Shandong people


The people of Shandong province or Shandong people refers to those who are native to Shandong province, the majority of whom are Han Chinese. They speak various forms of Mandarin dialects such as Jilu, Jiaoliao, and Zhongyuan. There is a small Shandong community in Singapore and Malaysia. Nine-tenths of the early overseas Chinese in Korea also came from Shandong. Minority groups include the Hui and the Manchus. Shandong citizens are also known to have the tallest average height of any Chinese province. As of 2010, 16-to 18-year-old male students in Yantai measured 176.4 cm, while female students measured 164 cm.

History

Modern-day Shandong is the location of the Kingdom of Qi During the Warring States Period. It was the last Kingdom to be annexed by the Qin State prior to the beginning of the Qin Dynasty. After the brief 15 year unification by the Qin Dynasty, the empire broke into Eighteen Kingdoms. Present day Shandong was split into two feudal states, Jiaodong and Jibei. The Han State, headed by Liu Bang, unified the kingdoms to form the Han Dynasty. After 400 years, the Han Dynasty fell and the empire scattered into the Three Kingdoms period. During this time, present-day Shandong belonged to the Northern State of Cao Wei established by the Warlord Cao Cao. After the disintegration of the Cao Wei Dynasty, the area of present-day Shandong was ruled by the Tuoba Clan of the Xianbei Tribe during the Eastern Wei. The Eastern Wei eventually fell to the Northern Qi Dynasty which lasted 27 years before it was overtaken by the Northern Zhou of central China.Yang Jian was able to recapture ruling power to the Han Chinese from the Xianbei and establish the Sui Dynasty after centuries of Xianbei rule and division between different states, becoming Emperor Wen of Sui. After unifying the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Sui Dynasty paved the way for the Tang Dynasty and many years of prosperity and peace. The Tang Dynasty fell about 300 years after its inception. The empire again, fragmented, this time into many different states whose borders are roughly the outline of the present day provinces. During this time Shandong was known as the Later Liang Kingdom.
Throughout its history, the coastline of Shandong was particularly susceptible to so-called Wokou Pirates. After the Second Opium War the Treaty of Tianjin forced the Manchu Ching Empire, ruled by the Manchu to open more ports to Western Nations. As a result, there were considerable foreign settlements by the British, Germans, Americans, and Russians in Shandong cities during the 18th Century. For 20 years prior to the end of World War I, the Germans controlled Shandong. After the defeat of Germany in WWI by the Allied forces, the cities of Chefoo and Tsingtao were handed to the Japanese who used the port cities for their summer fleets. This led to the Shandong Problem which added to the ignition of the May Fourth Movement and the New Culture Movement— paving the way for the birth of modern China.

Korean clans from Shandong

is one of the "8 Great Regional Cuisines" of China. It is noted for uses of seafood, vinegar, and garlic.
Since Shandong is located in fertile plains, it is a main wheat-growing area in China. People in Shandong enjoy eating foods made of wheat flour as staple food. It is commonly said that Shandong people like to eat big pan-cakes stuffed with scallions or minced meat when they eat three meals a day.
Shandong cuisine is generally salty, with a prevalence of light-color sauces, and features adept skill in slicing. Shandong cuisine is representative of Northern Chinese cooking and its techniques have been widely absorbed by the imperial dishes of Ming and Qing Dynasties.

Notable dishes

Evidence of the Beixin culture, the Dawenkou culture and the Longshan Culture was found in Shandong province, which provides evidence that comparatively advanced handcraft industry, agriculture and animal husbandry was prevalent in Shandong 4000 to 7000 years ago. Additionally, Shandong is home to some of the oldest Chinese inscriptions: Dawenkou Pottery Inscription and Longshan Pottery Inscription; the largest prehistoric settlement found to date: Chengziya Archeological Site; the oldest section of the Great Wall in China: the Great Wall of Qi State; Huantai County Oracle Bone Script, among the oldest found in China, were all found in Shandong. According to the research of archaeologists, Shandong was the main place for silk manufacture from the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, and it was the origin of the ancient Silk Road.

Heritage sites

Notable people

Mathematicians