Generals of the Ming in the Mantis Heartland

[Tainan Mantis]

I am tracing the installation of generals in the Yantai area at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty.

In 1368 started the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yuanchang became the new emperor. It was customary for the ruler to assign various generals to assorted cities as both a "reward" and to govern the area.
I am looking for who was installed in the Yantai area at this time.
Also, a source on what Yantai was called before 1500. It most likely would have had at least two names, neither of which can be assumed to be Yantai. One named may be a variation of a Northern dialect place name as well as the new empires new and official name for the area.

As a well known example of this process, Beijing was known as Dadu during the Yuan dynasty, but was changed to Beiping (not Beijing) during the Ming.

[xiao yao]

The central district of Yantai, Zhifu, used to be the name for the general area before it was given city status. 芝罘 the second character being made of 四 and 不 (four and no), which comes from a story about Qin Shi Huang. He sent people all over China looking for the elixir to immortality. They returned three times empty handed and the Emperor said "if you cant find it, dont come back the fourth time". Well the myth goes they ended up in what is now Yantai, and unable to find it, they fled China, taking sail from Penglai and landing in Japan. This is one origin myth of the Japanese race.

Dont have any special sources for this... just a myth I heard a few times from local people, and a Japanese lady also told me it once too. If you look at some old photos of the area taken by westerners stationed there during the KMT period, they always refer to it as Zhifu, not Yantai.... dont know how far that name goes back though.

I think at other times, Yantai may have been called Laizhou or Dengzhou, but cant confirm that.

[Tainan Mantis]

Thanks Will.
So Zhifu is one older name of Yantai, at least as far back as the republic. But not sure during the Qing era.


So, we need a Ming era map of Shandong.

How about Shui Kou? Any way to find that place?

I think that during the Ming there was a contingent of troops stationed at Mu Ling Guan.
I can't help but wonder about the distance and roads from Mu Ling Guan to places like Zhi Fu and Shui Kou

Mu Ling Guan is the eastern foot of the ancient Qi Yishan Pass of the Great Wall. Though it was once a great location supposedly there is not much there now.

Here is the address and some details

穆陵關，位于濰坊市臨朐縣大關鎮与臨沂市沂水縣馬站鎮交界處，是沂山東麓古齊長
城的隘口，曾是戰國時期齊魯兩國相爭的戰略要點。曾是齊長城沿線的這座最古老、
最雄偉、最險要的關隘。現遺址無存。