A grand ceremony takes place at the Family Temple of Confucius in Quzhou on Sept 28, to commemorate the 2,575th birthday of Confucius. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A grand ceremony was held on Sept 28 at the Family Temple of Confucius in Quzhou – situated in East China's Zhejiang province – to mark the 2,575th birthday of Confucius, the great Chinese educator, philosopher, and thinker.

The temple – commonly called the Temple of Nankong or the Temple of Southern Confucianism – is one of the two family temples of Confucius. The other one is in Qufu, in East China's Shandong province, where Confucius was born. 

A grand ceremony takes place at the Family Temple of Confucius in Quzhou on Sept 28, to commemorate the 2,575th birthday of Confucius. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Confucius (551-479 BC) lived in China's Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). He is known as the first Chinese to set up private schools. He believed that all human beings, regardless of social status, could benefit from lifelong learning.

Dubbed the "Home of Southern Confucianism", Quzhou is the second-biggest center for the descendants of Confucius. When Kaifeng, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), was conquered by the military of the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234), Emperor Gaozong retreated to the south. 

The eldest member of Confucius' descendants in the 48th generation, Kong Duanyou, also moved to the south and settled in Quzhou, giving rise to the southern branch of the family.

A grand ceremony takes place at the Family Temple of Confucius in Quzhou on Sept 28, to commemorate the 2,575th birthday of Confucius. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]