Xingping

Xingping 兴平市
County-level city
Coordinates: 34°17′58″N 108°29′26″E / 34.2995°N 108.4905°ECoordinates: 34°17′58″N 108°29′26″E / 34.2995°N 108.4905°E
Country	China
Province	Shaanxi
Prefecture	Xianyang
Population	620,000
Time zone	China standard time (UTC+8)

Xingping is a city located in the center part of Shaanxi, China. It became a city since 1993 with a total area of 496 square kilometers and a population of 620,000. The annual average temperature is 13.1 ℃ and its annual precipitation of 585 mm. At present, Xingping has developed more than 50 industries including maritime, aviation, electronics, medicine,and light industry. The historic sites of the city (also spelled Hsing-p’ing) can be found in Xingping Old Street and Fishing Village about 2 km (1.3 miles) from the town. The old banyan tree, which needs as many as eight people's outstretched arms to encircle it, and Guandi (General Guan Yu) Temple which was built in the Qing Dynasty both tell the long history of the town.^[1] Other places of interest in the city includes tomb of Han Maoling, Huo Yang's tomb,and Xingping's North Tower.

Liu Jin (also known as Liu Chin), born circa 1451 or 1452, is from the area of Xingping (Hsing-p’ing). A son of T’an lineage, when he was made a eunuch under the aegis of a eunuch official named Liu, he appropriated that surname. Infamous for being an extremely corrupt official who abused his office to amass a great fortune, he was executed in Beijing in 1510 for treason by a "thousand cuts" over a three-day period. He died on the 2nd day after 300 to 400 cuts. Witnesses at the time said that angry onlookers bought a piece of his flesh for one qian (the smallest currency at the time) and consumed it with rice wine.^[2]

References

1. http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/guangxi/guilin/li_river/xingping.htm
2. Biography of Lieu Chin from the Ming shih, ch. 304 (Text #15); translated by Howard Goodman, page 79.

External links