Jimo, Shandong
Encyclopedia
- Or see Jimo (disambiguation).
Jimo is a county-level city
County-level city
A county-level city is a county-level administrative division of mainland China. County-level cities are usually governed by prefecture-level divisions, but a few are governed directly by province-level divisions....
in Shandong
Shandong
' is a Province located on the eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history from the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River and served as a pivotal cultural and religious site for Taoism, Chinese...
province, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, located north of Qingdao
Qingdao
' also known in the West by its postal map spelling Tsingtao, is a major city with a population of over 8.715 million in eastern Shandong province, Eastern China. Its built up area, made of 7 urban districts plus Jimo city, is home to about 4,346,000 inhabitants in 2010.It borders Yantai to the...
.
Location
Jimo is located in the southwest of the Shandong Peninsula, bordered by the Yellow SeaYellow Sea
The Yellow Sea is the name given to the northern part of the East China Sea, which is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean. It is located between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula. Its name comes from the sand particles from Gobi Desert sand storms that turn the surface of the water golden...
on the east and Mount Lao on the south.
Climate
Jimo has a moderate monsoonMonsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
climate. The yearly average temperature is about 12 °C (53.6 °F), and average annual precipitation is 708 millimetres (27.9 in).
History
Jimo was established in the Eastern Zhou DynastyZhou Dynasty
The Zhou Dynasty was a Chinese dynasty that followed the Shang Dynasty and preceded the Qin Dynasty. Although the Zhou Dynasty lasted longer than any other dynasty in Chinese history, the actual political and military control of China by the Ji family lasted only until 771 BC, a period known as...
, at which time it was the second largest settlement in Shandong. The Siege of Jimo in 279 BC, otherwise unremarkable, is remembered for the ruse that ended it. Tian Dan
Tian Dan (Qi)
Tián Dān , from Linzi, was a general during ancient China's Warring States Period and member of the royal house of Qi who was known for a spectacular military tactic called "Fire Cattle Columns". After the kingdom was nearly destroyed under King Min of Qi in 284 BC, he helped regain its territory...
was a general of the State of Qi
Qi (state)
Qi was a powerful state during the Spring and Autumn Period and Period of the Warring States in ancient China. Its capital was Linzi, now part of the modern day city of Zibo in Shandong Province....
who had just lost 70 cities to the Yan
Yan (state)
Yān was a state during the Western Zhou, Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods of Chinese history. Its capital was Ji...
. When Jimo, their penultimate city, was under fire, he collected more than 1,000 oxen, tied sharp daggers to their ears, tied straw to their tails, and dressed them in colourful cloth to make them look like dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
s. At dead of night the Qi set the tails alight and drove the oxen towards the enemy camp. The panicking enemy soldiers were wiped out, and the Qi regained all the lost cities.
The site of the old town of Jimo (Jimo Gucheng yizhi, 即墨 故城 遗址) is on the Shandong National Cultural Heritage list.