Ancient China Present-day Dai County lies to north of the historic heartland of
ancient Chinese civilization in the
Fen,
Wei, and
Yellow River valleys. The Chinese knew their northern neighbors as the
Di or "Northern
Barbarians". The "
White Di" (
Baidi) are recorded originating in north
Shaanxi west of the
Yellow River but had settled in the
Hutuo Valley by the 6th centuryBC. The
Zhou state of
Jin pushed sporadically northward through both invasions and bribery of the Di's ruling class The frontier walls of the former states, including
Zhao's, were merged into the
first form of the
Great Wall of China. Guangwu was promoted to the seat of its own county, overseeing the parts of present-day Dai County in the Hutuo Valley. This was part of the
Taiyuan Commandery under the Qin and
Western Han, when it was part of the
province of
Bingzhou. It became the seat of
Dai Prefecture in 585 during the
Sui, eventually taking its name as Daizhou. The prefecture covered parts of the present-day counties of Dai,
Fanshi,
Wutai, and
Yuanping. the
Sui emperor
Yang Guang (posthumously known as the Yang or Lazy Emperor) was besieged there by the
Eastern Turkish (
Tujue) leader
Shibi Khan, who was angry about Chinese efforts to weaken and divide his realm. In his distress, Yang Guang promised promotions and rewards to the garrison and those who might rescue him. Credit became muddled, however, when the khan's Chinese wife Princess Yicheng responded to his pleas by sending a false report to her husband about an attack on the Turkish homeland. After the Turks withdrew, the emperor chose to renege on most of his promises; the event built animosity in the Chinese army ahead of the
collapse of the Sui.
Dai Prefecture was reëstablished under the
Tang, The nascent Christian community was, however, devastated in 1900 by the
Boxer Rebellion and subsequently by the memory of its powerlessness to defend itself.
Modern China Following the
Xinhai Revolution, the
Republic of China reorganized Dai Prefecture as a
county in 1912. This was originally under Yanmen Circuit; in 1921, it was placed directly under Shanxi's provincial government. During the
Second Sino-Japanese War (
WWII), various locations in Dai County saw action during the 1937
Battle of Xinkou. This ended in a
Japanese victory but guerrilla actions continued. Following the
Communist victory in the
Chinese Civil War, Dai County was placed under
Xinzhou Prefecture. In 1958, it was merged with
Fanshi County, but this arrangement was ended in 1961. In 2001, the county seat
Chengguan (
t s Chéngguānzhèn) changed its name to
Shangguan and some of Dai County's smaller townships were merged to form larger units.
Shangtian and
Baicaokou merged to form
Yanmenguan;
Bata joined
Tanshang;
Xijiao joined
Nieying;
Jiaokou joined
Xingao;
Fenshuiling joined
Huyu; and
Hujiatan joined
Shangmofang. ==Administrative divisions==