Caozhou or Cao 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 chapter ...

centering on modern

Heze Heze, formerly known as Caozhou, is the westernmost prefecture-level city in Shandong province, China, it borders Jining to the east and the provinces of Henan and Anhui to the west and south respectively. History Caozhou was at the center ...

Cao County Cao County or Caoxian () is a county in Heze City in southwestern Shandong Province, China. It borders Henan Province to the west. History Bo, one of the capitals of the Shang dynasty, lay in what is now Cao . Prior to the Boxer Rebellion, C ...

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

, China. It existed (intermittently) from the 6th century to 1913.

Geography

Under the Sui, Cao Prefecture included

Yuanqu County Yuanqu County is a county in Yuncheng City, in the south of Shanxi province, China, bordering Henan province to the southeast and south. It is the easternmost county-level division The administrative divisions of China have consisted ...

. The administrative region of Caozhou 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 ...

is in the border region of modern southwestern

and eastern Henan. It probably includes parts of modern: * Under the administration of

, Shandong: ** Heze **

Dingtao County Dingtao District () is a district under the jurisdiction of Heze in Shandong province, China. Emperor Gaozu of Han Emperor Gaozu of Han (256 – 1 June 195 BC), born Liu Bang () with courtesy name Ji (季), was the founder and first empe ...

Chengwu County Chengwu County () is a county of southwestern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. It is under the administration of Heze Heze, formerly known as Caozhou, is the westernmost prefecture-level city in Shandong province, China, it bo ...

Dongming County Dongming County in Heze Prefecture is the westernmost county of Shandong Province in the People's Republic of China. It borders Henan Province to the west across the Yellow River. Dongming County had a population of 677,563 in 1999. History Mos ...

* Under the administration of

Shangqiu Shangqiu (), alternately romanized as Shangkiu, is a city in eastern Henan province, Central China. It borders Kaifeng to the northwest, Zhoukou to the southwest, and the provinces of Shandong and Anhui to the northeast and southeast respective ...

, Henan: **

Minquan County Minquan County () is a county in the east of Henan province, China, bordering Shandong province to the east. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Shangqiu and is located at its northwest corner and is its northernmost cou ...

References

* Prefectures of the Sui dynasty Prefectures of the Tang dynasty Prefectures of the Song dynasty Prefectures of the Jin dynasty (1115–1234) Prefectures of the Ming dynasty Prefectures of the Qing dynasty Former prefectures in Henan Former prefectures in Shandong {{China-hist-stub