Qianjiang Evening News Hourly News Reporter Yang Xilin/Wen
Images courtesy of respondents
Some of the image sources: Visual China
"Stay unharmed, come and go more, and share Jiangnan.". Since December, the four major evening newspapers in the Yangtze River Delta have joined hands with readers to make a covenant to "find the Song Dynasty". Qianjiang Evening News slowly spliced out a long volume of the Yangtze River Delta journey to find the Song Dynasty with the methods of reporter visits, expert hook sinking, and video narration.
In early winter, on Xinqiao Street in the old town of Quzhou, in the Confucius Cultural Park, a bronze statue of Confucius weighing about 9 meters and weighing 13 tons stands.
In the early years of the Southern Song Dynasty (1128), Confucius's 48th grandson Kong Duanyou, the Duke of Yansheng, decided to lead his people to cross the south (traveling with the emperor), and never returned to Qufu. The Jiangnan region, centered on Quzhou, was inextricably linked to Confucianism because of the great migration led by Emperor Kong in the early Southern Song Dynasty.
The cultural imprint of the Southern Song Dynasty in the Confucius Temple is a cultural treasure of Zhejiang. Following Zhan Jian, deputy director of the Quzhou Nankong Cultural Development Center, the Qianbao reporter took everyone to explore the roots of the Southern Song Dynasty culture of the Nanzong Family Temple of Kong in Quzhou.
Image source: Visual China
The "Southern Confucius Temple" opened since the Southern Song Dynasty
Both the South Hole and the North Hole are authentic. According to the "Chronicle of the Temple of the Southern Emperor of the Kong Clan of Quzhou", in the second year of Jianyan (1128), the Jin soldiers marched south, and Emperor Gaozong of Song and Emperor Canghuang of Song ran south. Confucius's 48th eldest grandson, Kong Duanyou, the Duke of Yansheng, protected the treasures of the town temple such as the statue of Confucius and his wife' Kaimu and the "Relics of the First Saint", and led the nearby tribesmen to cross the south. Because the Kong clan helped the Southern Song Dynasty win the cultural Zhengshuo and consolidate the power, the following year, Emperor Gaozong fixed the capital lin'an and gave Kong Duanyou temple residence in Quzhou, that is, "Kong Nanzong".
Kong Nanzong was not without the opportunity to return to his hometown. After Kublai Khan, the ancestor of the Yuan Dynasty, unified China, he ordered Confucius's 53rd grandson Kong Su, the Duke of Yansheng, to take the title and move north to Qufu to worship. However, Kong Su was not killed by the Song Dynasty, and The Duke of De rang to the brother of the Kong clan in Qufu.
Today's Confucius House was rebuilt in 1998 by experts on the basis of archaeological excavation sites in accordance with the original regulations. The family temple, which is separated from the wall of Confucius, was built in the 16th year of Zhengde in the Ming Dynasty, which is exactly 500 years ago. In 1998, the Quzhou Municipal People's Government repaired the Family Temple and restored the Five Branches Ancestral Hall, the Ancestral Hall of the Six Dynasties, the Confucius Palace and the Garden on the west axis of the Family Temple, which was completed in May 2000. In 2008, all the buildings on the Eastern Axis were restored, followed by Jiashu, Enguan Ancestral Hall, Qisheng Ancestral Hall, and Shengze Building.
On the plaque hanging high in the lobby of confucius, the four words "Sishu Tongyuan" are exquisite. "Si" refers to Qufu "Surabaya", and the tomb of Confucius is on the north bank of the Surabaya River; "淛" is the ancient character for "Zhejiang". Just four words, symbolizing the same origin of north and south.
Time has changed, and the establishment of the Confucius Temple in Quzhou has always been in accordance with the regulations of the Nandu Family Temple. The "Silu Pavilion" of the Confucius Mansion expresses the strong homesickness of posterity.
The "Nankong Private School" that has been passed down for thousands of years
Walking among the Confucius Temple buildings, from time to time you can find traces of Kong's Southern Sect's chongxue and poetry tradition. After Emperor Nanzong of kong settled in Quzhou, the patriarch Kong Chuan founded a private school in Quzhou. During the Southern Song Dynasty, the number of academies in Quzhou ranked among the highest in the country.
Among the 22 famous academies in the Southern Song Dynasty, there were two in Quzhou: Keshan Academy and Qingxian Academy. Among them, Confucius's 50th grandson Kong Yuanlong and the 53rd Sun Kongyan served as the mountain chief (the host of the academy) of Keshan Academy. According to the research of Mr. Xu Shouchang, an expert in the study of Nankong culture, there are 8 colleges founded by the Kong Nan clan in Dongyang, Zhejiang, Jingjiang, Jiangsu, and Tong'an, Fujian. The Wansong Academy in Hangzhou, after the establishment of the eleventh year of Ming Hongzhi (1498), also hired descendants of The Southern Sect of Kong to manage and preside over the rituals of the academy for more than 450 years. The Qianlong Emperor went down to Jiangnan 6 times and wrote 6 poems about Wansong Academy. One of them reads: "Qi helps Hushan Zhong Yuanxiu, and Daozun Kong Meng has a true source." "True Source" refers to the Southern Sect of Kong.
"The greatest feature and contribution of Southern Clan Studies is to enable the vast number of ordinary disciples to obtain the opportunity to receive education." Professor Wu Xibiao, director of the Kong Nanzong Cultural Research Center of Quzhou College, who has studied Nankong culture for many years, analyzed in an interview with Zhejiang Daily that because of the loss of his knighthood, Kong Nanzong moved from the temple to the people, which also promoted the development of modern school education in Quzhou. The concept of education and indoctrination of Kong Nanzong advocating ethics and passing on poetry and books has also objectively promoted the development of colleges and schools in Quzhou and even the southeast region, and optimized the regional humanistic environment, so that cultural figures have emerged continuously.
Until now, the Confucian studious style left over from the Southern Song Dynasty has become the cultural gene of the Quzhou side. Nankong Bookstore is located throughout Quzhou, and Nankong culture has become one of the spiritual ties that unite the feelings of contemporary Quzhou primary and secondary school students. Every year, a series of Confucian cultural activities such as children's Bible reading classes, enlightenment ceremonies, and Confucian school dramas are held in the local area. Walking into a school in Quzhou, you may be able to see confucius Han white jade statues, Duzhi Lou, Siqi Building, Wendaoshi and other buildings containing Confucian charm; walking in the streets and alleys of Quzhou, the "Nankong Holy Land, Quzhou Has Etiquette" propaganda slogans can be seen everywhere, and the cartoon character "Grandpa Nankong" who appears in the streets and alleys in the form of cartoons and dolls, etc., are conveying the most proud cultural symbols of the city to people.
"Nankong Culture" that keeps pace with the times
It has been nearly a thousand years since the Southern Song Dynasty. People with hearts come to the Nankong Family Temple, how to find the Southern Confucius Confucian culture left by the Southern Song Dynasty?
"In the long process of social evolution, Kong Nanzong has always pursued and practiced the innovative spirit of keeping pace with the times, openness and inclusiveness. Therefore, the educational ideas and Confucian evolution of Kong Nanzong coincide with the historical trajectory. Zhan Jian told reporters.
In 2004, Kong Xiangkai, the eldest grandson of Confucius' 75th concubine, revived the once-interrupted Confucius Ceremony of the Southern Sect of Confucius, and first proposed the concept of "contemporary human sacrifice of Kong", which was another bold innovation of the Southern Sect of Kong. In the video materials preserved by the Quzhou Nankong Cultural Development Center, citizens and tourists can also see that under the planning and design of Kong Xiangkai, the Nankong Memorial ceremony has been simplified to four chapters: "Ceremony, Ceremony, Eulogy, and Ceremony". The piano was moved to the front of the Dacheng Hall of the Confucius Temple, the "Offering of Tai Prison" (pigs, cattle, sheep and three animals) was replaced by the "sacrifice of five grains", and the devotees wore contemporary formal clothes and bowed.
The festival of confucius that keeps pace with the times has won the recognition of more people. In 2011, the "Nankong Festival", which is positioned as "contemporary worship of Confucius", was included in the national intangible cultural heritage. There are also more and more foreign scholars who are willing to approach "Nankong" and share Confucianism.
Group photo of the staff after the 2020 Matsuri Festival
In 2018, Quzhou released the city brand of "Nankong Holy Land • Quzhou Youli", which attracted social attention. The Nankong culture handed down from the Southern Song Dynasty will also spread to the whole country and the world through the "Quzhou Youli", the International Chinese Teacher Training Base set up in Quzhou, and the Confucian Cultural Experience Center.
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