Shandong Qufu Yan Temple, China

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Yan Temple

The Yan Temple is located in the Louxiang Street in north of Qufu, Shandong Province, relative to the back garden of the Confucian Mansion separated with one street. It is a temple built to commemorate the first disciple of Confucius - Yan Hui.

Also called "the Fusheng Temple", the Yan Temple was built in Yuan Dynasty, occupying an area of 85 mu. There are 159 palaces, halls, pavilions and gate archways, rebuilt and repaired for several times in Ming and Qing Dynasty.

Now there are mainly the Fusheng Gate, the Yangsheng Gate, the Louxiang Well, the Happy Pavilion, the Fusheng Palace, tablets and so on constructions.

As you enter the Fusheng Gate, you will see the famous Loixiang Well. Out of the well there built an octagonal outdoor square pavilion, in north of the well there stands a stone tablet of "the Louxiang Well" set up in Ming Dynasty. It is standing to praise the simple virtue of Yan Hui.

The Fusheng Palace is the main construction of the Yan Temple about 16 meters high with green tiles and flying eaves, carved beams and painted rafters. Under the central eaves there are still four big pillars, carved dragon, phoenix, flower and bird on the pillar. In the palace a statue of Yan Hui is worshipped.

There are also more than 60 tablets in the Yan Temple. Among them, two tablets were set up in Yuan Dynasty carved "the new tablet of the sacred master of Yuan Dynasty" and "the tablet sealed the parents of Yan in Yuan Dynasty" both in Mongolian and Chinese.

There record the conditions of sealing Yan Hui and his parents at that time. The carvings and cultural relics in the Yan Temple are very precious and valuable to study Chinese ancient character and retrospect history.