Located inside the south gate of Qufu, Shandong, the Temple of Confucius is a large complex of temple buildings in oriental style in memory of Confucius, China's great thinker and educator. The importance of Confucianism created by Confucius in maintaining the social ruling stability made ancient emperors put a high value on the Temple of Confucius. In ancient times sacrifices were often offered to Confucius, either by Emperors themselves, or by emperor-appointed high officials. The scale of offering sacrifices to Confucius was as grand as that given to the Heaven. This gives us an idea of the importance of Confucius in history.
孔廟（Temple of Confucius）坐落于山東省曲阜市南門內，是紀念我國偉大思想家、教育家孔子的祠廟建筑（temple building），也是一組具有東方風格的大型建筑群。由于孔子創(chuàng)立的儒家思想（Confucianism）對于維護社會統(tǒng)治安定所起到的重要作用，孔廟便被古代帝王所器重。在古代經(jīng)常舉辦祭孔典禮，或者是由皇帝自己，或者是由皇帝委任的高級官員。祭孔的規(guī)模和祭天一樣宏大。由此，孔子在歷史上的重要地位便可見一斑。
