For more than thirty provinces in China, there are one or more abbreviations. The abbreviations of many identities are often closely related to the history of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.
In ancient Chinese history, the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period can be said to be the most far-reaching period. The various schools of thought in this period still have a profound influence to this day. It is worth noting that the abbreviations for many provinces in China were also directly affected by the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. For example, Shanxi Province is abbreviated as "Jin" because of the great state of Jin in the Spring and Autumn Period. Shandong Province is abbreviated as "Lu" because of the Lu State during this period. For Hebei Province, it is known as the "Land of Yan and Zhao" in history, which originated from the Yan and Zhao states during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. So why is Hebei Province referred to as "Ji" instead of "Yan" or "Zhao"?
First of all, compared to Henan Province, Hebei is named because it is located north of the Yellow River. During the historical stage of the Warring States Period, the Yan and Zhao states met here. However, neither the Yan nor the Zhao states had their territorial scope limited to today's Hebei Province. At that time, the Yan State's territory included parts of today's Hebei Province, Beijing City, Tianjin City, and Liaoning Province. In its heyday, the Zhao State's territory included parts of central and southern Hebei, northern and eastern Shanxi, northern Henan, and western Shandong. At this point, Hubei Province was not abbreviated as Chu, perhaps because the territory of Chu State at that time included most of the provinces south of the Yangtze River, including Hubei. Of course, as far as Hebei Province is concerned, the abbreviation of "Ji" may also be due to the fact that Jizhou has a longer history.
As far as Jizhou is concerned, it is generally believed that the Xia Dynasty first appeared. According to the records in "Shang Shu Yu Gong", after Dayu controlled the floods, he divided the world into nine states, namely Ji, Yan, Qing, Xu, Yang, Jing, Yu, Liang, Yong and other nine states. Jizhou is not only one of the nine ancient states, but also known as the "head of the nine states". During the Han Dynasty, the thirteen states of the Eastern Han Dynasty included: Yongzhou, Yuzhou, Yanzhou, Xuzhou, Qingzhou, Liangzhou, Bingzhou, Jizhou, Youzhou, Yangzhou, Jingzhou, Yizhou, and Jiaozhou (there is also a division under the jurisdiction of Xiaoweibu, also known as Sizhou). Therefore, in ancient Chinese history, Jizhou appeared earlier than Yan and Zhao during the Warring States Period. Jizhou was also used for a long time in the administrative divisions of many dynasties.
In addition, the abbreviation "Ji" for Hebei Province contains and entrusts good wishes. "Ji" is a word with multiple meanings. It has many meanings in Chinese, one of which means "hope". In the written language of Chinese, there are words such as "hope", "hope" and "expectation". In this way, Jizhou is a state of hope, so Hebei Province, now referred to as "Ji", can be understood as a place of hope. In addition to the abbreviation, as for the division of Hebei Province, it belonged to Beizhili in the Ming Dynasty and Zhili Province in the Qing Dynasty. At that time, the governor-general of Zhili was stationed in Baoding Prefecture (today's Baoding City, Hebei Province).