Dacheng Hall of Confucian Temple

The Dacheng Hall of the Confucian Temple stands within the campus of Rugao Normal Affiliated Primary School in the southeast of Rugao Ancient Town. In 1983, the People’s Government of Jiangsu Province listed it as a Provincial-level Cultural Relic Protection Unit.

Rugao Confucian Temple was first built in the 10th year of the Baoda reign of the Southern Tang Dynasty (952). It was relocated and reconstructed multiple times before being moved to its present site in the 19th year of the Jiajing reign of the Ming Dynasty.

The Dacheng Hall spans five bays, with a width of 23 meters and a depth of 18 meters. It features a single-eave roof with nine ridges. A covered corridor and a stone platform extend forward from the hall, enclosed by exquisitely carved bluestone railings. The hall is supported by 30 circular nanmu columns, each 80 centimeters in diameter, set atop inverted basin-shaped lotus-patterned stone bases crafted in a style close to that of the Song Dynasty.

Color paintings adorn the beams and lintels of the building, completed by craftsmen of the Qing Dynasty. The paintings feature diverse motifs rendered in concise brushstrokes and gorgeous, vivid hues. Six ancient plaques are preserved inside the hall today, including a gilded plaque inscribed with the imperial handwriting “The Ultimate Sage Who Gathered All Worthies” by the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, as well as two “Grand Scribe” plaques bestowed upon Sha Yuanbing and Jiang Renxiu respectively.