the first time. The title "Dacheng Most Holy King Wenxuan" now inscribed on the tombstone was conferred by Cheng Zong during the Dade period of the Yuan Dynasty. But when we looked at the tombstone, we could only see the inscription "Dacheng Supreme Saint Wen Xuanqian". Out of curiosity, I walked to the altar and leaned down to look down, and then I saw the complete inscription "Dacheng Supreme Saint Wen Xuanwang Tomb". Uncle Wang told us a legend about Confucius’ tombstone. According to legend, Emperor Qianlong worshiped Confucius for the first time after he ascended the throne. However, he hesitated to worship Confucius after seeing the word "王" on the tombstone. His entourage asked someone to write the word "Sir" to block the word "王". I'm willing to give you a big gift. After that, the descendants of Confucius raised the altar to block the last horizontal line of the word "王", so that the complete word "王" could no longer be seen from the front. This was due to the taboo of "the two kings cannot kneel to each other" to avoid The embarrassment of the emperor's visit.

I first worshiped Confucius in front of the tomb, and then encouraged my little daughter to also worship the saint. I thought that since she had never knelt down before, she would not listen to my advice. Unexpectedly, she knelt down and worshiped Confucius obediently. Although her posture was wrong, her respect for Confucius could also be seen.

Since we had to rush home in the evening, after we left Confucius Forest, we hurriedly drove to the Confucius Temple and Confucius Mansion.

The Confucius Temple is a temple dedicated to Confucius. The Confucius Temple in Qufu is the largest and oldest. As early as one year after the death of Confucius, Duke Ai of Lu converted three of his former residences into ancestral temples. The ancestors of the Han Dynasty used the Tailao ritual to worship Confucius' tomb, setting a precedent for emperors to worship Confucius. After the Han Dynasty, emperors of all dynasties respected Confucius and read the scriptures. They continued to posthumous titles and titles to Confucius. At the same time, they expanded his ancestral temple, and the scale of the Confucius temple became larger and larger. Emperors of all dynasties held grand ceremonies to worship Confucius here when they came to Qufu.

We entered through the gate of the Confucius Temple, and there seemed to be the sound of drums from the opening ceremony of the city in the morning. After passing the ticket gate, we arrived at the stone square of the "Holy Holy Temple". Tourists took pictures here one after another, and my little daughter was also eagerly waiting for opportunities to take pictures. Afterwards, we followed the flow of people through the "Dazhong Gate" and came to the "Chenghua Monument". The stone stele is several meters high and is still a traditional camel stele. It was broken during the Cultural Revolution, so there are obvious traces of restoration on the upper part of the stele. This stele is an imperial inscription made by Emperor Xianzong of the Ming Dynasty Zhu Jianshen. The content highly praises Confucius and his thoughts. Among the existing stele in Qufu, Confucius is the most highly praised.

Since Uncle Wang was no longer with us, we walked slowly along with other tourists and saw the "Hongwu Stele Pavilion" that was surrounded by everyone. When we heard the name, we could think of it as being erected by Zhu Yuanzhang, the Taizu of the Ming Dynasty. The stele and pavilion were first erected in the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty. Later, the stele and pavilion were destroyed by fire and re-erected during the Hongzhi period of the Ming Dynasty. The existing stele and pavilion were rebuilt during the Republic of China, and the content focused on praising Confucius' merits and virtues.

While watching and playing, we arrived at Dachengmen. This gate is named after Dacheng Hall, the main sacrificial hall of Confucius Temple. It was built during the Chongning period of the Song Dynasty. There are two gates on the east and west side of Dacheng Gate, with the Golden Sound Gate in the east and the Yuzhen Gate in the west, which are taken from "Mencius" "Confucius called the collection of great achievements. Those who gather great achievements have the sound of gold and the vibration of jade." Dachengmen and the side doors on both sides were rebuilt after the fire. The door plaques and couplets were inscribed by Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty.

Unknowingly, it was approaching noon. Before entering the Confucius Temple, I heard from Uncle Wang that there would be a performance to commemorate Confucius at 11:30 in Dacheng Hall. We passed Dacheng Gate and hurried to Dacheng Hall. We arrived at the steps. It was already crowded and crowded. After I pushed my youngest daughter into the human wall, my wife and I could only listen to the drum music on the outside. In about ten minutes, the performance ended, but the entrance to Dacheng Hall was still three floors inside and three floors outside. I had no choice but to let my little daughter ride on my neck, look into the temple, and take photos with my phone. Later, I gradually walked to the entrance of the main hall, and finally saw the plaques in Qianlong's handwriting "Teacher to All Times" and "Gentleman Zaizi", as well as the statue of Confucius. Sage Kong, who is known as the "teacher of emperors of all dynasties and the ancestor of civilized officials in the world", has received thousands of years of worship from emperors, ministers and Confucian disciples in Dacheng Hall. Perhaps this was something he would never have imagined when he was still alive.

After coming down from Dacheng Hall, we selectively viewed the Confucius Lineage Map, the Hall of Holy Relics, the Yuhong Tower Dharma Poster, the Confucius’ Former Well, the Lubi (the wall of Confucius’ former residence), etc., and then, as we Other tourists walked out of the side door of the Confucius Temple and headed towards the Confucius Mansion.

The Confucius Mansion is right next to the Confucius Temple. It was the official office and private residence of Duke Yansheng in the past dynasties. It is the residence of the eldest descendant of Confucius. It was first built in the reign of Renzong of Song Dynasty. It was expanded many times and renovated after being damaged by fire. Confucius Mansion, Confucius Forest and Confucius Temple are listed as national key cultural relics protection units and world cultural heritage. The Confucius Mansion is both the home of a duke and the home of a saint. It is known as the first family in the world and is more noble than the emperor's family. The Confucius Mansion covers an area of ​​more than 70,000 square meters, with nine courtyards and a three-way layout. In front of the middle road is the government office, with three halls and six halls, behind it is the inner house, and at the end is the garden. The east road is Dongxue, where there are family temples, Mu'en Hall, etc. The west road is for Western learning, including Zhongshu Hall, Anhuai Hall, North and South Flower Hall, etc.

There is a couplet hanging on both sides of the gate of the "Holy Holy Mansion": with the mansion of Guoxianxiu Anfu Zunrong, the same day as the home of the moral saint Bing Laowen. According to legend, this is a handwriting written by Ji Xiaolan, a talented scholar from the Qing Dynasty, with beautiful writing and beautiful calligraphy. We passed through the long and narrow courtyard and came to the second gate of Kongfu Middle Road, the "Sage's Gate". Entering the Saint's Gate, you are faced with a small and exquisite screen door with the inscription "Gift of Chongguang". It was a plaque issued by a clan member in the Ming Dynasty, so it is called "Chongguang Gate". It is said that in ancient times, cannons were fired to open the Chongguang Gate only when the Confucian government held grand ceremonies, when the emperor came in person, preached edicts, and held major ceremonies to worship Confucius.

After passing Chongguang Gate, we came to the lobby of Confucius Mansion, which is the place where major events are held in Confucius Mansion. The Grand Master's chair in the middle of the hall is covered with tiger skin. On the tall koan in front of the chair, there are the Four Treasures of the Study and the seal box. In the middle of the lobby hangs the plaque "Together with the surname of the clan", which stipulates the privileged status of Duke Yansheng in the Kong family. On both sides of the lobby are displayed the first-class ceremonial guards, as well as official title plaques symbolizing titles and privileges, such as "Shenggong Yanyan", "Doctor of Guanglu Temple", "Appreciating Double-Eyed Flower Feathers", "Riding Horses in the Forbidden City" and so on. While watching, a male tourist in his forties next to him said to his fellow travelers: "These titles of Confucius are basically in name only but not in real power." What he said makes sense. The emperor just wanted to borrow Confucius. Confucianism and strengthening the cultural and ideological rule of the country gave the Confucian government such a respected status, but it would not give it real power and let it affect the imperial power.

There is a large bench in the corridor between the lobby and the second hall. We heard from the tour guide who was with us that this bench is called the "Pavilion Old Bench". It is said that when the powerful official Yan Song of the Ming Dynasty was about to be punished, he came to the Confucius Mansion to ask his grandson-in-law Yan Shenggong to intercede with the emperor. He waited on this stool, but the owner refused.

Reminiscent of seeing the inscription "Zhu Shui Bridge" in Confucius Forest, it turns out that Mr. Yan Ge is related to the Confucius family.

We walked through the lobby, then through the second and third halls, and came to the inner gate of the Confucius Mansion. The inner gate separated the inner house from the outside world. It was heavily guarded and no outsiders were allowed to enter without authorization. The inner house has a front room, a front hall, and a back hall, which is where Yan Shenggong and his family live their daily lives. After passing the inner house, there is the back garden of the Confucius Mansion, with rockeries, ponds, bamboo forests, pavilions, and curved bridges. The gardeners have unique ingenuity and beautiful scenery. The garden of the Confucius Mansion is as beautiful as a fairyland, thanks to two powerful ministers of the Ming Dynasty, Li Dongyang and Yan Song, who successively served as the crown prince, the official minister, the bachelor of Huagaidian, and the president of the national history. Li Dongyang married his daughter to Kong Wenshao, the 62nd generation grandson of Confucius and Duke Yansheng, and Yan Song married his granddaughter to Kong Shangxian, the 64th generation grandson of Confucius and Duke Yansheng. These two powerful officials used their power to help their in-laws overhaul the Confucius Mansion and gardens. Li Dongyang personally designed the garden when he first built it. It was understandable that he worked so hard for his daughter.