Hunyuan Confucian Temple

Hunyuan Ancient City Hunyuan Confucian Temple is quite large and imposing, with all the configurations of a prefectural or county Confucian temple. Moreover, the Confucian temple is adjacent to the prefectural office, separated only by a wall. From its location alone, it can be seen that the Confucian temple was also a very important local institution. The Hunyuan Confucian Temple is aligned along the central axis from south to north, with the Pan Bridge, Ji Gate, Dacheng Hall, Minglun Hall, Jingyi Pavilion, and Zunjing Pavilion in sequence. Among them, the Dacheng Hall has five bays in width and three bays in depth, with a single-eaved hip-and-gable roof covered with yellow and green glazed tiles. The history of Confucian temples can be traced back to the period of Emperor Wu of Han, who "dismissed the hundred schools of thought and revered only Confucianism." Confucianism gradually became the orthodox ideology of feudal society and remained so throughout. As the founder of the Confucian school, Confucius's status was continuously exalted and elevated. In the ancient administrative divisions, the prefecture was an important local administrative level. By the Sui and Tang dynasties, with the rise and gradual improvement of the imperial examination system, it became common to establish prefectural schools at the prefectural level. The establishment of Confucian temples in prefectural schools began in the Tang Dynasty. In the second year of the Zhenguan era (628 AD), Confucius was honored as the "First Sage," and in the fourth year of the Zhenguan era (630 AD), an edict was issued for all prefectural and county schools nationwide to build Confucian temples. As a result, Confucian temples spread throughout the country and even reached Southeast Asia. Due to frequent changes in the historical administrative divisions, county-level administrative units also established Confucian temples. According to data, there are numerous existing Confucian temples nationwide. Among the well-preserved Confucian temples in China, there are more than 300, with 21 listed as national key cultural relics protection units. Hunyuan Confucian Temple is clearly not among them. Before the reform and opening up, this place was the site of Hunyuan Middle School, which later became Hunyuan No. 2 Middle School. The school was relocated in 2008. The restoration project of Hunyuan Confucian Temple was only partially completed in 2015, and the protection and restoration work of the Confucian temple is still ongoing to this day.