Tàipíng

Tàipíng was a county of Jiangzhou in the Fen valley of southern Shanxi. The Northern Zhou gave it this name in the 6th century, the Yuan still ruled it from Jiangzhou, and in 1369 the Ming moved it under Pingyang Prefecture. Its walled town grew up around a drum tower, with streets running out in four directions and the buildings a county seat needed: yamen, Confucian temple, City God temple and bridge.

The Guandi temple was built in 1300 under the Yuan, and the Confucian temple was rebuilt in 1340. The Hongji Bridge, first built under the Jin in 1183, carried the road into town, and the timber pillars of its covered corridor were replaced with stone in the Qianlong reign. The Ming founded the City God temple in 1369 and rebuilt it in 1627 with a stage for festival plays in honour of the god; the town wall went up in 1631. In 1696 the main hall of the county yamen, the chief hall of the offices, was rebuilt under the Kangxi emperor.