History and Culture

Dingzhou has a long and profound history.Since 400,Emperor Daowu renamed Anzhou as Dingzhou with the intention of pacifying the whole country.Dingzhou has a history of more than 1,600 years as the name of the national administrative division system.It is said that the original fief of Emperor Yao was in Tang Cheng,north of Dingzhou City.During the Yin and Shang dynasties,it was a northern vassal state of the Shang Dynasty.According to Notes on Water Classics,in 649 BC,during the Warring States Period,Guan Zhong,prime minister of the Qi State built a city in the area of present-day Dingzhou.Dingzhou City has a history of more than 2,600 years since then.After that,Dingzhou served as the capital of a state,a county,or a prefecture,always being the political,economic and cultural center of a region.In 414 BC,Duke Wu of Zhongshan led his tribe to migrate from Taihang Mountains to Central Hebei Plain,and established a new capital in Gu (now Dingzhou City).That was the famous Zhongshan of the Warring States Period.Later,Emperor Gao of the Han Dynasty set up the Zhongshan County,which was changed to Zhongshan State by Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty.

In 154 BC,Emperor Jing conferred the title of Prince Jing of Zhongshan on Prince Liu Sheng and established its capital here,which was named“Lunu.”It was called Zhongshan County in the later Wei Dynasty,Dingzhou in the period of the Wei Dynasty,Dingzhou or Boling County in the Tang Dynasty.It was the government seat of a province or a prefecture during the Song,Jin,Yuan,Ming and Qing dynasties.Around 1912,it was changed from a district to a county.(https://www.daowen.com)

From 1912 to 1937,Dingzhou has been renamed several times and its jurisdiction gradually expanded,which laid the foundation for the present jurisdiction of Dingzhou.

After the founding of the People’s Republic of China,Dingzhou jurisdiction began to change.Whether it was the expansion of jurisdiction or the change and return of Dingzhou’s administrative name,Dingzhou ushered in a new round of rapid development and prosperity in the new historical period.On March 5,1986,Dingxian County was abolished and Dingzhou City was established with the approval of the State Council.In December 1994,Baoding area and Baoding city merged,and Dingzhou city was under the jurisdiction of Baoding city; In June 2013,Dingzhou City was selected as one of the first cities directly under the provincial government,which started a new era in the history of urban construction and development in Dingzhou.