In 1829 (Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty), Liuyang set up a Confucius Temple bureau for rites and music. Qiu Zhilu, a scribe in charge of ancient music, spent decades creating a whole set of unique instruments and repertoire for the Confucius Worship Ceremony in accordance with ancient traditions. He produced hundreds of classical instruments, including bianzhong (chime bells), bianqing (stone chimes), fengxiao (phoenix flutes), and pao (gourd instruments), and compiled the book A Study of Musical Temperaments.

At thetime, the Confuciusworship music of the Liuyang Confucius Templegained nationwide fame, enjoyingequal popularity with that of the ConfuciusTemple in Qufuof Shandong. This earned Liuyang its reputation as “the home of state ritual music and ancient rites.”