Luyi County 鹿邑县

History

In the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods the area was called Ku (苦), first under the state of Chen and later under Chu. Laozi is recorded as a native of Ku county, which historians generally place in today's Luyi. In the Five Dynasties the county was called Zhenyuan (真源) and belonged to Bozhou. The Taoist Chen Tuan (陈抟, 871–989), known as the "sleeping immortal", was also born here.

What to see

The Taiqing Palace began as a Laozi temple in AD 165. After the Tang founder Li Yuan (李渊) claimed Laozi as his ancestor in 620, it became an imperial ancestral temple, and in 743 it took the name Taiqing Palace. The Tang complex had a front palace and a rear palace a li apart, joined by a bridge over the Qingjing River (清净河). It is a national key cultural relic site and became a 4A scenic area in 2007. Surviving pieces include the Taiji Hall (太极殿), built in 1913 from Han and Tang column bases, Song brackets and Ming purlins; the Tang stele carrying Emperor Xuanzong's commentary on the Daodejing, the oldest imperial stele on site; and an 8-metre stele erected by Emperor Zhenzong of Song in 1014. A gallery shows finds from the Western Zhou Changzikou (长子口) tomb, excavated in 1997, including 68 bronzes. Behind the Song stele lies the tomb of Laozi's mother (李母坟), where pilgrims crowd in during the temple fair from the 15th day of the second lunar month to the 15th of the third.

In the north-east corner of the county town, the Laojun Terrace (老君台), first called the Shengxian (Ascension) Terrace, marks where Laozi is said to have risen as an immortal; it took its present name after Zhenzong honoured Laozi in 1014. The Mingdao Palace (明道宫) in front of it was largely destroyed in war, and most of its halls are modern.

Food and local products

Local products include Songhe liquor (宋河粮液), Guantang sesame brittle (观堂麻片) and Kongji roast chicken (孔集烧鸡). Luyi is also styled a "home of Chinese calligraphy", and in 2017 the China Light Industry Association (中国轻工业协会) named it a "home of the make-up brush".

Getting oriented

The Taiqing Palace has Bozhou to the east, Shangqiu (商丘) to the north and Huaiyang (淮阳) to the south; the Xu–Bo expressway (许亳高速) passes through, and National Road 311 runs past the palace gate.

Highlights

• Taiqing Palace 太清宫: Laozi temple founded in 165, renamed in 743; national key site and 4A scenic area.
• Laojun Terrace and Mingdao Palace 老君台、明道宫: Terrace in the county town linked with Laozi's ascension; the palace halls are mostly modern.
• Tang Daodejing commentary stele 唐道德经注碑: Oldest imperial stele at the Taiqing Palace, with Xuanzong's commentary.
• Changzikou tomb finds 长子口大墓: Western Zhou tomb excavated in 1997; 68 bronzes among the finds.