Thousand years of Confucian style Xiangtan Temple of Literature
A brief examination of the culture of ancient temples of literature
Text/Chu Guoliang
The Temple of Literature is mainly used to worship Confucius. The ping in front of the hall is called Xueping, and ancient Confucians used to dance a dance called "Eight Hugh Dance" here to commemorate Confucius. Since the Tang Dynasty, the Temple of Literature has been the office of the Confucian instructor of the local prefecture and county, and the Spring and Autumn Festivals have been held twice a year. It is also the location of the local palace of learning, which undertakes the historical responsibility of promoting Confucianism and inheriting the culture of the Chinese nation, and the Xiangtan Confucian Temple is certainly no exception. As a county school in the past, its education is orthodox with Confucianism. The Song Ming School of Science is the highest stage in the history of the development of Confucianism, and the Huxiang School, as a major sect of Science, is also a Confucian orthodoxy. Therefore, the education in the Xiangtan Confucian Temple has always been based on the Song Ming Theory and the Huxiang School. At present, the Xiangtan Confucian Temple is listed as a key cultural relics protection unit in Hunan Province for its unique architecture, exquisite carvings and long history.
On February 13, 2021, the place of study, the Cultural Research Center of the Confucian Temple and the Management Service Office of the Confucian Temple of Hunan University of Science and Technology, was established. The construction of the Xiangtan Confucian Temple, which was built in the early years of Shaoxing in the Southern Song Dynasty, began again. The Xiangtan Temple of Literature will surely become a temple of culture, a temple of civilization, and a temple of literature. This article focuses on the historical changes and heritage values of the Wenmiao culture, and sincerely hopes to be taught by experts on the superficial points.
One by one inscription
First, the origin and historical changes of the name of the Temple of Literature
The Temple of Literature is a temple building to commemorate and worship the great thinker, politician and educator Confucius in China, and is also known as the Temple of Composition, the Temple of Confucius, the Temple of the Most Holy, the Temple of the First Teacher, the Temple of the First Saint, the Temple of king Wenxuan, especially the name of "Temple of Literature" is more common.
The earliest and largest Confucius Temple in Qufu, china, was built in 478 BC, the year after Confucius's death. According to the "Sixteenth Year of Zuo Chuan And Lamentation", in the second year of Confucius's death, Lu Aigong set aside three former residences of Confucius in Qufu as a place to collect his clothes, crowns, pianos, and car books, and sent soldiers to guard them, and sacrificed them on four festivals a year, and the scale and content of the building were very simple. In December 195 BC, when Liu Bang, the ancestor of Han Gao, was still passing through Ludi from Huainan, he personally sacrificed Confucius with the ritual of the Ether Prison (pigs, cattle and sheep three animals), creating a precedent for the emperor to sacrifice Kong.
After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty adopted the cultural policy of "deposing hundreds of families and respecting Confucianism alone", Confucianism became a prominent school, and began to occupy an orthodox position in ancient Chinese society, so the worship of Confucius activities was also valued by the rulers and became an indispensable norm in the country, and the expansion of the Confucius Temple rose up, after the expansion of the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, it has developed to nine courtyards, covering an area of 327.5 acres and 466 temples. The majestic Dacheng Hall, together with the Taihe Hall of the Forbidden City and the Tianyi Hall of the Dai Temple, is called the Three Great Halls of the East.
In the thirteenth year of the reign of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei Dynasty (489 AD), the first Confucius Temple in the capital of the time, Pingcheng (present-day Datong, Shanxi), was established, and then the counties and counties vigorously built the temple to worship the Temple.
In the fourth year of the Zhenguan Dynasty of the Tang Dynasty (630 AD), Emperor Taizong issued an edict: "All the scholars in the world have established zhou and Confucius temples." Since then, Confucius temples have spread all over the place.
In the second year of the Southern Song Dynasty (1128 AD), Kong Duanyou, the Duke of Yansheng, went south with the portraits of Confucius and his wife Qi Guan, and Emperor Gaozong of Song gave him a safe residence in Quzhou, Zhejiang, and in 1253 established the Confucius Family Temple, the so-called "Nanzong Confucius Temple".
After the mongol Yuan Dynasty completed the unification of the southwest of Pingding, the Great Confucian Technique was to govern the country with literature, and in the 14th century, Kublai Khan, the ancestor of the Yuan Dynasty, ordered the raiding of the old scriptures and ordered people to build the Xuansheng Temple in the capital city of Beijing at that time. In the tenth year of Emperor Yuanchengzong's reign (1306 AD), the Confucius Temple was officially built in Beijing.
In the twenty-sixth year of Hongwu of the Ming Dynasty (1393 AD), the imperial court issued the "Dacheng Le" for Confucius. In the thirteenth year of Chenghua (1477 AD), the increase in the number of kong music dances was eight, and the addition of the flute and beans was twelve, and the specifications of the sacrifice were expanded.
2. The value composition of the cultural heritage of the Temple of Literature
The introduction of foreign religions and the collision and integration of local inherent culture, in addition to preserving their own basic characteristics, the temple of literature architecture has a strong tolerance of foreign culture, the emergence of statues and murals, that is, reflects the inclusion and absorption of buddhist culture by the temple of literature architecture, and injects new blood into the temple of literature. Each gate, square, pavilion, hall, plaque, yanglian, statue, liturgical music, and sacrificial vessel in the building, this unique form of Architectural Culture expression and strong national style in China, is full of rich traditional cultural accumulation and humanistic spirit.
(1) Historical research value
The value of historical research refers to the relevant information of the social, political, ideological, cultural and other aspects of the historical process that is closely related to itself reflected by the cultural heritage of the Temple of Literature as an objective existence in history, which can help us understand the cultural history of a group or the relevant aspects of the development history of a region, so as to achieve the purpose of truly restoring history.
The Chinese Confucian Temple has witnessed the development of China's feudal society for more than two thousand years, and it has become a composite carrier of the material wealth and spiritual wealth of the Chinese nation. In the history of the development of the Temple of Literature in various places, a wealth of historical relics and historical materials have been left behind, such as inscriptions, plaques, yanglian, poetry and song, statues and sculptures, etc., which contain a large amount of valuable historical information. The Chinese Confucian Temple is an important witness and symbol of the development of Confucianism and the spread of Confucianism in China, an important place for ancient cultural and moral education, and a memorial hall for ancient Confucian sages and local celebrities, which is a concentrated embodiment of the comprehensive art form represented by traditional Chinese architectural art. Through the excavation, collation and research of the historical information preserved by the Temple of Literature, it is possible to understand the rise and fall of the temple architecture and the worship of Confucius in various places, to see through the development of the central and local politics, economy and culture in the feudal era of China, to conduct in-depth discussions on the development and evolution of Confucianism and even ancient Chinese thought and culture, and to achieve the purpose of partially or completely restoring the historical truth through these studies and discussions.
(2) Aesthetic and artistic value
Aesthetic and artistic value refers to the cultural heritage of the Temple of Literature, as an objective existence in history, in its architectural design structure, architectural mood, decoration and other aspects of its spiritual or emotional aesthetic appeal, or it shows the special design, style, artistic progress and high-level skills. Since the ancestors of the Chinese nation began to build houses, they have formed a unique aesthetic complex in the long historical period and created brilliant architectural achievements.
1. The architectural beauty of the Chinese Temple of Literature
In terms of architectural form, the Chinese Confucian Temple takes the Qufu Confucius Temple as a model, follows the principle of axis in China's traditional architectural complex, left and right symmetry, and the layout is strict and standardized. The inherent architectural composition of the Temple of Literature, such as the Lingxing Gate, Panchi, Dacheng Gate, Dacheng Hall, East and West Two Temples, Zunjing Pavilion, Minglun Hall, Chongsheng Ancestral Hall, Xiangxian Ancestral Hall, Famous Eunuch Ancestral Hall, etc., are all strict and orderly, solemn and sacred, and are the concentrated embodiment of the architectural art of the working people in ancient China. The architecture of the Temple of Literature mainly includes doors, squares, halls, halls, halls, halls, pavilions, etc. In terms of form, these architectural forms have their own characteristics and coexist harmoniously, which together constitute the colorful architectural beauty of the Chinese Temple of Literature. At the same time, there are many buildings in the Chinese Confucian Temple, with different forms, with a clear sequence rhythm in the architectural combination, the main and subordinate are clear, the levels are orderly, the whole building is jagged, rigorous and orderly, forming a smooth and orderly architectural layout, with a strong architectural layout beauty.
2. The rich art form beauty of the Chinese Temple of Literature
In addition to the solemn and beautiful shape of the Chinese Confucian Temple, it also has other rich art forms, such as sculpture, carving, plaques, garden plants, etc., which together create a strong artistic beauty of the Chinese Confucian Temple. For example, the carvings in the Confucius Temple in Qufu are the best of Chinese stone carving art, especially the stone pillar carving dragons of Dacheng Hall, which is a masterpiece of stone carving art. The inscriptions and plaques are the most common cultural relics and treasures in the Chinese Temple of Literature, and many inscriptions and plaques have been left in the process of establishment, repair and sacrifice in various temples. Such as qufu Confucius Temple, Beijing Guozijian Confucius Temple, Suzhou Confucian Temple, etc. all have various inscriptions of high value. Plaques are also an important part of the rich art form of the Temple of Literature, from the calligraphy art of inscriptions and plaques owned by the Temple of Literature in various places, all kinds of fonts have both characteristics and are also treasures of extremely high value in the art of calligraphy. At the same time, the Temple of Literature has a wealth of garden plants, many cypress and locust trees, and its simple and elegant plant resources with a long history have become an indispensable part of the aesthetic artistic atmosphere of the Chinese Temple of Literature.
3. The cultural connotation of the Chinese Temple of Literature is beautiful
The Chinese Confucian Temple is a materialized symbol of Confucian culture and a special carrier of the material and spiritual culture of Chinese civilization, in which brick by brick, grass and tree all embody rich cultural connotations. Judging from the names of the buildings in the Temple of Literature, the names and compositions of each individual building have canonical evidence, and have very profound cultural connotations, such as the "Jinsheng Yuzhen" Fang, the "Lingxing" Gate, the "Dacheng" Hall, and the "Minglun" Hall, all of which reflect the infiltration of Confucian culture into its architectural culture. The rich inscriptions in the Temple of Literature are the physical carriers that record Confucian culture. The unique cultural dance and ritual of the festival are the comprehensive art of music, song and dance. Gong Gong Music originates from the "Shao" music advocated by Confucius, simple and pure, elegant and melodious, its dance posture is strong and stretched, with the beauty of dance, the ritual scene of the sacrifice hole is grand, simple and quiet, and the solemn and solemn atmosphere of the sacrifice hole has formed a perfect artistic unity with the entire Temple of Literature. In short, the various constituent elements in the Chinese Confucian Temple are integrated and integrated, which together constitute the simple and elegant cultural connotation beauty of the Chinese Confucian Temple.
(3) The value of scientific research
The value of scientific research refers to the fact that the cultural heritage of the Temple of Literature, as an objective existence in history, can provide important and valuable scientific knowledge and information to mankind. The rich resources of architecture, inscriptions, sculptures, garden plants and other resources in the Chinese Confucian Temple contain a large amount of scientific information from ancient times to the present, and have rare and precious value in various disciplines such as archaeology, art, biology and so on. The strict and orderly construction of various types in the Temple of Literature is a precious sample for the study of ancient Chinese architecture and decorative technology, and its rich inscriptions, sculptures and plaques are precious materials for the study of ancient Chinese sculpture and carving techniques and calligraphy art, and the extremely large number of ancient plants with a long history in the Temple of Literature is a rare resource in biological research. At the same time, the historical fact that the Temple of Literature has been continuously repaired, expanded and rebuilt in a long historical period has an indelible positive role in objectively promoting the progress of China's architectural techniques and cultural relics protection technology from ancient to modern times.
(4) Cultural inheritance and cultural identity values
Cultural inheritance and cultural identity value refers to the unique cultural genes and spiritual characteristics accumulated by the Chinese nation in the process of long-term historical development that can be embodied by the cultural heritage of the Temple of Literature as an objective existence in history, and this cultural gene and spiritual characteristics can be passed down from generation to generation through the carrier of the Temple of Literature, marking a group's sense of cultural identity and deeply affecting contemporary society to this day.
3. The past and present lives of the Xiangtan Confucian Temple
When people think of Xiangtan, they immediately think of a generation of great people Mao Zedong, founding father Peng Dehuai, cultural celebrity Qi Baishi, and late Qing Dynasty minister Zeng Guofan. As the historical "rice market medicine capital", Xiangtan is one of the most commercially developed areas in Hunan since the Ming and Qing dynasties. Xiangtan water transport is prosperous, known as "eighteen generals on both sides of one river", the Northern Song Dynasty Ouyang Xiu recorded the prosperity of Xiangtan City and water transport in the "Xiangtan New Cultivation Medicine Master Buddha Hall". Not only that, Xiangtan was also the birthplace of the Huxiang School and an important stronghold for revolutionary activities such as the peasant movement. Why is Xiangtan so brilliant and talented, wuhua tianbao? Perhaps after understanding the Xiangtan Confucian Temple, knowing its cultural heritage and the ancient teachings of the Confucian Temple, we can help us find the answer.
The Temple of Literature, also known as the Temple of Confucius, is a special place for the worship of Confucius. The Xiangtan Confucian Temple was built in the early years of Shaoxing in the Southern Song Dynasty, the original site was next to the Small East Gate of the Old City, it was destroyed by war in the fourteenth year of the Yuan Dynasty (1354), and in the second year of Ming Hongwu (1369) it was rebuilt in the old city of Chengzheng Street, which is today's current site. The temple is composed of Kuixing Gate, Panchi, Archway, Dacheng Gate, Dacheng Hall, Four Sages Ancestral Hall, Chongsheng Temple, Bell and Drum Pavilion and so on. In the sixteenth year of Ming Hongwu (1383) and the eleventh year of Zhengde (1516), it was repaired and expanded, and it was once again destroyed by war at the end of the Ming Dynasty. It was rebuilt in the ninth year of The Reign of The Qing Shunzhi (1652). In Jiaqing, Daoguang, Xianfeng, Guangxu, Xuantong, the 3rd year of the Republic of China (1914), the 36th year of the Republic of China (1947) and 1983, the Temple of Literature was repaired many times, but the scale became smaller and smaller, and many important temples were not restored or rebuilt, such as the Kuixing Gate, Daming Wall, Panchi Stone Fang, Bell and Drum Tower, etc., and the wide wall no longer existed.
The best thing to see in the Temple of Literature is the moon-shaped pan pond inside the Kuixing Gate, which is surrounded by a stone railing. There are three stone squares near Panchi, the plaque of the south stone square is engraved with the words "Sven in Zi", and the east and west squares run through the street. These vanished relics seemed to have come out of the scriptures and come to me at this moment, and I was speechless, but bowed in respect.
Although the Temple of Literature was destroyed by war many times and rebuilt many times, in this trajectory, the people, scholars, and officials respected Confucius and the ideas and doctrines he created. A person is eternal in the years, history can not but be awe-inspiring, and the same is true of the country and mountains.
Today's Temple of Literature is very small, with only Dacheng Gate, Dacheng Hall, Yacheng Hall and two pavilions. Still, the red-walled tiles and the eaves of the intriguing corners stand out. In particular, the jade dragon stone carving on the stone steps in front of the Dacheng Hall reminds me of the story of "Ye Gong Good Dragon", if the stone dragon in front of me is a real dragon, I must not be Ye Gong. I would talk to it, or talk to it about Confucius, or raise a glass with it. The stone dragon seemed to know my thoughts, and let the two large cypress trees next to it sing in the wind, which was a response to me.
The Dacheng Gate is actually the temple gate, the east and west rooms are silent, the three wooden doors are open, and the fire south wind passes through the door as if the crowd of sacrifices poured in. The wooden door in the middle is large, and the left and right two are slightly smaller. In ancient times, whenever there was a sacrifice, civilian officials dismounted from their horses and entered through the main gate, and ordinary people could only enter through two small doors. Although the Dacheng Hall is old, its momentum of the great shore is still straight to the bull fight. The east and west compartments and the main hall are very similar to the classrooms of today's institutions of higher learning, long and wide, even if there are no tables, chairs, benches, no teachers and students gathered together, but it seems that the sound of Mr. Teaching and the breathing of students can be heard. The two pavilions on the left and right of the hall looked polite, like Confucius's students, politely greeting the spring, summer, autumn and winter and the coming and going monsoons.
Not far behind the Dacheng Hall, the doors and windows of the very small hall were crooked, and the ugly appearance resembled Confucius's student Zi Yu. "Zi Yu" was very lonely, standing in the weeds, allowing it to be baked by the scorching sun. Confucius liked to judge people by words, and he also liked to judge people by their appearance. His student Zaiyu was extremely eloquent and good-looking, and was deeply loved by Confucius. Zaiyu was very lazy, often skipping school and sleeping lazily, which made Confucius angry and scolded him for "decaying wood cannot be carved". Zi Yu was not proud of his appearance, and Confucius did not like him. Zi Yu is diligent and studious, and after graduation, he immersed himself in running a school, receiving more than 300 students and being deeply loved by students. When Confucius knew this, he thought of Zaiyu and couldn't help but sigh with emotion: "Take people by words, and lose them." Take people by their appearance, and lose their sons and feathers. ”
Confucius's philosophical thought of "benevolence" has continued to this day, and the same is true of his idea of "junchen". Later, Mencius put forward the theory of "righteousness" on the basis of "benevolence", so "benevolence" became the core of Confucianism. Later, Xun Zi reflected on the idea of "junchen" and put forward the theory that "water carries the boat, and water covers the boat". This is the progress of Confucianism and a wake-up call to the ruling class. Awake? A sparrow sply past, blinking and disappearing without a trace.
Confucius pursued the truth, traveled around the world to propagate his ideas, and did not realize his ideals until old age. As he grew old, he calmly opened a school and taught his political philosophy to his students, so that they could achieve everything he had not been able to achieve. "Three thousand disciples, seventy-two sages" is Confucius's best harvest. Confucius was brilliant, and he taught courses such as etiquette, music, archery, imperial court, books, and mathematics. According to today's parlance, he should be the earliest president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and a doctoral supervisor. Although academics disagree, I stubbornly believe that the Poems were collected and arranged by Confucius, and that the Yi was also his commentary. "Poetry", "Book", "Yi", "Li", and "Spring and Autumn" as Confucian classics are also the first to be advocated by him. Although the Analects are a quotation-style genre, the questions and answers are just as Du Fu said: "Do not waste the rivers and rivers of eternity"!
In 1044 AD, Fan Zhongyan asked for the reform plan of the Ten Great Xingxing Xueyu Talents, requiring all states and counties to set up xueyu talents, known in history as "Qingli Xingxue". Since then, Xiangtan has established a county school. In 1131 AD, Emperor Gaozong of Song issued an edict and changed the county school into a temple of literature. Xiangtan Confucian Temple, as a county school at that time, its education was orthodox with Confucianism. The Song Ming School of Science is the highest stage in the history of the development of Confucianism, and the Huxiang School, as a major sect of Science, is also a Confucian orthodoxy. The education in the Xiangtan Confucian Temple has always been based on the Song Ming Theory and the Huxiang School. In terms of governing learning, the Huxiang school takes "kang ji shi difficulty" as its vocation and focuses on Kuang Shi; in jingshi thought, it advocates "applying the sutra to the practical application," paying attention to practice, advocating targeted study, and making efforts to unify knowledge and action; in education, it insists on putting moral education in the first place, believing that the purpose of education is to cultivate oneself, advocating the cultivation of the mind as the foundation, emphasizing the practical application of the scriptures, and embodying the traditional Confucian idea of "the inner saint and the outer king." These ideas of governing the study that have been applied to the world and seeking truth from facts, the style of practicing and down-to-earth work, the enterprising spirit of unremitting self-improvement and daring to be the first in the world, and the sense of participating in the administration of the government that pays attention to reality and worries about the country and the people have had a far-reaching impact on future generations, especially in modern Hunan.
The original site of Zhaotan Academy is also in the area. The academy was founded in the 59th year of the Qing Kangxi Dynasty (1720) and was added in the 8th year of Qianlong (1743). The college has both a complete education system and a very strict discipline. The academy not only does not accept gifts to disciples who are poor and eager to learn, but also distributes bursaries. The college also hired scholars and celebrities to give lectures here, and its reputation was greatly enhanced.
Zhaotan Academy and Xiangtan Confucian Temple are close by, which naturally had a profound impact on the county studies at that time. According to the "Xiangtan County Chronicle", the academy also undertook many teaching tasks of county school, and even continued the county school. Therefore, the students who study here are invariably branded with the Huxiang School.
In 1905, the imperial examination was abolished and the county school was suspended, but the modern education in Xiangtan was still based on the Temple of Literature, such as the Girls' Department of Tanzhong and the Xiangtan Simple Teacher, etc. The Huxiang cultural tradition of "daring to be the first and applying it to the world" is still far-reaching. During the Xinhai Revolution, a group of revolutionaries represented by Liu Daoyi and Qiu Jin used the Temple of Literature as a secret base to engage in revolutionary activities, and now there is a martyr's ancestral hall commemorating Liu Daoyi, the pioneer of the democratic revolution, next to the Temple of Literature. Later, the CCP underground organization continued to operate in the area of the Temple of Literature until the liberation of Hunan.
In the later social changes, Xueping became a street, Zhaotan Academy was demolished, and only the Temple of Literature still stands quietly. Since 1949, the Temple of Literature has successively been the location of Xiangbei Construction College, Xiangtan Normal College and Xiangtan Normal College. The touching stories in the inheritance of Huxiang culture are still here with the history of the Millennium Temple of Literature from generation to generation.
Today's Temple of Literature, red walls, yellow tiles, green trees and blue sky, empty and quiet, thick and inner. Strolling through the old campus, caressing the brick walls that have endured thousands of years of wind and frost and blood and rain, the academy that once recited the Four Books and Five Classics is now becoming a place for the dissemination of advanced ideas, culture and science and technology, and history and reality have been properly undertaken and have a long history. Although the Millennium Temple of Literature has not had the scene of Confucian indoctrination in the past, the temple is majestic, the cigarettes are hanging on, and the ancient music is leisurely, but it has witnessed the changes of the Xiangbei Construction College, the Xiangtan Normal College, the Xiangtan Normal College, and the rapid development of Today's Hunan University of Science and Technology.
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