Weekend Walk: The Confucian Temple and the Imperial Academy

Weekend Walk is your guide to getting away in the city using nothing but your own two feet.

While Yonghegong (Lama Temple) remains closed to the public, its less-visited but just as inteesting neighbor, The Confucian Temple, remains open to visitors with advance reservations via their official WeChat Account (Search for kongmiaoheguozijianbowuguan)

Initially built in 1302, the Confucian Temple is one of the few major sites in Beijing which dates back to the days of Mongolian rule and the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and served as both an academy and an important site for rituals venerating the Great Sage during the Ming and Qing eras. The complex is divided into two halves (both accessible with one ticket). The eastern section is the actual Temple to Confucius. The courtyard to the west is the former location of the 国子监 Guozijian (Imperial Academy), where scholars sweated over their studies in the hope of passing the final round of imperial examinations that could grant them a place in the emperor’s bureaucracy. 

The entrance to the Confucian Temple and the Imperial Academy lies on Guozijian, a hutong which bears the Chinese name of the academy. Visitors approaching the entrance gate from either east or west will encounter one of the “Dismount Stones.” These steles, which date from the Qing era (1644-1912), are multi-lingual reminders that visitors on horseback should continue on foot out of respect. 

The first courtyard features a much-photographed statue of the Great Sage. Confucius (the name comes from a Latinized version of his formal Chinese/Hip-Hop name 孔夫子 "Kong-Fu-Zi" or “Grand Master Kong") lived from 551-479 BCE. During his lifetime, he was an unemployed political consultant who, like many later unemployed political consultants, made his living through part-time gigs and adjunct teaching appointments.

He was popular with his students, and they recorded his sayings in a work known as the 论语 Lunyu, often translated as “The Analects.” Confucius was just one of many traveling scholars, sages, philosophers, and advisors in an era of war and chaos, but his ideas and teachings became part of the state orthodoxy in the Han Dynasty (over two centuries after his death), and over time became an integral part of Chinese culture until, finally, Chow Yun-Fat played him in a movie. 

Arrayed on either side of Confucius are tablets with the names of successful exam candidates from the Yuan, Ming, and Qing eras. Think of these like college yearbooks carved into stone. If you happen to have a favorite Qing dynasty official (I’m personally a Zeng Guofan-stan), there are signs in Chinese to help you find their name. It’s like a less-creepy version of “Find a Grave.” 

The gate behind Confucius is the Gate of Great Accomplishment, complete with a set of engraved replica stone drums. These replaced a much older set that had graced the Confucian temples of earlier dynasties but subsequently lost.  

The central courtyard of the Confucian Temple is an excellent place to spend some time. The ancient trees (including one which is the Chinese philosophy analog to Harry Potter’s Whomping Willow) provide shade in the summer and are festooned with wisteria in the spring. The Hall of Great Accomplishment, the main structure in the temple complex, resembles a scaled-up lineage hall, complete with ancestral tablets (in this case representing Confucius, his disciples, and other great Confucian scholars). Above the sacrificial implements are placards with four-character platitudes from each of the Qing emperors. The one which currently hangs in the center is not the work of an emperor but of Li Yuanhong (1864-1928), who served as President of the Republic of China from 1916-1917 and again from 1922-1923. 

Exiting the Hall of Great Accomplishment, go around to the left of the hall and find a gate that leads to the back corridor (There’s a restroom here, too, just in case). This corridor leads to the Imperial Academy/Guozijian via the Hall of Stele.

This enclosed exhibition protects 189 stone steles carved between 1726 and 1737 on the orders of the Qianlong Emperor. On the surface of the stele are engraved the Thirteen Classics, part of the core curriculum for scholars preparing to take the exams.

Several of the stele show signs of damage. The Confucian Temple and the Imperial Academy were frequent targets for the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution and some particularly nasty "struggle sessions" occurred here. From the southern end of the Hall of Stele, turn right through the parking lot to the main gate of the Imperial Academy. 

The restored glazed archway was first constructed in 1783 and bears inscriptions and exhortations to learn from the content-prolific Qianlong Emperor. The Qianlong Emperor is also responsible for ordering the construction of the Biyong Pavilion, a stunning restored structure with a square foundation set in the middle of a round pool.

Biyong Pavilion replaced the older Yilun Hall, located toward the back of the courtyard, as the main lecture hall. Theoretically, the emperors would come here at different times of the year to impart a little wisdom to the next generation of bureaucrats while burnishing their own intellectual pretensions. 

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The pavilions on the sides of the courtyard once housed the collection of the Capital Museum. The museum relocated to Muxidi in 2006, and now the side halls feature exhibitions on academia and the examination system in imperial China. Much of the material is in Chinese, although contemporary teachers might enjoy the exhibit devoted to the various ways students managed to cheat on the exams. Some things never change.

Before leaving, perhaps spend some extra time with the sage or bring something to read and sit under the shade trees and contemplate life as a scholar in old Beijing. The Confucian Temple is not only one of Beijing's oldest historic sites but (on the right day) is one of the more tranquil places inside the city center to enjoy the vibes of old China.

About the Author

Jeremiah Jenne earned his Ph.D. in Chinese history from the University of California, Davis, and taught Late Imperial and Modern China for over 15 years. He has lived in Beijing for nearly two decades and is the proprietor of Beijing by Foot, organizing history education programs and walking tours of the city including deeper dives into the route and sites described here.

READ: Weekend Walk: Literary Strolls Through Old Peking

Images: zhang kaiyv (via Pexels), Jeremiah Jenne, Wikipedia