Mount Ni () is a hill about to the southeast of the city of

Qufu Qufu ( ; ) is a city in southwestern Shandong province, East China. It is located about south of the provincial capital Jinan and northeast of the prefectural seat at Jining. Qufu has an area of 815 square kilometers, and a total population of ...

Extension Project of Temple and Cemetery of Confucius and the Kong Family Mansion in Qufu: Temple of Confucius at Nishan Mountain, Temple and Cemetery of Mencius and the Meng Family Mansion, Temple of Yanhui and Temple of Zeng Zi, Unesco World Heritage Tentative List
/ref> in Shandong

Province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

, China. The hill is culturally significant because it is traditionally regarded as the birthplace of

Confucius Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...

. It is also the site of a historical temple dedicated to

Shuliang He Kong He (), (622 BC–548 BC) also known as Shuliang He (), was a scholar and military officer of the State of Lu. He was the son of the Lu political figure Bo Xia and the father of Kong Pi and Confucius. History On the 69th day of the fourth l ...

, the father of Confucius, a Confucian academy (), and the Yusheng Memorial Temple ().

Background

According to the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

historian Sima Qian,

's parents-to-be,

and

Yan Zhengzai Yan Zhengzai (568 BC – 535 BC) was the third daughter of Yan Xiang and the mother of Confucius. Life Kong He's family Kong He, known as Shuliang He, married his first wife Lady Shi. She gave birth to nine daughters but no sons. Later, he m ...

, went to pray at Mount Ni and Yan Zhengzai gave birth to Confucius afterwards.Ann-ping Chin: "The Authentic Confucius: A Life of Thought and Politics", Simon and Schuster, 2007, pg. 25
/ref> The existence of the Temple of Kong He can be traced back to the times of the

Northern Wei dynasty Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei (), Tuoba Wei (), Yuan Wei () and Later Wei (), was founded by the Tuoba (Tabgach) clan of the Xianbei. The first of the Northern dynasties, it ruled northern China from 386 to 535 during t ...

(386–535 CE). However, the temple was abandoned and restored repeatedly during the

Later Tang Tang, known in historiography as the Later Tang, was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China and the second of the Five Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period in Chinese history. The first three of the Later Tang's four ...

Later Zhou Zhou, known as the Later Zhou (; ) in historiography, was a short-lived Chinese imperial dynasty and the last of the Five Dynasties that controlled most of northern China during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. Founded by Guo Wei ( ...

Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...

, Jin, and Yuan dynasties. A major reconstruction was undertaken during the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peo ...

(in 1417 during the reign of the

Yongle Emperor The Yongle Emperor (; pronounced ; 2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), personal name Zhu Di (), was the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 1424. Zhu Di was the fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dyn ...

). Further expansion of the temple followed during the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

. As a result, most of the extant structures of the temple date from either the Ming or the Qing era. The current architectural complex contains three sets of buildings, the Kong He Temple, the Confucian Academy, and the Yusheng Memorial Temple. The Kong He Temple consists of the following halls: the Dacheng Hall (literally "Hall of Great Achievement") dedicated to Confucius, a "Sleeping Palace" dedicated to his wife Qiguan, the Hall of Qi Shengwang and the Sleeping Palace of Qi Shengwang. The Yusheng Memorial Temple is dedicated to mountain spirit of Mount Ni. The Confucian academy contains a lecture hall as well as rooms that were used by the temple management staff. Other structures in the academy include the Erdai and Sandai Halls, the Liang Wu, the Lingxing Gate (), the Shen Bao, the Tudi Temple (dedicated to the local Earth Deity), and the Guan Chuan Pavilion. The entire complex on Mount Ni is walled in. Outside the eastern enclosure wall lies the Confucius Cave (). According to the legend, Confucius was abandoned by his mother in this cave after his birth because of his ugliness. The baby was then taken care of by a tiger and an eagle, which convinced his mother to take him back.Jun Jing: "The Temple of Memories: History, Power, and Morality in a Chinese Village", Stanford University Press, 1998
/ref>

References

{{commons category Qufu Confucian education Confucian temples Major National Historical and Cultural Sites in Shandong