The reason for the name "Sanming"
The origin of the name Sanming has its specific meaning. In a broad sense, it generally refers to the entire jurisdiction of Sanming today; in a narrow sense, it is the name of the urban area. The city government was called Sanyuan in ancient times, and it has always been a territory within Shaxian County. In the 29th year of the Republic of China (1940), Sanyuan County was established. In July 1956, when Sanyuan and Mingxi counties merged, they took the first letter of the original names of the two counties and combined them into "Sanming" as the name of the new county, which has been used ever since.
The origin and changes of the name "Sanyuan"
Sanyuan was originally under the jurisdiction of Shaxian County, and its place name has a long history. Legend has it that as far back as the Tang Dynasty, a local An family gave birth to triplets. The eldest son was named Long Yuan, the second son was named Shi Yuan, and the last son was named Bao Yuan. The three brothers were all famous for being heroes in the world, so the place was named San Yuan. During the Song Dynasty, Sanyuan was a small village in the 22nd capital of Sha County. It was not until the middle of the Ming Dynasty that a town was established. Sanyuanli was established in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and Sanyuan Town was established after the Republic of China. In the 28th year of the Republic of China (1939), Sanyuan Town was separated from Shaxian County and the Sanyuan Special Zone was established. In the 29th year of the Republic of China, based on Sanyuan Town, part of the adjacent Shaxian, Mingxi and Yongan counties were added to form Sanyuan County, and Sanyuan Town was renamed Sanmin Town. When it was liberated in 1950, it was still called Sanmin Town and was under the jurisdiction of Meilie District, Sanyuan County. In 1954, Sanmin Town was renamed Chengguan Town and still belonged to Meilie District, Sanyuan County. In February 1959, the Sanming People's Commune was established, with jurisdiction over eight rural people's communes: Chengguan, Zhongcun, Xinkou, Yanqian, Xuefeng, Gaiyang, Xiayang and Hufang. In August 1961, the Chengguan People's Commune Management Committee was changed into the urban district office, with jurisdiction over three branches: Chengguan, Liedong and Liexi. In 1970, it had jurisdiction over the urban district offices of Sanming City, the four commune management committees of Chenda, Yanqian, Xinkou and Zhongcun, and the Jingxi Town Government. In April 1983, with the approval of the State Council, the Sanming District Administrative Office was abolished, the original jurisdiction of Sanming City was changed to a provincial municipality, and a municipal and county-level Sanyuan administrative district was established.