Qin Tai Ruins

Qin Tai Ruins

The Qin Tai Ruins are a cultural heritage site protected by Yangxin County.

The Qin Tai Ruins (also known as the Qin Family Ruins) stretch approximately 300 meters from east to west and about 200 meters from north to south. Bronze artifacts have been unearthed here, with the cultural layer located less than one meter below the surface and about 1.5 meters thick. Artifacts include pottery li tripods, gray pottery jars, coarse-handled dou vessels, pottery spinning whorls, and stone sickles from the Shang and Zhou dynasties. Identified as a Shang-Zhou period site, it was approved as a provincial-level cultural heritage site in 1992.

Qin Tai is an ancient tomb built atop the ruins, featuring distinct layers of rammed earth. There are many legends surrounding this mound — some call it the Shangqiu Mound, others the Liangwang Mound. After more than two thousand years, Qin Tai has gradually become overgrown and forgotten in solitude. At some point, it became a haven for foxes and badgers, with numerous dark, deep burrows hidden within the mound.

One year, when malaria was rampant locally and people’s lives were at stake, an elder picked a type of herbal medicine from Qin Tai, boiled it into a decoction, and soon recovered. When news spread, people rushed to gather the herb, which indeed proved effective. Since foxes were often seen roaming the area and were thought to dwell within, locals mistakenly believed it was the work of “fox spirits,” and the legend of the “Fox Immortal” began to spread.

In recent decades, large numbers of people have visited Qin Tai year-round to offer incense and burn paper horses to the Fox Immortal. Starting from the second day of the Lunar New Year and throughout the entire first lunar month, worshippers come and go in an endless stream. Devout men and women can be seen everywhere bowing in reverence, burning incense and praying, while the crackling sounds of firecrackers fill the air and confetti flies about. Small vendors also seize the business opportunity, setting up stalls to sell paper horses, yellow ritual paper, incense, as well as fruits and snacks. The area bustles with activity, lively beyond description.

Approved as a provincial-level cultural heritage site in 1994.

Further Reading:

· Second Batch of Shandong Provincial Cultural Heritage Sites