Huge Stele at the Confucius Temple 孔庙
It is the tradition of the Chinese to dedicate temples to very important people. Confucius was by far the largest beneficiary of this custom with his more than 2000 temple dedicated to him across the world. As it was seen in the Dai Temple 岱庙, steles are also dedicated to important and holy personalities. Confucius was one such personality who is also considered divine. The emperors of China have dedicated steles to Confucius over the centuries and they are all displayed here at the grounds of the Confucius Temple.
Pavillion Housing One of the Confucius Steles
Some of the steles are exposed while some of them were housed inside pavillions protecting them from the elements. However, this made it a little dark to see what was written on them. The steles were also quite tall such that it is almost impossible to see what is written on top without a ladder. There are numerous of these steles in the temple grounds and although some seem to be more important than the others, the more ignorant ones like me can go to the less popular ones.
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