Qiongzhou or Qiong Prefecture was a '' zhou'' (prefecture) in

imperial China 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 chapte ...

in modern northeastern

Hainan Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South China Sea. , the largest and most populous island in China,The island of Taiwan, which is slightly l ...

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 ...

. It existed from 631 to 1329, but between 742 and 758 it was known as Qiongshan

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 ...

(also translated as Qiongshan Prefecture).

Counties

In the

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 ...

, Qiong Prefecture administered the following counties (): *Qiongshan (), roughly modern

Haikou Haikou (; ), also spelled as Hoikow is the capital and most populous city of the Chinese province of Hainan. Haikou city is situated on the northern coast of Hainan, by the mouth of the Nandu River. The northern part of the city is on the Ha ...

*Lingao (), roughly modern

Lingao County Língāo County (formerly romanised as Limko or Limkao) is an administrative district in Hainan Hainan (, ; ) is the smallest and southernmost province of the People's Republic of China (PRC), consisting of various islands in the South Ch ...

*Lehui (), roughly modern

Qionghai Qionghai, or in local Hainanese dialect as Kheng Hai, is one of the seven county-level cities of Hainan province, China. Although Administrative divisions of China#Ambiguity of the word "city" in China, called a "city", Qionghai refers to a large ...

*Zengkou (), roughly modern

Chengmai County Chéngmài County ( postal: Tsingmai; ) is an administrative district in Hainan, China. It is one of four counties of Hainan. Its postal code is 571900. In 2002, its population was 490,800. History The first record of Chengmai County is in 110 B ...

*Yanluo (), roughly modern southern Haikou or

Ding'an County Dìng'ān (; postal: Tingan) is an administrative district in Hainan, People's Republic of China. It is one of 4 counties of Hainan. In 1999 its population was 304,522 people. The town of Dingcheng is the main population center. Climate See ...

Yanluo was abolished late in the Tang dynasty, while Zengkou was abolished by

Southern Han Southern Han (; 917–971), officially Han (), originally Yue (), was one of the ten kingdoms that existed during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. It was located on China's southern coast, controlling modern Guangdong and Guangxi. The ...

. In the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

, Qiong Prefecture again administered 5 counties, including: *Qiongshan *Lingao *Lehui *Chengmai (), roughly modern

*Wenchang (), roughly modern

Wenchang Wenchang ( postal: Mencheong; ) is a county-level city in the northeast of Hainan province, China. Although called a "city", Wenchang refers to a large land area in Hainan - an area which was once a county. The urban center and the seat of govern ...

References

* * * Prefectures of the Tang dynasty Guangnan West Circuit Prefectures of Southern Han Former prefectures in Hainan Prefectures of the Yuan dynasty 631 establishments 7th-century establishments in China 1329 disestablishments in Asia 14th-century disestablishments in China {{China-hist-stub