-This article is reproduced from the official account: History Time-
The authors of this article are Tan Qixiang, Wang Tianliang, Zou Yilin, Zheng Baoheng, and Hu Juxing. It was originally published in Fudan Journal, Issue S1, 1980.
In the current administrative divisions of our country (as of 1980) , there are 22 provinces, 5 autonomous regions and 3 municipalities directly under the Central Government at the provincial level, totaling 30 units.
The provincial system began in the Yuan Dynasty, and the autonomous region was established in Inner Mongolia in 1947. The names of most provinces and all autonomous regions are named before the establishment of provinces and districts. Here we trace their origins as far as possible and explain their origins.
The names of the twenty-seven provinces and autonomous regions can be divided into three categories:
1. Twelve named after mountains and rivers: Hebei, Henan, Hunan, Hubei, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Shaanxi, Shandong, Shanxi, Heilongjiang, Qinghai, Liaoning.
2. Seven named after cities: Guizhou, Jilin, Taiwan, Fujian, Gansu, Anhui, and Jiangsu.
3. The other eight: Yunnan, Sichuan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Ningxia, Tibet, Xinjiang, and Inner Mongolia.
Below we will describe them one by one in this order.
Although municipalities directly under the central government are at the same level as provinces in terms of administrative level, their names are city names, which are different from provinces and autonomous regions that are administrative district names, so we will not include them in the scope of this article.
01 Hebei Province
The Hebei of Qi in the Warring States Period refers to the land of Qi north of the Yellow River at that time, about the area of Jingxian County and Cangxian County in Hebei today. In the Han and Tang Dynasties, Hebei County was established, which is about today’s Ruicheng County in Shanxi. In the Tang Dynasty, the area north of the Yellow River and east of the Taihang Mountains was called the Hebei Road, which was the beginning of the name of Hebei as a major administrative region. In the Song Dynasty, it was divided into the east and west roads of Hebei, and the Baigou River in the north (the old road was in Hebei in the Qing Dynasty) was connected with the Nanjing Road of the Liao Dynasty.
In the Jin Dynasty, it was divided into Damingfu Road in the south of Hebei East Road. In the Yuan Dynasty, the Hebei region was directly under Zhongshu Province. Ming Hongwu initially established Beiping Province, which was then renamed Beiping Chief Secretary. At the beginning of Yongle, the chief secretary was dismissed, and he was called the capital because of his land, the capital of Zhili; also known as Zhili; It was called Zhili Province in the Qing Dynasty. It was renamed Hebei Province in 1928. In “Yu Gong”, the provincial territory is the territory of Jizhou, so it is called Jizhou for short.
02 Henan Province
As a region name, Henan was used to refer to the area south of the Yellow River in Han, Wei, Song and other countries during the Warring States Period, approximately from the Yellow River in the west to Shangqiu in the east in the west of Henan Province; it was used in the Qin and Han Dynasties to refer to the area south of the Yellow River in the north of the capital, approximately Today’s Hetao area of Inner Mongolia (including Qiantao and Houtao); in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, it was used to refer to the area south of the Yellow River in Qinghai Province where Tuyuhun was located.
During the Warring States Period, the city of Luoyi since the Western Zhou Dynasty was renamed Henan (the former site is located on the east bank of Jianshui in the western suburbs of Luoyang City today). Qin established Henan County and began to use Henan as the name of its administrative district. In the early Han Dynasty, Qin Sanchuan County was changed to Henan County. Henan County was merged into Luoyang until the Jin Dynasty. Henan County continued until the Sui and Tang Dynasties. It was changed to Henan Prefecture in Kaiyuan in Tang Dynasty, and Henan Road in Yuan Dynasty. It was still Henan Prefecture in Ming and Qing Dynasties, and it had jurisdiction over a dozen counties around Luoyang. Abolished after the Revolution of 1911.
“Zhou Li·Zhi Fang” and “Erya Shi Di” divide Kyushu, saying “Henan is called Yuzhou”, which shows that pre-Qin geographers already had a concept of a large area of Henan. In the Tang Dynasty, the whole country was divided into ten regions, and the area south of the Yellow River and north of the Huai River was called Henan Province, which was the beginning of the name of Henan as a large administrative region. In the Yuan Dynasty, the areas south of the Yellow River and north of the Yangtze River were combined into one province, called Henan Jiangbei Province.
In the early Ming Dynasty, when the provinces were redesignated, the jurisdiction of Henan Province was roughly equivalent to the present province. The Huaiqing, Weihui, and Zhangde prefectures north of the Yellow River and east of the Taihang Mountains were captured by Henan troops, and they were far away from Kaifeng, the capital of Henan Province. The three prefectures were not far away, so the three prefectures were placed under the jurisdiction of Henan Province. The province’s border is the land of Yuzhou in “Yu Gong”, so it is called Yu for short.
03 Hunan Province, Hubei Province
After the Anshi Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty, Hunan was appointed as an observation envoy, and it governed the seven states in the Xiangzi Ershui Basin south of Dongting Lake, and the name of Hunan began. At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, Jinghu South Road was set up in Hunan, referred to as Hunan Road, and Jinghu North Road was set up in the area from the north of the lake to Jingshan, including the Yuanli River Basin in the west, referred to as Hubei Road, and the name of Hubei began.
In the Yuan and Ming dynasties, there was only Huguang Province at the provincial level, and the provincial level was still called Hunan and Hubei.
The Huguang province in the Yuan Dynasty was named after its jurisdiction over Songhu Hubei (the part south of the Yangtze River), Hunan, and Guangxi. Guangxi was established as an independent province in the Ming Dynasty, and the jurisdiction of Huguang Province has been changed to be equivalent to the two provinces of Hunan and Hubei today. It no longer has the jurisdiction of “Guang” land, but the name of the province still follows the name of Huguang.
In the third year of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1664 A.D.), Huguang Province was divided into the left and the right.
Although Huguang was divided into two provinces in the Qing Dynasty, the old names of Hunan and Hubei in the Song Dynasty were adopted, but Dongting Lake was no longer used to divide the two provinces.
Hunan is referred to as Hunan because of the Xiangjiang River running through the whole province. Since Wuchang, the provincial capital of the Qing Dynasty, was the seat of Ezhou after the Sui Dynasty, Hubei was abbreviated as “E”.
04 Zhejiang Province
The name Zhejiang appeared at the latest in the Warring States Period, referring to today’s Fuchun River and Qiantang River, with Xin’an River as its upper source. It is said that it got its name because of the twists and turns of the river. In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, the land in the west of Zhejiang was divided into Wu County, and the land in the east of Zhejiang was called Kuaiji County. East Zhejiang and West Zhejiang were first recorded as the name of the region. In the first year of Emperor Suzong of Tang Dynasty Qianyuan (758 A.D.), the Jiedu Envoy of Zhejiang West Road was established to govern ten states west of Zhejiang (south of the Yangtze River); The beginning of the name of the administrative district.
In the Northern Song Dynasty, it was merged into Liangzhe Road, and in the Southern Song Dynasty, it was divided into Liangzhe East Road and West Road. At the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty, the Eastern Zhejiang, Western Zhejiang, and Jiangdong Roads of the Southern Song Dynasty were merged into Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces (later, Fujian Road was merged into it). At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, part of the original Jiangdong Road and Zhexi Road (now Anhui, the part south of the Yangtze River in Jiangsu and Shanghai) in the province of Jiangsu and Zhejiang was directly under Nanjing, and the rest of the original Zhexi Road and Zhedong Road were jointly established as Zhejiang Province. Zhejiang for short.
05 Jiangxi Province
The Yangtze River is intercropped between Wuhu and Nanjing and flows south-west, northeast-north. Before the Sui and Tang Dynasties, it was the main ferry between the north and the south. It is customary to call the area on the south bank of the Yangtze River Jiangdong, and the area north of the Yangtze River and south of the Huai River to be Jiangxi. In the 21st year of Tang Kaiyuan (AD 733), Jiangnan Dao was divided into Jiangnan East and West Dao. The former was referred to as Jiangdong Dao, and the latter was referred to as Jiangxi Dao.
After the Anshi Rebellion, the Jiedushi of Jiangnan West Road was established, referred to as Jiangxi Jiedushi, and its jurisdiction is equivalent to that of Jiangxi Province. In the Song Dynasty, Jiangnan West Road was established, referred to as Jiangxi Road, and the area east of Poyang Lake was assigned to Jiangnan East Road. In the Yuan Dynasty, Jiangxi Province was established, and it also had the land of Jiangxi and Guangdong in the Song Dynasty. In the Ming Dynasty, Jiangxi Province cut off the Guangdong area and put it into the Hudong area, restoring the jurisdiction of Jiangxi Province after the Anshi Rebellion in Tang Dynasty. Because the Ganjiang River runs through the whole province, it is called Gan for short.
06 Shaanxi Province
Shaanxi refers to Shanmo in the southwest of Shanxian County, Henan Province. During the reign of King Cheng of Zhou Dynasty, the land of thousands of miles in Wangji (starting from the Jingwei Plain in the west and reaching the Yiluo River Basin in the east) was divided into east and west parts with Shanmo as the boundary. The east of Shanmo was governed by Duke Zhou, and the west was governed by Duke Zhao. “Zhou and Zhao two centimeters to govern Shaanxi”. Later generations called the area to the east of Shanmo as Eastern Shaanxi, and the area to the west as Shaanxi.
Taking Shaanxi as the name of the administrative district began with the Shaanxi Jiedushi established after the Anshi Rebellion in Tang Dynasty, but the period was very short and the scope was small. The area east of Hua County. In the Song Dynasty, Shanxi Road was set up, including the areas north of the Qinling Mountains and west of Shanmo. In the fifth year of Xining (AD 1072), it was divided into Yongxingjun and Qinfeng Erlu, which are still collectively called Shaanxi Erlu by custom.
In the Jin Dynasty, it was divided into Jingzhaofu Road, Fengxiang Road, Yanyan Road, Qingyuan Road, and Lintao Road Road, which were still collectively called Shaanxi Wu Road Road. However, the east boundary of Jingzhaofu Road did not include Shanzhou and was changed to Tongguan. The so-called Shaanxi is actually Kansai. In the Yuan Dynasty, Shaanxi Xingzhongshu Province was established. It is referred to as Shaanxi, and because it was the land of Qin during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods, it is also called Qin.
07 Shandong Province, Shanxi Province
Shandong and Shanxi were originally regional names. “Shandong” and “Shanxi” in the Warring States Period and Qin and Han Dynasties were synonymous with “Kandong” and “Kanxi”. Mountain refers to Xiaoshan, and Guan refers to Hangu Pass. At that time, it generally referred to the territory of the six countries other than Qin in the Warring States Period to the east of Xiaoshan and Hangu Pass as Shandong or Guandong, and the territory of Qin State to the west of Xiaoshan and Hangu Pass was called Shanxi or Kanxi. In addition, the Jin State in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Northern Wei Dynasty base in the early Southern and Northern Dynasties were located west of Taihang Mountain, and the so-called Shandong at that time referred to the east of Taihang Mountain. The so-called Shandong in the Tang Dynasty generally refers to this meaning.
Kaifeng was established as the capital in the Northern Song Dynasty, so Jingdong East and West Roads were set up in the area east of Kaifeng. The Jin Dynasty followed the Song system, but because of the establishment of the capital Zhongdu (now Beijing), Kaifeng is no longer the capital, because the Jingdongdong and West Roads were changed to Shandong Dongdong and Xilu, and the jurisdiction is about the same as Shandong Province and Jiangsu Huaibei area today. It is the beginning of Shandong as the name of the administrative region. In the Yuan Dynasty, the Xuanwei Department of East and West Roads in Shandong Province was relocated, which belonged to Zhongshu Province. At the beginning of Ming Dynasty, it was changed to Shandong Province, which has been followed till now. In the Spring and Autumn Period, the province was the land of Lu State, so it is called Lu for short.
In the Tang Dynasty, Chang’an in Guanzhong was established as the capital, so the east of the Yellow River and the west of Taihang Mountain were called Hedong, and the Hedong Road was set up. In the Yuan Dynasty, the capital was established in Beijing today, so it is also called Shanxi to the west of Taihang Mountain, and the Xuanwei Division of Shanxi Road in Hedong is established, which belongs to Zhongshu Province. This is the beginning of Shanxi as the name of the administrative region. In the early Ming Dynasty, it was changed to Shanxi Province, and it has been followed up to now. The province borders the state of Jin in the Spring and Autumn Period, so it is called Jin for short.
08 Heilongjiang Province
The name Heilongjiang was first seen in “History of Liao Dynasty”. It is said that it was named because the river is black and meanders like a dragon. In the 10th year of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (AD 1671), Heilongjiang City (now the old city of Aihui, Aihui County) was built along the coast of Heilongjiang as a military stronghold to defend against the invasion of Tsarist Russia. In the 22nd year (AD 1683), Heilongjiang General was added to the part of the former General Ningguta’s jurisdiction. Heilongjiang General was named because he was stationed in Heilongjiang City, and he governed the Heilongjiang River Basin above the Songhua River Estuary. At that time, the north of Heilongjiang and the south of Daxing’anling were all Chinese territory, and Heilongjiang City had a moderate status in the general jurisdiction of Heilongjiang, and became the administrative center of the Qing government ruling this area.
In the twenty-ninth year of Kangxi (AD 1690), Heilongjiang generals moved to Mergen (now Nenjiang City), and in the thirty-eighth year (AD 1699), they moved to Qiqihar. Although the general’s residence has been moved again and again, the name of the general in Heilongjiang has not changed. In the 33rd year of Guangxu in the late Qing Dynasty (1907 A.D.), General Heilongjiang was abolished and Heilongjiang Province was relocated. Referred to as black.
09 Qinghai Province
Qinghai Lake is the largest saltwater lake in my country. In ancient times, it had names such as Xihai, Xianhai, Xianshuihai, Beiheqianghai, and Xianlinghai. The name of Qinghai first appeared in “Shui Jing Zhu” quoted Kan Yi (who lived in the early fifth century) “Thirteen Prefectures”. After the Tang Dynasty, Qinghai was often used as the correct name, and sometimes it was called Xihai, but other names were rarely seen. The area around Qinghai Lake was occupied by the Qiang people during the Han and Wei dynasties, and later Tuyuhun and Tubo both occupied this area. In the first half of the 16th century (Ming Zhengde and Jiajing years), the Mongols invaded Qinghai twice.
At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, the Mongolian Erut tribe entered from the northwest to occupy the northern part of Qinghai, which was called Qinghai Erut, corresponding to the northern part of Qinghai Province. During the reign of Emperor Yongzheng, after the Luo Bu Zang Danjin was pacified, the Xining Minister of Affairs (known as the Qinghai Minister of Affairs because of his jurisdiction over the Qinghai area) was installed in Xining Mansion (which belonged to Gansu Province at the time and ruled today’s Xining City) to govern Qinghai Erut and Chieftains of the Yushu Forty-Nine Clan living in the south of today’s Qinghai Province.
After the Revolution of 1911, the Minister of Affairs in Xining was abolished, and the Chief of Qinghai Office was replaced. In 1915, Ganbian Ninghai was replaced as the Guardian Envoy to manage the entire Qinghai area. In 1926, it was changed to Qinghai Army Guard. In 1928, the Kuomintang government reorganized Qinghai Province and assigned seven counties including Xining, Gansu Province to belong to Qinghai Province, with Xining as the provincial government. Referred to as green.
10 Liaoning Province
The use of the word “Liao” as the name of the administrative district in the Liaohe River Basin originated very early. During the Warring States Period, Qin, Han, Wei and Jin Dynasties, Liaodong County was set up in the east of Liaohe River, and Liaoxi County was set up in the west of Liaohe River. In the Liao and Jin Dynasties, the Liaoyang Prefecture was established, in the Yuan Dynasty, the Liaoyang Province was established, and in the Ming Dynasty, the Liaodong Capital was established. Although the jurisdictions were different in size, they all centered on the Liaohe River Basin.
In the early Qing Dynasty, General Liaodong was established. In the fourth year of Kangxi (AD 1665), it was renamed General Fengtian, because the Liaohe River Basin was the birthplace of the Qing Dynasty, which meant “Fengtian Chengyun”. In the 33rd year of Guangxu (1907 A.D.), General Fengtian was changed to Fengtian Province, which continued until the Beiyang era. In 1929, because the Qing Dynasty had been overthrown, the Kuomintang government still used the name “Fengtian” inappropriately. Instead, it took the meaning of eternal peace in the Liaohe River Basin and changed its name to Liaoning. Referred to as Liao.
11 Guizhou Province
In the fourth year of Tang Wude (621 A.D.), Juzhou was established and continued to the Song Dynasty. There is no distinction between fish mold and fat in the local pronunciation, so the records of the Song Dynasty also wrote Juzhou as Guizhou. At the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty (the late 13th century), it was officially renamed Guizhou. At that time, a state in the southwestern minority area was only equivalent to a county in the Central Plains, and the jurisdiction of Guizhou was limited to today’s Guiyang City and its suburbs. Soon (the beginning of the fourteenth century) it was changed to Guizhou and other directors’ lawsuits, and it was the administrative office of Bafan Shunyuan Xuanwei Division. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, the Xuanwei Division changed its name to the word “Guizhou” where the government was located.
In the Yuan Dynasty, Xuanweisi was a kind of administrative district between the provincial level and the road and government level. The jurisdiction of Xuanweisi in Guizhou included Wujiang River in the north, Panjiang River in the south, Bijie Waters in the west, and the end of the east. Danzhai and Sandu are now more than twenty counties. In the eleventh year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1413 A.D.), the three chief ministers of Huguang, Sichuan and Yunnan were divided into the chief ministers of Guizhou, and Guizhou was established as a province. Because the provincial capital is located in Guizhou Xuanwei Division, Guizhou is the name of the province. However, the provincial boundaries in the Ming Dynasty were much narrower than today, and the current provincial boundaries were first determined in the seventh year of Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty (AD 1729). In the Tang Dynasty, the province belonged to Qianzhong Road, so it was called Guizhou for short.
12 Jilin Province
In the twelfth year of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (AD 1673), Jilin Ula City (now Jilin City) was built along the Songhua River. “Jilin Ula” is a Manchu language, Jilin means “along”, Ula means “big river”, and Jilin Ula is a city “along the Songhua River”. It is called Jilin for short. In the fifteenth year of Kangxi (AD 1676), General Ningguta, who was originally stationed in Ning’an County, Heilongjiang Province, was moved here and renamed General Jilin. In the 33rd year of Guangxu (1907 A.D.), the area under the jurisdiction of General Jilin was transformed into Jilin Province. Referred to as Ji.
13 Taiwan Province
From the Han Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty, Taiwan was called “Yizhou” or “Liuqiu”. In the Ming Dynasty, it was also called “Dongfan” or “Beigang”. In the 16th century, the name “Da Yuan” came into being. It originally refers to the area around Anping Town, Tainan today, and it is a transliteration of the local Gaoshan tribe name. In the seventeenth century, “big staff” was rewritten as “Taiwan”. At that time, the Dutch invaders built the city of Zeelandia in this area, and the Chinese called it Taiwan City.
After Zheng Chenggong expelled the Dutch invaders and recovered the whole island in 1662, the term “Taiwan” was expanded to include the current Tainan City, the center of Zheng’s rule at that time. In the 22nd year of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1683), the Pingzheng family established the Taiwan government in today’s Tainan City, and the whole island is under the jurisdiction of Fujian Province. Since then, the area referred to by the term Taiwan has been expanded to include the entire island. In the eleventh year of Guangxu (1876), it was transformed into Taiwan Province. It was occupied by Japan in 1895 and recovered in 1945. Referred to as Taiwan.
14 Fujian Province
In the first year of Tang Shangyuan (760 A.D.), Fujian Jiedushi was established to govern the five prefectures of Fujian, Jian, Quan, Zhang and Ting. Fujian is named after the first two states of the five states. In the Song Dynasty, it was Fujian Road, and in the Yuan Dynasty, the Xuanwei Envoy of Fujian Road was set up, which belonged to Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces (the Fujian Province was set up twice at the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty and at the end of the Yuan Dynasty). Fujian Province was established in the Ming Dynasty. Fujian was the residence of the Minyue people in ancient times, so it is called Min for short.
15 Gansu Province
Gansu is one, and it began in the eleventh century when Xixia set up twelve supervisory military divisions in its territory. Gansu was one of them, governing Ganzhou (now Zhangye County), and governing Ganzhou and Su (now Jiuquan County).
From Yuan to Yuan eighteen years (AD 1281), Hexi Province was changed to Gansu Province, and Gansu was named as the province. Because it governs Ganzhou Road, it is called Ganzhou Province. In the first year of Yuan Zhenyuan (AD 1295), Ningxia Province was abolished and merged into Gansu Province. Gansu then had the land of Hexi and the land of Hedong under the jurisdiction of Ningxia Road.
In the Ming Dynasty, Gansu Province was merged into Shaanxi Province, and the governor of Gansu was established as one of the Four Governors of Shaanxi; Ganzhou Town was also established as one of the Jiubian Towns; the governor and the general army were stationed in Ganzhou Wei, and the jurisdiction was limited to the Hexi area.
In the second year of Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (AD 1663), Shaanxi was divided into two left and right chief ministers. Rule Lanzhou (now the city). When the division was first divided, the territory of Yousi still followed the Ming system and divided Gansu and Ningxia into two governors. In four years, Ningxia was cut off and merged into Gansu. At the beginning of Shunzhi period, the governor of Gansu Province was still stationed in Ganzhou in the Ming Dynasty, and later moved to Lanzhou. In the sixth year of Kangxi’s reign, Gongchang was transferred to rule, and in the 19th year, it was returned to Lanzhou.
Gansu Province is referred to as Gan for short, and because the province is in the west of Longshan Mountain, it was also called “Longxi” or “Longyou” in the old days, and it is called Long for short.
16 Anhui Province, Jiangsu Province
In the early Qing Dynasty, Jiangnan Province was divided into two provinces, Jiangsu and Anhui. Jiangsu Province was named after the initials of Jiangning Mansion (now Nanjing City) where the governor of the two rivers was stationed and Suzhou Mansion (now Suzhou City) where the governor was stationed. Anhui Province is named after the initials of Anqing Prefecture (now Anqing City) where the governor was stationed and Huizhou Prefecture (now Shexian County) under its jurisdiction.
In the third year of Shunzhi (AD 1646), the governor of Anlu was changed to the governor of Anhui, and the name of Anhui began. At this time, the system since the late Ming Dynasty was still followed, and there were three governors in Jiangnan Province. In the fourth year of Kangxi (AD 1665), governor Fengyang was dismissed, and his jurisdiction was divided into two governors of Jiangning and Anhui. Since then, the jurisdiction of Jiangning governor is roughly equivalent to that of Jiangsu Province and Shanghai, and the jurisdiction of Anhui governor is equivalent to that of Anhui Province.
In the Ming and early Qing Dynasties, the official name of the province was Chief Minister, and the province was a common name. In the 18th year of Shunzhi (1661 A.D.), the Jiangnan Buzhengshi Division was divided into two left and right divisions: the Zuo Division was stationed in Jiangning Mansion and had jurisdiction over the two governors of Anhui and Fengyang, and the Right Division was stationed in Suzhou Mansion and governed the Jiangning Governorate. In the fourth year of Kangxi (AD 1665), the governor of Fengyang was dismissed, and his jurisdiction was divided into Jiangning and Anhui Erfu, and the jurisdiction of the left and right divisions was changed to that of the second governor. In the sixth year, the left division was changed to Anhui Chief Political Commissioner, and the right division was Jiangsu Chief Political Commissioner, from which the name of Jiangsu began. In the twenty-sixth year (AD 1687), the governor of Jiangning was also renamed Jiangsu.
Jiangnan Zuobuzhengshisi and the renamed Anhui Buzhengshisi were originally assigned to Yousi and Jiangning Mansion in Jiangsu Province. In the 25th year of Qianlong (1760 A.D.), they moved to Anqing Mansion, where the governor of the province was stationed.
Jiangsu Province is referred to as Su or Jiang for short.
Anhui Province is called Wan for short. Wan originally is another name for Anqing Mansion, and it got its name from Fuzhi (now Qianshan County Government) which was the former site of Wan State in Spring and Autumn Period and Wan County in Han Dynasty. At the end of the Song Dynasty, the government was moved to Anqing City, and the nickname is still used as the courtyard. After the establishment of the province in the Qing Dynasty, Anqing was the capital of the province, so Anhui was used as the abbreviation of the province.
17 Yunnan Province
Yunnan was originally just a county name in the Han Dynasty, and the county seat was in the current Xiangyun County. According to legend, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty saw “colorful clouds” in Baiya (now Fengyi area), and sent people to track “colorful clouds” to this point. Because the county was located in the south of “colorful clouds”, it was named Yunnan. This is obviously the view of future generations who hope that the text will be attached. During the Three Kingdoms period, the Shu Han established Yunnan County, and it got its name because the county ruled Yunnan County. The territory under its jurisdiction is equivalent to Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture and counties such as Dayao, Yao’an, Lijiang, Yongsheng, and Yonglang.
Nanzhao rose in the eighth century, and soon the Six Zhaozhao were unified with the support of the Tang Dynasty. Because the Tang Dynasty occupied the ancient Yunnan county, Mengguiyi, the king of Nanzhao, was canonized as the king of Yunnan. The so-called “Yunnan” in the later Tang Dynasty was the name of Nanzhao. With the gradual expansion of the territory of Nanzhao, the area referred to by the name of Yunnan also expanded. In the Five Dynasties and Song Dynasty, although Nanzhao had been changed to Duan’s Dali Kingdom, the name of Yunnan was still used. In the third year of Emperor Xianzong of Yuan Dynasty (1253 A.D.), Dali was destroyed, and then it was changed to Yunnan Province.
Yunnan is called Yun or Dian for short. Dian is named Dian because the area near Kunming, the provincial capital, used to be the Dian Kingdom from the Warring States Period to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty .
18 Sichuan Province
In the early Tang Dynasty, Jiannan Road was established, and it governed the area west of the Jialing River and east of the Dadu River in what is now Sichuan Province. It was named after it was located in the south of Jiange. In the second year of Zhide (751 A.D.), it was divided into Jiannan Xichuan and Jiannan Dongchuan, referred to as Xichuan and Dongchuan. Chuan means Hirakawa Hirono. The Minjiang River Basin belongs to Xichuan, and the east of the Tuojiang River Basin belongs to Dongchuan.
At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, the hometown of Shu in the Five Dynasties (equivalent to the northeast of the Dadu River in Sichuan and Hanzhong in Shaanxi) was divided into Xichuan and Xiaer Roads. In the fourth year of Xianping (AD 1001), it was divided into Yizhou (later renamed Chengdu), Zi The four roads of Zhouzhou (later renamed Tongchuan House), Lizhou, and Kuizhou were collectively called “Chuanxia Four Roads”, and later referred to as Sichuan Road. In the Yuan Dynasty, Hesi Road was established as Sichuan Province, and the Hanzhong area was ceded to Shaanxi Province. Referred to as Chuan. And because the western part of the province was the land of Shu during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods, it is also referred to as Shu.
Some books say that Sichuan got its name from the four great rivers in its territory, the Yangtze River, the Minjiang River, the Tuojiang River and the Jialing River, but that is wrong.
19 Guangdong Province, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region
During the Five Dynasties, the area of today’s Guangdong and Guangxi was called Guangnan. It was named after its location in the south of the Central Plains as the land of Guangzhou during the Sun Wu and Jin Dynasties of the Three Kingdoms. At the beginning of the Northern Song Dynasty, the whole country was divided into several roads, that is, Guangnan was divided into two roads. In the first year of Duangong (988 A.D.), Guangnan Road was divided into East Road and West Road. At the end of the Song Dynasty, Guangnan East Road was referred to as Guangdong Road and Guangnan West Road as Guangxi Road. In the Yuan Dynasty, Guangdong Road was set up as Xuanwei Division of Guangdong Road in Song Dynasty, which belonged to Jiangxi Province; Guangxi Road was divided into Guangxi Liangjiang, Haibei and Hainan Second Roads, which belonged to Huguang Province, that is, Guangnandong and Guangnanxi were no longer used. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, Guangxi Province was established with Yuan Guangxi Liangjiang Road, and Guangdong Province was jointly established by Guangdong and Haibei and Hainan Second Roads. In 1958, Guangxi Province was changed to Zhuang Autonomous Region.
Guangdong and Guangxi are the land of ancient South Yue, and “Yue” is called “Yue”. Later generations called Zhejiang by “Yue”, so Guangdong and Guangxi were called Guangdong and Guangdong, Guangdong was called East Guangdong, and Guangxi was called West Guangdong. Guangdong is referred to as Guangdong. Guangxi was ruled in Guizhou (Song) or Guilin Prefecture (Ming and Qing) from the Song Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, so it is called Gui for short.
20 Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region
At the beginning of the fifth century A.D., Helian Bobo, a nobleman of the Xiongnu, thought he was a descendant of the Xiahou clan according to the records in “Historical Records: Biography of the Huns”, so he named the separatist regime he established in the present-day Hetao area as Xia. After the fall of Xia, the Northern Wei Dynasty established Xiazhou in Tongwancheng (now Baichengzi, Hongjie Commune, Jingbian County, Shaanxi Province), the capital of Xia State.
At the end of the ninth century, in the Tang Dynasty, Xiangqiang Tuoba Sigong, a party member of Xiazhou, participated in the suppression of the peasant uprising. He was awarded the envoys of Xia, Sui, and Yinjie, and made Xia Guogong. The separatist regime in the Hetao and Xibao Hexi areas, the country name is Daxia, and the capital is Xingqingfu (later renamed Zhongxingfu, now Yinchuan City). The Song people called it Xixia because it was in the west of China.
In the middle of the thirteenth century, the Yuan Dynasty established Xixia Zhongxing Province (referred to as Xixia or Zhongxing Province) with the old land of Xixia, and then took the meaning of tranquility in Xia, and renamed it Ningxia Province, and Ningxia got its name from here. Soon, the province was abolished, and Zhongxingfu was changed to Ningxia Fulu, which belonged to Gansu Province.
In the Ming Dynasty, the governor of Ningxia was established as one of the four governors of Shaanxi; Ningxia Town was also established as one of the Jiubian Towns. The governor and the general army were all stationed in Acropolis of Ningxia (now Yinchuan City). In the early Qing Dynasty, the governor of Ningxia was dismissed, and Ningxia Wei was changed to the government (government of Ningxia County), which belonged to Gansu Province; Ningxia General was appointed to govern the two banners of Alashan and Ejina in Xitao Mongolia.
In 1913, the government of Ningxia was abolished, and the general of Ningxia was changed to the military envoy. In 1921, the army envoy was changed to the guard envoy. In 1928, Ningxia Road in Gansu Province (reformed from Shuofang Road in 1914) and Xitao Second Banner under the jurisdiction of the town guard were relocated to Ningxia Province. In 1954, it was revoked and merged into Gansu Province and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region respectively. In 1958, the Yinchuan area of Gansu Province and the nearby areas inhabited by the Hui people were cut off to establish the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Ning for short.
21 Tibet Autonomous Region
At the beginning of the seventh century, Tubo, which unified the Tibetan Plateau, had established close political relations with the Tang Dynasty in the Central Plains. In the Yuan Dynasty, the Tibetan area was called Uszang (Si Yi Zuosi), and there were Uszang Propaganda and Consolation Envoy Sidu Marshal’s Mansion, etc., which belonged to the Central Xuanzheng Yuan. “Usi” means “central” in Tibetan. “Zang” means “holy”.
In the Ming Dynasty, there were commanders and envoys of Wusizang and Duogan in Tibet. In the Qing Dynasty, the area around Chamuduo (Lingchangdu) in the east was called Kang (Kam), the area around Lhasa in the center was called Wei (that is, Qieyin of Usi), and the area around Shigatse in the west was called Tibet (including Ali). In the last days of Kangxi, it was invaded by Junggar. In the fifty-ninth year (AD 1720), it was pacified with troops. Because it is located in the west of China, it is called Tibet. Yongzheng initially established the boundary between Sichuan and Tibet and Qinghai and Tibet. Five years (AD 1728) the Qing government sent ministers stationed in Tibet to station in Lhasa to directly supervise the local government of Tibet. In the eighteenth year of Qianlong (AD 1793), the Qing government announced the famous “Imperial Tibet Charter”, and Tibet officially became the name of the administrative region.
After the Revolution of 1911, it was called Tibet. The autonomous region was established in 1956. Referred to as Tibet.
22 Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region
From the first century BC, the government of the Western Han Dynasty set up the Protectorate of the Western Regions in present-day Xinjiang, governing the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, and the vast area to the east and south of Lake Balkhash; Gaochang and other counties. In the seventh and eighth centuries, the Tang Dynasty set up three prefectures of Yi, Xi and Ting and two prefectures of Anxi and Beiting. The territory under the jurisdiction of the two Protectorate Houses once reached the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea in the west.
After the middle of the seventeenth century, the Erut Mongolian Junggar nomads lived on the North Tianshan Road; at the same time, they controlled the Uighurs on the South Tianshan Road, and often sent troops to compete with the Qing Dynasty for Mongolia and Tibet. separatist regime. In 1755 (the second year of Qianlong), the Qing Dynasty pacified the Junggar tribe on Tianshan North Road. In 1759, Tianshan South Road was included in the territory. In 1762, General Yili was stationed in Yili City to rule Tianshan North and South Road.
Although the area under the jurisdiction of General Yili had been Chinese territory for a long time before that, it was a newly opened territory for the Qing Dynasty, so it was customarily called “Xinjiang”. In 1884 (the tenth year of the reign of Emperor Guangxu), the area under the jurisdiction of General Yili was transformed into Xinjiang Province, and Xinjiang became the official name of the administrative region. In 1955, it was transformed into the Uygur Autonomous Region. Referred to as new.
23 Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region
Mongolia was originally a tribal name. First seen in the records of the Tang Dynasty, it is a part of the Shiwei clan. The part name is “Mengwu”, and the first name is “Mengwa”. In the Song, Liao, and Jin dynasties, it was translated as “Menggu”, “Menggu”, “Menggu”, “Blindguzi”, and “Mongolia”. At the beginning of the thirteenth century, Genghis Khan of the Mongolian Ministry unified the northern and southern parts of the desert and established the Mongolian Khanate. After that, all ethnic groups with the same language family as the Mongolian Ministry were collectively called Mongolia. After the overthrow of the Yuan Dynasty in the early Ming Dynasty, people in the Central Plains called the Mongolians who had retreated to the northern part of the Great Wall Tatars or Oirats, and the Mongolians still called themselves Mongolia.
Entering the Qing Dynasty, except for Buryat Mongolia, which was occupied by Tsarist Russia, all other Mongolian ministries were within the territory of the Qing Dynasty. The capital or ministers supervise or govern respectively. At that time, it was customarily called Inner and Outer Mongolia. The so-called Inner Mongolia generally refers to Zhelimu, Zhuosuotu, Zhaowuda, Xilin Gol, Ulanchabu, Ikezhao Nei Zhasak Six Leagues, Twenty-Four Departments, Forty-nine Banners, and Guihua City Tumed II Banners (“Qing Hui Dian”, “Qing Tong Kao”, “Sheng Wu Ji”, etc.), there are also those that specifically refer to the Six Leagues of Nezhasak excluding Guihua City Tumed (“Mongolian Nomads”, “Drafts of Qing History” “).
The Eight Banners of Chahar are their own district; Hulunbuir belongs to Heilongjiang; the animal husbandry outside the mouth belongs to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Taipusi; the Second Banner of Taoxi Erut is sometimes included in Outer Mongolia, sometimes it is its own district; none of them are within the scope of Inner Mongolia within. After the late Qing Dynasty, the term Inner Mongolia began to be used to refer to all the pastures in the south of the desert and north of the Great Wall, from Zhelimu League in the east to Taoxi Erut in the west.
From the Qing Dynasty to the beginning of the Republic of China, the Zhelimu League was assigned to the three provinces of Feng, Ji, and Hei, and the other five leagues, the Eight Banners of Chahar, and each Mu established three special areas: Rehe, Chahar, and Suiyuan, and Taoxi II. The flag was assigned to Gansu. During the Kuomintang era, the three special regions of Re, Cha, and Sui were transformed into provinces, and Taoxi was placed under the newly established Ningxia Province. From the early Qing Dynasty to now, Inner Mongolia has always been a region name.
In 1947, the liberated Hulun Buir and Zhelimu banners in Northeast China at that time were established as the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and “Inner Mongolia” officially became the name of the administrative region. After the liberation of the whole country, the Mongolian regions in the provinces of Yuanre, Cha, Sui and Ning were merged into this region successively.
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