Hall of Ritual Instruction

　　   Laoye Lane is situated on the east side outside the county yamen and can be entered from the middle section of Fufront Street. The lane is long and narrow, stretching 300 meters in total, making it the longest lane in Qianyang Ancient Town. It earned its name because during the Qing Dynasty, officials from the county yamen would walk through this lane when traveling between the yamen and their official residences.

　　   The Hall of Ritual Instruction is located at the southern end of Laoye Lane. It was the former residence of Dai Chengzhe, the magistrate of Qianyang County in the 36th year of the Republic of China (1947). After the “March 25 Incident” in the 38th year of the Republic of China (1949), he fled to Taiwan with his wife and daughters, where he later served as a counselor to the Taiwanese provincial government’s ambassador to South Korea.

　　   In ancient times, there was a saying about Laoye Lane: “Rotten Head Lane, Cold Earth Street, Laoye Lane hangs signs.” Rotten Head Lane referred to the dilapidated sailors’ street, a slum area; Cold Earth Street was a wealthy residential district, usually quiet and sparsely populated; during the late Qing and early Republican periods, Laoye Lane was a hub of handicraft workshops and shops in the town, once covered with signs.

　　   Source: Qianyang Ancient Town