Mengjin County is a district of Luoyang

Luoyang

Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.Situated on the central plain of...

, Henan

Henan

Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...

, 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...

.

History

Mengjin began its life as an ancient ferry crossing for the Yellow River

Yellow River

The Yellow River or Huang He, formerly known as the Hwang Ho, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and empties into...

. According to legend, King Wu of Zhou

King Wu of Zhou

King Wu of Zhōu or King Wu of Chou was the first sovereign, or ruler of the Chinese Zhou Dynasty. The dates of his reign are 1046-1043 BCE or 1049/45-1043. Various sources quoted that he died at the age of 93, 54 or 43. He was considered a just and able leader. Zhou Gong Dan was one of his...

 crossed the Yellow River

Yellow River

The Yellow River or Huang He, formerly known as the Hwang Ho, is the second-longest river in China and the sixth-longest in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Har Mountains in Qinghai Province in western China, it flows through nine provinces of China and empties into...

 at this location, after forming an alliance (盟/méng/alliance

Alliance

An alliance is an agreement or friendship between two or more parties, made in order to advance common goals and to secure common interests.See also military alliance and business alliance.-International relations:...

 + 津/jīn/ferry crossing) with the other nobles. One theory goes that the original name was actually 盟津 (literally: the ferry crossing of the alliance) rather than 孟津 (盟 and 孟 are both rendered as Meng). According to this theory, it was only in later times that the character 盟 was mistakenly replaced by 孟. The ferry crossing was an important strategic location during times of war.

In Chapter 6 of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Cao Cao

Cao Cao

Cao Cao was a warlord and the penultimate chancellor of the Eastern Han Dynasty who rose to great power during the dynasty's final years. As one of the central figures of the Three Kingdoms period, he laid the foundations for what was to become the state of Cao Wei and was posthumously titled...

 explains that part of his strategy in engaging Dong Zhuo

Dong Zhuo

Dong Zhuo was a politician and warlord during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He seized control of the capital city Luoyang in 189 when it was in a state of turmoil following the death of Emperor Ling and a clash between the eunuch faction and some court officials led by...

's forces was for Yuan Shao

Yuan Shao

Yuan Shao was a warlord during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. He occupied the northern territories of China during the civil war that occurred towards the end of the Han Dynasty and the beginning of the Three Kingdoms era...

's forces to take control of Mengjin (see: Battle of Xingyang

Battle of Xingyang

The Battle of Xingyang was a battle fought in 190 during the late Han Dynasty period of Chinese history. The battle, which was part of the campaign against Dong Zhuo, took place when Dong Zhuo's retreating forces, led by Xu Rong, encountered Cao Cao's pursuing army at Xingyang.-Background:In 190,...

).