The Shanghai Jiading Confucius Temple, also known as the Academy, is a key national cultural relic protection unit. It was first built in the 12th year of the Jiading era during the Southern Song Dynasty (1219) and has undergone over 70 repairs, expansions, and reconstructions throughout its history. Over the past 30 years, it has been frequently renovated and maintained, remaining well-preserved. From 2023 to 2024, a comprehensive restoration of the Jiading Confucius Temple was initiated along with exhibition modifications.
Pengpai News has learned that after the completion of the restoration project and the unveiling ceremony of the Shanghai Chinese Imperial Examination Museum held at the Jiading Confucius Temple, the 805-year-old temple reopened to the public on September 22, revitalized.
Professor Li Zhen from the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at Tongji University, responsible for the design of this restoration project, stated in a recent interview with Pengpai Art that for ancient relics like the Jiading Confucius Temple, which has a history of over 800 years, the focus and challenges of restoration mainly lie in the beam and truss structure. "Thus, the restoration is conservative, and correcting the misalignment of the truss is its main focus and difficulty."
Zhuangyuan Bridge
The Jiading Confucius Temple in Shanghai was established in the 12th year of the Jiading era during the Southern Song Dynasty (1219). The building faces southeast, occupying more than 11,300 square meters, with a construction area of approximately 2,300 square meters, making it the largest existing ancient architectural complex in Jiading. Along the central axis, there are buildings including Yonggao Arch, Lingxing Gate, Pan Pool, Dacheng Gate, the Temples of Famous Officials and Virtuous Elders, the Dacheng Hall, and the East and West Wings. The Jiading Confucius Temple is the source of "education in Jiading" and is renowned for its grandeur, holding the title of "the Best in Wu" among county-level Confucian temples.
Aerial View of Jiading Confucius Temple
Over its 800 years of history, the Jiading Confucius Temple has been the source of education and ceremonious rites in the locality, nurturing many talented individuals, including the renowned Four Scholars of Jiading from the Ming Dynasty—Tang Shisheng, Lou Jian, Cheng Jiahui, and Li Liufang—as well as prominent figures of the Qing Dynasty such as Qian Daxin and Wang Mingsheng, who also studied at this temple.
Four Scholars of Jiading
The Jiading Confucius Temple is of great significance for the study of ancient Jiading's politics, economy, culture, and architectural arts. In May 2013, the State Council officially recognized and announced the Jiading Confucius Temple as a key national cultural relic protection unit.
Archway "Yonggao Arch"
72 Stone Lions on the Stone Railings
From 2023 to 2024, a comprehensive restoration of the Jiading Confucius Temple was launched, encompassing renovations of the Lingxing Gate, Dacheng Gate, Temples of Famous Officials and Local Deities, the Temple of Virtuous Elders, the Dacheng Hall, the East and West Wings, the Tanghu Academy, Minglun Hall, and improvements to ground paving and environment, along with exhibition modifications. On September 22, the 805-year-old Jiading Confucius Temple reopened to the public.
Pengpai News: How did Tongji University's design team get involved in the restoration project of the Jiading Confucius Temple?
Li Zhen: Generally speaking, people perceive the Shanghai area as characterized by modern architecture and benchmarks like the historic buildings of the Bund. There are relatively few examples of wooden structures in Shanghai, and specialists researching wooden architecture are also limited.
Our team has long been engaged in research on ancient architectural construction techniques. At Tongji University, I teach architectural history and heritage preservation, focusing on the development of ancient architecture, historically significant building techniques, and protection measures, which closely relates to my expertise. Additionally, our team has been involved in the preservation and restoration work of ancient buildings since 1999. For instance, we have overseen many preservation efforts for traditional architecture in ancient towns like Wuzhen and Xitang in Jiangnan, accumulating substantial experience and establishing a good reputation within the industry.
Design Team at Work
The Jiading Confucius Temple underwent a previous restoration plan between 2017-2018, designed to maintain and care for the site. However, the degradation and damage of wooden structure buildings follow their own patterns, and apart from routine maintenance, generally, minor repairs are needed every five years while significant renovations are required every 10 to 20 years. Hence, it was time for substantial renovations this time.
The restoration of ancient buildings is a systematic project. Within the temple, there are about 23 groups of structures, and we must conduct systematic repairs from the foundation to the beams and trusses, as well as auxiliary and decorative elements, thoroughly from inside to outside and top to bottom.
In addition to restoring the architecture itself, the Jiading Confucius Temple serves as an educational institute and a ceremonial venue, alongside hosting exhibitions for the Shanghai Chinese Imperial Examination Museum. We proposed a design for the overall cultural space, hoping this comprehensive and sustainable renovation would make Jiading Confucius Temple more suited for Jiangnan's living environment and enable its effective transmission in future use.
Pengpai News: What social, cultural, and artistic values does the Jiading Confucius Temple hold?
Li Zhen: The oldest surviving wooden building in Shanghai is the main hall of Zhenru Temple. The prevailing view among experts is that it belongs to the Yuan Dynasty and is among the earliest ancient buildings in southern regions. The Dacheng Hall and Minglun Hall of the Jiading Confucius Temple preserve the architectural style of the Ming Dynasty, which is rare in Shanghai.
Aerial View of Jiading Confucius Temple
From this perspective, we are also interested in conducting research based on the ancient building itself. Historically, the Jiading Confucius Temple has been quite famous and is now recognized as a key national cultural relic protection unit. Jiading was once a county, and the Confucius Temple is classified as a county-level temple according to our current research. The Jiading Confucius Temple has undergone multiple expansions throughout its history; the Dacheng Hall was originally a three-bay hall with a single eave, later encircled by corridors, transforming it into its current five-bay, double-eaved structure.
Dacheng Hall of the Confucius Temple
As the core building of the Confucius Temple, the Dacheng Hall was established during the Southern Song Dynasty and has undergone multiple restorations during the Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties. It still retains elements of Ming and Qing architectural styles. The "Jiading Confucius Temple Chronicle" mentions the reconstruction of the Dacheng Hall by County Magistrate Xu Heng in the third year of Guangxu (1877), marking the last mention of "reconstruction" in restoration records. However, a record from the sixth year of Guangxu (1880) indicated that repairs were made to the hall, suggesting that the “reconstruction” could refer to extensive repairs based on the original damaged structure without changing its main framework. Additionally, remnants of painted decorations on the beams bear the typical Ming-style motifs, which further supports that the primary structure dates back to the Ming Dynasty.
After the Ming Dynasty's repairs, historical documents indicate that its regulations were grand, and since Jiading historically belonged to Suzhou, it was acclaimed as "the Best in Wu," implying that the temple indeed held a certain level of prestige at that time.
Temple and Academy Illustration from Guangxu’s “Jiading County Chronicle”
The architectural characteristics of Jiading Confucius Temple, based on our current research, can be summed up into several major points. First, it retains a relatively complete temple and academy system. The temple complex is arranged along three main axes, with the Dacheng Hall serving as the main hall for honoring Confucius, positioned on the central axis of the temple, dedicated to ritual functions; Minglun Hall, located to the east of Dacheng Hall, serves as a space for study, teaching, dissemination of ideas, and research; Tanghu Academy lies southeast of Minglun Hall, exemplifying traditional Jiangnan academic architecture. Thus, the Jiading Confucius Temple preserves a relatively complete temple and academy system, functioning as a living specimen.
Second, the Jiading Confucius Temple is a tangible testament to the inheritance and development of Confucian culture in Jiangnan, as the temple represents Confucian values, and Jiading historically belonged to the Suzhou region, the core area of Jiangnan.
Third, our on-site investigation revealed building techniques reflective of local traditions. Its construction methods have a direct lineage connection to Suzhou's practices while also exhibiting influences from Zhejiang styles. Therefore, I believe the Jiading Confucius Temple serves as a typical case representing regional crafting techniques.
Remnants of Color on the Beams
Fourth, the building encapsulates the local essence of science and art, serving as a cultural reservoir. As a historical relic with profound historical significance, it also acts as a landmark of the region, representing a spatial memory culture for Jiading. This restoration is a reconstruction of the local cultural historical landmark. From these perspectives, I find the historical and cultural value of the Jiading Confucius Temple to be exceedingly high.
Pengpai News: The Jiading Confucius Temple has undergone numerous repairs throughout its history. Since 1949, it has undergone full-scale restorations in 1959, 1985, and 1999. How does this renovation differ from previous restorations, and what was the preservation condition of the Jiading Confucius Temple before this major repair? What issues did it face?
Li Zhen: First, we must understand why it needs repairing, what areas require work, and only then can we determine how to repair it. Through on-site investigations, we assess the preservation status, historical condition, and usage circumstances before administering targeted remedies. During preliminary exploration, we employed not only traditional surveying methods but also high-tech instruments; for instance, utilizing 3D scanning for accurate data collection, which detects potential deformations in the building. For example, prior to restoration, the Dacheng Hall exhibited noticeable northward tilting. We also employed advanced instruments to analyze the building materials, such as what type of wood was used, their moisture content, and checking for decay, hollowness, or cracks. We found that the temple has about four major issues:
1. Foundation settlement. The Dacheng Hall and Minglun Hall are located