Confucius Temple Nanjing - Intangible Cultural Heritage - Chinese Imperial Examinations: History, Culture, Customs.Qinhuai River, known as Huaishui River or Longcangpu in ancient times, rises from two places: Baohuashan Mountain in Jurong County and Donglushan Mountain in Lishui County. The two streams meet at the foot of Fangshan Mountain, Jiangning County, then winds its way of 110 km to Yangzi River. The river that flows through Nanjing measures 10 li (5 kn) and this part is called Inner Qinhuai River. The River has a long history. As early as in Neolithic Age, it nurtured the early settlers along the banks. Now the Inner Qinhuai has become the center of culture and economy of Nanjing.
This photographic article continues the story of my recent trip to Nanjing [3rd April 2008] and Ningbo (12th April). Links to other articles appear at the end of this article. A smaller version of this article with some different photographs can be found in my column at Magic City Morning Star News.
Confucius
551 B.C. to 479 B.C.
Born in Quyi - (QuFu) Shandong.
As I have written previously on Thursday April 3rd. 2008, I headed off to Nanjing to meet up with my former student and current friend Zhang Mingxing. I caught the super fast train from SuZhou to Nanjing, whilst Mingxing was flying in from Chengdu. He made it from the airport to the Train station around the same time that I arrived there, but we spent two hours wandering around looking for each other.
One small section of the Ancient City Wall Nanjing Zhongshan East Street
Anyway, when we did meet up, we took the Tourist No 1 bus from the Railway station out to Zhongshan Donglu (East zhongshan street) and got off at the stop in front of the remnants of the ancient City wall. Mingxing had chosen this point to head for, because it was central to everything that we wished to visit. Within a few minutes walk we discovered the Ming Palace Hotel at No.311 East Zhongshan Road. They served great meals in their restaurant.
One View from that section of the Wall
It was late in the day by the time we arrived, and so after settling in at the hotel, we went for a walk up to the city wall remnants and had a look see. That section of the wall is very short, unlike other parts of it around the city, but from it we had some spectacular views, which prompted us to take a walk along the lake.
Another View and a nice place to stroll
The following day, April 4th we travelled out to the Zhongshan Mountain National Park and spent the day looking over Sun Yatsen's mausoleum area and the Ming Tomb. That was a strenuous day. Had we had more time in Nanjing, we might even have taken the cableway up to the top of the mountain, from which, as some tourists report, one has really spectacular views.
On Saturday 5th, Mingxing took me off to find the Confucius Temple and from there we went on to the Nationalist Government's Presidential Palace complex within which you can find relics related to the Taiping Heavenly King.
What started out as a quick trip to the Confucius Temple actually ended up becoming quite an interesting series of visits to nearby sites. We started out by Catching the No 2 tourist bus to the 'Walking Steet' and this took us to a section of the Qinhuai river.
Archway opposite entrance to the Confucius Temple
Note the Dragon on the far wall across the Qinhuai River
Qinhuai River
Qinhuai River, known as Huaishui River or Longcangpu in ancient times, rises from two places: Baohuashan Mountain in Jurong County and Donglushan Mountain in Lishui County. The two streams meet at the foot of Fangshan Mountain, Jiangning County, then winds its way of 110 km to Yangzi River. The river that flows through Nanjing measures 10 li (5 kn) and this part is called Inner Qinhuai River. The River has a long history. As early as in Neolithic Age, it nurtured the early settlers along the banks. Now the Inner Qinhuai has become the center of culture and economy of Nanjing.
The Archway seen from a different perspective
The walking street riverfront area is really beautiful, and in the second part of this article I provide a panoramic series of photographs that allows you to get a reasonable impression of the area.
The ticket office is to left of photo - This is the Entrance
The Confucius Temple is located right on the walking street opposite the river, and it is not all that imposing when you first look at it. When you enter (through the ticket gate of course) you follow a path that leads to the Bronze statue (shown below), and along the path are a series of 'Book-like' Statues that recount details of some notable scholars.
Ming Shun (536 B.C. --?)
Styled as Zi Ye, Ming Shun lived in State Lu in the late Spring-Autumn Period. As a disciple of confucius, he was noted for his devoutness to his parents, love for his brothers and self-discipline. Ming Shun was reputed for his "Refusal to become an official and stand against embezzlement." was regarded as one of ten philosophers of four subjects under Confucius (the subject of morality).
Confucius Himself - so to Speak
Bronze Sculpture of Confucius
Named as Qiu and styled as Zhongni, Confucius was born in 551 B.C. in Quyi, State Lu (present-day Qufu, Shandong province) during the Spring-Autumn Period. He passed away at the age of 73 in 479 B.C. As the great thinker, educator and statesman in Chinese history, Confucius is reputed by people of following generations as one who integrated the ancient history and culture of Chinese nation. The bronze sculpture of Confucius, 4.18 meters high and 2,500 kilograms in weight, was carved my Mr. Wu Xianlin, cast by Nanjing Chenguang Machine-Building Factory and erected on January 8, 1993. It is the highest bronze sculpture of Confucius in China so far.
The complex itself is a series of buildings (as you will read below) - nothing spectacular except for the Shrine room itself, which contains a series of Wall mosaics carved in Stone, and a monstrous painting of Confucius.
The photo does not do justice to the effect
The clearest photo I could get through the glass case - Spectacular.
The Scholastic Palace
It was the reading place for students ready to attend imperial examinations in the old days. The scholastic palace was already built together with the Confucius Temple since people in ancient times were bant on following the doctrines of preceding sages. As the culture and educational center of Nanjing in ancient times, this scholastic palace was built before Confucius Temple came into being. As Taixue (imperial school) in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, it was built in the third year under Xiankang reign of emperor Chendi in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (337 A.D.) This scholastic palace is chiefly based on Mingde Hall and Zunjing Pavilion, with the temple in the front and the school in the rear. It was known as "Number One School in Southeastern China" thanks to its spectacular scale. The horizontal tablet above its gate, which reads "Number One School in Southeastern China", was inscribed by Qin Dashi, a Number-One Scholar of Nanjing in the Qing Dynasty.
This scholastic palace functioned as the National School for a time from the end of Yuan Dynasty to early Ming Dynasty. In the fourteenth year under the Hongwu reign of Ming Dynasy (1381), it was named Yintian School. In the late Qing Dynasty, imperial examinations gave way to school education. In 1906, the scholastic palace began to run Jiangnin Public School and Youyou Elementary School. In the first year of the Republic of China (1912), Li Ziying started to run Jiangnin Municipal 24th Elementary School. After 1927, Fuzimiao (Confucius Temple) Elementary School was established based on the merger of three schools. For over 1,000 years, the scholastic palace has brought up many talents, giving an impetus to the prosperity of culture and education in Nanjing.
It is difficult to take photographs through the glass (Especially since I had forgotten my glasses and couldn't see to stop the 'flash' going off on the camera.)
The Complex is actually a series of buildings, including one room with a lot of stuff in Chinese that is obviously about the history of China, but for the poor foreigner who can't read Chinese, looking at the pictures and displays is all one can do.
Now if you have never seen a bell this big, this will be a treat. If like me you have, (Yellow Crane Tower Wuhan) then it might supprise you to know that it only cost 1 yuan to ring it.
After exploring the "ins and outs" of the place we found ourselves in a music hall by what appeared to be an exit. They have live performances at certain times of the day. Since the next performance was not scheduled for an hour or so we exited the premises into a public courtyard/street that branched off in several directions.
Opposite the exit was another tourist attraction relating to Intangible Cultural Heritage. Despite our initial fear that it was a separate place with a separate fee, it is in fact included in the price of the ticket to the Confucius Temple.
Intangible Cultural Heritage - Nanjing
First Batch of National Intangible Cultural Heritage in Nanjing Spiritual Homeland of the Famous Historical and Cultural City.
The City of Nanjing had served as the capital city during six dynasties, and boasts of being a metropolis during ten dynasties over a history of nearly 2,500 years. During the long process of historical evolution, the people of Nanjing have created a huge cariety of invaluable cultural heritage, which had exerted fundamental influences upon history and culture. This uninterrupted historical and cultural river also contains profound and rare intangible cultural heritage. The Lantern Show by Qinhuai River, Nanjing Brocade (Yunjin), Nanjing Gold Foil, and Jinling Scripture Printing are the cultural heritages existing in an intangible form which had been approved to be among the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage by the State Council in May 2006. These four items of intangible cultural heritage showcase the ingenious creativity and excellent cultural tradition of the people of Nanjing, representing an important and integral part of Chinese traditional culture.
Of the variety of things to be found there, the thing that fascinated me the most was the silk weaving loom. Each silk thread passes through so many who-jao-wotsa-ma-call-its (to put it technically), that the process, dexterity and patience of the weavers boggles the mind.
This photograph below is basically of the back of the Intangible Heritage Building, which, itself is opposite the back exit of the Confucius Temple, which faces the river. At the particular time that we arrived at this spot, the area was swamped with kids attending some special 'English' Day, and once Mingxing made me aware of what it was and that there were staff and cameramen from CCTV 9 present, I hid my 'white face' and hightailed it out there.
When we left the complex and before heading off to the Presidential Palace we were just wandering around, when we stumbled upon a funny little place which turned out to be the remnants of the Yingtian Imperial Examination School. At one time, it contained 20,644 examination rooms.
To find out a little more about those examination rooms, and to see the series of photographs showing the area out front of the Confucius Temple, you will have to go to Part 2, which contains another 20 photographs.
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Designed by Lu Yanzhi, a famous architect, the construction of Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum began in March 1926 and ended in the spring of 1929. It is 700 meters from the Memorial Archway to the coffin chamber with 10 terraces and 392 steps between them, and the falling head reaches 70 meters. The main buildings of the mausoleum include the memorial archway, the mausoleum gate, the tablet pavilion, the sacrificial hall and the coffin chamber. On June 1, 1929, a grand burial ceremony was held at the mausoleum which is shaped like an alarm bell, symbolizing Dr. Sun Yat-sen's unyileding spirit in fighting to arouse people and salvage the nation. - In the center of this map with the blue roof is Sun Yatsen's Mausoleum. To the right is the Linggu Pagoda and to the left of the Sun Yatsen's Mausoleum is the Ming Tomb area. As you can see there are many other places to see. There is also Purple Mountain at the very top of the picture, access to which can be gained by a cable way
The Beamless Hall is the only survivor from the Ming Dynasty in Linggu Temple area. It was once called "Hall of Boundless Life" because it was built to worship the AMitabha Buddha, whose neame means "Boundless life". The brick-vault structure was built without a single piece of wood or beam, hence resulting in its current name. The KMT government had a cemetery built here for the KIAs in 1931, it was changed into a hall for public sacrifice.
Ancestral Halls were places where clansmen offered sacrifices to their ancestors and also great men of both ancient and more recent times. The building of memorial temples and ancestral halls was very popular during the Qing Dynasty. Various types of such temples and ancestral halls, such as the 'Zhaozhong' (loyal official), 'Xianliang' (wise man or sage) and Gongchen (meritorious personage) were built, during this period, in many parts of China including Beijing
During the Nationalist Government periods, Chiang Kai-shek, Lin Sen, Li Zongren and other leaders took a short rest in this building before ceremonies began. The Communists-Nationalists Negotiations were held here in 1946. In this building Li Zongren, the Acting President, received the Shanghai Peace Delegates who had returned from BeiPing on 27 February 1949.
Whilst it was obviously once a huge place, (judging by the 'model' on display), it wasn't quite as big as you might imagine a 20 thousand room place to be. The examination rooms were just meter wide boxes which contained a bed/desk to which the examinees were confined for the several days necessary to complete their exams. These rooms are set up as displays and each has a mannequin in it that depicts something of the trials and tribulations of the examinees, and includes one in which a 'snake' was attacking one person, and another in which the examinee is being burned by fire. So much for the good old days
Qinhuai River, known as Huaishui River or Longcangpu in ancient times, rises from two places: Baohuashan Mountain in Jurong County and Donglushan Mountain in Lishui County. The two streams meet at the foot of Fangshan Mountain, Jiangning County, then winds its way of 110 km to Yangzi River. The river that flows through Nanjing measures 10 li (5 kn) and this part is called Inner Qinhuai River. The River has a long history. As early as in Neolithic Age, it nurtured the early settlers along the banks. Now the Inner Qinhuai has become the center of culture and economy of Nanjing
The Taiping Army occupied Yong'an (now Mengshan County) in September and conferred the titles of the Eastern King. Westarn King. Soutnarn King. Northarn King, and Wing King upon Yang Xiuquan. Xiao Chaogui, Feng Yunshan, Wei Changhui and Shi Dakai, respectively. According to records of historical documents, the concubines of the Heavenly King were addressed Niangniang (Your Ladyship). Therefore their rooms were Called 'niangniang Palace". The room where the Heavenly King's second wife (Empress Lai) was called "You zheng Yue Palace".
Wengzhong Path, 250 meters long, constitutes the second section of the Sacred Way. This section is flanked by a pair of balusters, two pairs of generals and two pairs of civil officials. The balusters, with a cylinder crown at the top as well as cloud and dragon designs over the column, have changed the convention of topping the balusters along the sacred way with lotus-flower design since the Tang and Song Dynasties. It is of innovative significance in art. The statues of the generals and officials stand there with great dignity, guarding the tomb with their loyalty
Civil and Military Gate is the first gate to the graveyard of the Ming Tomb. In 1998, the Administration of Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum had its original appearance restored according to the burial system of the Ming Tomb of the Ming Dynasty. At the foot of the gate there is a "Special Notice" tablet inscribed in Japanese, German, Italian, English, French and Russian. It was jointly erected for the preservation of the Ming Tomb in the first year under the Xuantong Reign of the Qing Dynasty (AD 1909) by the taotai (head) of Liangjiang Westernization Buteau and the magistrate of Jiangning Prefecture.
Realising that this was a 'security' situation, I decided that it was probably unwise to stand around with my hands in my pockets, and deliberately removed them, keeping my hands in plain sight at all times. While quite conscious of the fact that the uniform police in every direction were discreetly keeping an eye on me, it nevertheless was a surprise when the Chinese Secret Serviceman confronted me, although from the man's first step in a 15 metre walk, I knew instinctively who he would be. He pulled out his credentials, and speaking in reasonably good English, informed me that he was a Policeman; advised me that he had been watching me for 20 minutes; and wanted to know what I was doing there
Summer Camp consisted of two different 12 day sessions, teaching each class once every two days. On the day of the 4th class during the first camp, I was advised that the parents had complained about my teaching. 'They think that what you teach is useless (like having the students stand and actually speak English), and that you should teach 'new words' (that they will never use if they don't actually speak), and that you should teach them about Australia".
The day I was due to Leave, Zhan Yan turned up at my house saying that his summer camp had been cancelled and none of his family were in town. So guess who came with me? There is no commentary apart from the fact that it costs 50 RMB for the entrance ticket
Really, we only went there to eat pizza at Carole's Restaurant, but noting a few changes in the area, decided to take a few new shots. From the vantage point on the upstairs balcony of the restaurant, I started off the process by taking photos of people in the street who kept pointing out the foreigner
In the temple, there are many places of cultural and historical interest. Tianwang (Heavenly Kings) Hall, Guanyin Hall, Wuyou Hall and the Arhat Hall are solemn in ancient style, Kuangyi Pavilion is charm and elegant. On Erya Terrace you can overlook the river, while in Tingtao Pavilion, you can enjoy the music of the current. If you want to see how the three rivers meet go to Jingyun Pavilion; to enjoy flowers, butterflies and singing birds, go to the Plum Garden. What is mostly worth mentioning is that it is the temple and the hill on which it stands that form the hesd of the Giant Sleeping Buddha.
Dopo 45 minuti di strade tutte uguali, siamo finiti nel bel mezzo della 'zona commerciale', dove il traffico si è fatto insostenibile e venivamo sorpassati da arzille nonnine con ceste piene di spesa. A piedi, ovviamente. Qui ho cambiato autobus, sempre seguendo le indicazioni del foglietto. Lungo la strada, sono stata messa in allarme da dei cartelli: Longmen caves: 11km. Longmen Caves: 13km. Longmen Caves: 15km. Avvicinandosi alla meta, i chilometri dovrebbero diminuire, non aumentare ¡ quando mi sono resa conto che stavo viaggiando nella direzione sbagliata avevo gia trascorso più di un'ora e mezza in autobus e mi trovavo ad oltre 15 chilometri dalle grotte. Ho fermato un taxi.
My 11.45 am flight left at 1pm. Knowing that this would happen, I had bought my international ticket from Beijing, and chanced travelling to Beijing the day before. That also meant that I would need accommodation on the 14th. After checking the Internet, I came across the Beijing Aulympic - Olympic - Hotel, located very close to the airport. The fees were very very very low and that suited me fine. I did not expect however, that the hotel would be as nice as it was
With the official greetings over, we were presented with a variety of performances from local artists and international guests, including an American man and his family. This family presented a narrative from a Gospel about the birth of Jesus, and then went on to present some musical renditions of Christmas Carols. Another foreigner, who performed a Chinese fan dance, was Helen, a Ukrainian with an American Accent. She is also an English teacher in Dong He District Baotou. We chatted for a little while at the end of the night. The other performances included an Arabian - Chinese dance performed by a group of girls balancing rice bowls while they gyrated around the place. They were all young and beautiful and adept in their craft
My 'less than trusting' Chinese friends (currently scattered far and wide throughout China), are not so excited. They tell me that not only are private schools well known for their abuse of and cheating both foreign and National teachers, but one should not trust a Chinese boss to keep his word. While in fact no one has actually informed me that I will be paid overtime, the provision is in my contract and I don't see how it can be 'forgotten'. I doubt that the franchisee could ever have become such an illustrious business woman (She has businesses in China and in Canada) had she not been an ethical manager
Queensland, the Sunshine State of Australia, Home of the Banana Benders, the Kingaroy Peanut (Sir Joh Bjelke-Peterson) and many many famous people including Sean Connery's former wife Dianne Cilento. Brisbane City Hall faces King George Square, and on the other side of the road is the Wesley Methodist church, and behind that a tall building that 30 years ago was the State Government Insurance Office (where I once worked). These two shots are significant, because in one of the Mission Impossible Movies, you see this church in the background of one scene, minus the tall building. Really scary scene. I thought the building must have been demolished. Nope! Still there!
Spanish Lighthouse at Corregidor Island had a signpost letting us know how far from home we were - The Centerpiece at the War Memorial for American Soldiers in Manilla - Corregidor Island Battery looking toward Batan - Military tanks at the Philippine Military Academy
Definition: King's Calendar Chronological Research
The Premise: Between the 5th and 3rd centuries BCE (but continuing down to at least 104 BCE), Sectarian redactors transcribed the legitimate 'solar year' chronological records of Israel and Judah, into an artificial form, with listed years as each comprised of 12 months of 4 weeks of 7 days, or 336 days per year, thus creating a 13th artificial year where 12 solar years existed.
When the Synchronous Chronological Data provided in the Books of Kings and Chronicles for the Divided Kingdom Period are measured in years of 336 days, the synchronisms actually align. [Refer to Appendix 5. to see how it synchronises the Divided Kingdom Period]
About the KingsCalendar Publisher
R.P.BenDedek is the owner and Editor of KingsCalendar.com which was originally set up to publicize his research results into the Chronology of Ancient Israel. Those results were published under the title: 'The King's Calendar: The Secret of Qumran'.
Whilst there have been many attempts to solve the chronological riddle of the Bible's synchronisms of reigns of the kings of Israel and Judah and their synchronism with other Ancient Near Eastern Nations, no other research is based on a simple mathematical formula which could, if it is incorrect, be disproved easily. To date, no one has been able to dismiss the mathematical results of this research.
Free to air Academic articles set forth Apologetics for and results of his discovery of an "artificial chronological scheme" running through the Bible, Josephus, the Damascus Documents of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Seder Olam Rabbah.
During the current economic downturn, this book has been drastically reduced in price but will eventually rise as the economy improves.
Check the Chapter Precis Page to see details of each chapter and to gain access to the Four Free to Air Chapters
R.P. BenDedek writes social commentaries and photographic 'Stories from China' both at KingsCalendar, and as a contributing columnist at Magic City Morning Star News in Maine USA.
(He has been teaching Conversational English in China since 2003 and currently (2013) is teaching in Suzhou City Jiangsu Province.)
Academic Newsletters
Newsletter No.3 Academic Opinion Versus Fact By R.P. BenDedek
Every time you see or hear an historian or archaeologist quote chronological material from the Bible, they are 'pulling your chain'. They manipulate your trust in the Bible and direct it toward 'themselves'. When we read that some expert says this or that, we are naturally inclined to accept that they know what they are talking about, but in reference to the two cases sited above, the 'fact' of the matter is, that neither religious nor secular academics have ever 'proved' their theories to be correct, and the 'fact' that these points in history are constantly being challenged, examined and argued over, demonstrates clearly enough, that the 'chronological' aspect at the very least, has not yet been satisfied beyond everyone's doubt
Newsletter No.2 Academic Opinion - Facts and Misdirection By R.P. BenDedek
Opinions, Assumptions and Presumptions are not facts in relation to evidence. Whilst the 'King's Calendar' is a 'theory', it is in fact 'a scientific theory' and can therefore be subjected to scientific testing, under which, should it fail, it would be proven beyond doubt to be false. Too often we just accept what 'The Professionals' tell us, without ever forcing them to make a clear distinction between 'proof' and 'opinion'
Newsletter No.1 Religious Compartmentalisation - Psychological Dysfunction By R.P. BenDedek
Many folk wonder why it is that their children have turned from their religious traditions to new or exotic forms of religious observance, and it is not at all unreasonable to suggest that this is because our materialistic, logical, and science driven society, has robbed us of the inner emotional stability which comes through 'trusting in a higher power'. What facinates me, is that many 'fundamentalists', while publicly preaching the Bible to be the Word of God, will, when confronted by the anomolous situation between the chronological facts of history and the chronological record of the Bible, maintain that biblical chronology is not important, saying "we don't feel that the historical information is important"
