Great Throne for the Great Teacher

The Da Cheng Palace is truly a magnificent place to honor the great sage Confucius. True to its name it looks much like a palace and what is a palace without a throne? At the center of the Da Cheng Palace, there is a throne where the statue of Confucius is seated. This is where people come to honor him. After all, he did give birth to a whole new way of live for the Chinese. Even emperors themselves would come here to worship him.

Throne Room of Confucius 孔子

Some of the emperors would always leave their mark here in the palace by having their handwriting posted near the throne declaring how great Confucius is. Interestingly, mistakes were intentionally made in some of these writing, in deference to Confucius. He is the great teacher after all, and the teacher will always be better than the student. It was quite dark in the hall and you can’t go in, so you can only see what is inside from afar.

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Da Cheng Palace 大成殿

Inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony 太和殿

Hall of Preserved Harmony 保和殿

Massive Da Cheng Palace 大成殿

The largest structure in the Confucius Temple is the huge Da Cheng Palace. This actually feels more like an imperial palace because of its size. This is where worshippers come to offer sacrifices to Confucius. It is probably this reason that the Confucius Temple is said to resemble an imperial palace. If you remember the entrance of the Confucius Temple grounds has a wall encircling it, it also has a small moat in between. Inside are numerous buildings dedicated to Confucius.

This is not the Forbidden Palace, this is the Da Cheng Palace in the Confucius Temple in Qufu

The present form of the Da Cheng Palace was done in the Ming Dynasty. Special kinds of rocks were specifically imported for this structure. Due to the importance of Confucius, emperors would also come here and offer sacrifices. It was so magnificent that some parts of the building needed to covered so as not to make the visiting emperors insecure.

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Inside the Da Cheng Palace 大成殿

Around the Confucius Temple 孔庙

Eastern Imperial Palace

Nine Turns Intestine 九转大肠

All the time my friend and I were exploring the Dai Temple, she was hurrying my along. It seems like she was in a hurry to get out of the Dai Temple, probably because she has been here too many times back then and she doesn’t find it interesting anymore. Actually, she was rushing because we will be heading for dinner soon. As it gets dark here this time of the year, we needed to find a place to eat before the restaurants close. If the one she had in mind closes for the day, she won’t know where to bring me for dinner.

Home Style Tofu 家常豆腐

It true, Tai’an is a much sleepier city than Beijing, and shops close here quite early. I was a bit surprised by this, since Tai’an is a major tourism city. Shopping malls have barely made an impact here either, so there is nothing much to do here after dark but sleep. The restaurant was about two blocks away from the norther gate of the Dai Temple on the way to Mount Tai. Fortunately, it was still open.

Delicious Chinese Cabbage Shandong Style

I left it to her to order what she thought would be nice. Shandong cuisine 鲁菜 is one of the major cuisines of China. I had a bit of introduction to Shandong food before but this would be my first time eating authentic ones. My impression of Shandong food was that it is supposed to be very salty. I wonder how it is here.

My friend ordered intestines which I had in Singapore before. It was chewy and surprisingly sweet. I always loved this kind of texture. The intestines seemed to be prepared nicely too so there wasn’t any smell to it. The other dishes were a cabbage dish and a tofu dish, which is just homestyle tofu. It was a very satisfying meal, made all the more so since my friend hardly ate! This was a surprise to me since she actually eats more than I do. I’m beginning to wonder who this lady is… Well, since we are all one in a million, this means there are a thousand more copies of my friend here in China!

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Lunch at Tai’an City 泰安

Lunch Again at Xidi 西递

Dinner at Shanghai Renjia 上海人家

The North Gate of the Dai Temple Complex

The Dai Temple is probably one of the oldest structures I have ever visited and reading up on its features and history can be quite informative. However, most of these buildings involve people I have never heard of. I have a bit of knowledge of ancient Chinese history, but some of these names I never heard of. As my friend said, I won’t be able to properly appreciate the Dai Temple since I don’t know much about the personalities involved here.

Walking Along the Walls of the Dai Temple Complex

That is very true, much of my trip here in China has been historical in nature. Usually involving personalities from the Ming and Qing dynasties. The people involves in the Dai Temple come from further back in time such as the Qin, Han and the Song dynasties. It might be better to first read up on the histories of this place before coming here. Even seemingly insignificant calligraphy around the complex were written by apparently important people who I, again, never heard of. Naturally, my friend didn’t really feel like talking much about what we were seeing.

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Zhengyang Gate 正阳门

Historical City of Qufu 曲阜

Dai Temple 岱庙

Inside the Bronze Pavillion 铜亭

One of the unique structures in the Dai Temple is the Bronze Pavillion. As the name implies, it is literally a pavillion made of bronze. The pavillion sits on top of a small elevation where you can see the surrounding area. The pavillion was cast in the the year 1615 in celebration of Emperor Wanli’s 45th year. It used to be in a temple on top of Mount Tai, but was later moved to another temple in Tai’an City and finally in 1972, moved to its present location here inside the Dai Temple.

A Pavillion Made of Bronze

It is a great example of skill in building such a thing all from bronze. It is said that the pavillion even had working windows and doors but they are nowhere to be found now. While walking here, my friend would reminisince how they would be playing in the Dai Temple, including the Bronze Pavillion when they were young. It is great to see still there after all the beating it has taken from the elements and kids.

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The Hall of the Five Hundred Arhats 五百罗汉堂

Kuiwen Pavillion 奎文阁

Thousand Buddha Pavillion 千佛阁

Door to the Eastern Imperial Palace

It has been said that the Dai Temple, although it primarily a temple, also has the features of a palace. Further inside the Dai Temple are some of these features. The Eastern Imperial Palace is so named because it was built for high ranking officials to rest whenever the visit the temple. It was constructed in the Yuan Dynasty around 800 years ago. In the Qing dynasty, it was expanded for the use of emperors and became the imperial palace for Qianlong whenever he visits, which was quite often.

Very Old Engraved Stone in the Easter Imperial Palace Courtyard

One of the most interesting things to see here is one the courtyard. It is an engraved stone from way back in the Qin Dynasty. That is around 2200 years ago! The stone is protected by a glass case but can be seen anytime. The engravings were a early form of Chinese writing and it is just amazing to see such a relic. One would really have to pay attention to all that is on display here in the Dai Temple, you might be surprised to learn something really interesting here.

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Da Cheng Palace 大成殿

Dai Temple 岱庙

Palace of Heavenly Purity 乾清宫

Stele on a Tortoise at the Dai Temple 岱庙

I wasn’t really expecting the Dai Temple to be this old. Most of the places I have visited in this trip come relatively recently as in the last 500 years. The Dai Temple, however, blows them all away. It is in amazingly good shape and highly accessible to visitors. The fact that it is not overrun by hordes of tourists is also amazing. A random walk through the Dai Temple complex reveals a trove of very old pieces of history.

Tang Pagoda Embracing Her Child

There were a number of stelae in the Dai Temple complex and most of them were mounted on a tortoise’s back. One significant stele is called the Dongyue Imperial stele, this is the earliest known stele dating back to the year 1013 AD. There were characters on the stele but it isn’t really very readable now. There were also rock formations given interesting names. Another was a cypress tree given the name Tang Pagoda Embraces Her Child. I don’t see the paogda nor the child, but it is always the casse with these types of places.

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Stele of Renovating the Dai Temple

Lingyin Temple 灵隐寺 Stele Pavillion

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Ancient Cypress of the Han Dynasty 汉柏

Probably one of the most fascinating features of the Dai Temple complex is some which is not even man made. In fact is it alive. The park in Dai Temple is littered with numerous cypresses, really old cypresses. One look at the these trees immediately convey a image of something old and something Chinese. These tree feature prominently in Chinese paintings and these trees here are particularly special.

Supporting the Ancient Cypress Trees

So just how ancient these cypress trees are? It is said that these trees were planted 2100 years ago during the Han dynasty. It is also said that the well known emperor of Han Wudi himself planted these trees. It is incredibly mind blowing how these trees are still here. Actually, one of the trees here is already dead because of fire. The others are still alive though. It is clear how ancient this place it and how much or even how little has changed since then.

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Ancient Cypresses at Ding Tomb

Cypress Trees in Confucius Temple 孔庙

Hall of Imperial Peace 钦安门

Chinese Characters on the Stele in Dai Temple

The Dai Temple complex is composed chiefly of the temple itself, however large parts of the Dai Temple are also park and open spaces. Some of these open spaces hold significant figures as well. Here, steles are displayed openly and on top of the backs of tortoise. One stele, was built for Renovating the Dai Temple, renovating almost a thousand years ago! Thinking of that was just mind boggling. The tortoise base was carved out of a rock weighing 20 tons.

Visitors Climbing the Tortoise Base

The stele has large Chinese characters on the behind it saying Wan Dai Zhan Yang 万代瞻仰 or “Ten Thousand Generations pay their Respects”. These characters are also the largest characters on any building in the Dai Temple. This won’t be the only time where Chinese calligraphy features prominently in the temple. In fact, there are other “graffiti” in different parts of the temple complex.

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Random Historical Relics at the Dai Temple 岱庙

Lingyin Temple 灵隐寺 Stele Pavillion

Confucius Steles

Imposing walls of the Zhengyang Gate 正阳门

Apparently, what we had just walked through was only the outside of the Dai Temple complex. For just across the Dai Temple Arch was a large gate reminiscent of the gates outside the Forbidden Palace. That is not coincidence since the Dai Temple was one of three buildings in China that have palace features. The Zhengyang Gate serves as the entrance to the Dai Temple inner courtyard. This is also where you have to pay up to continue on.

Beyond the Zhengyang Gate 正阳门

After my friend shelled out for our entrance fee of CNY 30 each (Thanks!), we continued on to the rest of the temple. While the temple was certainly very historical, I wasn’t particularly impressed with the look of the temple itself. Maybe it was a little too authentic, as what usually happens when a place is not a super major tourist attraction. The three storey high walls surround the Dai Temple look much like the walls of the Great Wall. This is a design feature found in the old Chinese architecture. I would just have to remember that this place is already more than two thousand years old, the fact that it still looks like this is impressive in itself.

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Finishing Up Dai Temple 岱庙

Dai Temple 岱庙

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