thumb|Fenghuang, a traditional town of Hunan Hunan's primeval forests were first occupied by the ancestors of the modern Miao, Tujia, Dong and Yao peoples. The province entered written Chinese history around 350 BC, when the province became part of the Zhou dynasty. After Qin conquered the Chu in 278 BC, the region came under the control of Qin, and then the Changsha Kingdom during the Han dynasty. At this time, and for hundreds of years thereafter, the province was a magnet for settlement of Han Chinese from the north, who displaced and assimilated the original indigenous inhabitants, cleared forests and began farming rice in the valleys and plains.Harold Wiens. Han Expansion in South China. (Shoe String Press, 1967). The agricultural colonization of the lowlands was carried out in part by the Han people, which managed river dikes to protect farmland from floods.Brian Lander. State Management of River Dikes in Early China: New Sources on the Environmental History of the Central Yangzi Region . T'oung Pao 100.4-5 (2014): 325–362 To this day, many of the small villages in Hunan are named after the Han families who settled there. Migration from the north was especially prevalent during the Eastern Jin dynasty, Sixteen Kingdoms and the Northern and Southern dynasties periods, when the north was mostly ruled by non-Han ethnic groups (Five Barbarians) and in perpetual disorder.
thumb|Fenghuang a traditional town of Hunan Hunan's primeval forests were first occupied by the ancestors of the modern Miao Tujia Dong and Yao peoples The province entered written Chinese history around 350 BC when the province became part of the Zhou dynasty After Qin conquered the Chu in 278 BC the region came under the control of Qin and then the Changsha Kingdom during the Han dynasty At this time and for hundreds of years thereafter the province was a magnet for settlement of Han Chinese from the north who displaced and assimilated the original indigenous inhabitants cleared forests and began farming rice in the valleys and plainsHarold Wiens Han Expansion in South China (Shoe String Press 1967) The agricultural colonization of the lowlands was carried out in part by the Han people which managed river dikes to protect farmland from floodsBrian Lander State Management of River Dikes in Early China New Sources on the Environmental History of the Central Yangzi Region  T'oung Pao 1004-5 (2014) 325–362 To this day many of the small villages in Hunan are named after the Han families who settled there Migration from the north was especially prevalent during the Eastern Jin dynasty Sixteen Kingdoms and the Northern and Southern dynasties periods when the north was mostly ruled by non-Han ethnic groups (Five Barbarians) and in perpetual disorder