Meng Zilin

Meng Zilin

Mencius (372-289 BC), born in Zoucheng, Shandong Province, is of Han nationality. Mingke, Zi Yu, Zi Che and Zi Ju. His father's name is Ji, and his mother's is Zou. A great thinker, writer (politician) in ancient China. One of the representatives of Confucianism in the Warring States period. Mencius is a collection of Mencius' speeches, which records Mencius' language, political views and political actions. Mencius inherited and carried forward Confucius' thoughts, and became a generation of Confucian masters next only to Confucius, known as "Yasheng" and "Confucius and Mencius" together with Confucius.

brief introduction

Mengzilin, also known as yashenglin, is a family cemetery for Mencius and his descendants. It is located at the West foot of Siji, 12 kilometers northeast of Zoucheng City. According to the stele of new Mencius Temple by Jingyou of the Northern Song Dynasty and the records of three migrations by Mencius, Mencius forest was built in 1037, which was expanded and renovated in the yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. By the time of Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, it had a scale of 730 mu. It is one of the existing large-scale and long-standing family cemeteries in China. In 1998, it was designated as a key cultural relics protection unit in Shandong Province.

There is a long and narrow Shinto in front of the Mencius forest, with ancient cypresses and poplars towering on both sides. There is a stone arch bridge in the middle of Shinto (commonly known as Yuqiao). Beside the bridge, there is a new stele of "yashenglin" calligraphy, which was written by Ouyang Zhongshi, a famous calligrapher in China. From the arch bridge to the north is a stone corridor leading to the hall of enjoyment. The hall of enjoyment was rebuilt in the Jiajing period of Ming Dynasty. It is a large and spacious place for the descendants of Mencius to worship Mencius. In the hall, there are confessions and Mencius' Shrine, as well as nine stone inscriptions in song, yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, which record in detail the sacrificial writings of the emperors in previous dynasties and the construction of Mencius' forest. Behind the hall is the tomb of Mencius. The tall earth tomb is covered with green grass. In front of the tomb is a huge stele named "Yasheng Mencius tomb", which was rebuilt in 1834.

Every year on the second day of the fourth month of the old calendar, there is the ancient meeting of Mencius forest. Thousands of Mencius descendants and common people come here to visit and pay homage.

Underground location

Mengzilin, also known as "yashenglin", is a cemetery for burying mengke, his descendants and family members. In June 1992, it was announced by the people's Government of Shandong Province as the second batch of key cultural relics protection units at the provincial level.

Mengzilin is located in the south foot of Siji Shanxi, 12 kilometers northeast of Zoucheng City, and in the north of Xishantou village, Dashu town. There are more than 10000 ancient trees in mengzilin, such as Platycladus orientalis, cypress, oak, poplar, elm, Catalpa bungei, Sophora japonica, maple and regular script, which were planted in Ming and Qing Dynasties.

There is a long and narrow Shinto in front of Mencius forest, with ancient cypress and poplar towering on both sides. There is an arched stone bridge (commonly known as the Royal Bridge) in the middle of Shinto road. There was a stone tablet named "yashenglin" beside the bridge. After crossing the bridge, there is a stone built yongshinto, which leads directly to the hall of enjoyment, about 1 km long. Enjoy Hall 5 Ying, hard mountain architecture. It was built in Song Dynasty and rebuilt in 1562. In the hall, there are 9 steles of newly built Mencius temple in the fourth year of Jingyou (1037) of the Northern Song Dynasty and 9 steles of rebuilding and sacrifice. Behind the hall is the tomb of Mencius, which is 6 meters high and 20 meters in length and breadth at the bottom. It is surrounded by a base of bluestone. In front of the tomb, there was a stone tablet named "the cemetery of the ancestor Zou state" carved by Huo Tianxiang in 1277. In front of the tomb is a huge stone tablet with a flat head and a regular script of "Yasheng Mencius tomb", which was rebuilt in 1834 by Meng Guangjun, a direct descendant of 70 generations of the Meng family. In front of the tombstone, there are stone confession, stone candle slave and stone Ding stove. Around the tomb of Mencius are the tombs of his descendants and family members, which are densely distributed. Among them, there are 3 large tombs (commonly known as sanjiazhong, the tombs of mengsun, Jisun and shusun), and more than 10 medium tombs.

Address: West foot of Siji, 12 km northeast of Zoucheng City

Longitude: 116.9580001831

Latitude: 35.400199890137