Lǒngxī

Lǒngxī lies among the valleys and uplands of southeastern Gansu, near the sources of the Wei River, on routes linking the Chinese interior with the northwest. Fields occupy suitable ground along the valleys, while hills rise around the settlements. The Han commandery of Lǒngxī gave its name to the great Li clan of Longxi, whose Tang descendants made it a symbol of aristocratic descent, and the district produced the Three Kingdoms general Páng Dé.

Under the Mongols, the Wang family governed the region from Gōngchāng as hereditary commanders; the Ming made Gongchang a prefecture, and under the Ming and Qing Longxi was the seat of Gongchang Prefecture. The prefectural school had a lecture hall and living quarters, and its students took part in the examination system. In 1689 the Chóngwén Academy was moved to the former county offices on South Street. In 1667 the province of Gansu was split off from Shaanxi, and Gongchang Prefecture passed to it; such offices and schools gave the administrative centre a life beyond the farming villages and roads of Lǒngyòu.