Updated Portrait of Confucius

On 23 September 2006, the China Confucius Foundation (CCF) unveiled a standard portrait of Confucius, an ancient Chinese philosopher and educator. The updated portrait of Confucius is to give him a single, recognizable identity around the world. According to CCF, a standard portrait is needed so that different countries could have the same image of him. The sculpture depicts Confucius as an old man with a long beard, broad mouth and big ears. He wears a robe and crosses his hands on his chest.

The life sized portrait, echos his images that existed in people´s minds, who is a kind, sagacious and respectful person. It was based on the painting of Confucius by Wu Daozi of the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907), together with advice from Confucian scholars, historians, artists and his descendants.

Born in 551 B.C., Confucius, a great thinker, philosopher, statesman and educator, has more than 3 million descendants with Qufu (Shandong Province) as a concentration area, according to latest statistics. Scholars and believers around the world commemorate Confucius´ birth at his hometown in Qufu every year to carry forward the Confucian spirit of benevolence and honor.

According to some estimates, there are 2.5 million descendants of Confucius in the Chinese mainland, 100,000 in the Republic of Korea, and many in the United States, Malaysia and Singapore.

Note: Qufu is situated between north latitude 35° 29' - 35° 49' and east longitude 116° 51' to 117° 13' in the south of Shandong Province in China; it is 135 kilometers away from its provincial capital - Jinan, 45 kilometers away from Ji'ning to southwest.  The city of Qufu has a population of about 620,000 people and an area of about 890 sq km.  Qufu is famous of its Confucius Cultural Festival; Qufu 3 treasures: sweet paddy, Guodan apricot, mineral water; Qufu 5 unique handicrafts in central Lu: Kongfujia Wine, S-shaped ornamental object by carving of Kaishu, wool carpet, walking stick with dragon head, rubbings from stone inscriptions and Nishan inkstone.

Temple and Cemetery of Confucius in Qufu - UNESCO World Heritage Site is located at N35° 36' 42" E116° 58' 30".

The Confucius Qufu complex which comprises of temple and cemetery of Confucius, his family mansion - Kong Family Mansion, is located at Qufu, in Shandong Province (Map of Qufu). Confucius was a great philosopher, politician and educator of the 6th - 5th centuries B.C..  The complex was built to commemorate him in 478 B.C., the temple has been destroyed and reconstructed over the centuries; today it comprises more than 100 buildings. The cemetery contains Confucius' tomb and the remains of more than 100,000 of his descendants. The small house of the Kong family developed into a gigantic aristocratic residence, of which 152 buildings remain. The Qufu complex of monuments has retained its outstanding artistic and historic character due to the devotion of successive Chinese emperors over more than 2,000 years.  To improve the setting of the entire complex, the Divine Road connecting the monumental sites was restored by using traditional building material and the protection of ancient trees was strengthened. A computerized management system has been put into place to monitor all the cultural properties, ancient trees and the ancient monuments within the site. Lighting facilities in the ancient buildings were replaced and electricity wiring was placed underground. Safety and fire prevention measures have also been strengthened.