History
The territory of Yuanqu County had been a center of Chinese civilization since at least the Shang, who had their capital Bo in nearby Cao County. Sima Qian records that, under the Han, there was even a legend that the Yellow Emperor had obtained a valuable sacrificial tripod at Yuanqu.[12][b] The area was part of the state of Liang during the Zhou Dynasty.[1]
The historical county was probably established under the Qin,[10] although some sources place its creation under the Han.[1][14] Under the Qin, it is said to have formed part of the Eastern Commandery (t 東郡, s 东郡, Dōng Jùn) of the Henan Area (t 河南地區, s 河南地区, Hénán Dìqū).[10] Under the Han, it formed part of Jiyin Commandery (t 濟陰郡, s 济阴郡, Jìyīn Jùn)[15][2] and was also sometimes considered part of the princely realm of Liang.[10] Under Wang Mang's short-lived Xin Dynasty, its name was changed to Jiping and it was given the status of a commune, rather than a county seat.[10]
In Kaihuang 3 (AD 583), the Sui emperor Yang Jian (posthumously known as the "Wen" or "Literary Emperor") abolished Jiyin and organized Yuanqu as part of Cao Prefecture.[1]
In the 860s and early 870s, the area suffered droughts but its people met with indifference or malice from Tang officials.[16] Huang Chao, the son of a wealthy local salt merchant, tried to become one of these mandarins but failed the imperial exams and took up salt smuggling instead.[17] When the salt smuggler Wang Xianzhi rose against the empire in nearby Changyuan County in 874,[18] he was able to overrun several towns and even defeated the local forces under Xue Chong (薛崇, Xuē Chóng), the governor of the area's Tianping Circuit (天平道, Tiānpíng Dào). The next year,[18] Huang Chao raised several thousand men of his own from Yuanqu and joined Wang,[2] eventually overrunning much of the country and proclaiming the Qi Dynasty before being defeated and driven to suicide in 884.[16][19] (Yuanqu was the place where the Shato Turk leader Li Keyong ceased pursuing the fleeing Chao,[20] although the would-be emperor met his end soon afterwards beside Mount Tai.)
In Yuanyou 1 (1086), the Song emperor Zhao Xu (posthumously known as "Emperor Zhezong" or the "Wise Ancestor") changed the name of the county to Wanting.[1] Under the Jin, the county seat at Yuanqu was destroyed by the flood of the Yellow River[1] in Dading 8 (1168).[10] The county was subsequently abolished,[1] with its territory added to Jiyin.[10]
Chinese archeologists from Mudan District excavated the ruins at Longwangmiao Village in June 2007 under the direction of Pan Jianrong (t 潘建榮, s 潘建荣, Pān Jiànróng).[10] They established their identity as Yuanqu and examined the eastern city wall, which runs for 347 meters (1,138 ft).[10] The walls originally stood about 9.3 meters (31 ft) high, although presently about two-thirds of the structure is underground,[10] the soil of surrounding countryside having built up over the years.