Seat of learning

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-10-10 15:35

Beijing Guozijian, or Imperial College, was once the highest educational institution in the country, but is now part of Confucius Temple and the Imperial College Museum.

Children chant Confucian classics at an event to honor the 2,560th birthday of the sage at Confucius Temple.[China Daily]

Students have not forgotten this and recently, at a celebration to honor the 2,560th birthday of the sage at Confucius Temple, prayers were offered up in the hope of being enrolled at a famous university.

Confucius temples can be found all across China but the one in Beijing, where emperors of the Yuan (1271-1368), Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties offered sacrifices to Confucius, is of the highest rank.

Founded in the 14th century, the 22,000-sq-m temple was constructed in a layout of three rows of houses and symmetrical buildings.

The main buildings along the central axis are Xian Shi Gate (Gate of the Master), Da Cheng Gate (Gate of Success) and Chong Sheng Memorial Temple (where sacrifices were offered to Confucius and his ancestors).

Expanded and renovated several times in various dynasties, the temple is the second-largest in the country after the one in Qufu, Shandong province.

In front of the temple are 189 stone tablets engraved with the names of 51,624 palace graduates, giving their birthplace and ranking in the imperial examination.

The exam had three levels. The first level was a provincial examination held in its capital. Those who passed the exam were called provincial graduates, and the best among them were called "Jie Yuan".

Confucius' statue welcomes visitors at the entrance of the temple.

The second round usually happened one year after the provincial exam at the Ministry of Rites in the capital city. The selected scholars then went to the palace examination, held in the Forbidden City, and presided over by the emperor.

If someone was first at all three levels he was said to "have scored three number ones in one row", which was considered to be the highest honor for students at that time.

Biyong Hall in Guozijian was built during the reign of Emperor Qianlong (1735-1795) and in its hall the emperor delivered lectures.

The architectural style is unique. The main hall is a double-eaved square temple with fine-fold top and surrounded by a pool on all sides.

A tea pouring ceremony featuring martial arts.

Strolling to the middle courtyard, you'll spot six big rooms where students received lectures. The space is further divided into 66 small spaces, an auspicious number for Chinese.

During daytime, the sound of reading stirred the side rooms, while at night the six rooms were lit with lamplight by students studying until late.

In the back yard are stone tablets engraved with 13 Confucian classics from the reign of Emperor Qianlong, including such books as I Ching, Collection of Ancient Texts and The Book of Songs.

They originate from a scholar named Jiang Heng, who toured Xi'an in Shanxi province before furthering studies his studies at Imperial College.

He was disappointed, however, to find there were no identical versions of Confucius' classics, so he determined to write out all his 13 works.

The project took 12 years to finish and added up to 620,000 words, written in neat and careful handwriting. Later, the characters were engraved on 189 stone tablets, under the order of Emperor Qianlong.

Story by Cheng Anqi, photos by Wang Jing