SHANTUNG, a northern maritime province of China, con sisting of a mountainous peninsula of much indented coastline projecting eastward into the Yellow sea, but separated from the other highlands of China by the wet alluvial plain of the Hoang-ho. That river has changed its course many times. Prior to 1851 it reached the sea south of the highland of Shantung; since about 1853 it has flowed north of the highland, but not always in the same bed. The province includes a considerable belt of the alluvial plain west and north of the highland, but less of it on the south. The main direction of the mountain lines is west-south-west to east-north-east, as in Liaotung, and siliceous schists form a great part of the masses concerned, while in the granite and gneiss, the direction N. 3o° W.–S. 3o° E. is more evident. The Tai-shan, on the north side of Shantung, west of Chefoo, gives a steep coast facing the Gulf of Pe-chih-li. These hills are marked off from those of the south-east coast by a rela tively low line from Chef oo to Tsingtao. At the base of the peninsula, hill lines, in which both directions are exemplified, gather around the Tai-shan, the culmination of which is 5,o6o ft. above sea-level. This mountain is one of the chief centres of pilgrimage in China, and has been famed in this way from immemorial antiquity. It was von Richthofen's opinion that Shan tung was very early occupied by cultivators spreading from the Wei valley, and that here, once the barbarians were subdued, they had opportunities of defence as well as of economic develop ment ; in this way he thinks Shantung came to play a special role in Chinese life, a role greatly enhanced by the fact that Confucius (551-479 B.c.) and Mencius were natives of the prov ince. The Tai-shan has sanctuaries of many kinds, and pilgrims visit them, especially in spring. The Tai-shan is divided from the mountains of the peninsula by the low line of the Kiau-ho; the other rivers of the highland region are mostly short, but across the plain to the north there run several streams which interlace to some extent ; the largest is called Wei-ho. South-west of the mountain system runs the Grand canal, which receives the I-ho from the Tai-shan. The rainfall at Chefoo is about 29 in. per annum, the autumn being driest ; the mean monthly temper ature here varies from 25.3° in January to 80° in August. The climate on the slopes facing south-east is considerably warmer. The heights still shelter wild boars and wolves, and the trees in the colder regions include pines, oak, poplar, willow, with some cypress. The valleys in the mountain region are often fertile, but the hills themselves are barren. Millet, wheat, barley, sor ghum, maize, peas, cotton, hemp and poppies are, or have been, cultivated, with castor-oil and rice in the south. Fruit trees are numerous and specially rich in parts of the south. The wax tree grows in the east, and the wax insects are placed on it for the summer, being taken indoors in the autumn to void the substance whence wax is prepared. They are protected indoors during the winter. Shantung produces both ordinary silk and the silk made
by a caterpillar which lives on oak leaves. There are many mules and horses, as well as sheep, cattle, goats, etc. The province is famed for its minerals. Coal occurs at I-chow-fu (south), I-hien (south-west), Lao-fu (centre), and Wei-hien (north). About two million tons of bituminous coal were produced in 1922 in the province, and there are considerable reserves of the material. Production of iron ore has been small, but there are large re serves, estimated to yield some 14 million tons of iron when worked. Gold is produced here and there, and there is some copper, lead, etc.
The area of the province is estimated at 56,00o sq.m., and its population at anything between 25 and 38 million. Britain ob tained a lease of Wei-hai-wei, near the eastern end of the penin sula, and Germany a lease of Kiao-chow (port Tsingtao) in 1898. The Japanese captured the latter in 1914 and it was returned to China in 1922. Negotiations for the return of Wei hai-wei were begun in 1921. The towns of Shantung include Chinan (Tsi-nan) at the northern foot of the Tai-shan, the capital and largest city; Tsaochow, in the south-west ; Tsining, on the Grand canal; I-chow, in the south ; Wei-hien, in the north; and Chef oo, the treaty port, on the north coast, all probably above the Ioo,000 line in population. The lowland portions of the province are among the most densely-peopled regions in China. The railways of the province include a long section of the Tientsin-Pukow main line, while a railway, originally German, leaves this line at Chinan and goes to Tsingtao ; there are also branch lines and others are planned. The province under the empire was divided into ten prefectures.
Political History.—The province of Shantung obtained an international reputation during the years immediately following the World War, owing to the difficulties attending the rendition of the Kiao-Chow territory seized by Germany in 1897. The ter ritory remained in the hands of the Germans, who spent large sums of money improving and developing the colony, until Nov. 1914, when it was captured by the Japanese. The Treaty of Ver sailles confirmed Japan in the possession of the territory, but the Chinese were thoroughly dissatisfied with the decision. At the time of the Washington Conference Japan agreed to hand back her holdings to China, under conditions, however, which still gave the Japanese an acknowledged interest in the province. During the recent civil war banditry has been rife. In 1928 Japanese troops clashed with the Chinese Nationalist forces in Tsinanfu and a tense situation developed which up to 1929 had been only partially relieved.