Shun was a famous tribal leader in ancient times. According to Sima Qian's Historical Records, Shun, the eighth-generation grandson of the Yellow Emperor, was born in Yaoxu, which was 6.5 kilometers east of Zhufeng (present-day Zhucheng, Shandong province).

Shun is one of the common ancestors of Chinese people and the founder of Chinese moral culture.

The farming culture of Emperor Yan, the political culture of Yellow Emperor, and the moral culture of Emperor Shun formed three milestones in Chinese culture.

Emperor Shun's connection to Jinan

Since the Tang Dynasty (618-907), Jinan has been known as "Shun city", and many of its mountains, springs, lakes, and rivers are related to Emperor Shun and the Shun culture.

According to incomplete statistics, there are at least 1,000 names of streets, communities, schools and buildings in Jinan that contain the word "Shun".

Qianfo Mountain, which is located in southern Jinan, was known as Lishan Mountain in ancient times. According to legend, Shun used to plow fields there, therefore the mountain was also known as Shunshan Mountain or Shungeng Mountain.

There is a wonderful legend, which claims that elephants and birds all assisted Shun in plowing.

It is said that Shun's mother, Wodeng, died early, and his father, Gusou, married another woman and had a son, Xiang.

Shun's stepmother was unreasonable, and his half-brother was idle and cruel. They acted evilly in collusion with Shun's father and plotted Shun's death at times.

Shun grew up amid their persecution, but remained filial to his parents. Even so, he was driven out of his home.

Shun built a straw hut beside the water of Lishan Mountain and reclaimed the barren land. His virtue moved the gods, and elephants and birds came to help him cultivate the land.

Nowadays, there are sculptures showcasing the scene of "Shun plowing at Lishan Mountain with elephants and birds helping" on Qianfo Mountain.

The Shunjing Well, which still survives today among a slew of Shun's remnants in Jinan, is a testament to Shun's filial piety.

According to history, Shun's father, stepmother and half-brother asked Shun to dig a well and planned to kill him there. Emperor Yao's two daughters, Ehuang and Nuying, told Shun to wear special clothes to enter the well. When the well was blocked, Shun escaped through a tunnel that had been dug in advance to another well.

It is said that two springs that Shun dug for escaping were the origin of Shunjing Well.

In ancient times, Shunjing Well was filled with water and was the source of Lishuibei – today's Daming Lake – and Queshan Lake.

Now, Shunjing Well no longer gushes spring water and is surrounded by Jinan's hustle and bustle. The ancient well stands silently in the middle of traffic, looking over the city, just as Shun's spirit of filial piety has long been ingrained in Jinan's lineage and continues to live on.

Many memorial halls have been built across Jinan to commemorate Shun, one of which is located atop Qianfo Mountain. It was constructed during the Zhou Dynasty (c.11th century-256 BC).

This particular Shun Memorial Hall is thought to be the first ancestral hall in Jinan's history, and was created by Lu Ban, also known as "the grand master of architecture", "the first of all workers", and "the sage of machinery".