Kuiwen Pavilion

Confucius Temple (Kong Miao), Qufu

The Confucius Temple is located on the grounds of the Kong family estate. Due to the unique importance of Confucius (Kong Qiu, 551-479 BC) to Chinese history and culture, his memorial temple has grown, over the past 2,000 years, into a compound rivaled only by the Forbidden City in dignity and honor. See: Qufu, in Wikipedia, with a plan of the temple.

The building seen here is the Kuiwen Pavilion, a 7-bay library hall that was first built in 1018 (Song dynasty), rebuilt in 1191 (Jin dynasty), and rebuilt again in 1500 (Ming dynasty). In its present (Ming dynasty) form it is a 7-bay, three-storey hall with a surrounding porch, hidden mezzanine, and a double-eaved roof.