Linzi, former town, central Shandong sheng (province), eastern China. Since 1955 it has been a part of the city of Zibo, becoming a district of that city in 1969. Linzi district is situated on the west bank of the Zi River, a tributary of the Xiaoqing River, some 19 miles (30 km) east of Zhangdian district, the seat of Zibo city.
Prior to the 1950s, Linzi was little more than a local market town and a collecting centre for the agricultural produce of the surrounding region on the railway between the provincial capital of Jinan (west) and the port city of Qingdao (east). Nevertheless, it is of considerable historical importance. In Zhou times (c. 1046–256 bce) it was the capital of the state of Qi from 859 bce onward. Qi was one of the most powerful of the feudal kingdoms, and by the 4th and 3rd centuries bce Linzi was the greatest city in China, with a population said to have numbered 70,000 households (perhaps 350,000 persons). As the capital of the wealthiest and most advanced of the Chinese states, it also became the intellectual and cultural capital of eastern China. Even after the unification of the empire by the Qin in 221 bce, it remained an important city and was the chief administrative centre of Shandong throughout Han times (206 bce–220 ce), when it was the seat of Qi province.
During the civil wars of the late 3rd century and the invasions of the 3rd and 4th centuries ce, it was devastated and fell into ruins. In the 5th century the Bei (Northern) Wei state moved the seat of Qi province to Yidu, and in the 6th century Linzi for a while lost even the status of a county seat. It was revived at a site some distance to the southwest under the Sui (581–618) and until the later years of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911/12) remained the seat of a county, usually subordinated to Qingzhou to the southeast.
The existing city walls, which date to Sui times, are some 1.5 miles (2.4 km) in circumference. To the north, on the west bank of the Zi River, are the ruins of the ancient Qi capital, with massive walls 12 miles (19 km) in circumference. In the southwestern corner of these ruins is another walled enclosure, which is thought to be the site of the royal palace of Qi. Outside the walls are many other remains connected with Linzi’s historic role, including four large tombs of the kings of the Tian family, the Qi ruling house.