Xuzhou as a historical toponym refers to varied area in different eras. Ordinarily, it was a reference to the 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 ...

which modern Xuzhou inherited.

History

Pre-Qin era

Xuzhou or Xu Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China mentioned in Chinese historical texts such as the '' Tribute of Yu'', ''

Erya The ''Erya'' or ''Erh-ya'' is the first surviving Chinese dictionary. Bernhard Karlgren ( 1931:49) concluded that "the major part of its glosses must reasonably date from the 3rd century BC." Title Chinese scholars interpret the first title cha ...

'' and '' Rites of Zhou''. The '' Yu Gong'' 'Tribute of Yu''records: "The Sea, Mount Dai (ancient name of

Mount Tai Mount Tai () is a mountain of historical and cultural significance located north of the city of Tai'an. It is the highest point in Shandong province, China. The tallest peak is the '' Jade Emperor Peak'' (), which is commonly reported as being ...

), and the Huai River served as the boundaries of Xuzhou." While the definition of Xuzhou is more brief in ''

'': "Where is located in the east of Ji River". Based on these descriptions, the ancient Xuzhou covered an area that roughly corresponds to the regions in modern southeastern Shandong (south of Mount Tai) and northern Jiangsu (north of the Huai River).

Han dynasty

In 106 BCE, during the reign of Emperor Wu (r. 141–87 BCE) in the Western Han dynasty (206 BCE – 9 CE), China was divided into 13 administrative divisions or provinces (excluding the capital

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin ...

and seven commanderies in its vicinity), each governed by a ''cishi'' (; Inspector). 11 of them were named after the

mentioned in the historical texts '' Classic of History'' and '' Rites of Zhou''. Xuzhou was one of the 11, and it covered parts 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 it ...

(north of the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...

) and southeastern

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in His ...

. In the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 CE), Xuzhou's capital was set up at Tan (; present-day Tancheng County, Linyi, Shandong).

Three Kingdoms period and Jin dynasty

During the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...

period (220–280), Xuzhou was a territory of the state of

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' <

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' < Xuzhou Xuzhou (徐州), also known as Pengcheng (彭城) in ancient times, is a major city in northwestern Jiangsu province, China. The city, with a recorded population of 9,083,790 at the 2020 census (3,135,660 of which lived in the built-up area ma ...

). The area of Xuzhou shrunk slightly as its southern border with Sun Wu. After the fall of the Western Jin (265–316) due to the Wu Hu uprising, the Jin remnants fled to southern China and established the Eastern Jin (317–420). To govern the people from northern who relocated in the south of the Huai River, While its area shrunk again. Its capital was variable, it moved to Xiapi (; present-day Suining, Jiangsu), Shanyang (; present-day Huai'an District, Jiangsu), Guangling (; present-day

Yangzhou Yangzhou, postal romanization Yangchow, is a prefecture-level city in central Jiangsu Province (Suzhong), East China. Sitting on the north bank of the Yangtze, it borders the provincial capital Nanjing to the southwest, Huai'an to the north, ...

, Jiangsu) and Jingkou (; present-day

Zhenjiang Zhenjiang, alternately romanized as Chinkiang, is a prefecture-level city in Jiangsu Province, China. It lies on the southern bank of the Yangtze River near its intersection with the Grand Canal. It is opposite Yangzhou (to its north) a ...

, Jiangsu) at different stages. Since its capital moved to the south of the Yangtze River, where had never been a part of its area, Xuzhou became a migrated province.

Sixteen Kingdoms and Southern and Northern Dynasties period

In the

Sixteen Kingdoms The Sixteen Kingdoms (), less commonly the Sixteen States, was a chaotic period in Chinese history from AD 304 to 439 when northern China fragmented into a series of short-lived dynastic states. The majority of these states were founded by ...

period, Xuzhou was divided between, or came under the administration of, various kingdoms: * The Later Yan kingdom (384–409) set up Xuzhou's capital at Huangjin'gu (; present-day Zhangqiu,

), and moved it to Liyang (; east of present-day Xun County,

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 ...

), and later to Juancheng (; north of present-day Juancheng County, Shandong). * The Southern Yan kingdom (398–410) set up Xuzhou's capital at Jucheng (; present-day

Ju County Ju County or Juxian () is a county of Rizhao City, in the south of Shandong Province, People's Republic of China. As of the end of 2021, the total registered population of Ju County was 1.167 million. It covers an area of . The Fulaishan Scenic ...

, Shandong), which administered parts of southeastern Shandong. * The Later Qin kingdom (384–417) set up Xuzhou's capital at Xiang (; south of present-day Shenqiu County, Henan), which administered the regions east of present-day Shangqiu, Taikang County, Shangshui County in Henan province, as well as Bozhou, Woyang County and Mengcheng County in

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 Riv ...

province. In 408, the Emperor An (r. 397–419) of the

Liu Song dynasty Song, known as Liu Song (), Former Song (前宋) or Song of (the) Southern Dynasty (南朝宋) in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the first of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties ...

(420–479) recaptured the former territory in the north of the Huai River, Xuzhou was renamed as North Xuzhou, whose south border next to the Huai River while capital was Pengcheng, in 411. Meanwhile, the migrated Xuzhou remained. In 421, during the reign of Emperor Wu (r. 420–422), North Xuzhou was restored as Xuzhou, while South Xuzhou instead of the former migrated Xuzhou comparatively. In 433, during the reign of Emperor Taiwu (r. 424–452) of the Northern Wei (386–535), Xuzhou's capital was established at Jiyang County (; northeast of present-day Lankao, Henan). It was disbanded in 467 during the reign of Emperor Xianwen (r. 465–471). In 473, as the original area was captured by Northern Wei, Liu Song set up the new Xuzhou whose capital was located in Yan County (; present-day

Feng Yang Feng may refer to: *Feng (surname), one of several Chinese surnames in Mandarin: **Féng (surname) ( wikt:冯 féng 2nd tone "gallop"), very common Chinese surname **Fèng (surname) ( wikt:鳳 fèng 4th tone "phoenix"), relatively common Chinese fa ...

, Anhui).

Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties

During the reign of Emperor Huizong (r. 1333–1370) in the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty (), officially the Great Yuan (; xng, , , literally "Great Yuan State"), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after its division. It was established by Kublai, the fif ...

(1279–1368), Xuzhou became an administrative division known as "Xuzhou Circuit" () after 1348, with its capital in Pengcheng. During the reign of the Hongwu Emperor (r. 1368–1398) in 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 ...

(1368–1644), the name "Xuzhou" was restored, and the administrative division governed Pei County and Feng County in Jiangsu, and Dangshan County and Xiao County in

. Xuzhou became "Xuzhou Prefecture" () in 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-speak ...

(1644–1912) during the reign of the Yongzheng Emperor (r. 1722–1735) and it administered the modern city of

Xuzhou Xuzhou (徐州), also known as Pengcheng (彭城) in ancient times, is a major city in northwestern Jiangsu province, China. The city, with a recorded population of 9,083,790 at the 2020 census (3,135,660 of which lived in the built-up area ma ...

and

Suqian Suqian (, IPA: ) is a prefecture-level city in northern Jiangsu Province, China. It borders Xuzhou to the northwest, Lianyungang to the northeast, Huai'an to the south, and the province of Anhui to the west. History Suqian was said to be the s ...

in Jiangsu, and

Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trad ...

, Xiao County and Dangshan County in Anhui.

As other alternative toponym

Pre-Qin era

* An area in the east of

Lu state Lu (, c. 1042–249 BC) was a vassal state during the Zhou dynasty of ancient China located around modern Shandong province. Founded in the 11th century BC, its rulers were from a cadet branch of the House of Ji (姬) that ruled the Zhou dy ...

: Zhu (; in the southeast of present-day Shandong). "Xu" () was "Zhu", the Chinese character's variant sometimes in ancient China. * An area of Qi state: Xue (; south of present-day

Tengzhou Tengzhou () is a county-level city of Zaozhuang, Shandong province of the People's Republic of China, and is the site of the feudal vassal State of Teng during the Spring and Autumn period. Tengzhou was likely the birthplace of the philosoph ...

, Shandong). In 340 BCE, Xiapi () was moved to Xue, then the latter renamed Xuzhou. * An area of Qi state originally, captured by Yan and Zhao later: Shuzhou (; present-day Dacheng, Hebei).

Jurchen Jin dynasty

During the reign of Emperor Taizong (r. 1123–1135) of the

Jurchen Jurchen may refer to: * Jurchen people, Tungusic people who inhabited the region of Manchuria until the 17th century ** Haixi Jurchens, a grouping of the Jurchens as identified by the Chinese of the Ming Dynasty ** Jianzhou Jurchens, a grouping of ...

-led Jin dynasty (1115–1234), "Ansu Military Division" () whose capital at Ansu County (; present-day Xushui County,

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 ...

) was renamed Xuzhou. It administered the area in present-day eastern Xushui County. It was renamed "Ansuzhou" () in 1151 during the reign of Wanyan Liang (r. 1150–1161).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xuzhou Provinces of Ancient China Provinces of the Han dynasty