The Confucius Temple

The Confucius Temple is also known as Fuzimiao in Chinese. The temple was constructed in order to worship a man named Confucius, one of ancient great minds of China's Spring and Autumn Period (771-476 B.C.) who is remembered and revered for his social philosophy. The Confucius Temple was initially built in the year 1034 A.D. during the middle of the Song Dynasty (960-1279).  Experiencing various degrees of destruction through the ages, the temple has undergone a series of renovations in order to maintain its ancient structure. In the present day, the temple grounds include the Xue Gong (Imperial Academy) and Jiangnan Gongyuan (the original center where the imperial examination was administered) in addition to the actual Confucius Temple in which the entire complex is now named after. The complex is still called the Confucius Temple out of habit by locals and visitors. The area around this Temple consists of a series of snack bars which are necessary parts of food culture in Nanjing. The visiting time is suggested to be 1-2 hours.