Memorial Temple of Qu Yuan

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The Memorial Temple of Qu Yuan (339-278 BC) is located by the Xiangxi Brook in Zigui County.

A great politician and poet in the State of Chu during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) Qu Yuan had been a senior official in the court, but slandered and forced into exile. After the troops of the State of Qin seized the Chu capital, he drowned himself in the Miluo River. He is remembered for his patriotism as well as his literary achievements.

Apart from the memorial temple, Zigui County abounds in stories and historic sites relating to Qu Yuan, such as his presumed birthplace Xiangluping, the well he dug at Zhaomian, the Reading Cave where he was said to read books, etc.

In the court stands a bronze statue of Qu Yuan, 3.92 m high and three tons in weight, placed on a 2.5-m-high pedestal. It is flanked by 90 steles engraved with 22 poems by Qu Yuan, eulogistic works by scholars of later dynasties, including great Tang poets Li Bai and Du Fu, and records on the construction of Qu's temple and tomb in previous times. It also houses a 250-kg stone statue of the great poet, and a mahogany coffin in which Qu Yuan's clothes and hats are placed.

Memorial Temple of Qu Yuan, Zigui, Hubei