Impressions from the Southern Capital 南京: A Visit to the Confucius Temple

Brad and I have spent our first couple of weeks in China focused on the basics -- food, shelter and communication. Not a whole lot of sightseeing. So we jumped at the chance to go with our housing host, Helen, on a trip to the Confucius Temple in Nanjing. She wanted to share a little of her city with us -- another example of the generosity we have experienced. It was her day off, and she chose to spend it with us.

My knowledge of Confucius is pretty thin, other than knowing he was a Chinese philosopher. But a little research revealed him to be much, much more. He lived in 551–479 BC, and was the father of a philosophy that emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice and sincerity. He wasn't interested in ruling, and recommended family as a basis for ideal government.

The Confucius Temple in Nanjing was originally built in 1034 AD, long after Confucius died. It was built as a sanctuary, where followers could study and learn Confucius' philosophy. Confuscianism is not a religion in the traditional sense, but it does teach about an afterlife and about Heaven. And Confucius championed strong family loyalty, ancestor worship, and respect of elders by their children.

So does any of this have anything to do what is located in Nanjing today? The temple suffered repeated damage over the centuries and was burned almost to the ground during World War 2. In 1984, with local government support, the temple was rebuilt in much the same style of the early temple. It is a huge complex right in the middle of the city on the Qin Huai River. A portion of the complex is dedicated to study, but the majority of the area is a tourist center, with lots of shops, boat rides, and restaurants. We seemed to be the only westerners in the crowd of primarily Chinese tourists. This was one of many moments since we arrived in China that I wished I understood Mandarin. I was very curious to know what the tour guides saying. Confucianism is somewhat controversial--not as controversial as it was during Mao's time--but I was definitely curious how the philosophy is explained today. Back to the Chinese lessons!