Chǔqiū

Chǔqiū was a county of the Cáo country on the flat Yellow River plain of southwestern Shandong, close to the Henan border. Under the Song it belonged to Yingtian Prefecture, and Li Changling, who rose to deputy chief minister under Emperor Taizong of Song, came from here.

In 1344 the Yellow River burst its dikes at Baimao and flooded the lands around Cao, Pu and Jining, one of the disasters that fed the Red Turban risings. Guo Zixing, whose family came from Caozhou, raised rebels at Haozhou in 1352; his adopted son-in-law was Zhu Yuanzhang, the future Ming founder. In 1371 the Ming reduced Caozhou to Cao County. The region had been known since Sui and Tang times for its peonies.