Beijing Diary: Confucius Temple and Imperial College

Biyong Hall, Imperial College
On the way back from Ditan Park on our tandem ride yesterday we visited the Confucius Temple and Imperial College. According to the People's Daily Online:

The Imperial College, "Guozijian" in Chinese, was built in early 14th century and served as the highest learning institution and educational administration during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties (1271-1911). The Confucian Temple, adjacent to the Imperial College, has served as a place to worship ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius(551BC-479BC) since its establishment in 1302.

This was in an article describing the extensive renovations being done at the sites, and indeed almost all of the Confucius Temple, and some of the Imperial College was half knocked down and inaccessible! But the large old Biyong Hall where important addresses were given and the decorative gate in the Imperial College were both impressive. In both places were many steles (or stelae) - 8 foot high stone tablets with Chinese characters carved onto them, either commemorating success of candidates in the important exams or acting as a permanent library of classic literature. Inspite of all the mess, I enjoyed visiting these places. "Temples" to learning seem more dignified than the frantic Buddhist temples we have visited - or maybe it was just the absence of crowds!