Zhuqiu Temple Ruins

　　The Zhuqiu Temple Ruins are located 700 meters southeast of Wangcaiyuan Village, Sitong Town, about four kilometers northeast of the county seat, and belong to the Longshan Culture period. In 1987, they were designated as a cultural heritage site by the People's Government of Henan Province.

　　During the 1984 cultural relics survey, the ruins were found to rise 1 to 3 meters above the ground, stretching 180 meters from north to south, covering an area of 45,000 square meters, with a cultural layer 3 to 5 meters thick. The high platform beneath the temple and its extended sections are all part of the cultural heritage site. Artifacts unearthed include flat tripod feet, deep-bellied jars, narrow-mouthed beans, flat-bottomed bowls, ring-footed plates, flat-bottomed basins, clarifiers, pottery spinning wheels, pottery net sinkers, stone axes, stone adzes, stone knives, stone chisels, stone arrowheads, clam sickles, bone awls, and more. Multiple red-fired earthen house foundations were also discovered.

　　The 1916 (5th year of the Republic of China) edition of the Huaiyang County Annals states: “Zhuqiu Temple is located thirty-five li northeast of the county.” Legend has it that it was the tomb of Zhu Wen, the founding emperor of the Later Liang during the Five Dynasties period, and later a Zhuqiu Temple was built on the platform, commonly known as Zhugong Temple. The New History of the Five Dynasties · Biography of Zhao Guangyi says: “At the end of the Tang Dynasty, Zhu Wen served under Huang Chao. After receiving an imperial edict, he was appointed to guard the pass. He occupied Bianzhou and declared himself emperor there, beginning the Liang dynasty. When the city was in turmoil, he climbed to the upper floors and gazed afar. Upon seeing a fire in the distance, he asked what had happened, and was told it was the ancestral temple ablaze. He sighed and said, ‘It must be because I destroyed the ancestral temple!’” The text has already been omitted. (No images available at the moment; contributions are welcome.)