- Confucius Shrine
Confucius Shrine (孔子廟 "Kōshi-byō") in Nagasaki,
Japan is said to be the world's only Confucian shrine built outsideChina by Chinese hands. Even today the land which it stands is Chinese territory and the land rights controlled by the Chinese Embassy inTokyo .First built in1893 by Chinese residents of Nagasaki with the support of theCh'ing Dynasty government, the shrine was designed to serve as a place of worship and learning for the Chinese community, and housed a Confucian sanctuary and primary school.The buildings were severely damaged by theatomic bomb explosion onAugust 9 1945 and were not restored and opened to the public until September1967 . The shrine was extensively renovated in1982 . Standing outside the shrine are 72 statues representing the 72 followers of Confucius.A building at the rear of the shrine houses the Museum of Chinese History and Palace Museum. It features large illuminated photographs of the oldSilk Road and models of early Chinese inventions such as the world's firstseismograph . Displayed on the second floor are more than 80 treasure-class articles of varying antiquity on loan directly from the Chinese National Museum and Palace Museum inBeijing .External links
* (Japanese) [http://www4.cncm.ne.jp/~rekidai-museum/ Confucius Shrine and Historical Museum of China]
* (video) [http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=P_UqsXRoojs | Nagasaki Temples and Shrines]
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