Yan Temple

Shandong


This tranquil temple northeast of Confucius Mansion is dedicated to Confucius’ beloved disciple Yan Hui, whose death at age 32 caused the understated Confucius ‘excessive grief’. The main structure, Fusheng Hall (复圣殿, Fùshèng Diàn), has a magnificent ceiling decorated with a dragon head motif. Outside a bìxì (mythical tortoiselike dragon) carries a stele that posthumously granted Yan the title of Duke of Yanguo (in both Han and Mongol script) in AD 1331.