Meixian (, Hakka: Moiyen), formerly Meihsien, is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

of Meizhou City, in northeastern Guangdong Province, China. The county is an important Hakka settlement and is the ancestral home of many Hakka descendants living in

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 ...

History

Its original name was Chengxiang county () during the

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 ...

Dynasty where it was first created, all the way to the

Song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetit ...

, Yuan and

Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...

dynasties, and then renamed Jiaying county during the

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-spea ...

. It only obtained the name Meixian in 1911 during the

Xinhai Revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China. The revolution was the culmination of a ...

Geography

Meixian almost completely surrounds Meizhou's central urban Meijiang District. This is due to the old urban core of Meixian becoming separated from the bulk of the county in the territorial reorganization following the 1949 establishment of the China, People's Republic of China, when it was given equal status.

Ethno-linguistic make-up

Meixian is noted for its large Hakka people, Hakka population.

Administrative divisions

Meixian has administrative jurisdiction over one subdistricts of the People's Republic of China, subdistrict and 18 towns of the People's Republic of China, towns. ; Subdistricts of the People's Republic of China, Subdistrict: * Xincheng Subdistrict, Meizhou, Xincheng () ; Towns of the People's Republic of China, Towns: *Chendong () *Shisan, Meixian District, Shisan () *Meixi, Meixian District, Meixi () *Daping, Meixian District, Daping () *Shikeng () *Shuiche, Guangdong, Shuiche () *Meinan () *Bincun () *Baidu, Meixian District, Baidu () *Songyuan, Guangdong, Songyuan () *Longwen, Meixian District, Longwen () *Taoyao () *Shejiang () *Yanyang () *Songkou () *Nankou, Meixian District, Nankou () *Chengjiang, Meixian District, Chengjiang () *Fuda, Meixian District, Fuda ()

Culture

With a majority Hakka people, Hakka population, Meixian, along with Dabu County, is known as the home of Hakka Chinese, Standard Hakka.

References

External links

* County-level divisions of Guangdong Meizhou {{Guangdong-geo-stub