Much of Luoyang's history was revealed only by the rebuilding of the city in the 1950's and the terracing and irrigation work in the surrounding countryside which brought to light some 60 sites and 1000 tombs. Already by 5000BC, this area was quite heavily populated - the Neolithic site discovered to the west of Luoyang in 1921, which gave its name to the YANGSHAO culture, proved to be just one of a whole series of sites along the Yellow River and in the North China Plain. The city site is a fine strategic one, guarded on three sides by hills and cut across by four rivers. The Bronze Age Shang dynasty have left finds here for the museum but the first real development seems to have been a walled city built by the Zhou around 1000BC. When their rulers were forced to retreat from Xi'an in 771BC, this became their capital: tradition claims that CONFUCIUS studied here and that Lao Zi was keeper of the archives. Under the QIN emperor and his early Han successors Xi'an regained its title, but later HAN emperors (from AD25-220) were once again obliged to withdraw to Luoyang, building their city east of the White Horse Temple. Luoyang's trade and communications with the west along the Silk Road grew rapidly: Buddhism was introduced here in Ad68; the Imperial College was founded with 30,000 students and a great library. CAI LUN invented paper and Zhang Hen the imperial astronomer invented the armillary sphere, demonstrating that the Chinese knew the movement of the heavens long before the west. [Most or all the information re Luoyang is from "The rough Guide to CHINA" but before continuing I thought I would define Lao Tzu as defined by Penguin Classics trans. D.C Lau] The spellings are different so I stand to be corrected. Lao Tzu is the principal classic in the thought of Taoism and traditionally ascribed to the man Lao Tzu, an older contemporary of Confucius (551-479B.C.)           More on Luoyang to follow.....