The Wisdom of Confucius - 6 books in One Edition. Confucius
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and perhaps TO,OOO scattered about elsewhere, chiefly in the province of Cheh Kiang, south of the Great River, whither during a period of schism the chief representative once migrated : the Golden Tartars appointed a northern duke of their own, but the Mongols put an end to this duality.
The ducal palace, which Mr. Markham states is actually on the site of Confucius’ house, is on the east side of the temple, of which the duke is always ex officio guardian : it and the palace together cover about 55 acres of magnificently wooded grounds. The temple is open to the public, except on the anniversaries of ducal deaths, which are locally observed as dies nefasti. A public thoroughfare divides the temple into northern and southern halves, most of the objects of interest being in the northern division. The palace has its own separate enclosure of high walls, and in accordance with Chinese custom is divided into courts or squares. The duke, who was surrounded by a staff of tall and exceedingly well-clad retainers, admitted Mr. Markham through the grand central gate, and in company with his guardian, lay steward, and relatives stood awaiting him in the third court : this is the way foreign officials are commonly received by Chinese mandarins ; but at one time it was difficult to make the higher ranks of them open the central gate. The dukes have estates in several of the prefectures of Shan Tung province, amounting in all to about 60,000 English acres. Besides this landed wealth, they receive a large pension from the government.
The grounds of the temple alone cover 35 acres, and are remarkable for their splendid avenues of cedar, fir, cypress, and yew trees. The southern half consists of parks or gardens, and contains many pavilions, tablets, bridges, etc. ; it has four gates. The main temple, in the northern division, is somewhat inconsistently stated by Mr. Markham to be built upon the spot where Confucius actually lived, and is composed of twelve squares, each shut off by its own massive gate and containing its own hall. The grand hall is in the third court, and stands behind a gorgeous red-roofed pavilion, open at the four sides, called the ” Apricot Altar,” in commemoration of a place where Confucius used to teach : twelve stone steps lead up to the platform upon which the hall is built, which measures about 100 feet deep by 150 broad, and which surrounds the hall like a verandah, leaving a margin on each side under the eaves of 15 feet : the verandah itself is surrounded by a beautifully carved railing. Eighteen white monolith marble pillars, deeply carved with dragons, twenty-five feet high, and each three feet in diameter, support the front of the great hall, which is also surrounded by a deep verandah. The total height from the ground is as nearly as possible 80 feet. Eighteen alternately black and white marble pillars support the after part, and eighteen variegated black and white marble pillars, nine on each side, make up the circuit. The hall is divided into nine compartments. The roof is of green and yellow-glazed porcelain tiles, green being used in Peking for the palaces of princes, and yellow for that of the Emperor : in the case of Confucius’ temple the green predominates, although on several occasions imperial honours have been for a short period conferred upon the sage by over-enthusiastic emperors : the eaves are beautifully carved and painted, being protected by wire netting from birds ; but by ancient custom the enormous number of bats which congregate in the roofs are left undisturbed. The roof is supported inside by twenty uncarved pillars of teak, each four feet in diameter, and thickly painted a bright vermilion colour. The ceiling is panelled in 400 squares, gilded and ornamented with dragons. Innumerable wooden tablets in honour of the sage adorn the roof. On a raised throne, enclosed by richly-embroidered yellow satin curtains, facing the spacious door, sits the enormous effigy of Confucius, over fifteen feet high, holding a bamboo scroll in his hand ; for in his time paper had not yet been invented. On the table in front of the image are placed some of the gifts made by Emperors of successive dynasties, together with relics of the Sage. Several of the bronzes and clay dishes are over a thousand, indeed over two thousand years old ; and many of the urns, enamels, and tripods are exceedingly fine. The rose-wood table actually used by Confucius is amongst the relics, together with two bronze elephants of the royal dynasty under which his ducal master nominally ruled. I must mention here that images are as foreign to true Confucianism as they are to Muhammadanism, and the interior ought in strict right to be as simple as that of a mosque ; the chief Arabic inscription, in fact, occupying much the same place that the ancient Chinese name tablet does. The introduction of images into Confucian temples is a Buddhistic innovation, and simply marks one of the numerous compromises between the two cults ; but it is not permitted to place images of the Sage in Buddhist or Taoist temples : in the case of Confucius the regulation tablet is placed above the image, and is marked ” the resting-place of the Holy Sage Confucius’ spirit.” Most of the carved black marble slabs which panel the hall are in imitation of the Buddhist style, and represent scenes in the philosopher’s career. One of the slabs, however, contains a portrait said to have been taken during Confucius’ life, but it is now very indistinct. In this same hall are statues of Confucius’ son, grandson, twelve favourite disciples, and Mencius ; and at each of the two sides of it, in the courtyard, are rooms, seventy-two in all, in honour of each disciple. Each of these persons has -a history, some Emperors adding to, others reducing, the numbers of those qualified to share in the worship rendered to Confucius, or to his system of philosophy.
The other halls in the temple precincts are in honour of Confucius’ father, of whom there is an image ; his mother and wife, to whose memory there are tablets ; his son and grandson ; Mencius ; and the four leading disciples, all with tablets only, in orthodox style. The remains of an old cypress or juniper-tree, planted by Confucius himself, are shown; also the well out of which he drank, and a very much worn slab of black marble giving a genealogical tree for the 77 generations. The temple was built over a thousand years ago, but has of course been frequently repaired, the last time according to Mr. Markham in 1864, or since that date. However, I have in my possession an official letter from the Governor of Shan Tung to the Emperor, stating that it had been repaired in 1869, the very year of Mr. Markham’s visit. About ten years ago part of the palace was burnt down, but the officials and gentry of China soon subscribed a sum to rebuild it. In the correspondence upon the subject it is stated that the buildings destroyed were built about 1550, and repaired about 1840.
I have tried rny best to give an intelligible description of the great Confucian temple. For the information of those who have been in China, I may add that it is like any other large temple, especially like those of the Ming Dynasty Tombs near Peking, but on a vaster and more magnificent scale. There is almost no architectural variety in China. There are innumerable other antiquities and objects of historical interest, not only within the precincts of the temple and palace, in the city, and in the immediate neighbourhood, but in neighbouring cities, and all over the province, which of all Chinese provinces, is perhaps archseologically the most interesting ; but I have only undertaken to write ^a paper upon Confucius, and space compels me to narrow and confine myself to that one subject.
There still remains the cemetery, which is on the banks of the River Sz, a good mile to the north of the city, from the gate of which runs for 2,600 yards a noble avenue of two thousand old cypress or cedar and yew-trees, planted at intervals, about 500 years ago, by the Ming dynasty. Of course these trees are emblematic of immortality or imperishability. The road is beautified by numerous bridges and honorary portals, more, however, for ornament than to serve any useful purpose. Half-way up the avenue are two handsome pavilions, erected 300 years ago by the last Chinese dynasty. The cemetery, described 1,000 years ago as lying between the Rivers Sz and Chu, J-of a mile from the older city, is a densely-wooded enclosure of 50 acres, surrounded by high walls : the only gate is on the south side. A writer of the 5th century gives the then area as 1 6 English acres. For some unexplained reason the avenue of pines which runs north towards the tomb does not run directly from the gate, but turns round at a point a hundred yards or so from the gate to the west. This second avenue is lined on each side by stone figures of lions, elephants, leopards, unicorns, camels, and two human figures. At the north end of the pine-tree avenue the road turns west, and the second avenue begins where the road divides, at a small historical stream called the Chu, or Red River, into two bridges. Ordinary visitors are directed to dismount here, as they would do in approaching an imperial edifice. The easternmost bridge leads to the modern cemetery, in which each member of the six or seven thousand existing Confucian families has a right to be buried. The heads of the clan alone have mounds and stone figures : the others mere slabs. The western bridge leads to a large hall, without image or tablet, in which the family offer sacrifices twice a year, and the back door of which faces the tomb.