Ruins of the Yao Temple

History books have generally recorded the area now called Linfen as a region of early Chinese civilization. Archaeological discoveries made at Dingcun and Taosi, mostly belonging to the Stone Age, prove that it was an important cultural centre of the time. Coincidentally, arties excavated from the Taosi ruins match the dates of the Yao and Shun periods recorded in Chinese history. These findings helped establish that this area was Emperor Yao's capita14, 000 years ago.
Emperor Yao, also called Taotang, built his capital in Jindian (Gold Palace) Village in Linfen, thus giving the city another name-Gold City of Taotang. Whether the location of the Yao capital is accurate or not, certainly numerous relics and ruins related to the ancient emperor have been found in the area. One example, the Yao Temple, is located in the southern section of Linfen. This elegant structure was first built in the Jin Dynasty and went through repeated repairs and expansions during the Tang, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. In its early days, the temple occupied an area of 50 hectares on which various structures had been built, such as Yao's Well Pavilion, Yao's Palace, Shun's Palace and Yu's Palace.
Unfortunately, not much of the ancient temple remains today to demonstrate it s past glory. On the commemorative plaque, hanging at the top of the towering main gate, is inscribed “Temple of Emperor Yao”. On each side of the plaque the words of “Like the Sun” and “Venerated Clouds” are carved respectively, meaning that Emperor Yao was respected and worshipped by his people as the sun and lofty clouds.