Qufu (pronounced [tɕʰý.fû]; Chinese: 曲阜) is a county-level city in southwestern Shandong province, East China.

[2][5] During the Shang, the area around Qufu was home to the people of Yan, who were counted by the Chinese among the "Eastern Barbarians" or Dongyi.

Along with Pugu (around Binzhou) and Xu (along the Huai River), Yan joined the Shang prince Wu Geng and the Three Guards in their failed rebellion against the Duke of Zhou c. 1042 BC.

After the rebels' defeat, the Duke launched punitive campaigns against the Dongyi, forcing their submission and placing their territory under loyal nobles.

The territory of the Yan became part of the state of Lu, who made Qufu their capital throughout the Spring and Autumn period.

This city had walls considerably larger than the present Ming-era fortifications, including more land to the east and north.

At 1012, Qufu was renamed to Xianyuan County (仙源县), and relocated to the new site, some 4 km (2.5 mi) east of today's walled city, next to the supposed birthplace of the legendary Yellow Emperor and the tomb of his son Shaohao.

A temple in honor of the Yellow Emperor was built there; all that remains today are two giant stelae (the Shou Qiu site).

[6] After the conquest of the northern China by the Jurchens, the new Jin dynasty renamed Xianyuan back to Qufu (in 1142), but the city stayed at its Song location.

An invitation to come back to Qufu was extended to the southern Duke Yansheng Kong Zhu by the Yuan dynasty emperor Kublai Khan.

The artifacts of the historical sites at Qufu suffered extensive damage during the Cultural Revolution when about 200 staff members and students of Beijing Normal University led by Tan Houlan (谭厚兰, 1937–1982), one of the five most powerful student leaders of the Cultural Revolution, came to Qufu and destroyed more than 6000 artifacts as part of destroying Four Olds in November 1966.

[20][21][22] Before the wide adoption of Pinyin, the name of the city (often viewed as a county seat, i.e. Qufu xian) was transcribed in English in a variety of ways, such as Ch'ü-fou-hien,[23] Kio-feu-hien,[24] Kio-fou-hien,[24] Kiu-fu,[25] Kiuh Fow, Keuhfow, Kufow, and Chufou.

The Drum Tower (Gulou) is in the center of the walled city; the Temple of Confucius (Kong Miao), Confucius Mansion (Kong Fu) and the Temple of Yan Hui (Yan Miao) occupy large sections of the land within the wall.

The Shaohao Tomb (少昊陵; Shǎohào Líng) and Shou Qiu historical site (寿丘; Shòu Qiū, the purported birthplace of the legendary Yellow Emperor), are on the eastern outskirts of the modern Qufu as well, near Jiuxian village.

In total, the Temple of Confucius has undergone 15 major renovations, 31 large repairs, and numerous small building measures.

The main part of the temple consists of 9 courtyards arranged on a central axis, which is oriented in the north–south direction and is 1.3 kilometres (0.81 mi) in length.

Since Confucius' descendants were conferred noble titles and were given imperial princesses as wives, many of the tombs in the cemetery show the status symbols of noblemen.

During the Cultural Revolution, the Kong family cemetery was branded a "reactionary" site and was subject to vandalism and desecration.

[32] The corpse of the 76th Duke of Qufu was removed from its grave, hung naked from a tree in front of the palace and later incinerated.

The direct descendants of Confucius lived in the Kong family Mansion (孔府; Kǒng Fǔ) located to the east of the temple.

In particular, they were in charge of conducting elaborate religious ceremonies on occasions such as plantings, harvests, honoring the dead, and birthdays.

Today, the mansion comprises 152 buildings with 480 rooms, which cover an area of 12,470 square metres (134,200 sq ft).

Its tallest structure is the four-story refuge tower (避难楼; Bìnán Lóu) that was designed as a shelter during an attack but was never used.

The layout of the mansion is traditionally Chinese, it separates official rooms in the front from the residential quarters in the rear.

[34] Qufu has also benefited greatly from tourism, holding a number of cultural festivals and exhibitions, largely centered around Confucius.

The city also has a branch of the Holy Church of Confucius (孔圣堂; Kǒngshèngtáng) and hosts the headquarters of the Federation of Confucian Culture.