Shandong province

Shandong (in red), within the modern borders of the People's Republic of China.

• Chinese: 山東省　(Shandong sheng)

Shandong is a province in northeastern China, with its capital at Jinan. It is famous as the site of Taishan (Mt. Tai), one of the most sacred sites in Taoism, and as the birthplace of both Confucius and Mencius.

Southern Shandong was long known for its endemic bandit problem, an association with spirit-possession and spiritual practices, and as a home of martial arts. As far back as the Zhou Dynasty (c. 1050-256 BCE), the State of Qi, based in Shandong, was known for its shamans and their powers of spirit-possession.

The Red Eyebrows Uprising of 18-27 CE, as well as the Yellow Turbans Rebellion of 184-205 CE (during the Han Dynasty), the Huang Chao rebellion of the Tang Dynasty, the Song Dynasty Bandit-Heroes of the famous story of the Water Margin, and the Boxer Rebellion (c. 1900) of the late Qing Dynasty were all based in Shandong.

References

• Joseph Esherick, The Origins of the Boxer Uprising, U California Press (1987), 39.