History

It says in A Survey of Shanxi Province .Establishmental Evolution, written in   the period of Chenghua of the Ming Dynasty, that Pingyao County, known in ancient times as the place of Tao, was where Emperor Yao was first enthroned. So the location of Pingyao County today belonged to Tao in the ancient times. It was under the jurisdiction of Bing Prefecture in the time of Yushun in about 2600 BC. After the conquest of the flood by Dayu (an emperor in about 2270 BC ) it belonged to the jurisdiction of Ji .It became a part of Bing Prefecture in the Western Zhou Dynasty. In the Spring and Autumn Period it belonged to Jin State and in the period of Warring States to Zhao State. In the Qin and Han Dynasties it was under the jurisdiction of Taiyuan Prefecture. In the period of Three Kingdoms it belonged to the kingdom of Wei and was under the jurisdiction of the prefecture of Xihe. It belonged to the State of Taiyuan in the Western Jin Dynasty. During the period of Taiwu in the Northern Wei Dynasty, Pingtao County ( established in the Han Dynasty and under the jurisdiction of Taiyuan State), which lied in the southwest of today’s Wenshui County, was changed to Pingyao County to avoid the name of the Emperor Tuo Batao and Pingtao City was also changed to Pingyao City along with it. Later on, because of the invasion of another ethnic group, Pingyao County moved from the southwest of today’s Wenshui County into the boundary of Jinling County, then Jinglin County was cancelled and combined with Pingyao County. Thus Pingyao City, as the seat of the county government, was located here. From then on, through the Tang Dynasty, the Five Dynasties, the Northern Song Dynasty, the Jin Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty, and the Qing Dynasty to the present time(from 610 AD-nowadays),the name of Pingyao County has remained unchanged. The long history of the ancient city of Pingyao leaves relics of the ancient civilization in many places and numerous ancient buildings which reveal much about the historical time. Upon the pages of history, are recorded many historical facts that show the importance of Pingyao County in the history: Emperor Kanxi of the Qing Dynasty paid a personal visit to Pingyao on his tour to the west; Emperor Guanxv and his queen mother Cixi stayed for a night in the ancient city when they escaped to the west; President Jiang Zeming inspected the ancient city in the first year of the new century.