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Primary sourceArtifact1417 (Yongle Year 15)

Yongle Year 15 Temple Repair Stele

1417 (Yongle Year 15)

A stone stele carried on a tortoise base, inscribed in 1417 by order of the Yongle Emperor to record his repair of the Temple of Confucius.

The stele bears the Yongle Emperor's own inscription recording his repair of the Temple of Confucius.

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Close-up of a carved grey stone turtle head, showing the textured head and scaled neck details of a stele's bixi base. The stone is weathered with dappled light and shadow across its surface.
Temple Repair Stele, Year 15 of the Yongle era (1417). Temple of Confucius, Qufu.

About this source

What it is

This is a tortoise-borne stele standing at the Temple of Confucius (Kong Miao) in Qufu. It is dated to Year 15 of the Yongle era, 1417, and carries an inscription by the emperor about repairing the temple. The original pavilion sheltering it burned down in 1499 and was rebuilt, and the pavilion standing today dates from the Republic of China era.

Why it matters

The stele shows the Yongle Emperor presenting himself as a patron of Confucian learning, linking his rule to China's most honoured sage. Rulers often used such monuments to show respect for tradition and to strengthen their own authority.

Look closer

  • Why might an emperor want his name attached to the repair of a temple honouring Confucius?
  • What does the tortoise base suggest about how the stele was meant to last?
  • What has survived unchanged here, and what has been rebuilt over time?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Yongle Emperor on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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