Confucian Temple Courtyard (picture fromthe Internet)

During the reign of Emperor Qianlongof the Qing Dynasty, Confucianism spread to Indonesia. In 1729, Mingcheng Academy was founded. Althoughteachingoriented, itintegratedthe functions ofatempleanda school. It can be said that Indonesia is the first country in Southeast Asia to build an architectureforConfucian worship.In Java Island, there are three temples related to Confucianworship: the Confucian Temple in Surabaya; the Guanyin Hall in Jakarta, and the Dajue Temple in Semarang.

At the end of the 19th century, in the upsurgeof celebrating the Confucius birthdayand the construction of Confuciontemples, theWenchang Temple of Surabaya was renamedConfucius Temple, and againrenamed Confucius Halltoday which is especially forthe worship of Confucius.The architecture wasbuilt in the southern Chinese style, and itsConfucius Hall is dedicated to Confucius and the 72 wise menof Confucian school.In 1904, Kang Youwei went to visit the temple.Praising the temple while regrettingfor itsremote location, hesuggestedthe temple to be movedcloseto the road. In 1906, the administratorof the Confucian Temple mobilized Kapitan CinaZheng Taixing to demolish the six houses in front of the Confucian Temple, donate land to build a new Confucian Temple, and convert the former Wenchang Temple into a school and later into the Chinese Association Hall.Sincecompletion, it has beenthe largest Confucian templein Southeast Asiawith acollectionancient booksincludingChineseclassics that have been translated into Indonesian, such as the Four Books, the Book of Changes, and the Book ofDocuments.

The existing Confucian Templeis magnificently decorated and has countlessworshipersburning incense. The inscription of “Sheng Jiao NanJi”(meaning “fine culture spreads far to Southeast Asia”)by Emperor Guangxu hangs in the inner hall and the standing statue of Confuciusis enshrined. The devotees of the Confucian Temple regularly hold activities such as preachingand study of the scriptures, and perform Confucius worship ceremonies duringtraditional Chinese festivals andonthe birth day of Confucius, various charities and disaster reliefactivities.