Liuzhou Confucian Temple – A Guangxi Travel Note
Around 1:30 pm on October 24, 2024, we arrived at Liuzhou Confucian Temple, nestled in the riverside tourist area on the south bank of the Liujiang River, right next to Panlongshan Park. The temple’s golden, resplendent roof could be seen from a distance; at first we didn’t know what place it was, just resolved to find out when we got there. I never expected a Confucian temple could be so beautiful.
Liuzhou Confucian Temple, also known as Kong Temple, is a place for worshipping Confucius. It was first built during the Zhenguan reign of the Tang Dynasty. In the tenth year of Yuanhe (815 AD), Liu Zongyuan renovated the temple and wrote the 'Stele for the Newly Renovated Temple of King Wenxuan of Liuzhou.' After the Tang, the temple rose and fell several times. In 1928, it was destroyed in a city-wide fire, its main buildings burnt to the ground. Over more than two millennia of development, Confucian temples have far transcended mere memorial architecture to become symbols of Chinese culture. The temple’s very existence reflects the mainstream status of Confucianism in traditional Chinese culture.
The rebuilt Liuzhou Confucian Temple has risen from the ashes, nestled against hills and the river, backed by Dengtai Mountain to the southeast. It consists of main structures such as Dacheng Gate, Dacheng Hall, Hall of Adoring the Sage, and Minglun Hall. The architecture mainly follows the Song Dynasty style, combined with local Lingnan features. With Dengtai Mountain as its backrest and Jiahe Hill as its desk, it stands resplendent on the ancient site of Liuzhou's Han-era city. Climb high and gaze afar, and Liuzhou’s literary aura instantly gleams golden, making this a captivating destination for a leisurely stroll, a significant cultural landmark along the 'Hundred-Li Liujiang' scenic belt, and a masterpiece among China’s more than 2,000 Confucian temples. It is a national 4A scenic area.
Main buildings include [Dacheng Hall]: seven bays wide and five bays deep, the hall is 31.8 meters high, 49.7 meters wide, and 47.5 meters deep. It has a hip-and-gable roof with double eaves, copper tiles and flying ridges, interlocking bracket sets, and richly ornamented beams and painted rafters. Surrounded by a veranda, the corridor is 4 meters wide with 40 golden pillars, each 6 meters high and 0.8 meters in diameter, featuring bronze bracket sets carved with cloud and dragon motifs. The roof ridge is adorned with dragon kiss ornaments, covered with yellow copper tiles. Inside, the ceiling is decorated with small-seal-script quotes from the Analects. The veranda has carved white marble balustrades, and steps on all sides lead up to the platform for entering the hall. In front is a worship platform with crisscrossing paths, a place for offering incense to Confucius; the royal path is carved with two dragons playing with a pearl. The entire Dacheng Hall is majestic and well-proportioned, distinctly characteristic of Eastern architecture.
[Apricot Altar (Xingtan)]: 9.43 meters high, 8.76 meters long by 8.76 meters wide, square in plan, open on all four sides. Steel-reinforced concrete pillars with double eaves of blue-grey tiles; the first eave is circular, the second square, with four-sided overhanging gables and a cross-shaped roof ridge. Under the eaves hangs a blue-background, gold-lettered plaque reading 'Xingtan.' The altar base has five steps on all sides, with white marble cloud-head balustrades. The altar itself is intricately decorated with beams and paintings, magnificent and uniform when viewed from any direction, showcasing unique architectural artistry. Legend has it the Apricot Altar was where Confucius taught.
[Hall of Adoring the Sage (Chongsheng Tang)]: 28 meters high, 41 meters long, and 33.8 meters wide, with a three-tiered double-eave pointed roof of blue-grey glazed tiles. Surrounded by white marble balustrades with pillars carved in cloud patterns and frieze panels in relief depicting two dragons sporting a pearl. Inside, the caisson ceiling, doors, and windows are decorated with precious nanmu wood and antique-style paintings. The hall’s design is elegantly refined, with distinct southern Chinese architectural traits.
[Houde Minglun Hall]: Located behind Dacheng Hall, it is round below and square above, with a double-eave pointed roof of grey glazed tiles, 22.5 meters high and 21.6 by 21.6 meters wide. The outer corridor is enclosed by white marble balustrades, pillar heads carved with taotie and cloud-dragon motifs, and frieze panels with two dragons sporting a pearl. The interior caisson ceiling, doors, and windows use precious nanmu wood and antique-style painted decoration, giving it a distinctive architectural style.
[Wenchang Tower]: The tower is 29 meters high in total (including the spire), with a square base of about 9 meters per side. Named Wenchang, it symbolizes touching the tower as a writing brush, dipping the river as ink, using Dengtai and Jiahe as an armrest, and heaven and earth as the scroll – meaning that Liuzhou’s rising talents will shoulder the heavy brush of history, take on their mission, and become pillars of the nation.
[Dengtai Pavilion]: Named after Dengtai Mountain, it also implies climbing step by step to higher attainments. The pavilion is a traditional Chinese garden structure, nestling into the mountain and overlooking the water, seeming to emerge from the sky. Leaning on the railing, you can gaze into the wind at green streams, blue hills, the rainbow bridge, the Confucian Temple, and the enchanting views of 'Pot City' (Hucheng), all unfolding before your eyes.
Now Liuzhou Confucian Temple is open to the public free of charge, though some halls are temporarily closed. One hour is enough to walk around. At 2:30 pm, we came out and followed the security guard’s directions along a small path to Yaobu Ancient Town.
