'' Fu'' (), sometimes translated as prefecture or superior prefecture, was a type of administrative division in historical China from

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

. ''Fu'' was a level between provinces or equivalent divisions and

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

. The term was initially applied to larger or more important prefectures, while the name '' zhou'' was applied to common prefectures. By

Ming The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of China ruled by the Han people, t ...

and

Qing The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

dynasties, however, most prefectures under provinces had become known as ''fu''. After the establishment of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

in 1912, the ''fu''-level administrative divisions were streamlined.

Tang dynasty

*(1st) Province-level division: "Circuit" (, ''dào'') :Total: 9 cities

Song dynasty

*(1st) Province-level division: "Circuit" (, ''lù'') :Total: 45 cities

Northern Song

Southern Song

Liao dynasty

*(1st) Province-level division: "Circuit" (, ''dào'') :Total: 13 cities

Jin dynasty

*(1st) Province-level division: "Circuit" (, ''lù'') :Total: 30 cities

Western Xia

*(1st) Province-level division: "Prefecture" (; ''zhōu'') :Total: 4 cities

Yuan dynasty

*(1st) Province-level division: "Province" (, ; ''xíngzhōngshūshěng'') :Total: 30 cities

Ming dynasty

*(1st) Province-level division: "Province" (; ''shěng'') :Total: 183 cities

Qing dynasty

*(1st) Province-level division: "Province" (; ''shěng'') :Total: 218 cities

References

{{reflist Former prefectures of China