Zhuangzhai Ancient Cultural Site

　　   The Zhuangzhai Ancient Cultural Site is located in Zhuangzhai Village, 12 kilometers north of the county town, adjacent to the Yellow River embankment, covering an area of over 1,600 square meters. At the northern end of the site lies the Tomb of Zhuangzi, while at the southern end stands the Temple of Zhuangzi. Inside the temple, there is a golden couplet that reads: “Born in the land of Mengcheng, he found freedom in Qiyuan Village,” with the horizontal inscription “Legacy of Qiyuan.” Zhuangzi (of the Zhou Dynasty) was a renowned Chinese philosopher, writer, and the founder of Daoism. For most of his life, he served as an official in Qiyuan (present-day Yuzhoutun Village in our county), where he wrote and taught. He authored the 33-chapter “Zhuangzi,” also known as the “Nanhua Jing,” one of the classic texts of Daoism. Descendants of Zhuangzi have lived in this area ever since. In the 55th year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1790), the Daming government erected a stele in Zhuangzhai that reads “The Virtuous Zhuangzi Should Be Exempted from Corvée and Taxation,” which still remains today.