Zhongshan was historically inhabited by the Yue peoples, a large family of non-Han tribes that once possessed most of southern China. After unifying China in 221 BC, the First Emperor of Qin dispatched a 500,000-man army to what is now southern China to conquer the Yue peoples and bring the area under Han Chinese control. The Zhongshan area was part of Dongguan during the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907 AD). In 1082, during the Northern Song Dynasty, a fortified settlement called Xiangshan was founded in the area, marking the first official use of the name by which it would be known throughout most of its modern history. In 1983, Zhongshan was elevated in administrative status from a county to a county-level city and again in 1988 to a prefecture-level city.