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Primary sourceDocument169 CE

Stele of Shi Chen Offering to the Temple of Confucius

Han dynasty officials of Lu · 169 CE

An Eastern Han stone stele from 169 CE recording official sacrifices made at the Confucius temple in Qufu.

This stele records official sacrifices offered at the temple built to honor Confucius, early evidence of his cult status.

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Ink rubbing mounted on a dark backdrop with color calibration charts at left. The rubbing shows a tall, dark stele surface with light-colored clerical-script characters arranged in vertical columns, with worn and damaged areas visible.
Ink rubbing of the Stele of Shi Chen, Grand Councilor of Lu, Offering to the Temple of Confucius, 169 CE. Temple of Confucius, Qufu.

About this source

What it is

This is an ink rubbing of a stone stele erected in 169 CE by officials of the kingdom of Lu, under the chancellor Shi Chen. It is written in clerical script and kept at the Temple of Confucius in Qufu, the town linked to Confucius's life. The surviving rubbing shows columns of characters, with some areas worn away by time.

Why it matters

The stele records official sacrifices made at the temple built to honor Confucius, showing that only a few centuries after his death, the state had already turned him into a figure worthy of formal worship. It is direct physical evidence of how early official reverence for Confucius was organized and recorded in stone.

Look closer

  • Why would officials want to record their sacrifices to Confucius permanently in stone?
  • What does the damage to the stele suggest about how historical records survive?
  • What does state-sponsored worship of Confucius tell us about his role beyond being a teacher?

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