Located on Guozijian Street inside Anding Gate, the Temple of Confucius in Beijing is the place where people paid homage to Confucius during
the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Now the temple houses the Beijing Capital Museum.

The Temple of Confucius was initially built in 1302 and additions were make during the Ming and
Qing Dynasties. It has a total area of 22,000 square meters. It is the second largest temple
constructed for Confucius, the greatest thinker and educationalist in ancient China, ranking only
behind the Temple of Confucius in Qufu, Shandong Province.

There are three courtyards located along the north-south central axis. The main buildings on the
central axis are: Xianshi Gate (The Gate of the Sage), Dacheng Gate (The Gate of Great
Achievement), the Hall of Dacheng (Hall of Great Achievements) and the Hall of Chongsheng
(Worship Hall). Dacheng Hall is the main building in the temple, it is the place where the sacred
tablet of Confucius is kept inside and also the place for the emperors to offer homage during
sacrificial rites in honor of Confucius.

The Confucius Temple contains 198 stone tables inscribed with the names of those individuals who passed the test to become a Jin Shi during
the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties, 51,624 names in all. “Jin Shi” is the honorable title given to a successful candidate in the highest imperial
examination. And also have 14 stone stele pavilion of the Ming and Qing Dynasties hold the precious historical information of ancient China.

In the temple, you can also find remarkable pictures like two flying dragons playing a pearl among
clouds, which are believed to be used only in the imperial palaces because dragon stands for
emperor in ancient China. From those, it is easy to imagine the importance of the Confucius Temple
in the feudal society of China.

There are more than 100 ancient trees in the Confucius Temple that are well known in Beijing for
their long history. Among these ancient trees, “Chu Jian Cypress” is the most famous one. Its name
is associated with an ancient legend. During the Ming Dynasty, one day the superior official-Yan Song
came to worship Confucius on behalf of the emperor. When he was passing by the cypress, one of
the branches of the tree took his hat off. Since Yan Song was a treacherous official, people have
thought the old tree could distinguish between good and evil people.