Yuanqu County (Shandong)

[1] The remains of Yuanqu, its chief city and seat of government, are now located near Longwangmiao Village (t 龍王廟村, s 龙王庙村, Lóngwángmiào Cūn) in Malinggang (t 馬嶺崗鎮, s 马岭岗镇, Mǎlǐnggǎng Zhèn),[10] southwest of the central core of Mudan[1] and northwest of present-day Caoxian.

[1][14] Under the Qin, it is said to have formed part of the Eastern Commandery (t 東郡, s 东郡, Dōng Jùn) of the Henan Area (t 河南地區, s 河南地区, Hénán Dìqū).

[17] When the salt smuggler Wang Xianzhi rose against the empire in nearby Changyuan County in 874,[18] he was able to overrun several towns and even defeated the local forces under Xue Chong (薛崇, Xuē Chóng), the governor of the area's Tianping Circuit (天平道, Tiānpíng Dào).

The next year,[18] Huang Chao raised several thousand men of his own from Yuanqu and joined Wang,[2] eventually overrunning much of the country and proclaiming the Qi dynasty before being defeated and driven to suicide in 884.

[16][19] (Yuanqu was the place where the Shato Turk leader Li Keyong ceased pursuing the fleeing Chao,[20] although the would-be emperor met his end soon afterwards beside Mount Tai.)

[10] Chinese archeologists from Mudan District excavated the ruins at Longwangmiao Village in June 2007 under the direction of Pan Jianrong (t 潘建榮, s 潘建荣, Pān Jiànróng).