Suzhou Confucian Temple

The Confucian Temple of Suzhou (Chinese: 苏州文庙) and also known as the Suzhou Stone Inscription Museum and Suzhou Prefecture School (Chinese: 苏州府学; a state-run school), is a Confucian temple located in the ancient city of Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, China, on the south bank of the Yangtze River. It was built by Fan Zhongyan, a famous state officer of the Song dynasty. It was the first temple school in China and is notable for containing the four greatest steles of the Song dynasty, of on which is the Map of Pingjiang. In 1961, the stone inscriptions in Suzhou Confucian Temple were listed among the first batch of National Key Cultural Relic Protection Units by The State Council of the People's Republic of China. In 2001, together with the Confucian Temple, it was called Suzhou Confucian Temple and Stone inscription. Presently, it is known as new name as Suzhou Stone Inscription Museum.