'' Fu'' (), sometimes translated as prefecture or superior prefecture, was a type of administrative division in historical China from

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

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 ...

. ''Fu'' was a level between provinces or equivalent divisions and

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

. The term was initially applied to larger or more important prefectures, while the name '' zhou'' was applied to common prefectures. By

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

and

Qing 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-speaki ...

dynasties, however, most prefectures under provinces had become known as ''fu''. After the establishment 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 ...

in 1912, the ''fu''-level administrative divisions were streamlined.

Tang dynasty

*(1st) Province-level division: "Circuit" (, ''dào'') :Total: 9 cities

Song dynasty

*(1st) Province-level division: "Circuit" (, ''lù'') :Total: 45 cities

Northern Song

Southern Song

Liao dynasty

*(1st) Province-level division: "Circuit" (, ''dào'') :Total: 13 cities

Jin dynasty

*(1st) Province-level division: "Circuit" (, ''lù'') :Total: 30 cities

Western Xia

*(1st) Province-level division: "Prefecture" (; ''zhōu'') :Total: 4 cities

Yuan dynasty

*(1st) Province-level division: "Province" (, ; ''xíngzhōngshūshěng'') :Total: 30 cities

Ming dynasty

*(1st) Province-level division: "Province" (; ''shěng'') :Total: 183 cities

Qing dynasty

*(1st) Province-level division: "Province" (; ''shěng'') :Total: 218 cities

References

{{reflist Former prefectures of China