Zhou (country Subdivision)

Zhou (country Subdivision)

Zhou (Chinese: 州, pinyin: zhōu) were historical political divisions of China. Formally established during the Han Dynasty, zhou continued to exist until the establishment of the Republic of China—a period of over 2000 years. Zhou were also previously used in Korea (Korea: 주, ju), Vietnam (Vietnamese: châu), and Japan (Japanese: 州, shū).

Zhou is typically rendered by several terms in the English language:

• The large zhou before the Tang Dynasty and in countries other than China are called "provinces"
• The smaller zhou during and after the Tang Dynasty are called "prefectures"
• The zhou of the Qing Dynasty are also called either "independent" or "dependent departments", depending on their level.

The Tang Dynasty also established prefectures (府, fǔ), zhou of special importance such as capitals and other major cities. Following the Meiji Restoration, fu was also used in Japanese for the urban prefectures of the most important cities; today, it is still used in the Japanese names for the Osaka and Kyoto Prefectures.

In modern China, zhou today exists only in the designation "autonomous prefecture" (自治州, zìzhìzhōu), administrative areas for China's designated minorities. However, zhou have left a huge mark on the place names of China, including the province of Guizhou and the major cities of Guangzhou, Fuzhou, Hangzhou, Lanzhou, and Suzhou, among many others. Likewise, although modern Korean, Vietnamese, and Japanese provinces are no longer designated by zhou cognates, the older terms survive in various place names, notably the Japanese islands of Honshu and Kyushu, the Korean province Jeju-do, and Lai Châu in Vietnam.