Thirteen stele Pavilion

Thirteen stele Pavilion

The thirteen stele Pavilion is located in the Confucius Temple in Qufu. After Kuiwen Pavilion is the thirteen stele Pavilion courtyard, which is the sixth courtyard of the Confucius Temple. Thirteen stele pavilions were first built in the Tang Dynasty. Two were added in the Yuan Dynasty and nine in the Qing Dynasty. There are more than 50 pieces of inscriptions from the Tang Dynasty to the Republic of China in the pavilions. Most of the inscriptions are the emperor's records of Confucius' posthumous title, new temple worship, official sacrifice and temple renovation. They are written in Chinese, basiba (Mongolian in the Yuan Dynasty) and Manchu. The layout of the whole stele Pavilion is eight in the South and five in the north, so it is called thirteen stele Pavilion. Because they are all steles approved by the emperor, they are also called imperial stele Pavilion. Among them, a stone tablet erected in 1686 is the largest, weighing about 35 tons.

brief introduction

Located behind Kuiwen Pavilion, it was specially built to preserve the imperial steles made by the feudal emperors. It is commonly known as the "imperial stele Pavilion", with eight in the South and five in the north, arranged in the East and West. The shape is similar, double eaves Xieshan, yellow glazed tile top, the plane is square, three square, open between the Ming, slightly between the wall. There are 55 stone tablets of Tang, song, Jin, yuan, Ming, Qing and Republic of China in the pavilion. Among them, 2 stele pavilions in Jin Dynasty, built in the overhaul project of the second to sixth year of Jin Mingchang (1191-1195), are the oldest existing buildings of Confucius Temple; 2 stele pavilions in Yuan Dynasty, built in 1320 and 1339 respectively; 9 stele pavilions in Qing Dynasty, including 5 stele pavilions made by the emperor and 4 stele pavilions dedicated to officials, were built in Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong respectively.

The contents of the inscriptions in the thirteen stele pavilions are all records of the emperors and ministers in the past dynasties, such as building temples, offering sacrifices to temples, and informing temples, which are of great historical value. Among them, there are Mongolian, Manchu and Chinese steles. Through the thirteen stele pavilions, we can see the history of Confucius worship and the construction of Confucius Temple.

Among the 1172 steles in the Confucius Temple, the heaviest one is the Kangxi imperial stele (located in the east of dachengmen gate) erected in the 25th year of Kangxi reign in Qing Dynasty. The weight of the stele is 35 tons, and the total weight of the stele is 65 tons. The stone of this monument was collected from Xishan in Beijing. After the inscription was finished from Beijing, it was transported from Tongzhou to Jining along the Beijing Hangzhou Grand Canal, which took more than two months. Then it was transported from Jining to Qufu, where 600 migrant workers and 443 cattle were requisitioned. Jining to Qufu 90 Li, taking advantage of the cold winter, splashing water on the road to make it ice, the huge stele and stone inscriptions slide forward from the ice. According to the literature, it took 15 days and nights to travel on the 90 Li road every day, which cost more than 600 liang of kuyin.

In this courtyard, in addition to the thirteen stele pavilions, the open-air stele groups in the southeast and southwest corners, together with the stone inscriptions in the North corridor, seem to form a forest of steles. These steles were built, sacrificed and worshiped by emperors and ministers in the past dynasties. From the point of view of calligraphy, the style of calligraphy is rigorous, the stone is different, and the style of writing is different. In addition, several stone tablets record the peasant uprisings in the red scarf army at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Liu Liu and Liu Qi in the Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty, and Xu Hongru at the end of the Ming Dynasty. They are valuable historical materials for studying the history of Chinese peasant wars.

There is one gate in the East and one gate in the West. The east gate is "Yucui gate" and the west gate is "Guande gate", commonly known as the east gate and the west gate. It was first built in the Jin Dynasty for offering sacrifices to Confucius. It is convenient to get in and out, and has been rebuilt in all previous dynasties. The existing buildings are of Ming Dynasty.

The construction characteristics of stele Pavilion

In the courtyard of the thirteen stele Pavilion, there is a phenomenon of double eaves crisscross. Therefore, some people say that this kind of architectural structure is crisscrossed, with two corners at the top and huge eaves intersecting, which is called "intrigue" in ancient architecture. "Intrigue" is a wonder in the construction of stele pavilions. This kind of crisscrossing architectural mode can only appear in the courtyard of the thirteen stele pavilions of Confucius Temple. This unique architectural aesthetics skillfully solves the crowded phenomenon caused by the narrow space, which not only shows the superb architectural skills of the ancients, but also leaves a cultural phenomenon for future generations to ponder.

Most of the steles in geting are made of animals that look like turtles but not turtles. They are called Bi (XI). It is said that Bi is the son of the dragon. It is said that the Dragon had nine sons, each of whom had his own abilities. He was good at carrying heavy loads, so he was used to carry the tablet. The earliest of the thirteen stele pavilions are two Tang steles. One is the "stele of Confucius xuanni, the sage of Lu Xiansheng, who was given to Taishi in the great Tang Dynasty" in the first year of Emperor Gaozong's reign (AD 668) and the other is the "stele of Confucius Temple of Lu" in the seventh year of Emperor Xuanzong's reign (AD 719). Both of them are located in the sixth Jin Dynasty stele pavilions in the east of nanpaikai. The largest stone tablet was erected in 1686 A.D. in the 25th year of the reign of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty. It is located in the third pavilion from the east of the North row. The weight of this monument is about 35 tons, and the weight of the stone is about 65 tons. This stone was collected from Xishan in Beijing. Under the technical conditions at that time, it was amazing that it could be safely transported to Qufu thousands of miles away. At that time, it took more than two months to engrave the tablet from Beijing and then transport it from Tongzhou to Jining along the Beijing Hangzhou Grand Canal. Then it was transported from Jining to Qufu, and from Jining to Qufu, it took 600 migrant workers and 443 cattle. In the cold winter, the ground was splashed with water and frozen, and the stele glided from the ice. According to the literature, it took 15 days and nights to transport the 90hua Li Road, which cost more than 600 liang of kuyin.

The historical value of Art

There are forest like steles in the southeast and southwest of the courtyard. There are also a lot of carved stones in the bamboo column of the north wall, which were carved by the emperors and ministers of the past dynasties after they built, visited and sacrificed temples. For example, from the point of view of the art of calligraphy, each has its own merits. There are also several stone tablets that record the peasant uprisings in the late Yuan Dynasty, such as the red scarf army, Liu Liu, Liu Qi in the middle Ming Dynasty and Xu Hongru in the late Ming Dynasty.

On both sides of the thirteen stele Pavilion, Yucui gate is built in the East and Guande gate is built in the West for people to go in and out. People call it Donghua gate and Xihua gate according to the name of the imperial palace. This is the third gate of Confucius Temple.

Address: Confucius Temple, Qufu, Jining

Longitude: 116.98976135254

Latitude: 35.594661712646

Ticket information: no ticket required. It is included in the ticket of the three hole scenic spot.

Chinese PinYin : Shi San Bei Ting