The reason why Shanxi is called Shanxi is because of a mountain. This mountain is the Taihang Mountain. Geographically, Shanxi is to the west of the Taihang Mountain, so it is called Shanxi. Shandong is to the east of the Taihang Mountain, so it is called Shandong. In fact, To be precise, Taihang Mountain is the dividing line between Shanxi and Hebei provinces.
The word "Shanxi" was first used in the Ming Dynasty. When the Ming Dynasty divided the country into administrative regions, the Shanxi Chief Envoy Department and the Shanxi Du Commandery Department were set up in Shanxi, which were equivalent to administrative and military management agencies. The word Shanxi began to spread. In the Qing Dynasty, the word Shanxi was used to establish Shanxi Province, which is still used today.
In fact, in Chinese history before the Ming Dynasty, today's Shanxi is not called Shanxi. There are two more commonly known names: one is called Hedong, and the other is called Sanjin.
1. Hedong
During the Qin and Han Dynasties, today’s Shanxi was commonly known as Hedong because Shanxi was to the east of the Yellow River. After flowing from Qinghai through Gansu, the Yellow River began to flow northward. It flows to Ningxia and Inner Mongolia. After reaching Bayannur in Inner Mongolia, it begins to flow eastward. It then begins to flow southward in Tumed Left Banner in Inner Mongolia, and along the junction of Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces, it flows southward to Shaanxi and Shanxi. From Tongguan, the junction of the two provinces of Henan, it begins to flow westward.
So when the Yellow River flows through the six provinces of Gansu, Ningxia, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Henan, it forms a "ji"-shaped flow chart. Today, all the land in Shanxi is located on the east side of the Yellow River. , so during the Qin and Han Dynasties, Shanxi was called Hedong, which means east of the Yellow River. The Qin Dynasty implemented the system of prefectures and counties and set up Hedong County in Shanxi, which was also used in the Han Dynasty.
The ruling center of the Qin and Han Dynasties was in the Guanzhong area. Hedong (today's Shanxi) at that time was located east of the Yellow River in the minds of the Qin and Han rulers, so it was also named Hedong. This popular name has always been It continued to be used in the Tang Dynasty. Li Yuan, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, was the governor of Taiyuan at that time. He raised troops in Hedong to rebel against the Sui Dynasty, and then entered Guanzhong to establish the Tang Dynasty.
However, after the Song Dynasty, the center of governance moved from the central part of Guandong to the Central Plains. During the Ming Dynasty, the capital was initially set in Nanjing and later moved to Beijing. The center of Qing rule was also in Beijing. In the eyes of the Ming and Qing rulers, , it is no longer appropriate to call Shanxi today Hedong, because in the eyes of the rulers of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Shanxi was to the west of the ruling center, and to the east of Shanxi there is a group of Taihang Mountains running north to south, which naturally separates the Loess Plateau from the Hebei Plain. The Taihang Mountains It is the natural dividing line, and Shanxi is located to the west of the Taihang Mountains, so the Ming Dynasty gave it the name Shanxi. The meaning is very simple, it is to the west of the Taihang Mountains, referred to as Shanxi.
The Second and Third Jin
But to talk about the origin of Shanxi, we have to start from the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty. After the establishment of the Zhou Dynasty, the world was not stable. During this period, the Sanjian Rebellion occurred, which was later punished by Zhou Ping. In 1035 BC, a rebellion broke out in the Tang State in Shanxi Province. The Tang State was said to be a vassal state established by the descendants of Emperor Yao. The Duke of Zhou led his army to put down the rebellion and enfeoffed the Tang region. To Tang Shuyu (Ji Yu), son of King Zhou Wu and younger brother of King Zhou Cheng, and established the Tang State.
The approximate location of the Tang Kingdom is in the Fen River Basin in the south of Shanxi Province, east of the Yellow River and Fen River. The fiefdom is a hundred miles in radius. After the death of Tang Shu Yu, his son Ji Xie inherited the throne. , so he changed the country's name from "Tang" to "Jin", so the Tang Dynasty became the Jin Kingdom. So why did Ji Xie change his name?
According to "Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals", it was because there was a river called Jinshui in the Tang Dynasty at that time, so Ji Xie changed the name of the country to Jin. Which river is Jinshui now? , it has been impossible to verify, but it is clear that the second king of Jin changed his name to Jin.
The original capital of the Jin Kingdom was in Yicheng, which is today's Yicheng County, Linfen City, Shanxi Province. During the reign of Duke Xiang of Jin Dynasty, the capital was moved to Jiang. The location of Jiang is today's Jiang County, Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province. During the Jinggong period of Jin Dynasty, the capital was moved to Xinjiang, which is today's Houma City in Shanxi Province. Finally, the capital of Jin State was moved to Tunliu, which is today's Changzhi City in Shanxi Province.
Judging from the changes in the capital of the Jin State, the center of Jin’s rule has always been in the southern region of Shanxi Province today. However, in its hundreds of years of history, the Jin State has been expanding externally. By the time of Duke Xiang of Jin , 17 vassal states were destroyed and 38 vassal states were surrendered. By the time of Duke Wen of Jin, it was the most powerful period in the history of the Jin state. The territory of the Jin state included all of present-day Shanxi Province, the eastern and northern parts of Shaanxi Province, and Hebei Province. The central and southern parts, the western and northern parts of Henan Province, the northwest part of Shandong Province and a small part of Inner Mongolia became the most powerful vassal states during the Spring and Autumn Period.
The Jin State was also one of the Five Hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period, and it was the vassal state that had been hegemonic for the longest time. During the more than 100 years from Duke Xiang of Jin to Duke Linggong of Jin, it was the most powerful period of the Jin State. After that, the state of Jin began to gradually weaken. Since the state of Jin implemented the system of three armies and six ministers, military and political power was mainly controlled by the six ministers and officials. In the later period, when the king of Jin began to be weak, the ministers and ministers of Jin took control of the government of Jin.
In the Jin Dynasty, there were six families of ministers and officials during Jin Jinggong's period, namely: Han family, Zhao family, Wei family, Fan family, Zhonghang family, and Zhi family, and the six families have been fighting for power. First, the Fan family and the Zhongxing family were destroyed. Later, during the Jin Dynasty, the Han family, the Zhao family, and the Wei family united to destroy the Zhi family. Then the Han family, the Zhao family, and the Wei family divided the entire land of Jin. The king of Jin became a puppet.
In 403 BC, Emperor Zhou officially recognized the status of the three vassal states of Han, Zhao, and Wei. After that, the three states of Korea, Zhao, and Wei officially replaced Jin as vassal states. This event also The landmark event that marked the dividing line between the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Chinese history entered the Warring States Period. Although Han, Zhao, and Wei replaced the Jin State, during the Warring States Period, Han, Zhao, and Wei were still commonly known as the Three Jins.
Then the Three Jins began to evolve into geographical terms, referring to the land originally belonging to the Jin State, and also to the land belonging to the three dynasties of Korea, Zhao, and Wei. They were also called the Three Jins. The Three Jins did not have an accurate geography. Division is a geographical term commonly known as culturally. However, the original fiefdoms and capitals of the Jin State were in the southwestern part of Shanxi today. At the same time, after Quwo replaced Yi, the ancestral temples of the later kings of the Jin State were all located in Quwo. Quwo is Linfen, Shanxi Province, has counties under its jurisdiction, so the core area of ??the Three Jins is still Shanxi, which is also the birthplace of the Jin Kingdom.
Later, Jin was simply used as the name for Shanxi. When it comes to Jin, the first thing that comes to mind is Shanxi. During the Warring States Period, Han, Zhao, and Wei were still called the three Jins, such as:
"Shang Jun Shu Lai Min": Qin's neighbors are the three Jins.
Shang Yang called Han, Zhao, and Wei the Three Jins, and this was also the case during the Warring States Period. This is the same reason that Shaanxi is now called the Three Qins. After Qin Shihuang unified the world, he established a system of prefectures and counties. Shanxi is Hedong County, and then there is the historical origin mentioned above, and the origin of the name Jin is from Ji Xie, the son of Tang Shuyu, and then Jin became the abbreviation of Shanxi Province. This is the reason and origin.