Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
At the end of the street is the pretty and newly renovated Taoist
Baiyunguan
Temple
(daily 9am-5pm; ¥5). Worshippers light incense and burn “silver
ingots” made of paper in the central courtyard - some burn paper cars and
houses too. Taoist priests wander around in yellow robes with their long hair
tied in a bun, well aware of those tourists who lurk hoping to snap that killer
photo - monk on a mobile. In the main hall there's a huge effigy of the Jade
Emperor looking judgmental. Taoism is the most esoteric of China's three big
religions, and there are some weird figures of Taoist Immortals on display at the
side of the hall - look for the fellow with arms coming out of his eyes.
Just next door, the
Dajing Pavilion
is a new structure built over the last
surviving slice of a Ming dynasty wall. Brick markings on the wall bear the
names of the two Emperors, Tongzhi and Xianfeng, who commissioned it as
protection against Japanese pirates. The pavilion today contains a rather thread-
bare exhibition on the history of the Old City.
Confucius Temple
Sunk deep into the southwestern corner of the Old City on Wenmiao Lu is
the
Confucius Temple
(daily 9am-5pm; ¥10). Confucius was a philosopher
who, around 500BC, lectured on ethics and statecraft, emphasizing the impor-
tance of study and obedience. He was deified after his death and his theories
provided the ideological underpinnings to the feudal Chinese state. Though
Confucianism is no longer an active religion, its ideological influence on
Chinese culture is obvious in the general Chinese respect for education and
patriarchal authority.
Like most such temples across China, the Confucius Temple has become a
park and museum. Shanghai has had a temple dedicated to Confucius since the
Yuan dynasty but most of the present buildings date back to 1855, when the
Small Swords Society (see p.177) made the temple a base. The only original
Yuan building left is the elegant three-storey
Kuixing Pavilion
, near the
entrance, which is dedicated to the god of artistic and intellectual endeavour.
An appealing atmosphere of scholarly introspection infuses the complex -
students wishing for good exam results tie red ribbons to the branches of the
pine trees, and there's a
statue
of Confucius himself looking professorial
(though it's not the recently approved “official” likeness).
In the
study hall
is an exhibition of teapots, more interesting than it sounds
as some display a great deal of effort and ingenuity. One, appropriately for the
venue, is in the shape of a scholar, with the spout being his book, while another
is nearly a metre high - it must have been hell to pour.
The temple is never busy except on Sundays, when there is a secondhand book
fair in the main courtyard. Outside, vendors sell kitschy plastic and street food.
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