现在我们看到的就是楼观台了，那它跟老子到底有什么关系呢？大家跟我进去看看吧。

楼观台是我国著名的道教圣地，有“天下第一福地”之称。它位于周至县东南15千米处的终南山麓，距西安70千米，是一个风景秀丽的游览胜地。

相传周穆王曾到此游历，建造宫室，明楼观宫。秦始皇在楼南建宫，亲来求神拜仙。汉武帝在楼北也曾立宫。晋惠帝在这里植树千万余株，迁来居民300多户，进行维修保护工作。隋文帝初年，又进行了大规模的修葺。

唐代，楼观台达到极盛时期；楼观台在宋、元、明、清各代都进行过维修。唐代的欧阳询、王维、李白，宋代的米芾和元代的赵孟等文人学士都来过这里，咏诗题字，刻石留念。

楼观台得名于公元前11世纪的西周。相传周代大夫函谷关令尹喜在这里结草为楼，夜观天象，所以最初名为“草观楼”。有一天，尹喜看见从东面飘来一股紫气，预知将有真人从这里经过。后来果然老子西游路过此地，他便将老子迎到草楼，恳请老子为其著书。于是老子在草楼写下了千古流传的《道德经》，共5 000余字，并在楼南高岗筑台讲经，叫做“说经台”。楼观台由此得名。

老子姓李，名耳，字聃，是我国春秋时期著名的思想家，道家创始人，被道教奉为教主。老子开创的道家哲学思想流派包含极为深刻的哲学原理，至今受到人们的重视。他著的《道德经》被译为多国文字，在海外广为流传。

楼观台遗留到今日的主要名胜古迹有说经台、炼丹炉、吕公洞、化女泉、楼观塔、老子墓以及宗圣宫、会灵观、玉华观、延生观等遗址。现在我们去参观老子祠吧。

We are looking at the Longguan Temple now. What's the relationship between the temple and Laozi？Let's go and find out.

The Louguan Temple is a famous Taoist shrine in China，and it is revered as the“first land of the blessed under heaven”.The temple is situated on a hillside north of the Zhongnan Mountain，15 kilometers southeast of Zhouzhi County and 70 kilometers from Xi'an City.It is a beautiful scenic resort.

According to legend，King Mu of the Zhou Dynasty once traveled here and had a palatial mansion built.He named it the Louguan Pa－lace.The First Qin Emperor had a temple built south of the tower，and prayed to the gods or consulted celestial beings in person.The Han Emperor Wudi had a temple built north of the tower.During Emperor Hui's reign in the Jin Dynasty，tens of thousands of trees were plant－ed，and more than 300 households were relocated for the maintenance and protection of the grounds.Again，large－scale repair work on the temple was carried out in the early years during Emperor Wen's reign in the Sui Dynasty.

The Louguan Temple came to its prime in the Tang Dynasty.Maintenance of the temple was un dertaken respectively in the dynasties of Song，Yuan，Ming and Qing.Men of letters composed poems and inscribed them on stone when they paid visits to the shrine.Among the famous ones were Ouyang Xun，Wang Wei and Li Bai of the Tang Dy nasty，Mi Fu of the Song Dynasty and Zhao Mengfu of the Yuan Dynasty.

The Louguan Temple assumed its name as far back as the 11th century BC.According to legend，Yin Xi，magistrate of Hangu Pass and an official of the Zhou Dynasty，built a thatched tower for nocturnal observations of the heavenly bodies.Therefore，the temple was initially called the Caoguan Tower.One day，he noticed a violet current of air drifting westwards，and accordingly predicted that an immortal would pass by.Quite to his expectations Laozi arrived on his journey west.He welcomed Laozi on to the tower and earnestly requested him to write him a book.Laozi agreed and thereafter，completed a 5 000－character classic of great value entitled The Classic of the Way.He also built a high platform south of the tower for teaching the classic.It is known as the Shuojing Platform today. This is the evolutional process of the Louguan Temple.

Laozi，alias Li Er，otherwise known as Li Dan，established himself as a famous philosopher in the Spring and Autumn Period of China.He has been revered as the founder of Taoism.The school of Taoism created by him represents profound philosophic theories，and it has been highly thought of.His Classic of the Way has been published in many languages and enjoys a wide circulation overseas.

Some historical sites have survived the ages，in cluding the Shuojing Platform，the Liandan Furnace，Lü Dongbin's Cave，the HuanüSpring，the Louguan Pago da，Laozi's Tomb，the Zongsheng Palace，the Huiling Temple，the Yuhua Temple and the Yansheng Temple. We will visit Laozi's Shrine first.