| Group: | Shandongese 山東人 山东人 |
| Native Name Lang: | zh |
| Languages: | Various forms of Standard Chinese |
| Religions: | Ancestral worship, Taoism, Buddhism, Christianity, Atheism, etc. |
The people of Shandong province or Shandong people refers to those who are native to Shandong province, the majority (99%) are classified as Han Chinese. They speak various forms of Chinese such as Jilu, Jiaoliao, and Zhongyuan. There is a small Shandong community in Singapore and Malaysia. Nine-tenths of the early overseas Chinese in Korea also came from Shandong. Shandong citizens, are also known to have the tallest average height of any Chinese province (or administrative equivalents).[1] As of 2010, 16- to 18-year-old male students in Yantai measured 176.4 cm (5'9.5), while female students measured 164 cm (5'4.5).[2] Provincial average for both genders would be about 1cm less.
Modern-day Shandong is primarily located in the territories of Qi During the Warring States Period. It was the last annexed kingdom by the Qin kingdom before Qin dynasty. After 15 years, the unified Qin Empire was toppled by peasant revolts (Chen Sheng Wu Guang Uprising etc) and then split into Eighteen Kingdoms. On present day Shandong's territories, 3 feudal states came into existence, Jiaodong (胶东), Jibei (济北) and Qi(齐). After about 5 years (see Chu-Han Contention), the Han army led by King Liu Bang united those kingdoms and started Han dynasty.
After 400 years, the Han dynasty fell and the empire scattered and after the disintegration of the Cao Wei dynasty, the area of present-day Shandong was ruled by the Tuoba Clan of the Xianbei Tribe during the Eastern Wei. The Eastern Wei eventually fell to the Northern Qi dynasty which lasted 27 years before it was overtaken by the Northern Zhou of central China. Emperor Wen of Sui was able to recapture ruling power to the Han Chinese from the Xianbei and establish the Sui dynasty after centuries of Xianbei rule and division between different states, becoming Emperor Wen of Sui.
After unifying the Northern and Southern dynasties, the Sui dynasty paved the way for the Tang dynasty and many years of prosperity and peace. The Tang dynasty fell about 300 years after its inception. The empire again, fragmented, this time into many different states whose borders are roughly the outline of the present day provinces. During this time Shandong was known as the Later Liang (Five Dynasties) Kingdom.
In Shandong cities throughout the 18th century, there were sizable foreign settlements by the British, Germans, Americans, and Russians. For 20 years prior to the end of World War I, the Germans controlled Shandong. After the defeat of Germany in WWI by the Allied forces, the cities of Chefoo and Qingdao were handed to the Japanese who used the port cities for their summer fleets. This led to the Shandong Problem which added to the ignition of the May Fourth Movement and the New Culture Movement— paving the way for the birth of modern China.
Shandong cuisine is one of the "8 Great Regional Cuisines" of China. It is noted for uses of fresh seafood, soy sauce, and spices(e.g., garlic, scallion).[3]
Vast fertile plain enabled Shandong to be a major wheat-production zone in China, so many Shandong people enjoy wheat-based food. There is a stereotype that Shandong people like to eat giant Mantou(for the entire Shandong) or Jianbing(Jiaodong excluded).
There are 2 main variants of Shandong cuisine with vast differences: the coastal style(normally referring to Jiaodong) and the inland style (except for Jiaodong).
Inland-styled dishes are generally salty, with a prevalence of light-colored sauces, and renowned for its adept skills in slicing. Meanwhile, coastal-styled dishes are known for being fresh, tender(describing meat and seafood) and mellow.
Both styles of Shandong cuisine are representative among all Northern Chinese cooking styles and its techniques have been widely absorbed by imperial cuisine styles(e.g., Peking Duck).
Evidence of the Beixin culture (5300 BC to 4100 BC), the Dawenkou culture (4100 BC to 2600 BC) and the Longshan Culture (3000 BC to 2000 BC) was found in Shandong province, which provides evidence that comparatively advanced handcraft industry, agriculture and animal husbandry was prevalent in Shandong 4000 to 7000 years ago.[4] [5]
Additionally, Shandong is home to some of the oldest Chinese inscriptions: Dawenkou Pottery Inscription and Longshan Pottery Inscription; the largest prehistoric settlement found to date: Chengziya (Chinese: 城子崖) Archeological Site; the oldest section of the Great Wall in China: the Great Wall of Qi State; Huantai County oracle bone script, among the oldest found in China, were all found in Shandong. According to the research of archaeologists, Shandong was the main hub for silk manufacture from the Han dynasty to the Tang dynasty, and it was the start of the ancient Silk Road.[6]