History

　　Since remote antiquity, generations after generations of people have inhabited Jilin. TheYushu man, Antu man, and Qingshantou man who dwelled here between 10,000 – 50,000 years ago are important indicators of the forming of ancient civilizations in Jilin. As early as the times of Shun and Yu (about 3000 years ago), the ethnic groups in Jilin had a tribute-paying relationship with the central Chinese kingdom, a kind of administrative subordination that became important elements in the composing of the Chinese nation.

　　Gaogouli Relics

　　Gaogouli is abbreviated as “Gouli” in the history record. In the 2ndyear of Emperor Hanyuan (37 BC),Zhu Meng, a member of the Fuyu ethnic group, built his regime in Gaogouli County, Xuantu Jun (now inside Xinbin County of Liaoning Province) where it got its name.At their prime, the sphere of the Gaogouli people's influence covered the eastern part of today's Jilin Province, the northeast of Liaoning Province and the north of the Korean Peninsula. It was conquered by the joint forces of the Tang Dynasty and the Silla Kingdomin AD 668.

　　On July 1, 2004, with the examination and approval of the 28thSession of the World Heritage Committee, Gaogouli Relics, located in Ji’an City of Jilin Province, with imperial palace, imperial mausoleum and tombs for nobles belonging to the ancient Gaogouli regime as the main body, was officially inscribed on the World Heritage list.
　 Evolution

　　The formation of Jilin province has gone through a long evolutionary process. Since the early Qin Dynasty (221—207 BC) the rulers of different dynastieshave had Jilin under the jurisdiction of the central government. In the Han Dynasty the system of county and prefecture administration was established. Bohai (an area around the Bohai Sea) in the Tang Dynasty (about 600—900 A.D.) and the later dynasties of Liao, Jin, and Yuan (900—1300 AD) had administrative divisions such asfu,zhou, andxian(similar to prefectures, cities and counties). The Ming Dynasty haddusi(a military rank) andweisuo(a defence region). In 1653(the 10th year of the Shunzhi Reign, in the Qing Dynasty), the Qing government established Ningguta Angbang Zhangjing (an official and a military zone of the Ningguta area), which was the start of Jilin Province. In 1662 (the 1st year of the Kangxi Reign, in the Qing Dynasty), the post was renamed Ningguta Jiangjun (General). In 1673(the 12thyear of the Kangxi Reign), the town of Jilin was built. Historically it was called “Jilin Wula” (in the Manchu language “along the river”). The name Jilin has been used ever since. In 1757 Ningguta Jiangjun was changed into Jilin Jiangjun. Since then the name “Jilin” has represented the administrative region. In 1907 (33rd year of the Guangxu Reign) the region was officially entitledJilin Province. At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, Jilin remained closed to the outside and therefore neither society nor the economy made much progress. In the middle and later period of the Qing Dynasty the restrictions were gradually rescindedand there was some progress in the economy. At the beginning of the 20th century, the northeast part of the country became the target of the colonialist expansion of both Russian and Japanese imperialists. Pushed by the May 4th Movement and the influence of the May 30th Movement, one after another tides of struggle against the invaders took place in the province. National industries and commerce made some progress. Cities of contemporary scale appeared one after another.
　　The Manchurian Puppet Regime

　　In 1931, the Japanese imperialists outrageously perpetrated the “September 18”Incident and occupied northeast China. In March 1932 the Manchurian puppet regime was officially founded with Puyi as the executive and “Datong” as the title of his reign. Changchun, which was given the new name “Xinjing”, was made the regime’s “capital”. In 1934, the Japanese changed Manchuria into the Manchurian Empire and the executive into emperor and the title of the year of reign into Kangde. On August 15th, 1945 Japan declared its unconditional surrender and Puyi gave up the throne in Tonghua. Then the Manchurian Puppet Regime became extinct.

　　The Glorious Revolutionary Tradition

　　The braveand indomitable peopleof Jilin have had a glorious tradition against imperialism and feudalism. Confronted with the barbarous invasions of the Russian and Japanese, the Jilin people, in spite of brutality and hardship, demonstrated their unyielding fighting spirit through tenacious struggle. The people of Jilin roseup and defeated their enemies, especially in the war against the Japanese invasion,. In the years after the occupation, there was an explosion onto the scene of the volunteer armies headed by Wang Delin, Tang Juwu, and Wang Fengge, and the bloody battles of the 1st-route army of the Anti-Japanese Amalgamated Army of the northeast led by Yang Jingyu, Wei Chengmin, and Wang Detai. During this time the people of Jilin used their blood to compose magnificent patriotic chapters one after another. On Feb. 28, 2005, Jilin Provincial Committee of the CPC and Jilin Provincial Government convened solemnly a convention in Tonghua City to commemorate the 100thanniversary of General Yang Jingyu’s birthday and recall this great national hero combating Japaness.
　　The Liberation of Jilin

　　Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, during the liberation of the northeast, theNortheast Democratic Allied Army (later known as the Northeast People's Liberation Army) fought earth-shaking battles in Jilin. The “Four Siping Battles”, the “Four Linjiang Defensive Battles”, the “Three Southward Expeditions”, and others were decisive in changing the situation of the war in the northeast. 1948witnessed the start of the Liaoxi-Shenyang campaign. The Northeast People's Liberation Army encircled Changchun. Under intensepolitical attack andmilitary pressure,the Nationalist forcesstationed in Changchun surrendered to the PLA. The whole province was liberated.

　　The Administrative Divisions

　　After the founding of the P.R.C. several changes were made in the administrative division. In the post-liberation period Jilin only had 2 municipalities, 2 prefectures, 1 qi (a Mongolian county), 22 counties and 1 special zone of industry. In 1954, the Jilin jurisdictional system was altered, with 7 counties of Heilongjiang Province being incorporated into Jilin Province to make up Baicheng Prefecture with Qian'an, a county of Jilin. 1 municipality and 9 counties of the original Liaodong Province were put under Jilin's jurisdiction to form Tonghua Prefecture. Liaoyuan Municipality, Xi'an County, Dongfeng County (which had belonged to Liaodong Province) and Siping Municipality, Shuangliao County and Lishu County (which had belonged to Liaoxi Province) were brought under Jilin's jurisdiction. In the same year Jilin Provincial People's Governement moved from Jilin City to Changchun. In 1969 a qi and a county of the former Zhelimumeng League and a qi and a county of Hulunbeiermeng League, Inner Mongolia, were put under the jurisdiction of Jilin Province and in 1979 were reincorporated into Inner Mongolia. Since then there has been no change in the administrative division ofJilin. Now the province has 8 prefecture level municipalities, 1 autonomous prefecture, 60 counties (cities, districts), 765 villages (towns) and 241 street offices.