Temple and Cemetery of Confucius and the Kong Family Mansion in Qufu

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Confucius' hometown and city-as-museum, Qufu is where the Master (551-479 BC) lived and did his teaching. Three major historical sights are found in Qufu: the Confucian Forest, Temple and Mansion. The Confucian Forest harbors Confucius' tomb, a simple hill of raised earth with a five-character inscription carved onto a stone in front of it, reading, loosely, "Sacred Father." Confucius Temple is a maze of large halls, bell towers, dragoned bas-relief columns, steles and rickety old cypresses propped up by metal joists. Nestled inside the Confucius Temple stands the famous Lu Wall - a hollow structure in which one of the Sage's descendants successfully hid his books of teachings from the emperor's troops. Rubbing shoulders with the Temple complex in the heart of town is Confucius Mansion. Though the Master never enjoyed the opulence of the place, having been a mere teacher in his time, his 9th to 77th generations occupied the buildings for over 2500 years, a result of later emperors wanting to show respect to Confucian thought. [China.org.cn]