Confucius Mansion


The Confucius' Mansion is located in Qufu, Shandong Province, its west is connected with the Confucian
Temple.

The Confucius' Mansion is also called "Yansheng Master Mansion". It is the living place of closely related
descendants generation after generation. It is the largest popular mansion next to the imperial palaces of
Ming and Qing Dynasty in China. No matter the construction layout or the collection of cultural relics all
claim "the first mansion in the world".

Built on an area of 160,000 square meters, the mansion has nine courtyards with 463 rooms along the
east, west and middle routes. The houses along the middle route are the main part of the mansion. The
first four yards contain offices and the other five serve as residences. At the rear is a garden. The mansion stores more than 9,000 volumes of files
from 1534 (the 13th year of the reign of Ming Emperor Jiaqing) to 1948 and great quantities of rare and precious cultural and historical relics.

Though less splendid than the Forbidden City, the Mansion boasts luxury furnishings, exquisite decorations, and precious cultural relics. These
relics, some given by emperors, some presented by high ranking officials and celebrities, and some purchased at a high price, are the most
valuable resource for research on ancient Chinese history and culture.

The Confucian Mansion treasures up many books and documents from the 13thyear (1534) of the
Jiaqing reign of the Qing Dynasty to 1948. From 1949 to today, over 9000 volumes (over 300,000 pieces)
have been arranged. These files reflect the political, economic and cultural condition of Ming, Qing
dynasties and the Republic of China from different angles. Therefore, they are important materials for the
research into China's feudal system in the later period. Moreover, in the Confucian Mansion there are
over 10,000 jewelries and clothes bestowed by emperors of Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. Among
them one crown of the Yuan Dynasty is especially precious because it is the only one in China today.

The Kong Family Mansion is the largest of its kind in Chinese history. In 1994, the Mansion, the Cemetery
of Confucius and the Temple of Confucius were listed as World Cultural Heritage buildings.