Qingyuan History records: Taoism is well-established in Qingxin County as early as in Hanjingdi Period (157 B.C. - 141 B.C.).The Maoshan History written by Maoying who is the founder of Maoshan denomination has ranked the Qingyuanshan(Feilai Gorge) as the 19 th Promised Land. Until the beginning of the Repbulic of China, there are five Taoism temples (which are called Changxia, Jinxia, Feixia and Tianhua Xuanzhen) and over ten Taoist halls and over 1000 people Taoists. Xuanzhen is the first founder of the Tianhua Xuanzhen Temple. Xuanzhen Ancient Temple got its name for this reason.

The mountain range which Xuanzhen Ancient Temple located in is named “Eight Pieces Mountain”. According to the introduction of the local villagers, there were eight family names in the village that lived in harmony together. So it got its name “Eight Pieces”. After the war, there now only remains two family names “Zhu” and “Luo”. It’s said that the “Zhu” families is the descendant of Zhu Yuanzhang in Ming Dynasty. They moved here for their country was damaged. The first Scholar Zhu Ruzhen who had been talking much about in delight by the local villagers was born here. The title of Xuanzhen Ancient Temple and Taihe Ancient Temple is written by Zhu Ruzhen.

According to the introduction of the local villagers, there is another story about “Xuanzhen”. At the end of Qing Dynasty, a Taoist from Wudangshan came here to build a Taoist temple. He finally decided that the place was the Promised Land for Taoism cultivating. “Xuanzhen” Ancient Temple means “mysterious, the home of Taoists” (from Daodejing). But the social unrest even couldn’t allow the Taoists. The XuanzhenTemple was damaged by the war and only remained some waste of tumbled walls and its name “XuanzhenAncientTemple”.