Kong Family Mansion

The Kong Family Mansion was the historical residence of the direct descendants of Confucius in the City of Qufu, the hometown of Confucius in Shandong Province, China. The extant structures mainly date from the Ming and Qing dynasties. From the mansion, the family tended to the Confucian sites in Qufu and also governed the largest private rural estate in China. The Kong family was in charge of conducting elaborate religious ceremonies on occasions such as plantings, harvests, honoring the dead, and birthdays. Today, the mansion is a museum and part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Temple and Cemetery of Confucius and the Kong Family Mansion in Qufu".

History

The first mansion for the Kong family of the Duke Yansheng was built in 1038 during the Song Dynasty. In 1377, the mansion was relocated and rebuilt under orders of the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty. In 1503, during the reign of the Hongzhi Emperor, the complex was expanded into three rows of buildings with 560 rooms and - like the neighboring Confucius Temple - nine courtyards. During the Qing Dynasty, the mansion underwent a complete renovation in 1838 only to be damaged in a fire 48 years later that destroyed the women's quarters in 1886. Even during the fire, men did not dare to enter the women's part of the mansion to fight the fire, leading to greater damage to this portion of the mansion complex. The damaged portions of the mansion were rebuilt two years later, the cost of both these 19th-century renovations was covered by the emperor. Despite these later renovations, the Kong Family Mansion remains the best preserved Ming-era residential complex of its size. The last head of the Kong family to live in the mansion was Kong Decheng, the 77th generation descendant of Confucius. Kong Decheng fled to Chongqing because of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937. He did not return to Qufu but moved on to Taiwan during the Chinese Civil War.

  • 孔府
  • 孔府 Confucian Residence
  • 孔府后五间
  • 孔府 大堂 明 Main hall, Confucius Mansion (Ming dynasty)
  • Kong Family Mansion
  • Confucius Mansions - Front Gate
  • 山东 Shandong 曲阜 Qufu 孔府 Confucius Family Mansion
  • 山东 Shandong 曲阜 Qufu 孔府 Confucius Family Mansion
  • 山东 Shandong 曲阜 Qufu 孔府 Confucius Family Mansion

Country:
China
Rating:
10
Latitude:
35,5969579
Longitude:
116,9863486
Wikipedia:
Link

  • 10

    Cemetery of Confucius

    The Cemetery of Confucius is a cemetery of the Kong clan in Confucius' hometown Qufu in Shandong province. Confucius himself and some of his disciples are buried there, as well as many thousands of his descendants.

  • 10

    Temple of Confucius

    The Temple of Confucius in Qufu, Shandong Province, is the largest and most renowned temple of Confucius in East Asia.