In ancient times, Nuwa made stones to mend the sky, Shennong tasted herbs, Yu Gong moved mountains, Jingwei reclaimed the sea, Shun cultivated Lishan, etc. all happened here.
The Hedong region has seen numerous famous ministers and generals throughout the ages. The famous statesman Zhang Yi, the famous general Li Mu in the Warring States Period, the famous Han Dynasty generals Wei Qing, Huo Qubing, Huo Guang, Guan Yu, Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, the Tang Dynasty generals Wei Chigong and Xue Rengui, the Song Dynasty Prime Minister Sima Guang, the famous female calligrapher Mrs. Wei in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the famous general Di Qing, Wang Qiong, an important official in the Ming Dynasty, and Yu Chenglong, the most honest official in the Qing Dynasty were all born here.
The Hedong area has made an indelible contribution to the development of Chinese civilization. The famous thinker Xunzi during the Warring States Period, Faxian, the first Chinese monk who traveled westward to seek Buddhist scriptures, the great Confucian Wang Tong of the Sui Dynasty, the poets of the Tang Dynasty Wang Bo, Wang Han, Wang Wei, Wang Zhihuan, Wang Changling, Lu Lun, Song Zhiwen, Wen Tingyun, Liu Zongyuan, Bai Juyi, Sikong Tu, the great writer Yuan Haowen of the Jin Dynasty, the dramatists Bai Pu and Zheng Guangzu of the Yuan Dynasty, and the writer Luo Guanzhong of the Ming Dynasty