In each dynasty of ancient Chinese, many memorial temples were constructed for the function of sacrificing the ancestors or the scholars of the past. After so many years development, the memorial temple has become an important part of Chinese culture that the overseas students need to know about. As a matter of fact, the ancestral temple can be divided into three classifications, namely, the memorial temple of the scholars of the past, the ancestral temple and the temple of the deity.

The memorial temple of the scholars of the past and the temple of the deity are constructed in order to sacrifice the wise men in ancient times and the deity in the legend. The ancestral temple of a ruling house is the specialized sacrificing place only for the emperors. And the memorial temple is the most frequently seen type which is called Ci Tang in Chinese, which is the place to consecrate the ancestors and hold the sacrifice ceremony. It was regarded as the symbol of a patriarchal clan and also the center with the combination of clan power and the deity power.

Let’s take the memorial temple of Wen Tianxiang as an example, which is located on the western gate of Fuxue Lane in the east of Beijing city, covering an area of 600 square meters. When you attend to Chinese school in China for language learning, you may know Wen Tianxiang was a national hero in the Southern Song Dynasty. In 1279, he failed to fight against Yuan army and was put into the prison. Then he died for his country. After his wife knew the news, she also killed herself.

In the year of 1376, the official Liu Song constructed the memorial temple in Chaishi and changed the name of the street into Jiao Zhong Fang, meaning the memorial archway of loyalty. Then it was repaired in 1408 and listed as the place to hold the sacrificing ceremony. It is composed of the gate, the gallery and the central room.

On the eastern wall of the central room, the stone tablet written by Li Yong in Tang Dynasty is engraved. The horizontal inscribed board with the characters Jiao Zhong Fang that covered by glass is hanging on the western wall. You can see two ancient trees in the courtyard, one is Chinese scholar tree and another is Chinese date tree. The memorial hall of Wen Tianxiang opened to the public in 1984.