Snippets of Qufu.

Snippets of Qufu. Shandong Province, China.

July 2009.

Cover photo courtesy Vmenkov.

You don’t have to be an expert on philosophy to have heard of Confucius. I think most of us know that he was a Chinese philosopher revered for his teachings on ethics and self education. To be honest with you, I had never looked into the guy any further than that. At least not until I found myself visiting Qufu, the great man’s hometown, in the summer of 2009.

I’m not gonna pretend that I had a special urge to learn more about Confucius and his life. Rather, it was a case of taking advantage of the town being so close during my travels around Shandong Province. Indeed the journey from the city of Tai’an (where I’d been climbing China’s most sacred mountain), was only supposed to take two hours.

It took way longer than that, an unpleasant (albeit comical) experience that I have already detailed in my short story Take No Notice. On arrival I found Qufu to be a delightfully preserved walled city with low-rise wood and stone shopfronts showcasing traditional Chinese craftsmanship.

Photo courtesy of Gisling.

My Qufu lodgings were located inside the walled old town itself. In fact, Qufu International Youth Hostel was nothing short of a revelation;  a clean, cosy and characterful old joint renovated from an 18th century townhouse.

Snippets of Qufu.

My private room meanwhile looked out into to a large stone courtyard, the perfect place to enjoy some quiet moments with a pot of green tea.

Moreover, I’ll never forget the friendly, kind and hardworking girl who ran the hostel, virtually singlehanded. Thanks to her, I quickly figured out where all the Confucius sights were. And how to best enter the complex in addition to avoiding the many scam artists in the city. Wish I’d gotten a photo of her.

Similarly memorable, but not in a good way, was the Australian asshole who’d taken up a sort of unofficial residency in the hostel. Arrogant, self-centred and condescending, he was a self-proclaimed expert of Confucius, Chinese culture and… let’s just say… life in general. Again, I must refer you to my short story for the full details.

In any case the hostel was a wonderful haven away from the often manic buzz of its Confucius sights. Across the road there were stores, teahouses and a lovely little fruit and veg market. I frequented the latter on several occasions in order to grab a watermelon for breakfast.

Confucius (known as Kǒngzǐ in China), was born in Qufu in 551 BCE. Largely brought up by his mother (his father died when he was just three years old), he had a modest education before landing a string of administrative jobs across numerous government departments.

The Great Sage.

Later, he began teaching privately with courses focusing on his own concepts of self-growth and moral integrity. Yes, these ideas eventually became Confucianism.

With his reputation as an enlightened thinker mushrooming, Confucius went on to become the first teacher in China to advocate for mass education.

Furthermore, his views succeeded in influencing all levels of Chinese government. Instead of leading people exclusively by strictness and physical force, politicians began adopting an approach of moral example.

Confucius went on to become a writer, editor and compiler of numerous classic Chinese texts. Including, among others, the Five Classics (Book of Songs, Book of Documents, Book of Changes, Book of Rites, and the Spring and Autumn Annals).

There are countless Confucius sites scattered in and around Qufu. But with just a few days at my disposal I decided to concentrate on the big three, known as San Kong. Thus with a belly full of tea and watermelon I hailed a rickshaw and set off to see Qufu’s trio of UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Snippets of Qufu.

It was pandemonium as I arrived at San Kong. This was easily the most crowded place I’d seen during my travels so far, so much so that and it was hard work simply to reach the counter and buy a ticket.

After plenty of jostling I managed to get in and was soon making my way through the pretty wooded compound towards Temple of Confucius. With its stone pathway, towering cypress trees, bubbling stream and cobbled bridge, I was quickly charmed. 

Unfortunately, this peaceful interlude rapidly dissolved into Pandemonium Part II as I arrived at the temple itself. It was an incredibly distasteful scene, with selfish, aggressive, noisy tourists acting in a way that went completely against everything Confucius stood for.

They shrieked at their children and pushed and shoved each in order to get close to the various shrines. They littered, spat and shouted on their phones, it was a helluva scene to witness. 

Still, there was no denying the beauty and historic gravitas of the temple itself. Constructed just a year after Confucius’ death in 479, his closest disciples and followers oversaw the project, claiming this would forever be China’s premier site to honour and commemorate his legacy. And so it has remained.

Temple of Confucius.

Photo courtesy of Kanegen.

Happily, things proved far more manageable as I went deeper into the complex, exploring the Confucius Mansions. This is where Confucius’ direct descendants (The Kong Family) lived for centuries, managing the city’s many annual ceremonies and celebrations on behalf of various emperors.

The houses are beautifully preserved, a captivating warren of ceremonial halls, courtyards, gardens, private quarters, libraries and study rooms. 

Photo courtesy of Zhangzhugang.

Inside one of the halls, I came across an elderly gentleman and his art studio. Among the paintings and bric-a-brac sat a bunch of handmade fans. They were simple but elegant pieces and with a sudden rush of blood to the head I decided to purchase one.

To my delight, the old man proceeded to decorate my fan with a handwritten Confucius quote in black ink. He then asked for my name before dipping his calligrapher’s pen back into the pot.

And so he proceeded to apply the word Leighton across the breadth of the fan, in both English and Chinese. Finally, satisfied with his penmanship, he stamped the piece with his signature and handed it to me with a smile.

Next I took a walk through the pretty Confucius Forest towards the great man’s grave. Sadly this saw a return to tourist mania, with a steady stream of visitors making the journey with me.

Snippets of Qufu.

Confucius passed away of natural causes at the age of 72 or 73, historians reckon. His surprisingly modest headstone sits in the so-called Confucius Cemetery, a sprawling and somewhat wild site where apparently around one hundred thousand of his descendants have been laid to rest. His headstone’s inscription reads: The grave of the Sacred King of Culture. 

It would have been nice to linger and spend more time reflecting on the man’s life. But there were just too many people around. However, much to my delight, I subsequently discovered a discreet trail that went deeper into the forest.

Spontaneously following the path, it didn’t take long for me to leave everything and everyone behind. It was a wonderful bonus at the end of a really interesting albeit exhausting day.

I took another rickshaw back home that evening. The driver was a right character, infectiously cheerful and intent on chatting with me in Chinese despite the fact that I clearly didn’t understand a word of what he was saying. 

Outside the hostel, I stopped to watch a card game, something I was now getting used to in the various villages, towns and cities of Shandong Province. Soon it would be time to jump on a train that would take me to the city of Qingdao, my favourite location from those long ago Shandong travels.

Snippets of Qufu.

As I stood there watching the game, I had no idea of the ordeal that awaited me at Qufu Railway Station. To find out what went down, have a read of my short story Take No Notice. 

You can also leaf through my other location reports from around Shandong Province.

Like these? Then why not check out my zillion articles from across China.

And I’ve written a short story series called Challenged In China.

I’ve been living, working and traveling all over the world since 2001. So why not check out my huge library of travel reports from over 40 countries.