Hangu Pass is located in Wangduo Village, Hangu Pass Town, Lingbao City, Sanmenxia City, Henan Province.
The Guanxi is located on the plateau, with Juejian in the east, Qinling Mountains in the south, and the Yellow River in the north. It is one of the earliest Xiongguan fortresses built in Chinese history.
In ancient times, the section from Xiaoshan to Tongguan, which was located in the middle of the old road from Luoyang to Xi'an, was mostly in the valley. It was as deep and dangerous as a letter, so it was called Han Valley in ancient times. During the Warring States Period, Duke Xiao of Qin seized the land of Weihan from the State of Wei and set up Hangu Pass here. This pass is 7.5 kilometers long from east to west, and the valley road can only accommodate one vehicle. It is known as "one man can guard the pass, and ten thousand men cannot open it". In 241 BC, the states of Chu, Zhao, Han, and Wei jointly attacked Qin, but were defeated.
In modern times, there are Lingyin Wangqi Tower, Mengchangjun Cockcrow Tower, Taichu Palace where Laozi wrote the Tao Te Ching, etc. Taichu Palace has become an important place for believers at home and abroad to pay homage to Laozi. In 1992, the Lingbao Municipal Government invested in rebuilding the gate building according to the original ancient gate pattern. It has become a well-known tourist attraction.
Hangu Pass is located on the plateau to the west, Juejian to the east, Qinling Mountains to the south, and the Yellow River to the north. It is one of the earliest Xiongguan fortresses built in my country.
Extended information
Historical allusions related to Hangu Pass:
1. Purple air comes from the east
According to "Historical Records" : At the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, Shi Laozi Li Dan saw that the Zhou Dynasty was about to decline, so he went west to live in seclusion.
In 491 BC, Yin Xi, the commander of Hangu Pass, left home early in the morning and stood on an earthen platform (now Zhanzi Tower) to see steaming purple gas and thousands of rays of light in the east, observing the wonderful celestial phenomena. ecstatic. He hurriedly ordered the officials to clean the streets and wait for the stranger. Sure enough, he saw an old man with flowing silver hair and a majestic air, riding a green bull backwards towards the gate.
Yin Xi hurriedly stepped forward to greet me. After announcing his name, he sincerely invited me to stay here. I happily obeyed the order and wrote the Tao Te Ching, a 5,000-word masterpiece that will last forever. Later, the lintels or spring couplets in the Hangu Pass area were engraved with the words "Purple Air Comes from the East", which has been passed down to this day, indicating auspiciousness.
2. The elixir saves the people
When Lao Tzu was writing the Tao Te Ching in Hangu Pass, his mount Qing Niu was raised by a local old farmer.
At that time, a plague was prevalent in the Hangu Pass area. Many people died because of it, and the doctor was helpless. One day, my green cow refused to eat or drink, which made the breeder anxious. He went to the doctor, and the doctor said that people didn't like it, let alone cattle. The breeder insisted on letting the cow look at it, but the green cow was dying. The doctor asked someone to help it up, but the cow couldn't stand steadily and kept coughing. Then he suddenly coughed up a meat ball (what people today call a bezoar). The cow was relieved and opened its mouth to eat grass.
The doctor was overjoyed and hurriedly took the meat balls home, brewed them into small pills, and distributed them to the sick people. The patient felt relieved immediately after taking it. In order to express their gratitude to Lao Tzu for saving his life, people said it was an elixir. To this day, there is still a custom in Lingbao that the 23rd day of the first lunar month is the Ox Festival. On this day, a green cow pattern cut out of yellow paper is posted on the door of each house, with the words "On the twenty-third day of the first lunar month of the New Year, the Lord in Heaven refines the elixir, and a gold bull is posted on the door of every house to ensure peace and security all year round."
3. Roosters crowing and dogs robbers
During the Warring States Period, Lord Mengchang of Qi State had a great reputation for being hospitable to virtuous people. King Zhaoxiang of Qin had heard about it a long time ago and wanted Lord Mengchang to come to Qin State to plan a big plan. He sent his younger brother Jingyang Jun to Qi State as a hostage, and invited Mengchang Jun to join Qin as prime minister. After Mengchang Jun arrived in Qin, he was jealous of Prime Minister Chuiliji. Ai made suggestions to frame him in front of the King of Qin. The King of Later Qin repented and wanted to kill him, but he was afraid of being reviled by others, so he temporarily imprisoned Lord Mengchang.
After returning home, Lord Jingyang heard the news and wanted to save Lord Mengchang and asked Concubine Xing. Xing Ji asked for the fox white fur clothes that Lord Mengchang had given to King Qin. The last guest entered the warehouse through the dog hole. The night watchman heard some noise. The doorman imitated the barking of the dog and deceived the night watchman. He stole the fox white fur coat and gave it to Xingji. Fortunately, Ji helped to obtain the documents for leaving the customs. Meng Changjun and his party hurriedly fled to Hangu Pass. It was midnight. The customs regulations at that time were "cock crow switch, sunset retreat".
The pursuers are approaching and the situation is critical. At this time, there was a guest standing in Tufu to go to school and the roosters crowed. The roosters all around were crowing. The customs officials were busy opening and closing the doors. Mengchang Jun and his entourage hurriedly left Hangu Pass. Later, Qili Ji chased him here and found that Lord Mengchang had been out of seclusion for a long time.
4. The final army abandoned the jacket
In 153 BC, Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty restored Hangu Pass and ordered that the jacket be used as a voucher for entry and exit. In 140 BC, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty Liu Che issued an imperial edict to recruit wise men. At that time, there was a man named Zhong Jun in Jinan who was very talented. He was selected as a doctoral disciple at the age of eighteen. He was as famous as the young talented Jia Yi and was called "Zhong Jia".
One day, he walked from Jinan to Chang'an and arrived at Hangu Pass. After the customs official inspected the talisman, it was returned to him. He abandoned it. The official laughed at his ignorance.
He said that a real man should pass the test to gain fame and no longer use the rut that ordinary people use. Later, Zhongjun was indeed reused by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and was also appointed as the ambassador to South Vietnam. When they passed the Hangu Pass again, the officials recognized him and said that this was the child who had abandoned his clothes and passed the customs. The attendant shouted: "This is the ambassador on a mission to South Vietnam. Don't talk nonsense." The officials were shocked and hurriedly knelt down and sent him out of the gate. . From now on, Lingbao people are willing to say to their children: "If you want to make progress, you must learn from the army" and "If you have talent, you must be a child."
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