Anshun Temple of Confucius

About This Attraction

The Anshun Confucian Temple was first built in the Ming Dynasty. After several generations of repairs and expansions, it has become complete. It was built on the gentle slope of "Kongming Hill" and the buildings were symmetrically arranged along the central axis according to regulations. The system is complete, the layout is rigorous, and the craftsmanship is exquisite. It still retains the historical original appearance of the Ming and Qing Confucian Temples and is the most exquisite Confucian Temple in China. The Confucian Temple has four entrances. Except for the fourth entrance which was destroyed, the other three entrances are well preserved. Because it was built on the mountain, the four entrances are also gradually elevated. There is a half-moon-shaped pool in a courtyard at the main gate, called Panchi. In ancient times, all scholars had to cross the stone bridge, which was called "Youpan". At the east and west ends of the courtyard, there are "Guixiang Pavilion" and "Zunjing Pavilion", which are the places where the names are announced during sacrifices. The third entrance is a quadrangle. Two stone dragons seem to have fallen from the sky, with their bodies appearing and disappearing from time to time, and their heads echoing each other from a distance, lifelike. The stone lions on the column bases are male and female, the male lion has a ball on his feet, and the female lion is nursing a cub. Together with the other two stone dragon pillars outside the Dacheng Gate, they are known as the "Four Great Stone Sculpture Treasures of the Confucian Temple". Anshun Confucian Temple is one of the earliest Confucian temples built in the ethnic minority areas of southwest China, and is a witness to the extension and development of Confucian culture from the Central Plains to the remote southwest regions of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.