Text | Li Xia
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Jilin is a place with deep historical heritage and many cultural monuments, and these cultural monuments are more worth exploring. The first stop of "Jilin on Paper" in 2022, let's look for historical footprints and understand the Jilin Confucian Temple.
The Temple of Literature, also known as the Temple of Confucius, is a sacred place dedicated to confucius. However, in the Qing Dynasty, it was not easy to build a temple of literature in the northeast. According to the Jilin Tongzhi Scroll, in the second year of Yongzheng (1721), imperial court officials once went to the emperor and requested the construction of a temple in Jilin Province, but the Yongzheng Emperor opposed it.
The emperor said, "I, the Manchurians, etc., because we live in Han China, have no choice but to distance ourselves from this Study (Wubei), but the soldiers in Ula (Jilin) Ningguta and other places will not change the Manchurian Habit." As the birthplace of the Manchus, after the Qing Dynasty entered the Central Plains, it always regarded Jilin as a strategic place, implemented a policy of banning it, and emphasized "heavy martial arts and suppressing literature". It can be seen that the Qing Dynasty at that time was opposed to the construction of temples and learning in Jilin Province.
But with the passage of time, Manchu and Han cultures continued to blend. In 1736, the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty succeeded to the throne. As a relatively enlightened emperor, Qianlong knew that in order to strengthen the qing rule, it was necessary to promote the cultural integration of the "Manchu Han family". Therefore, the Qianlong Emperor issued an edict and ordered the construction of the first temple dedicated to Confucius in the northeast. It was from this year that the Jilin Confucian Temple began his centuries-old story of rise and fall.
The Yongji Prefecture Confucian Temple is located in the southeast corner of Jilin City, which is the first Confucian Temple built in Jilin and the predecessor of the Jilin Confucian Temple, which was completed in 1742 AD. After the completion of the Yongji Prefecture Confucian Temple, the establishment of schools became increasingly popular, paving a channel for Manchu children to study and seek their careers, so that Confucian culture could also spread in Jilin. In 1790, jilin city was again caught on fire, and in this fire, the Jilin Academy and the Yongji Prefecture Confucian Temple were all burned down, and they were later restored.
In 1906, the Guangxu Emperor made the sacrifice of the hole the highest sacrifice along with the sacrifice of heaven, earth and ancestors. The following year, Zhu Jiabao, the first inspector of Jilin Province, considered the original Temple of Literature to be rudimentary and insufficiently revered, and hired Shang Ying, a jiangsu instructor, to inspect the Temple of Literature in Guannei, and decided to expand the new temple outside donglai gate, which is today's "Jilin Temple of Literature".
In 1909, the new Jilin Confucian Temple covered an area of 16,354 square meters, with a length of 221 meters from north to south and 74 meters wide from east to west. Surrounded by red walls up to 3 meters high, three courtyards, there are 64 halls. Among them, the Dacheng Hall has a traditional architectural style, and is covered with rare yellow glazed tiles. The plaque of "Dacheng Hall" hangs high between the heavy eaves on the front, the front is Kowloon at the top, the back is nine phoenixes, and the nine step bucket arches are staggered. Inside the door, there is a morning bell in the east and a twilight drum in the west. In front of the door, there is a monument to the ten years of Tongzhi temple construction, flanked by the "Golden Sound" and "Yuzhen" side doors.
The statues of Confucius and the Twelve Philosophers in the hall have dignified expressions and gentle demeanors, and above the statues hang plaques of Qing Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong, Jiaqing, and Daoguang. There are 425 sacrificial vessels and musical instruments on display in the hall, and the east and west gables are painted with huge murals of 13 meters long and 7 meters wide, "Water Dragon Diagram" and "Fire Dragon Diagram". On both sides of the main entrance of the Temple of Literature are the East and West Gates, the East Gate hangs the "Depai Heaven and Earth", and the West Gate hangs the "Daoguan Ancient and Modern" plaque. The image of the sacred beast crouching at the top of each pillar is strange, forming a unique feature of the Jilin Confucian Temple.
Jilin Confucian Temple is the beginning of the Northeast literary vein, the source of the cultural context, together with the Qufu Confucius Temple, the Nanjing Confucius Temple, the Beijing Confucius Temple and known as the four major Chinese Confucian Temples. Here is an exhibition of Confucius's life deeds and a display of sacred stone carvings. In the southeast corner of the temple, the forest of steles contains 34 inscriptions of historical value in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Ming Dynasty.
If you are lucky enough to walk into the Jilin Confucian Temple on a snowy winter day, the red wall and yellow tiles are particularly dazzling in the white expanse of heaven and earth, although it is in the downtown, it is quiet alone. Pushing open the courtyard door, it is as if stepping into the historical corridor, every scene and every object attracts people to think quietly and savor.
Edit: Luo Chuan
Proofreader: Liang You
Audio Producer: Liu Xingda
Image: Li Xia
Data verification and correction: Zhenyu
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