Zhili, alternately romanized as Chihli, was a northern administrative region of China since the 14th-century that lasted through the

Ming dynasty 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 peo ...

and

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 ...

until 1911, when the region was dissolved, converted to a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

, and renamed

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and 0 ...

in 1928.

History

The name ''Zhili'' means "directly ruled" and indicates regions directly ruled by the imperial government of China. Zhili province was first constituted during the

when the capital of China was located at

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

along the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...

. In 1403, the Ming

Yongle Emperor The Yongle Emperor (; pronounced ; 2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), personal name Zhu Di (), was the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 1424. Zhu Di was the fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dyn ...

relocated the capital to Beiping, which was subsequently renamed

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

.Susan Naquin, ''Peking: Temples and City Life, 1400-1900'', p xxxiii The region known as

North Zhili North Zhili, formerly romanized as , was a province of Imperial China in Ming dynasty. It was composed of the modern provinces of Hebei, the direct-administered municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin, as well as a small parts of Henan and Shan ...

was composed of parts of the modern provinces of

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

, Shandong, including the provincial-level municipalities of Beijing and

Tianjin Tianjin (; ; Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Tientsin (), is a municipality and a coastal metropolis in Northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities in Mainland China, with a total popu ...

. There was another region located around the "reserve capital" Nanjing known as

South Zhili South Zhili, formerly romanized as or simply discussed under various romanizations of Nanjing, was a province of Imperial China, under the Ming dynasty. It was established around the "reserve capital" Nanjing and included parts of the modern ...

that included parts of what are today the provinces of

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its ca ...

and

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

, including the provincial-level municipality of

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

. During the

, Nanjing lost its status as the "second capital" and Southern Zhili was reconstituted as a regular province,

Jiangnan Jiangnan or Jiang Nan (; formerly romanized Kiang-nan, literally "South of the River" meaning "South of the Yangtze") is a geographic area in China referring to lands immediately to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, incl ...

, while Northern Zhili was renamed Zhili Province. In the 18th century the borders of Zhili province were redrawn and spread over what is today

and the provinces of

, Western Liaoning, Northern

, and the

Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. Its border includes most of the length of China's border with the country of Mongolia. Inner Mongolia also accounts for a ...

. After the collapse of

, in 1911, the National Government of the Republic of China converted Zhili into a province as

Zhili Province Zhili, alternately romanized as Chihli, was a northern administrative region of China since the 14th-century that lasted through the Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty until 1911, when the region was dissolved, converted to a province, and renamed ...

. In 1928 the National Government assigned portions of northern Zhili province to its neighbors in the north and renamed the remainder

Hebei Province Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and 0 ...

Gallery

File:ROC Div Hebei.svg , Zhili during the

Republican era Republican Era can refer to: * Minguo calendar, the official era of the Republic of China It may also refer to any era in a country's history when it was governed as a republic or by a Republican Party. In particular, it may refer to: * Roman Rep ...

File:CEM-36-Regno-della-China-2355.jpg, A 1682 map of the "Kingdom of China, Presently Called Cathay and Mangi", using the names "Peking" (Beijing) and "Nangking" (Nanjing) to refer to the Northern and Southern Zhilis File:CEM-44-La-Chine-la-Tartarie-Chinoise-et-le-Thibet-1734-East-2570.jpg , The eastern half of

D'Anville Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville (; born in Paris 11 July 169728 January 1782) was a French geographer and cartographer who greatly improved the standards of map-making. D'Anville became cartographer to the king, who purchased his cartographic ...

's 1734 map of China, Chinese Tartary, and Tibet, displaying "Pe-tche-li" (North Zhili) after its southern counterpart became known as "Kiang-nan" (Jiangnan) File:Qing Dynasty 1820.png, The Qing Empire in 1820, with pinyin romanization File:1861 Johnson Map of China - Geographicus - China-johnson-1861.jpg, A map from 1861, which shows "Chihli" (Zhili). The former Jiangnan had already been divided between "Kiangsu" (Jiangsu) and "Nganhwui" (Anhui)

References

External links

*
Complete Map of the Seven Coastal Provinces
from 1821 to 1850 {{coord missing, China Administrative divisions of ancient China Provinces of the Republic of China (1912–1949) States and territories disestablished in 1928

History

See also

Gallery

References

External links