Hebei

:Not to be confused with the unrelated province of Hubei

History

Plains in Hebei were the home of Peking man, a group of Homo erectus that lived in the area around 200,000 to 700,000 years ago.

Related Topics:
Peking man - Homo erectus

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

During the Warring States Period (403 BC - 221 BC), Hebei was under the rule of the states of Yan (燕 yān) in the north and Zhao (赵 zhào) in the south, before both succumbed to the Qin Dynasty. The Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) ruled the area under two provinces (zhou), Youzhou Province (幽州 Yōuzhōu) in the north and Jizhou Province (冀州 Jìzhōu) in the south. At the end of the Han Dynasty, most of Hebei came under the control of warlords Gongsun Zan in the north and Yuan Shao further south; Yuan Shao emerged victorious out of the two, but he was soon defeated by rival Cao Cao (based further south, in modern-day Henan) in the Battle of Guandu in 200. Hebei then came under the rule of the Kingdom of Wei (one of the Three Kingdoms), established by the descendants of Cao Cao.

Related Topics:
Warring States Period - Yan - Zhao - Qin Dynasty - Han Dynasty - 206 BC - 220 - Zhou - Youzhou Province - Jizhou Province - Warlord - Gongsun Zan - Yuan Shao - Cao Cao - Henan - Battle of Guandu - 200 - Kingdom of Wei - Three Kingdoms

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After the invasions of northern nomadic peoples at the end of the Western Jin Dynasty, the chaos of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Northern and Southern Dynasties ensued. Hebei, firmly in North China and right at the northern frontier, was a battleground throughout this period. This continued until the Sui Dynasty reestablished China's unity in 589.

Related Topics:
Western Jin Dynasty - Sixteen Kingdoms - Northern and Southern Dynasties - Sui Dynasty - 589

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

During the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907) the area was formally designated "Hebei" (Yellow River's north) for the first time. During the earlier part of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, Hebei was home to rebel provincial governor Li Cunxu, who eventually overthrew the Later Liang Dynasty (907 - 923) to establish the Later Tang Dynasty (923 - 936). The next dynasty to come, the Later Jin Dynasty under Shi Jingtang, ceded much of modern-day northern Hebei to the Khitan Liao Dynasty in the north; this territory, called The Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, became a major problem for China's defense against the Khitans for the next century, since it lay within the Great Wall.

Related Topics:
Tang Dynasty - 618 - 907 - Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period - Li Cunxu - Later Liang Dynasty - 923 - Later Tang Dynasty - 936 - Later Jin Dynasty - Shi Jingtang - Khitan - Liao Dynasty - China - Great Wall

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

During the Northern Song Dynasty (960 - 1127), the sixteen ceded prefectures continued to be an area of hot contention between Song China and the Liao Dynasty. The Southern Song Dynasty that came after abandoned all of North China to the Jurchen Jin Dynasty (1115-1234) in 1127, including Hebei.

Related Topics:
Northern Song Dynasty - 960 - 1127 - Liao Dynasty - Southern Song Dynasty - North China - Jurchen - Jin Dynasty (1115-1234)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Mongol Yuan Dynasty divided China into provinces but did not establish Hebei as a province. The Ming Dynasty ruled Hebei as "Beizhili" (北直隸, pinyin: Běizhílì), meaning "Northern Directly Ruled", because the area contained and was directly ruled by the imperial capital, Beijing; the "Northern" designation was used because there was a southern counterpart covering present-day Jiangsu and Anhui. When the Manchu Qing Dynasty came to power in 1644, they abolished the southern counterpart, and Hebei became known as "Zhili", or simply "Directly Ruled".

Related Topics:
Mongol - Yuan Dynasty - Ming Dynasty - Pinyin - Beijing - Jiangsu - Anhui - Manchu - Qing Dynasty - 1644

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The Qing Dynasty collapsed in 1912 and was replaced by the Republic of China. Within a few years, China descended into civil war, with regional warlords vying for power. Since Zhili was so close to Peking (Beijing), the capital, it was the site of frequent wars, including the Zhiwan War, the First Zhifeng War and the Second Zhifeng War. With the success of the Northern Expedition, a successful campaign by the Kuomintang to end the rule of the warlords, the capital was moved from Peking (Beijing) to Nanking (Nanjing). As a result, the name of Zhili was changed to Hebei to reflect that fact that it had a standard provincial administration, and that the capital had been relocated elsewhere.

Related Topics:
Qing Dynasty - 1912 - Republic of China - Beijing - Zhiwan War - First Zhifeng War - Second Zhifeng War - Northern Expedition - Kuomintang - Nanjing

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The founding of the People's Republic of China saw several changes: the region around Chengde, previously part of Rehe Province (historically part of Manchuria), and the region around Zhangjiakou, previously part of Chahar Province (historically part of Inner Mongolia), were merged into Hebei, extending its borders northwards beyond the Great Wall. The capital was also moved from Baoding to the upstart city of Shijiazhuang, and for a short period, to Tianjin.

Related Topics:
People's Republic of China - Chengde - Rehe - Manchuria - Zhangjiakou - Chahar - Inner Mongolia - Baoding - Shijiazhuang - Tianjin

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

On July 28, 1976, Tangshan was struck by a powerful earthquake, the Tangshan earthquake, the deadliest of the 20th century with over 240,000 killed. A series of smaller earthquakes struck the city in the following decade.

Related Topics:
July 28 - 1976 - Tangshan - Earthquake - Tangshan earthquake - 20th century

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 2005, Chinese archaeologists unearthed what is being called the Chinese equivalent of Italy's Pompeii. The find in question, located near Liumengchun Village (柳孟春村) in Cang County in east-central Hebei, is a buried settlement destroyed nearly 700 years ago by a major earthquake. Another possible explanation may be the four successive floods which hit the area around the time when the settlement met its sudden end. The settlement appears to have been a booming commercial center during the Song Dynasty. http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050515/sc_afp/chinaarcheology_050515215147

Related Topics:
2005 - Italy - Pompeii - Cang County - Song Dynasty

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~