Slightly over a kilometer (1/2 mile) north of the Confucian Mansion and Temple, Kong Lin is the burial ground for Confucius and his family, and is the largest and oldest cemetery park in China. Covering 2 sq. km (1 1/4 sq. miles), the forest has thousands of graves and over 20,000 trees, including cypresses, maples, and willows, many collected and planted by Confucius's disciples over the years. It's interesting to note that women, monks, criminals, and aborted fetuses cannot be buried here. Some 4,000 remaining gravestones span the dynasties and of different styles make the cemetery worth visiting. It is a place both large and atmospheric enough to lose yourself in for a few hours. It can be delightfully eerie in the morning before the fog lifts. A pleasant way to tour the forest is by bike, which can be rented at the entrance for ¥10 ($1.25); the price includes a guide who will take you around the main road (7.5km/4 3/4 miles) of Kong Lin. You can take a sightseeing car for ¥10 ($1.25), but you must wait for the car to fill up before it leaves, which can take awhile.
The walkway leading to the forest from the south is lined with 73 trees on the right representing Confucius's age when he died, and 72 trees on the left signaling the number of his disciples. Passing through another two gates, visitors arrive at the forest proper, which is surrounded by a 3m-high (10-ft.) and 5m-thick (16-ft.) wall. To get to Confucius's grave, turn left inside the second entrance, walk along theImperial Carriagewayfor about 200m (654 ft.), cross the MingZhushui Bridge,and continue along the "Spirit Way"(shen sao),which is flanked by four pairs of Song dynasty stone sculptures. At the end of the Spirit Way isConfucius's tomb,a mound of packed earth in front of which are two stelae. The front Ming dynasty tablet is inscribed with the characters DACHENG ZHI SHENGWEN XUAN WANG MU or "Tomb of the Ultimate Sage of Great Achievements." Local lore has it that the last two characters,"wang mu"(king's tomb), are partially hidden from view by the stone altar in front to reassure visiting emperors who came to pay their respects that no matter how respected and exalted the Sage was, there was only one emperor. To the right (east) of Confucius's grave is that of his son Kong Li, who died before his father. To the south lies the tomb of Confucius's grandson, Zisi, who was Mencius's (Mengzi's) teacher and the author ofThe Doctrine of the Mean.
Following the main road to the left of Confucius's grave brings you to a group of Ming Tombs. Continuing to the north eventually leads you to an archway andtomb for Lady Yu,the Qianlong emperor's daughter. (While Confucian wives were allowed to be buried in the forest, Confucius's female descendants were restricted to burial outside the forest.) Not far to the east is theTomb of Kong Shangren(1648-1718), a 64th-generation descendant and author of the famous classical playTaohua Shan (The Peach Blossom Fan).East of Kong Shangren's tomb is the Tomb of the 76th Yansheng duke, Kong Lingyi, and his wretched wife Madame Tao. Concubine Wang was also reburied here, despite laws prohibiting concubines from being buried within the forest. Following the road south brings you back to the main entrance.