History

Jinan has been inhabited since more than 4000 years ago. The Chengziya (城子崖) in the eastern Zhangqiu City is where the Longshan Culture first discovered in 1928. One of the unique features of Longshan Culture is the skill of pottery making demonstrated in recovered black pottery relics - some of which are as thin as egg shells.

During the Spring and Autumn Period (722 B.C. - 481 B.C.) and Warring States Period (475 B.C - 221 B.C.), Jinan was splitted between two states - the state of Lu in the west and the state of Qi in the east. Since 685 B.C., the state of Qi started to build the Great Wall of Qi (齐长城) across the Changqing county and the wall still remains today and is open to tourists. Bian Que (扁鹊) from nowaday Changqing County was the earliest Chinese doctor appeared in historical documents and the most famous one at the time. Zou Yan (邹衍, 305 B.C - 240 B.C) developed the concepts of Yin-Yang and Five Elements (阴阳五行说).In the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. - 220 A.D.), Jinan was the captial of Kingdom of Jibei (济北国) and started to become the cultural and economic hub of the region. In 1995 and 1996, archaeologists from Shandong University excavated the tomb of Han Dynasty in Shuangru Moutain (双乳山汉墓) where the last king of Jibei Liu Kuan (刘宽) was buried. More than 2000 relics such as jade swords, jade masks, jade pillows have been recovered within the 1,500 square meter excavation site, showing off the wealth of the city during the period. Cao cao (曹操, 155 A.D - 220 A.D) was an official of Jinan before he became the de facto ruler of Han Dynasty. His son overthrew the last emperor of Han and founded the Wei Kingdom(220 A.D - 265 A.D) of the Three Kingdom Period.

Since the 5th century, Buddhism has flourished in Jinan. The Langgong Temple (朗公寺) in the southern county of Licheng was one of the most important temples in northern China at that time. The same period witnessed extensive building of Buddhist architectures in southern counties of Licheng and Changqing such as Lingyan Temple (灵岩寺), Thousand-buddha Cliff (千佛崖), etc.

Jinan remained to be the cultural center of the region during the Song Dynasty (960 A.D - 1279 A.D), two most important poets of Southern Song were both born in Jinan: Xin Qiji (辛弃疾, 1140 A.D - 1207 A.D ), the famous patriotic poet who led the peasant rebellion against the Jurchen invasion in 1161 A.D. and Li Qingzhao (李清照, 1084 A.D - 1151 A.D), the most famous female poet in Chinese history. Both of the poets lived in the same period when the Song Dynasty suffered major military setbacks against Jurchen invasion and lost almost half of the territories. Although well-known for their patriotism, the poets failed to persuade the government of Song Dynasty to stand up to the northern Jurchen Kingdom and recover the lost territories including Jinan. After retreating to southern China and realizing the incapabilities of their government, the poets started to write extensively and passionately about their hope of a stronger nation and recovery of lost lands. Many of their poems appeared in Chinese textbooks of later dynasties as well as the textbooks used today.

During the Jurchen and Mongolian occupation, culture in Jinan continued to thrive. The most famous artist of Yuan Dynasty, Zhao Mengfu (赵孟頫, 1254 A.D - 1322 A.D) was appointed as the governor of Jinan in 1293 A.D and spent three years in the city. Among the extraodinary art works he finished during his stay in Jinan, the best painting is "Autumn Colors on the Qiao and Hua Mountains" (鹊华秋色). Geographer Yu Qin (于钦, 1284 A.D - 1333 A.D) was also an official of Jinan and finished the famous geography book Qi Cheng (齐乘) in Jinan.