Mǎpíng

Maping was the county seat of Liuzhou, a city set beside the winding Liu River. It had long been a center of administration in this part of Guangxi. In 1368 the Ming established Liuzhou Prefecture and moved its seat back to Maping from Liucheng, making the city the seat of both prefecture and county. Among its cherished monuments was the shrine to Liu Zongyuan, the Tang writer who governed Liuzhou from 815 until his death in 819. Built beside Luochi Pond in 822, the shrine was repaired repeatedly under the Ming and Qing. Its inscriptions preserved the memory of the official and writer for later generations.