A county, constitutionally known as a hsien, is a ''de jure'' second-level
administrative division
Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...
unit in the
Republic of China (Taiwan). Under the administrative structure of Taiwan, it is with the same level of a
provincial city.
The counties were formerly under the jurisdiction of provinces, but the provinces were streamlined and effectively downsized to non-self-governing bodies in 1998, in 2018 all provincial governmental organs were formally abolished. Counties along with former "
provincial cities" which alternately designated as simply "Cities", are presently regarded as principal subdivisions directed by the
central government
A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or dele ...
of Taiwan.
History
''Hsien'' have existed since the
Warring States Period
The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded ...
, and were set up nation-wide by the
Qin Dynasty
The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first Dynasties in Chinese history, dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin (state), ...
. The number of counties in
China proper gradually increased from dynasty to dynasty. As
Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of "king" ( ''wáng'') borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Emperor ( ...
reorganized the counties after his unification, there were about 1000. Under the Eastern
Han Dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
, the number of counties increased to above 1,000. About 1400 existed when the
Sui dynasty
The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and layi ...
abolished the
commandery
In the Middle Ages, a commandery (rarely commandry) was the smallest administrative division of the European landed properties of a military order. It was also the name of the house where the knights of the commandery lived.Anthony Luttrell and G ...
level (郡 jùn), which was the level just above counties, and demoted some commanderies to counties. In Imperial China, the county was a significant administrative unit because it marked the lowest level of the imperial bureaucratic structure — in other words, it was the lowest level that the government reached. Government below the county level was often undertaken through informal non-bureaucratic means, varying between dynasties. The head of a county was the
magistrate
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...
, who oversaw both the day-to-day operations of the county as well as civil and criminal cases. The current number of
counties mostly resembled that of the later years of
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
.
The first administrative divisions named "county" () was first established in 1661 by the
Kingdom of Tungning
The Kingdom of Tungning (), also known as Tywan by the British at the time, was a dynastic maritime state that ruled part of southwestern Taiwan and the Penghu islands between 1661 and 1683. It is the first predominantly Han Chinese state in Ta ...
. The later ruler
Qing empire
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
inherited this type of administrative divisions. With the increase of
Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive va ...
population in Taiwan, the number of counties also grew by time. By the end of Qing era, there were 11 counties in Taiwan.
Protestant missions in China first romanized the term as hien.
Taiwan was ceded to
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
by the
Treaty of Shimonoseki
The , also known as the Treaty of Maguan () in China and in the period before and during World War II in Japan, was a treaty signed at the , Shimonoseki, Japan on April 17, 1895, between the Empire of Japan and Qing China, ending the Firs ...
in 1895. The hierarchy of divisions also incorporated into the
Japanese system in the period when
Taiwan under Japanese rule
The island of Taiwan, together with the Penghu Islands, became a dependency of Japan in 1895, when the Qing dynasty ceded Fujian-Taiwan Province in the Treaty of Shimonoseki after the Japanese victory in the First Sino-Japanese War. The sh ...
. By September 1945, Taiwan was divided into 8
prefectures ( and ).
After the
retrocession to the
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
on 25 October 1945, the prefectures were reformed into eight counties () with the same name under
Taiwan Province of the
Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
. Their roman spellings were also changed to reflect the official language shift from
Japanese to
Mandarin Chinese
Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language of ...
, but characters remained the same. Note that most of the
Japanese prefectural cities were reformed to
provincial cities and are not a part of counties.
Changes of location and names of counties in
Chinese history
The earliest known written records of the history of China date from as early as 1250 BC, from the Shang dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC), during the reign of king Wu Ding. Ancient historical texts such as the ''Book of Documents'' (early chapter ...
have been a major field of research in Chinese historical geography, especially from the 1960s to the 1980s.
In late 1949, the
government of the Republic of China
The Government of the Republic of China, is the national government of the Republic of China whose ''de facto'' territory currently consists of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other island groups in the "free area". Governed by the De ...
lost the
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
and was relocated to
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
,
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
. In 1950, the counties in Taiwan were reorganized. Counties in populous
western Taiwan The regions of Taiwan are based on the historical administrative divisions. However, most of the definitions are not precise.
Division into two regions
* Eastern and Western Taiwan: the Central Mountain Range separates Taiwan into east and west.
:* ...
were split into two to three counties. This pushed the number of counties up to 16. After the war, the government only controlled a few offshore islands of
mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
. Among them are two of the 67 counties of the original
Fujian Province
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...
:
Kinmen and
Lienchiang
The Matsu Islands ( or , ; Foochow Romanized: Mā-cū liĕk-dō̤), officially Lienchiang County (, ; Foochow Romanized: Lièng-gŏng-gâing), are an archipelago of 36 islands and islets in the East China Sea governed by the Republic of Chi ...
. The number of counties under jurisdiction, 16 in Taiwan and 2 in Fujian, remained stable until the early 1990s.
Following the
democratic reforms in the early 1990s, more proposals of administrative division reforms were widely discussed and ultimately caused some populous counties be reformed to
special municipalities in the 2010 and 2014. These counties are:
*
Kaohsiung County
Kaohsiung County was a county in southern Taiwan between 1945 and 2010. The county seat was located in Fongshan City.
History
Kaohsiung County was established on 6 December 1945 on the territory of Takao Prefecture () shortly after the end of W ...
(1945–2010), now part of
Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsi ...
special municipality; the county seat was at
Fengshan City
*
Taichung County
Taichung County was a county in central Taiwan between 1945 and 2010. The county seat was in Yuanlin Township before 1950 and Fongyuan City after 1950.
History
Taichung County was established on 26 November 1945 on the territory of Taichū P ...
(1945–2010), now part of
Taichung
Taichung (, Wade–Giles: ''Tʻai²-chung¹'', pinyin: ''Táizhōng''), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality located in central Taiwan. Taichung has approximately 2.8 million residents and is the second most populous city of Taiw ...
special municipality; the county seat was at
Fengyuan City
*
Tainan County
Tainan County was a county in southern Taiwan between 1945 and 2010. The county seat was in Sinying City.
History
Tainan County was established on 7 January 1946 on the territory of Tainan Prefecture () shortly after the end of World War II ...
(1945–2010), now part of
Tainan
Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in southern Taiwan facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and also commonly known as the "Capital City" ...
special municipality; the county seat was located at
Xinying City
Xinying District () or Sinying District is a district and the location of the second administrative center of the Tainan City Government in Taiwan. Sugar production was the most important industry in Xinying.
History
On 7 January 1946, Taina ...
*
Taipei County
New Taipei City is a special municipality located in northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 3,974,683 as of 2022, making it the most populous city of Taiwan, and also the second largest special municipality by area, be ...
(1945–2010), now
New Taipei special municipality; the county seat was located at
Banqiao City
Banqiao District () is a district and the seat of New Taipei City, Taiwan. It has the third-highest population density in Taiwan, with over . Until the creation of New Taipei City, Banqiao (then transliterated as Banciao or Pan-ch'iao) was an in ...
*
Taoyuan County (1950–2014), now
Taoyuan special municipality; the county seat was located at
Taoyuan City (county-controlled)
Currently, the counties are established according to the ''Local Government Act'' under the supervision of the
Ministry of the Interior
An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs.
Lists of current ministries of internal affairs
Named "ministry"
* Ministry ...
. This act also endorses some special articles that grants counties with a population of over two million can grant some extra privileges in local autonomy that was designed for
special municipalities. This type of counties are often called quasi-municipalities (). This term applied to
New Taipei and
Taoyuan before they became
special municipalities.
Current counties
There are currently 13 counties:
Under Article 9 of the
, regulated by the ''Local Government Act'', each county has a government headed by an elected county
magistrate
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...
and an elected county council exercising legislative functions.
The governing bodies (executive and legislature) of the counties are:
See also
*
Political divisions of Taiwan (1895–1945)
Taiwan was under Japanese rule after the First Sino-Japanese War, as per the Treaty of Shimonoseki of 1895. There were still several changes until the Japanese political system was adopted in 1920. This system was ''de facto'' abolished in 194 ...
*
Prefectures of Japan
Japan is divided into 47 prefectures (, ''todōfuken'', ), which rank immediately below the national government and form the country's first level of jurisdiction and administrative division. They include 43 prefectures proper (, ''ken''), two ...
*
Counties of the People's Republic of China
Counties ( zh, t=縣, s=县, hp=Xiàn), formally county-level divisions, are found in the Administrative divisions of China#County level, third level of the administrative hierarchy in Provinces of China, Provinces and Autonomous regions of Ch ...
References
Notes
Words in native languages
{{Administrative divisions of Taiwan navbar
Counties, Taiwan (Republic of China)
Taiwan 1
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...