Ningyuan County 宁远县

Setting and landscape

Ningyuan borders Qiyang (祁阳) to the north, Xintian (新田) and Jiahe (嘉禾) to the east, Jianghua (江华) to the south, and Dao County (道县) and Shuangpai (双牌) to the west. The Jiuyi Mountains belong to the Mengzhu Range (萌渚岭) of the Nanling (南岭) and have more than 90 peaks above 1,000 metres; the highest, Bengjiwo (畚箕窝), reaches 1,959 metres. The Tang writer Yuan Jie (元结) explained the name as "nine peaks so alike that the viewer is confused" (疑).

History

Under the Han the area held the counties of Yingdao (营道) and Lingdao (泠道). The name Ningyuan dates from 965, under the Northern Song, and expresses the hope that, with military work done, distant lands would be at peace. The county government counts among its natives Li He (李郃), the first top-ranked imperial graduate from the Huguang region under the Tang, and Yue Leifa (乐雷发), who took a special-examination top place under the Song, along with 84 jinshi graduates.

What to see

The Shun Mausoleum at Jiuyi (九嶷山舜帝陵) lies about 30 km south of the county seat and is one of two mausoleums of Shun in China. The Shiji (史记) records that Shun died on a southern tour and was buried at Jiuyi. A mausoleum temple was built again in 738 and destroyed at the end of the Yuan; in 1371 it was rebuilt at the foot of Shunyuan Peak (舜源峰), and after fires in 1935 and 1962 it was restored between 1985 and 1998. The complex has a main gate, Meridian Gate, worship hall, main hall and rear hall, and a stele inscribed in clerical script "Tomb of Emperor Shun of the Youyu clan" (帝舜有虞氏之陵). Thirty Qing and four Republican memorial steles survive. The Shun memorial ceremony has been national intangible heritage since 2011, and in 2019 the mausoleum was added to the national key protected site of the Shun Temple ruins (舜帝庙遗址).

The Ningyuan Confucian Temple (宁远文庙) is described by the Hunan provincial government as the second-largest Confucian temple in China. Xiaguan Village (下灌村) has more than 1,600 years of history, produced two top-ranked graduates and 28 jinshi, and is a national historic and cultural village.

Highlights

• Shun Mausoleum at Jiuyi 九嶷山舜帝陵: Traditional tomb of Shun about 30 km south of the county seat, restored 1985-1998; its memorial ceremony is national intangible heritage.
• Jiuyi Mountains 九嶷山: Part of the Mengzhu Range, with more than 90 peaks above 1,000 m and a 1,959 m summit.
• Ningyuan Confucian Temple 宁远文庙: Described by the Hunan provincial government as the second-largest Confucian temple in China.
• Xiaguan Village 下灌村: Village of more than 1,600 years that produced two top-ranked graduates and 28 jinshi; a national historic and cultural village.