Hedong area is one of the main birthplaces of the Chinese nation and the cradle of Chinese civilization. The ancient capital of Yao, Shun and Yu is in Hedong. The ancient Hedong refers to Gankun Bay, Hukou Waterfall and Yumenkou (Gulongmen) in the southwest of Shanxi Province, which is located in the middle reaches of the Yellow River in Qin Jin Grand Canyon. It is the cradle of Chinese civilization. The Yellow River flows through the southwest of Shanxi Province from north to south. Because it is east of the Yellow River, this place was called Hedong in ancient times.
Pingyang, the capital of Historical Records, is called "the hometown of Tang Yao", and the capital of Zhou Dynasty is also in this area. In Qin and Han Dynasties, it refers to Hedong County, located in Yuncheng and Linfen, Shanxi Province. After the Tang Dynasty, Shanxi was generally referred to, and the thirty-first volume of Rizhilu said: "Hedong, Shanxi is also a place. The capital of the Tang Dynasty is in Guanzhong, and its east is a river, so it is called Hedong; The capital of the Yuan Dynasty is in Jimen, with mountains in the west, so it is called Shanxi, which is very close to Jidian.
Celebrities of past dynasties
There are many famous ministers in Hedong area, including Zhang Yi, Li Mu, a famous politician in the Warring States period, and Li Bing, a water conservancy worker. Wei Qing, Huo Qubing, Huo Guang, Guan Yu, Zhang Liao and Huang Xu, famous female calligraphers in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Wei Shuo (Mrs. Wei), Weichi Gong, Xue, Shi Peiren (Hedong) in the Tang Dynasty and Sima Guang, general of Zhongyang in the Song Dynasty.
Hedong region has made indelible contributions to the development of Chinese civilization, such as Li Bing, a famous thinker and water conservancy worker in the Warring States Period, Fa Xian, the first monk in China who learned from Western learning, Wang Tong, a great scholar in the Sui Dynasty, Wu Zetian, poet, Wang Wei, Wang Zhihuan, Wang Changling, Lu Lun, Song, Wen, Liu Zongyuan, Bai Juyi, Si Kongtu, Yuan Hao and so on.