page_title: Shandong
section_title: Ancient history
hierarchical_section_title: Shandong / History / Ancient history
caption_attribution_description: English: Photograph of the remains of the sewer of the historical city of Linzi passing underneath the former city wall.
context_page_description: Shandong is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region.
  Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural and religious center for Taoism, Chinese Buddhism and Confucianism. Shandong's Mount Tai is the most revered mountain of Taoism and one of the world's sites with the longest history of continuous religious worship. The Buddhist temples in the mountains to the south of the provincial capital of Jinan were once among the foremost Buddhist sites in China. The city of Qufu is the birthplace of Confucius and was later established as the center of Confucianism.
  Shandong's location at the intersection of ancient as well as modern north–south and east–west trading routes have helped to establish it as an economic center.
context_section_description: With its location on the eastern edge of the North China Plain, Shandong was home to a succession of Neolithic cultures for millennia, including the Houli culture (6500–5500 BCE), the Beixin culture (5300–4100 BCE), the Dawenkou culture (4100–2600 BCE), the Longshan culture (3000–2000 BCE), and the Yueshi culture (1900–1500 BCE).
  The earliest dynasties (the Shang dynasty and Zhou dynasty) exerted varying degrees of control over western Shandong, while eastern Shandong was inhabited by the Dongyi peoples who were considered "barbarians." Over subsequent centuries, the Dongyi were eventually sinicized.
  During the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period, regional states became increasingly powerful. At this time, Shandong was home to two major states: the state of Qi at Linzi and the state of Lu at Qufu. Lu is noted for being the home of Confucius. The state was, however, comparatively small, and eventually succumbed to the larger state of Chu from the south. The state of Qi, on the other hand, was a major power throughout the period. Cities it ruled included Linzi, Jimo (north of modern Qingdao) and Ju.
  The easternmost part of the peninsula was ruled by the Dongyi state of Lai until it was conquered by Qi in 567 BC.
caption: Remains of Ancient Linzi city sewer passing underneath the former city wall
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