She County (), or Shexian, is a

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

of southwestern

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 ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

, located on the lower reaches of the

Zhang River The Zhang River is a tributary of the Wei River in China. The river commences at the confluence of the rivers Qingzhang (or Clear Zhang, 清漳河) and Zhuozhang (or Turbid Zhang, 浊漳河), where between She county of Hebei and Linzhou of ...

and bordering

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-leve ...

to the west and

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 a ...

to the south. It is under the administration of the Handan City, with a population of 400,000 residing in an area of .

History

The present area was originally part of Jizhou, one of the

Nine Provinces The term Nine Provinces or Nine Regions (), is used in ancient Chinese histories to refer to territorial divisions or islands during the Xia and Shang dynasties and has now come to symbolically represent China. "Province" is the word used to ...

. 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 ...

it was part of the state of Jin, and during the

Warring States period The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded ...

, became part of the

state of Wei Wei (; ; Old Chinese: *') was one of the seven major states during the Warring States period of ancient China. It was created from the three-way Partition of Jin, together with Han and Zhao. Its territory lay between the states of Qin and ...

. Later, during the

Zhao Zhao may refer to: * Zhao (surname) (赵), a Chinese surname ** commonly spelled Chao in Taiwan or up until the early 20th century in other regions ** Chiu, from the Cantonese pronunciation ** Cho (Korean surname), represent the Hanja 趙 (Chine ...

and Qin Dynasties, it was part of Handan Commandery (). In 206 BCE, it was officially established as a county, but instead named as Sha County (), but not long after, was renamed to its present name. In the early part of the

Eastern Han The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

, it was renamed State of Shehou (), part of the

Wei Commandery Wei Commandery ( zh, 魏郡) was a historical commandery of China, located in modern southern Hebei and northern Henan. The commandery was created during Emperor Gaozu of Han's reign, with its seat at Ye. In late Western Han, it administered 18 ...

(). The

Jin Dynasty (266–420) The Jin dynasty (; ) or the Jin Empire, sometimes distinguished as the (司馬晉) or the (兩晉), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed from 266 to 420. It was founded by Sima Yan (Emperor Wu), eldest son of Sima Zhao, who had p ...

saw the area as part of Guangping Commandery (). The present name was restored again during the

Sui Dynasty The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and la ...

, becoming part of

Shangdang Shangdang Commandery or Shangdang Prefecture (, also named Shangtang) was an administrative subdivision of ancient China from the time of the Spring and Autumn period (771–403 BCE). Consisting of a number of districts or ''Zhōu'' (, or prefe ...

Commandery. However, in the early

Tang Tang or TANG most often refers to: * Tang dynasty * Tang (drink mix) Tang or TANG may also refer to: Chinese states and dynasties * Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) ...

, it was renamed Mo County (). In the

Southern Song 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 ...

, it was controlled by the

Jin dynasty (1115–1234) The Jin dynasty (, ; ) or Jin State (; Jurchen: Anchun Gurun), officially known as the Great Jin (), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed between 1115 and 1234. Its name is sometimes written as Kin, Jurchen Jin, Jinn, or Chin in ...

and renamed Chongzhou (). The county's name was restored for the last time during the

Ming Dynasty 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 ...

, though it was temporarily part of

, and it was not until 1949, with the establishment of the People's Republic, that She County was returned to Hebei.

Administrative divisions

The county administers 9 towns and 8 townships.

Geography

She County is located in the east of the

Taihang Mountains The Taihang Mountains () are a Chinese mountain range running down the eastern edge of the Loess Plateau in Shanxi, Henan and Hebei provinces. The range extends over from north to south and has an average elevation of . The principal peak is ...

, bordering Ci County and

Wu'an Wu'an is a county-level city in the southwest of Hebei Province, China, bordering Shanxi Province to the west. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Handan. History People's Republic In August 1949, Wu'an was one of thr ...

to the east,

Anyang Anyang (; ) is a prefecture-level city in Henan province, China. The northernmost city in Henan, Anyang borders Puyang to the east, Hebi and Xinxiang to the south, and the provinces of Shanxi and Hebei to its west and north respectively. It ...

and Linzhou of

to the south across the

Pingshun County Pingshun County () is a county in the southeast of Shanxi province, China, bordering the provinces of Hebei to the northeast and Henan to the east. It is under the administration of Changzhi city. Climate Notable Persons * Shen Jilan Shen J ...

to the west, and Zuoquan County (Shanxi) to the north. It ranges in latitude from 36° 17' to 36° 55' N, spanning a length of , and in longitude from 113° 26' to 114° E, a width of , and has a total area of . The Zhang River, and its tributaries, is the primary river in the county, and eventually flows into the

Hai River The Hai River (海河, lit. "Sea River"), also known as the Peiho, ("White River"), or Hai Ho, is a Chinese river connecting Beijing to Tianjin and the Bohai Sea. The Hai River at Tianjin is formed by the confluence of five watercourses: the ...

Climate

Transport

The location of She County at the intersection of the Handan–Changzhi and Beijing–Guangzhou Railways, and location along

G22 Qingdao–Lanzhou Expressway The Qingdao–Lanzhou Expressway (), designated as G22 and commonly referred to as the Qinglan Expressway () is an expressway that connects the cities of Qingdao, Shandong, China, and Lanzhou, Gansu. It is in length. This expressway is sometimes ...

and

China National Highway 309 China National Highway 309 (G309) runs west from Rongcheng, Shandong towards Hebei Province, Shanxi Province, Shaanxi Province, Ningxia Autonomous Region, and ends in Lanzhou, Gansu. It is 2208 kilometres in length. Route and distance See als ...

makes it an important transport hub for Hebei province.

References

{{authority control County-level divisions of Hebei Handan