Confucius Temple in Xifu, China
The Confucius Temple
The Confucius Temple, and merited the title of "The First Family in the World", the Residence of
the Confucius, also named "Residence of Lord Yansheng", is the house of Zhangzhi, a lineal descendant of
Confucius. The residence typically features the combined architecture of the official mansion and private
house of China's feudal society. After the death of Confucius, his descents lived in the temple and guarded the
relic.
At the end of the North Song Dynasty, the residence of his descendants had been expanded to large
residence with dozens of rooms. In Jin Dynasty, the descendants of Confucius had lived in the east of the
Confucius Temple. With the promotion of ranks in court and increase of stipends of his descents, the Residence
of the Confucius was renovated for many times and took shape early in the Song, Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Today the Residence of the Confucius covers and area of 7.4 ha. with 480 ancient rooms in nine compounds with
the middle, eastern and western paths as its layout.