Confucianism In-depth Experience
Confucius is the most important philosopher and teacher in Chinese history who lived in about 2500 years ago. His philosophy, which is known as Confucianism, has helped greatly build Chinese society, education system, government system, relationship between people and basic guidance on how to think about our world, also exerted a profound impact on the societies of Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, and inspired the European Enlightenment in 18th century. Where to pay your respect to the siege Confucius? It is definitely Qufu, the hometown of Confucius where you can visit the Temple of Confucius, the Cemetery of Confucius, and the Kong Family Mansion to know about the life story of Confucius and gain a deeper understanding about yourself as well as our world. Qufu is only about 1.5 hours’ driving from Mount Tai. Don’t miss out the chance to hike this most famous mountain in China.
Highlights of this tour
Welcome to Qufu, the hometown of Confucius! You will be greeted by local tour guide upon arriving at Railway Station, then transfer to your hotel by a private and comfortable vehicle. (Staying in guesthouses of traditional ancient Chinese building in the Ancient City or modern hotels outside the Ancient City depends on your own interest.) The rest of today is yours to get a rest or go outside for a leisure walking in the ancient town on your own.
Arrival Ideals: At present, travelers can get to Qufu by high speed trains from Beijing (about 3hrs), Shanghai (about 4hrs), Tianjin (2.5s), etc.
Today you are going to explore the life story of the great sage Confucius and his influential Confucianism in three sacred sites in Qufu – Confucius Temple, Kong Family Mansion and Confucius Cemetery.
The Confucius Temple is the largest and most influential temple of Confucius in East Asia. It was originally constructed on the former residence of Confucius in 478 BC, two years after Confucius’ death. Since the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC ~ 8 AD), successive emperors had been conferring posthumous titles on Confucius, and the scale of Confucius Temple had be expanded generation by generation. The history of the tradition of paying homage in the Confucius Temple can be traced back to 205 BC when the emperor Gao of West Han Dynasty offered sacrifices to memorize Confucius and blessed for good fortune for his empire. Since then, many emperors and high officials followed Gao’s example. In total, there were 12 emperors of different dynasties came to Qufu Confucius Temple personally to worship Confucius. Today, the Confucius Temple is not only a popular site to learn about Communism culture, but also an important site to hold many ceremonies, festival and events about Communism including the annual Qufu International Confucius Culture Festival held during September 26th and October 10th in Qufu City. Every day at 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., there are grand ceremony of city gate opening and closing at the South Gate of the Confucius Temple, with grand performances of ancient music and dance.
The Kong (Confucius’ family name) Family Mansion is located to the east of the Confucius Temple. It was the home to Holy Duke of Yen, the direct descendants of Confucius who were in charge of governing the Confucian sites and organizing elaborate ceremonies to worship Confucius. Since its establishment in northern Song Dynasty, the descendants of Confucius have lived, also worked in the mansion for over a thousand years. The Holy Duke of Yen is a marquis title which is hereditary. With the title, the dukes enjoyed many privileges, own judicial system and the right to tax in their domain.
The Confucius Cemetery is the private cemetery of Confucius, his more than 100,000 descendants and some of his disciples. The oldest graves can be traced back to Zhou Dynasty, and the most recent graves belong to the 78th generation of Kong family. They are the witnesser of the dominant position of Confucianism in the long feudal society of China. It has great value to the study of the evolution of China's tomb system and ancient politics, economy, culture, customs, calligraphy and art.
After the Confucian sites exploration, you will be provided a rare chance to experience the First Writing Ceremony, also known Enlightenment Ceremony, was a very important ceremony for every ancient Chinese student before they were admitted to school. During the ceremony, you will wear traditional costumes, get a red dot on your forehead (meaning opening the wisdom eye), toll the bronze bell and learn to write Chinese characters. There are some other authentic cultural activities which are interesting and helpful for you to strengthen your understanding about Confucianism. You can choose from making bamboo-slips book, archery, ancient lyre class, etc. Please tell your like to your travel consultants or guide.
After the full day tour, return to your hotel.
After breakfast, meet your guide and driver in your hotel and drive about 30 minutes to Mount Tai. Mount Tai (1524m) is the holiest of all mountains in China. Because of its history, majesty and stunning scenery, it was listed as World Cultural and Natural Heritage Site (the first one of its category) in 1987, and was announced to be a World Geopark later in 2006. Mount Tai has been a significant place of worship for over 3000 years. It was regarded by the ancients as the heaven of "direct access to the throne". From Shihuang Emperor of Qin Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, there were 13 emperors came to Mount Tai to offer sacrifices. The great sage Confucius once hiked the mountain and claimed “the world is small”.
You will arrive at the Tourist Center first, then shift on to a sightseeing bus (about 30mins) and head along a zigzag but stunning road to the halfway point of the Mount Tai – Zhongtianmen (Middle Heaven Gate 800m). The hiking trail starts from here to Nantianmen (South Heaven Gate), which is the most highlighting part of Mount Tai hiking with more than 6000 uprising steps The steep trails demand much energy and time. You can lower your pace with stops to visit the ancient temples, historical relics, spectacular pine trees and stone inscription of different times. Finally, you will get to Nantianmen (South Heaven Gate 1460m), which means you have already put your steps on the top of Mount Tai. It’s time to slow down your steps to explore the essence of Mount Tai. You can wander leisurely on the Heavenly Street, worship in the Jade Emperor Hall which has a centuries old altar used for worshiping ceremony, appreciate rock inscription of Chinese calligraphy, look out over the peaks, enjoy the sea of clouds, etc.
After about 2 hours’ exploration on Mount Tai, you will descend the mountain by a cable car. Take the sightseeing bus back to the tourist center. Your tour guide and driver will escort you to catch your train to next destination. Tour ends.
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Jinan / Mount Tai / Qufu
Jinan / Mount Tai / Qufu / Qingdao
Qingdao / Qufu / Mount Tai
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