justice prevailed. Kou's 'New Code' was promulgated throughout the realm, and a large altar was built near the capital where 120 Taoist practitioners performed rites and prayers daily. Cui gained a great deal of power in the court, and in 444 began to purge the Buddhist clergy. This led to a major persecution against Buddhists in 446. In 448, Kou Qianzhi was 'released' from his body, and Cui lost his greatest supporter at the court. Shortly after Kou's death, Cui had a national history of Wei dynasty containing unflattering portraits of its rulers carved in stone. This so enraged the emperor, that he had Cui executed in 450. After Cui's execution, the Taoist community was forced to flee, with many of them settling at the Taoist center of Louguan. Louguan (450-688) By the late 470s, Taoists fleeing from the Northern Wei court had transformed Louguan into an important religious center. According to legend, Louguan used to be the home of Yin Xi, the first recipient of the Dao de jing. At this time, the center's buildings were greatly expanded, and many Taoist scriptures were collected, including materials from the Lingbao and Shangqing schools. During the 7th century, the school had a prominent role in a series of debates that examined whether Buddhism or Taoism would be better suited to bring stability to the realm. The first debate surrounded Fu Yi, a scholar and Taoist who proposed that Buddhism be abolished in China. Naturally, the Buddhists were not happy with his suggestions and countered his arguments in several treatises. The second debate concerned Lu Zhongqing, a friend of Fu Yi, who wrote about Buddhism's inferiority to Taoism. The Tang emperors were in support of the Taoists, and in 637 issued an edict that secured the precedence of Taoism over Buddhism. This edict remained in place until 674, when Empress Wu Zetian came to power. At the same time, Louguan also served as a refuge for Taoists fleeing the persecution of Emperor Wu of the Liang dynasty to the south. The final Northern Celestial Master, Yin Wencao arrived at Louguan in 636 and later achieved the favor of the Gaozong Emperor. After Yin's death in 688, Louguan remained an important place of Taoist learning, but ceased to be considered part of a distinct school. Texts The most important text from the Northern Wei period of the Northern Celestial Masters is the Laojun