The Temple Next Door

This picturesque temple is right next door to where we are staying in Hoi An, in fact it can be seen right outside our bedroom window!

It's an old building dedicated to something called Confucianism (Conn-fyu-shunn-ism). Confucianism isn't technically a religion but it is a set of beliefs that people choose to follow.

It was started around 2500 years ago in China by a man called Confucious. At this time things weren't good in the country and he became a teacher who created a set of rules that people must follow. They included things like respecting your elders, treating other people how you would like to be treated yourself and knowing that if you have made a mistake you must try your hardest to correct it. It was very strict but also incredibly popular and many people still follow these rules today.

Did You Know?: One thing people used to say about Confucious was that if his mat wasn't straight he wouldn't sit on it. This might sound really fussy but it's actually the core of his beliefs that things must be done properly so that they are correct. Think of your writing, if you don't start a sentence with a capital letter and finish it with the correct punctuation is just isn't right and doesn't make proper sense.