Dongping County

History

This region is home to many Buddhist temples and some remarkable Buddhist inscriptions, originally texts were carved during the Northern Qi, but in the eleventh century these were carved over with pictorial images of Buddhas.

In 1438, migrating Hui people introduced Islam to Dongping County. During the reign of the Wanli Emperor, the was built.

During the Cultural Revolution in Dongping County, religious activities were prohibited. Mosques were destroyed, imams were expelled, and the Quran was burned. The practice of Islam in the county was resumed in 1979.

The Shandong provincial government and the Dongping County government allocated special funding to restore Zhoucheng Mosque in 1997, and again in 2001. Queen Mother of the West from a Wall-Painting in Han Dynasty Tomb.jpg|Fresco showing Queen Mother of the West Confucius and Laozi, fresco from a Western Han tomb of Dongping County, Shandong province, China.jpg|Fresco showing Confucius and Laozi meeting

Administration

, this county is divided to 3 subdistricts, 9 towns and 2 townships. ;Subdistricts

• (东平街道)
• Zhoucheng Subdistrict (州城街道)
• Pengji Subdistrict (彭集街道) ;Towns
• (接山镇)
• (沙河站镇)
• (银山镇)
• (老湖镇)
• (斑鸠店镇)
• (大羊镇)
• (梯门镇)
• (新湖镇)
• (戴庙镇) ;Townships
• Shanglaozhuang Township (商老庄乡)
• Jiuxian Township (旧县乡)

Demographics

In 2016, Dongping County had a permanent population of about 762,100 people, of which, 41.35% lived in urban areas.

Vital statistics

As of 2016, Dongping County had a birth rate of 14.9 per thousand, and a death rate of 5.0 per thousand, giving the county a rate of natural increase of 9.9 per thousand.

Ethnic groups

Most of the county's population is ethnically Han Chinese, however, Dongping County is home to 18 ethnic minorities, comprising about 4,300 people. The largest ethnic minority is the Hui people, who number about 4,100 as of 2016. Other ethnic minorities in the county include the Mongolian, Tibetan, Miao, Dong, Bai, Tujia, Hani, Dai, Lisu, Li, Jingpo, Yi, Zhuang, Buyi, Korean, Manchu, and Wa peoples. With the exception of the Hui people, many of Dongping County's ethnic minorities recently moved to the county for work, marriage, or other regions, and are not concentrated in any particular place within the county. The county has four designated ethnic villages: () in , Xiwangzhuang Village () in , Zhanzhuang Village () in , and Beimen Village () in Zhoucheng Subdistrict.

Hui people

Unlike the other minorities in Dongping County, the Hui people are concentrated within certain areas within the county. Large concentrations of Hui people can be found in Laohu, Zhoucheng Subdistrict, and Dongping Subdistrict. Smaller concentrations can be found within , Xinhu, , , and Shanglaozhuang Township.

Culture

Language

The Dongping dialect, a dialect of Mandarin Chinese, is spoken widely throughout the county. In some southern portions of the county, as well as regions surrounding Dongping Lake, retroflexes are dropped, resulting in certain characters with different pronunciations in Standard Mandarin (such as and ) being pronounced similarly. Some areas in the southeast and north of the county also employ erhua.

Religion

As of 2021, Dongping County is home to 19 religious venues approved by the county government, representing 5 different faith groups: Catholicism, Protestantism, Islam, Daoism, and Buddhism. These venues include the and the Daoist site of .

Climate

|Jan record high C = 16.0 |Jan record low C = -16.5 |Feb record high C = 22.1 |Feb record low C = -15.7 |Mar record high C = 28.2 |Mar record low C = -10.5 |Apr record high C = 32.1 |Apr record low C = -3.0 |May record high C = 35.7 |May record low C = 2.3 |Jun record high C = 41.2 |Jun record low C = 10.5 |Jul record high C = 40.5 |Jul record low C = 16.3 |Aug record high C = 36.0 |Aug record low C = 13.5 |Sep record high C = 36.6 |Sep record low C = 5.7 |Oct record high C = 34.3 |Oct record low C = -2.0 |Nov record high C = 28.3 |Nov record low C = -12.1 |Dec record high C = 18.5 |Dec record low C = -13.7

Notable people

• Zhongli Chun, Qi consort from
• , Red Eyebrows commander
• , Han dynasty scholar and writer
• , Northern Qi monk and calligrapher
• Cheng Yaojin, Tang dynasty general
• He Ning, Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period official
• and , Song dynasty father and son zhuangyuan
• Liang Kai, Song dynasty painter
• , Song dynasty pediatrician
• Wang Zhen, Yuan dynasty inventor, engineer, writer, and politician
• , Yuan dynasty dramatist
• Luo Guanzhong (disputed), Yuan dynasty writer
• , Ming dynasty politician
• , Ming dynasty scholar

References

• Ha, Jungmin. (2016) Shaping Religious and Cultural Aspiration: Engraved Sutras in Southwestern Shandong Province from the Northern Qi Dynasty (550-577 CE), China. Phd Dissertation. Department of Art, Art History & Visual Studies, Duke University. https://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/10161/12216/Ha_duke_0066D_13425.pdf
• Wang, Yongbo and Ledderose, Lothar. (2014) Buddhist Stone Sutras in China. (Vol.1) Shandong Sheng = Shandong Province. edited by Wang Yongbo and Lothar Ledderose. Wiesbaden : Harrassowitz ; Hangzhou : China Academy of Art Press, 2014.

References

2. Wang and Ledderose
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4. (2020). "". link. [[National Bureau of Statistics of China]]
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7. (2021-04-13). "". link. Dongping County People's Government
8. link. [[China Meteorological Administration]]
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