Does the ancient "Shandong" refer to a region or a province?

First, answer the question directly. Ancient Shandong refers not to the present Shandong province, but to a region. Place names are the product of people's constant social life, bearing different cultures in a region. Now I want to mention Shandong. Everyone wants to know that it refers to Shandong Province, which is known as Qilu culture near the eastern coast of China. But what the ancients said about Shandong is actually different from what we now think about Shandong Province. Let me tell the difference.

The ancients used to position themselves in the direction of mountains, rivers, lakes and seas, so? Shandong? It has an indissoluble bond with the word "mountain". During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, this mountain was here, referring to Lushan Mountain in Sanmenxia City, Henan Province, with the hills as the middle boundary and the east as the boundary, which is what we call Shandong. Xiaoshan's geographical position is very important, and it is located at the junction of Jin and Qin countries, as well as the Eastern Zhou and Zheng countries, and its strategic position is very important. It can be said that whoever wins Xiaoshan will have the initiative to dominate the Central Plains. The Xiaoshan War, which we have heard of in history, happened here. So in ancient times, Shandong actually stood in the perspective of Qin people and looked east from Lushan. At that time, it was also recorded in the history books that Qin called six countries east of Yishan, including Wei, Qi, Yan, Han, Chu and Zhao. Shandong six countries? .

Since the Eastern Han Dynasty? Shandong? It was changed with the word "mountain". The mountain at that time was not Yishan, but Taihang Mountain. Taihang Mountain, which spans Shanxi, Hebei, Henan and Beijing, is one of the dividing lines of the second and third terraces in China. Taihang Mountain stretches for more than 400 kilometers to the northeast and southwest, which is very vast. At this time? Shandong? It refers to the eastern part of Taihang Mountain, including Henan Province, Hebei Province and Shandong Province, compared with the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period? Shandong? The area has become smaller.

By the time of the Song Dynasty? Shandong? The area continues to shrink. It is almost the meaning of Shandong province now, but the official has not given an exact division. Finally, in the Ming Dynasty, the state divided Shandong Province, which is now Shandong Province, and it was finally established.