Mingzhou or Ming Prefecture (738–1194) was a '' zhou'' (prefecture) in

imperial China The history of China spans several millennia across a wide geographical area. Each region now considered part of the Chinese world has experienced periods of unity, fracture, prosperity, and strife. Chinese civilization first emerged in the Y ...

located in modern northeastern

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, around modern

Ningbo Ningbo is a sub-provincial city in northeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises six urban districts, two satellite county-level cities, and two rural counties, including several islands in Hangzhou Bay and the Eas ...

. The prefecture was called Yuyao Commandery from 742 to 758. Located on the coast of the

East China Sea The East China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean, located directly offshore from East China. China names the body of water along its eastern coast as "East Sea" (, ) due to direction, the name of "East China Sea" is otherwise ...

and the southern bank of

Hangzhou Bay Hangzhou Bay is a funnel-shaped inlet of the East China Sea on the middle eastern coast of Mainland China, bordered by the province of Zhejiang to the west and south, and the municipality of Shanghai to north. The bay extends westwards to its ...

(which connects it to Hang Prefecture and the Grand Canal), Ming Prefecture was one of the most important international ports during the Tang (618–907),

Wuyue Wuyue (; ) was a Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic state of China and one of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period#Ten Kingdoms, Ten Kingdoms during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period of History of China, Chinese history. It wa ...

(907–978) and

Song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

(960–1279) dynasties. Cargo ships to and from Japan,

Silla Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...

(57 BC – 935 AD),

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean state founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korea, Korean Peninsula until the establishment of Joseon in 1392. Goryeo achieved what has b ...

(918–1392), and Liao (907–1125) frequented this prefecture. Ming Prefecture also administered

Zhoushan Zhoushan is an urbanized archipelago with the administrative status of a prefecture-level city in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang. It consists of an archipelago of islands at the southern mouth of Hangzhou Bay off the mainland c ...

, an island archipelago off the Zhejiang coast, including

Zhoushan Island Zhoushan Island is the principal and namesake island in the Zhoushan Islands, formerly romanized as the ChusanIslands, an archipelago administered by Zhoushan Prefecture in Zhejiang Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the provinc ...

Counties

For most of its history, Ming Prefecture administered the following 4–6 counties (縣): Before 764, Xiangshan (which is separated from the prefectural seat by Xiangshan Harbor) was under the administration of Tai Prefecture.

History

Tang dynasty

Ming Prefecture was created on 3 August 738 by splitting Mao County (鄮縣) from Yue Prefecture and dividing the area into 4 counties. Around 500 homeless people from

Run Prefecture Runzhou or Run Prefecture was a '' zhou'' (prefecture) in imperial China in modern Jiangsu, China, seated in modern Zhenjiang. It existed (intermittently) from 595 to 1113, when it became Zhenjiang Prefecture. Geography The administrative region ...

were brought over to resettle in Ming Prefecture. In 739, it was determined that 207,032 people from 42,027 families resided in Ming Prefecture. In 744, Mao County's magistrate Lu Nanjin (陸南金) had laborers expand the Wanjin Lake (now known as

Dongqian Lake Dongqian Lake () is a large freshwater lake in Yinzhou District, Ningbo in Zhejiang, China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, ...

) to facilitate irrigation and agricultural water management. In 744, while waiting for the typhoon to pass before embarking on his third journey to Japan, the Buddhist monk Jianzhen stayed at the Temple of King Ashoka. In 752, three ships carrying Japanese diplomats from

Empress Kōken Empress Kōken (born Abe, known as Empress Shōtoku during her second reign; 718–770) was the 46th and 48th monarch of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. She was born to Crown Prince Obito (the future Emperor Shōmu) and ...

's court arrived in Ming Prefecture. In 762, Yuan Chao (袁晁) rebelled from the

Archipelago, and quickly took several prefectures including Ming Prefecture. In 763, Yuan Chao was destroyed and captured by the Tang army led by Li Guangbi. In 798, military officer Li Huang (栗鍠) rebelled in Ming Prefecture. He was defeated in 799. In 804, a Japanese ship carrying 127 people from

Emperor Kanmu , or Kammu, was the 50th emperor of Japan,Imperial Household Agency (''Kunaichō'') 桓武天皇 (50) retrieved 2013-8-22. according to the traditional order of succession. Kammu reigned from 781 to 806, and it was during his reign that the scop ...

's court arrived in Ming Prefecture, the Buddhist monk

Saichō was a Japanese Buddhist monk credited with founding the Japanese Tendai school of Buddhism. He was awarded the posthumous title of Dengyō Daishi (伝教大師). Recognized for his significant contributions to the development of Japanese Budd ...

among them.

Prefects

Tang dynasty

*Qin Changshun (秦昌舜), 738 *Lü Yanzhi (呂延之), 758–759 *Pei Jing (裴儆), 771–773 *Cui Yin (崔殷), 773–? *Wang Mi (王密), 770s *Zhao Heng (趙恒) *Li Chang (李長), 770s *Wang Mu (王沐), 788–? *Ren Dong (任侗), 793–? *Han Cha (韓察), 821–823 *Ying Biao (應彪), 823–? *Li Wenru (李文孺), 829–? *Yu Jiyou (于季友), 832–? *Zhang Cizong (張次宗), 840s *Li Jingfang (李敬方), 847–? *Yin Sengbian (殷僧辯) *Li Xiugu (李休古), 850s? *Li Kang (李伉), 865 *Cui Qi (崔琪), 874–? *Zhong Jiwen (鍾季文), 881–892 *Liu Wen (劉文), 880s? *Yang Zhuan (羊僎), 880s? *Huang Sheng (黄晟), 892–909

Wuyue

*Qian Hua (錢鏵) *Shen Chengye (沈承業), 916–? *Qian Yuanqiu (錢元球), 916–? *Qian Yuanqu (錢元 ��瞿, 924–926? *Qian Yuanxiang (錢元珦), ?–933 * Yang Renquan, 933–? *Kan Fan (闞燔), 945–? *Qian Hongyi (錢弘億), 949–? *Qian Weizhi (錢惟治), 975–978

Song dynasty

*Wang Su (王素), 980–981 *Xu Xiufu (徐休復), 981–982 *Zhao Yizhi (趙易知), 982–983 *Xi Ping (席平), 983–984 *Qian Xiangxian (錢象先), 984?–987? *Chen Jin (陳矜), 988–989 *Sun Fu (孫扶), 989–990 *Qiu Chongyuan (邱崇元), 990–992 *Ling Jingyang (凌景陽), 990s *Chen Chong (陳充), 992–994 *Hu Dan (胡旦), 994–995 *Bao Dang (鮑當), 996–997 *Xu Jizong (徐繼宗), 997–1000 *Ding Gunian (丁顧年), 1000? *Wang Ying (王膺), 1008–1009 *Su Qi (蘇耆), 1009–1011 *Fan Feng (范諷), 1011–1013 *Kang Xiaoji (康孝基), 1013–1015 *Liu Chuo (劉綽), 1015–1017 *Li Yigeng (李夷庚), 1017–1022 *Yan Su (燕肅), 1022–1023 *Lin Daishu (林殆庶), 1023–1024 *Zeng Hui (曾會), 1024–1027 *Liu Geng (劉賡), 1020s?/1030s? *Zhang Jiao (張交), 1032–1034 *Xu Qi (徐起), 1035–1036 *Li Zhao (李照), 1036–1037 *Zhang Yan (張弇), 1037–1038 *Li Zhi (李制), 1038–1040 *Bao Yazhi (鮑亞之), 1040–1041 *Qian Yannian (錢延年), 1042–1044 *Lu Zhen (陸軫), 1044–1046 *Wang Zhou (王周), 1040s *Fan Sidao (范思道), 1047–1049 *Sun Gai (孫沔), 1051–1052 *An Zhen (安稹) *Lü Changling (呂昌齡), 1053–1054 *Shen Tong (沈同), 1055–1056 *Qi Kuo (齊廓), 1056–1057 *Bao Ke (鮑軻), 1057–1058 *Qian Gongfu (錢公輔), 1058–1060 *Lang Qi (郎玘) *Li Sidao (李思道), 1064–1065 *Yu Changnian (俞昌年), 1065–1066 *Shen Fu (沈扶), 1066–1067 *Miao Zhen (苗振), 1060s?/1070s? *Wang Han (王罕), 1069–1071 *Zhao Cheng (趙誠), 1072?–1073? *Li Yan (李綖), 1073–1074 *Li Ding (李定), 1075–1078 *

Zeng Gong Zeng Gong (; 1019–1083), courtesy name Zigu (), was a Chinese essayist, historian, poet, and politician of the Song dynasty. He was a key supporter and writer in the Classical Prose Movement and is regarded by later scholars as one of the Eigh ...

, 1078–1079 *Wang Hui (王誨), 1082–1084 *Ma Chong (馬珫), 1084–1085 *Li Kang (李閌), 1080s?/1090s? *Li Cui (李萃), 1086–1087 *Zhang Xiu (張修), 1080s?/1090s? *Han Zongdao (韓宗道), 1088–1089 *Wang Fen (王汾), 1089 *Wang Ziyuan (王子淵), 1089–1090 *Liu Shu (劉淑), 1090–1091 *Lü Wenqing (呂溫卿), 1091–1093 *Liu Cheng (劉珵), 1093–1095 *Yao Mian (姚勔), 1090s *Wang Zishao (王子韶), 1096–1097 *Ye Tao (葉濤), 1097–1098 *Wei Xiang (韋驤), 1098 *Lu Chuan (陸傳) *Wang Zishen (王資深), 1102 *Ye Di (葉棣) *Peng Xiu (彭休) *Bai Tong (白同) *Qian Jingfeng (錢景逢) *Song Kangnian (宋康年), 1109 *Tan Zongdan (檀宗旦), 1110–1111 *Cai Zhao (蔡肇), 1111 *Li Tunan (李圖南), 1110s *Lü Zong (呂宗), 1110s *Zhou Zhi (周秩), 1114–1115 * Zhou Bangyan, 1115 *Mao You (毛友), 1116–1117 *Lou Yi (樓异), 1117–1121? *Li Youwen (李友聞), 1121–1122 *Jiang Yi (蔣彝), 1122 *Jiang You (蔣猷), 1122–1123 *Zhao Yi (趙億), 1123–1125 *Wei Xian (魏憲), 1125–1126 *Li Biru (李弼孺), 1126 *Li Youwen (2nd appointment), 1126–1127 *Su Xi (蘇攜), 1127–1128 *Jin Shou (金受), 1128–1129 *Shen Hui (沈晦), 1129–1130 *Zhang Ruzhou (張汝舟), 1130 *Liu Hongdao (劉洪道), 1130 *Xiang Zimin (向子忞), 1130 *Wu Mao (吳懋), 1130–1132 *Chen Jian (陳戩), 1132 *Lu Changmin (陸長民), 1132–1133 *Li Chengzao (李承造), 1133 *Guo Zhongxun (郭仲荀), 1133–1135 *Qiu Yu (仇悆), 1135–1138 *Zhou Gang (周綱), 1138–1139 *Pan Lianggui (潘良貴), 1139–1140 *Qiu Yu (2nd appointment), 1140–1141 *Liang Rujia (梁汝嘉), 1141–1142 *Mo Jiang (莫將), 1142–1145 *Qin Di (秦棣), 1145–1147 *Xu Chen (徐琛), 1147–1150 *Cao Yong (曹泳), 1150–1152 *Han Jin (韓璡), 1152–1153 *Li Zhuang (李莊), 1153–1154 *Wang Hui (王會), 1154–1155 *Li Chong (李㳘), 1155 *Fang Zi (方滋), 1155 *Wang Yu (王俁), 1155–1156 *Jiang Shizhong (姜師仲), 1156–1158 *Zhao Shanji (趙善繼), 1158–1159 *Zhang Cheng (張偁), 1159–1160 *Shen Gai (沈該), 1160–1162 *Han Zhongtong (韓仲通), 1162–1163 *Zhao Zisu (趙子潚), 1163–1164 *Zhao Bogui (趙伯圭), 1164–1167 *Zhang Jin (張津), 1167–1169 *Zhao Bogui (2nd appointment), 1169–1174 *Zhao Kai (趙愷), 1174–1180 *

Fan Chengda Fan Chengda (, 1126–1193), courtesy name Zhineng (), was a Chinese geographer, poet, and politician. One of the best-known Chinese poets of the Song Dynasty, he served as a government official, and was an academic authority in geography, especiall ...

, 1180–1181 *Zhao Yi (趙益), 1181 *Xie Shiji (謝師稷), 1181–1182 *Yang Xie (楊獬), 1182–1184 *Zhao Shikui (趙師夔), 1184–1186 *Geng Bing (耿秉), 1186 *Yan Xi (延璽), 1186 *Yue Fu (岳甫), 1186–1189 *Lin Li (林栗), 1189–1190 *Cheng Dachang (程大昌), 1190–1191 *Lin Ji (林枅), 1191 *Yu Chou (虞儔), 1191 *Gao Kui (高夔), 1191–1193 *Zhu Quan (朱佺), 1193–1194 *He Dan (何澹), 1194–1195

References

* {{Liangzhe Circuit Prefectures of Wuyue Prefectures of the Tang dynasty Liangzhe East Circuit Former prefectures in Zhejiang History of Ningbo Zhoushan