Pu County (), also known by its

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

name Puxian, is a

county 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 ...

in the southwest of

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

province, China. It is under the administration of the

prefecture-level city A prefecture-level city () or prefectural city is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China (PRC), ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure. During the Republican era, many of China' ...

Linfen Linfen is a prefecture-level city in the southwest of Shanxi province, China, bordering Shaanxi province to the west. It is situated along the banks of the Fen River. It has an area of and according to the 2020 Census, a population of 3,976,4 ...

; bordering

county-level division The administrative divisions of China have consisted of several levels since ancient times, due to China's large population and geographical area. The constitution of China provides for three levels of government. However in practice, there a ...

s are

Yaodu District Yaodu District () is a district of the city of Linfen, Shanxi Province, China. Yaodu spans 1,307 square kilometers in area, and has a population of 944,050 as of 2010. The district serves at the administrative center for Linfen. Geography The L ...

(the urban area of Linfen) to the southeast, Ji County to the southwest, Daning County to the west, Xi County to the north, Fenxi County to the northeast, and

Hongtong County Hongtong County () is a county in the southwest of Shanxi Province, China. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Linfen. The county spans an area of 1,494 square kilometers, and has a population of approximately 766,579 as ...

to the east. Pu County spans an area of , and had a population of 107,339 according to the

2010 Chinese Census The 2010 Chinese census, officially the Sixth National Population Census of the People's Republic of China (中華人民共和國第六次全國人口普查), was conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics of the People's Republic of China wi ...

Toponymy

Pu County is named after the fabled Puzi Mountain () in the area.

History

Spring and Autumn period

During the

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period was a period in Chinese history from approximately 770 to 476 BC (or according to some authorities until 403 BC) which corresponds roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou period. The period's name derives fr ...

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 ...

, the city of Pu and its hinterland were the

appendage An appendage (or outgrowth) is an external body part, or natural prolongation, that protrudes from an organism's body. In arthropods, an appendage refers to any of the homologous body parts that may extend from a body segment, including anten ...

of the Jin prince

Ji Chong'er Duke Wen of Jin (697–628BC), born Chong'er (literally "Double Ears"), was a scion of the royal house of Jin during the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history. He famously endured a long period of exile from his realm before finally bei ...

before the

Rong Rong or RONG may refer to: Places China *Rong County, Guangxi, Yulin, Guangxi, China *Rong County, Sichuan, Zigong, Sichuan, China Nepal *Rong, Ilam, a rural municipality in Ilam District, Nepal Norway *Rong, Norway, a village in Øygarden m ...

beauty Li Ji successfully schemed to drive him from the country in 655BC and to place her own son into succession for the

duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a Middle Ages, medieval country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition. There once exis ...

. Pu would have also been a home to the famous courtiers like

Jie Zhitui Jie Zhitui (centuryBC), also known as Jie Zitui, was a Han aristocrat who served the Jin prince Chong'er during the Spring and Autumn Period of Chinese history. Chinese legend holds that when Chong'er finally ascended to power as the duke of J ...

who followed Ji Chong'er into his exile. Their court was later imposed on Jin by a

Qin Qin may refer to: Dynasties and states * Qin (state) (秦), a major state during the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China * Qin dynasty (秦), founded by the Qin state in 221 BC and ended in 206 BC * Daqin (大秦), ancient Chinese name for the Roman Emp ...

army in 636BC, with Ji Chong'er as the state's Wen Duke.

Northern Wei

During the

Northern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei (), Tuoba Wei (), Yuan Wei () and Later Wei (), was founded by the Tuoba (Tabgach) clan of the Xianbei. The first of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties ...

, the ancient Pingchang County () was located close to present-day Pu County, which fell under the jurisdiction of . Later in the Northern Wei, the area would be reorganized as Shicheng County (), under the jurisdiction of .

Post-Northern Wei

In 579 CE, Shicheng County was renamed to Puzi County (), and was placed under the jurisdiction of . In 606 CE, Puzi County was renamed to Pu County (), and was placed under the jurisdiction of .

Republic of China

During the early years 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 ...

, Pu County was administered by , and then placed under provincial administration upon the abolition of circuits.

People's Republic of China

Upon the foundation of the

People's Republic of 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 ...

in 1949, Pu County was placed under Linfen Prefecture, which was renamed in 1954. The county was abolished from 1958 to 1961. In 2000, it was placed under the jurisdiction of the

. On October 6, 2021, the county was afflicted by a

flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

which killed four people in the

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

of Jingpo () in the

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

of .

Geography

The county's highest point is Wulu Mountain (), which reaches in height. The county's lowest point is in height. The flows through Pu County, as does a number of its

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage b ...

Climate

Administrative divisions

Pu County administers four

towns A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

and five

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

Towns

The county's four towns are , , , and .

Townships

The county's five townships are , , , , and .

Demographics

According the

, the county had a population of 107,339, up from the 98,860 reported in the

2000 Chinese Census The 2000 Chinese census, officially the Fifth National Population Census of the People's Republic of China (), was conducted by the government of the People's Republic of China with 1 November 2000 as its zero hour. The total population was calcula ...

. The county had an estimated population of about 80,000 as of 1996.

References

{{Coord, 36, 24, 47, N, 111, 05, 55, E, region:CN-14_type:adm3rd_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title County-level divisions of Shanxi Linfen