What is Langya?

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A TV series titled \"The Untamed\" is currently popular on television. The word \"Langya\" sounds quite elegant and mysterious, and friends must be wondering: What exactly is Langya? In simple terms, Langya is a place name; it was written as Langye in ancient times, and it refers mainly to the southeastern coastal region of present-day Shandong. However, this place name is far from simple. In what way is it not simple? The first one is not simple; the place name Langya is very ancient. The original meaning of Langya referred to Langya Mountain; it is said that during the early Zhou Dynasty, when Jiang Taigong established the system of the Eight Gods, the shrine dedicated to the gods of the four seasons was located on Langya Mountain. The Western Zhou Dynasty was established in 1046 BC, and it has been over 3,000 years since then. The second one is not simple; there are numerous place names related to Langya, including not only Langya Mountain but also Langya Terrace, Langya Town, Langya County, Langya Commandery, Langya Kingdom, and Langya Road. Langya Terrace is referred to as a viewing platform in the Records of the Grand Historian, which is clearly another name for an observatory. Its origin is related to Goujian, the King of Yue who endured great hardships. Historical records state that in order to strive for supremacy, Goujian moved the capital to Langya and built a viewing platform from which to gaze at the East Sea. Later, Emperor Qin Shi Huang built the Langya Terrace on Langya Mountain; it is said that as many as nine emperors, including Qin Shi Huang and Han Wu Di, visited this terrace over time. Langya Yi was established by the State of Qi during the Spring and Autumn Period; the Qin Dynasty created Langya County, which also served as the administrative center of Langya Commandery. Langya County and Langya Commandery did not disappear until the Tang Dynasty. During the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the administrative region of Nan Langya was established on an ad hoc basis. This practice of establishing administrative regions ad hoc referred to a system used in ancient times during times of war, whereby immigrants who fled from occupied areas were resettled in other places; new provinces, counties, and districts were created there, while their old names were continued to be used. Langya emerged in the early Western Han Dynasty and was a vassal state with the same surname as the Han dynasty. The Langya state existed during both the Jin dynasties, and it was particularly famous during the Jin period; it produced not only Sima Lun, the King of Langya who played a role in the Rebellion of the Eight Kings, but also five emperors, including Sima Yin, the founder of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. ? The third one is not simple; Langya was the ancestral home of many prominent families. \"Once, swallows nested in the halls of the royal and noble families; now they fly into ordinary people’s homes.\" The Wang family mentioned in Liu Yuxi’s poems refers to the Wang clan of Langya; this family played a dominant role throughout the history from the Eastern Jin Dynasty to the Southern Dynasties. In addition, the Yan clan of Langya were descendants of Yan Hui, one of Confucius’ disciples, while the Zhuge clan of Langya gave rise to famous figures such as Zhuge Liang, Zhuge Jin, Zhuge Dan, and Zhuge Ke, who were all renowned throughout the Three Kingdoms period. ?Returning to \"The Untamed,\" what exactly is this list? According to the online novel of the same name, during the Liang dynasty of the Southern Dynasties, Langya Pavilion was located on the top of Langya Mountain; it was the most mysterious place in the world and highly revered by those in the martial arts world. To give back to those who are part of this world, Langya Pavilion releases various ranking lists every year, which are known as the “Langya List”. Normally, novels are set in fictional histories, but they still carry some traces of history. This Langya Pavilion cannot refer to Langya Terrace; during the Southern Dynasties, only the Liu Song dynasty briefly controlled Shandong, so Langya Mountain and Langya Terrace could not have belonged to the Liang dynasty. However, there was indeed another Langya Mountain within the territory of the Liang Dynasty, located in Chuzhou, Anhui. Legend has it that when the Western Jin Dynasty launched a campaign against Wu, Sima, the King of Langya, led his troops here, which led to the emergence of a second Langya Mountain. Ouyang Xiu wrote \"The Record of the Drunkard’s Pavilion,\" describing this Langya Mountain. I guess this Langya Pavilion is probably located next to the Drunkard’s Pavilion, hehe!