In the southeast corner of Pingyao are two important temple complexes. The first is a Confucian Temple where scholars came to sit for the imperial examinations. A good result assured the candidate of lifetime employment in the government, an earlier manifestation of the "iron rice bowl" enjoyed by today's public employees in China. Students still come to the temple to leave prayer slips in hopes of good university examination scores. The main building was established in 1163, although it has been restored several times since then.
The second temple complex is a series of shrines associated with the worship of the City God, the deity that protected the walled city of Pingyao. A series of rooms depicts the tortures inflicted on the ghosts of evil humans, but the complex is presided over by shrines devoted to the City God and to the benevolent Kitchen God (Zao Jun) and his wife. http://picasaweb.google.com/trucknmama/Pingyao2Temples#
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