Jian'ou Confucian Temple

Jian'ou Confucian Temple, originally the Jianning Prefecture School Temple, occupies a walled courtyard on Cangchang Road. Its central axis runs from a screen wall through the Lingxing Gate, Pan Pond, and Jimen to the Dacheng Hall, which is five bays wide and four deep under a double-eaved gable roof, flanked by two side halls.

The temple's origins are unknown but trace to the Northern Song Baoyuan era, when the prefectural school and temple stood separate. Destroyed by war in 1127, it was rebuilt in 1132 with school and temple combined. After floods and fires, it was moved to its present site in 1405; the current buildings date from 1869–1879, and repairs began in 1985.

The temple houses the Jian'ou City Museum, and its name recalls the Jianning Prefecture school that once shared the site. Look for the Ming Jiajing-era stone stele reproducing a portrait of Confucius painted by the Tang master Wu Daozi, carved after a copy by Fu Jian of Huangyan, Zhejiang.

The temple stands at No. 163 Cangchang Road and now serves as the Jian'ou City Museum. Enter from Cangchang Road and follow the central axis in order: screen wall, Lingxing Gate, Pan Pond, Jimen, then Dacheng Hall, with the two side halls framing the courtyard. The west-side school compound was demolished for a hospital, so the temple occupies the eastern part of the former complex.

The temple holds a Ming Jiajing-era stone stele reproducing a portrait of Confucius painted by the Tang artist Wu Daozi, copied by Fu Jian of Huangyan, Zhejiang. A stele bearing an inscription by the Kangxi Emperor is kept alongside it.