Qūfù

Qufu was the capital of the ancient state of Lu and the home of Confucius. His temple grew from a modest shrine into a vast complex of halls and courtyards, a centre of ceremonies honouring the sage. Beside it stands the residence of his descendants, the hereditary Dukes Yansheng, whose family maintained the ancestral rites.

The temple suffered a devastating fire after a lightning strike in 1499. The Ming emperor ordered its reconstruction, a five-year undertaking that established much of its later scale. Lightning and fire struck again in 1724; the Qing court summoned officials from twelve jurisdictions to supervise another rebuilding, which took six years. The Kong family residence was likewise rebuilt and enlarged with official support during the Ming.