park that started it all over
Confucius Temple (Fuzimiao) History
Confucius Temple was founded in 1034. In antiquity, the temple was a site where people could make sacrifices to Confucius (孔子, Kong Zi), arguably China’s most celebrated ideologist and educator. The temple also served as a marketplace for merchants as well as a center where culture and arts thrived.
In 1985, the municipal authorities decided to "renovate" Confucius Temple in order to keep up with the times. A series of tourist shops, snack bars, restaurants and hotels set up shop here with the goal of enabling Confucius Temple to better express a combination of traditional and modern beauty.
There are many places of historical interest within Confucius Temple, such as Jiangnan Gongyuan (江南贡院) and Wuyi Xiang (乌衣巷). Jiangnan Gongyuan was the largest imperial examination place in ancient China. Constructed during the Song dynasty, potential government officials were examined and selected here. Wuyi Xiang, or “Black Clothes Lane”, was named after the Wu soldiers, who wore black uniforms. During the Jin dynasty, Wuyi Xiang became the residence of Minister Wang Dao, followed by Minister Xie An, and finally a few of Nanjing’s noble families. During the Tang dynasty, a famous Chinese poet named Liu Yu Xi wrote a poem here: Gone are the swallows at Wang-Xie’s Mansion into the houses of the common.
