Jin Prefecture (Shaanxi)

This article is about the Prefecture in Shaanxi. For the Prefecture in Shanxi, see Jin Prefecture (Shanxi). For the Prefecture in Hunan, see Jin Prefecture (Hunan).

Not to be confused with Jin Prefecture (Shanxi).

Jin Prefecture
Chinese	金州
Literal meaning	Golden Prefecture
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Jīnzhōu Wade–Giles Chin-chou

Jin Prefecture, also known by its Chinese name Jinzhou, was a prefecture of imperial China. Its seat—also known as Jinzhou—was at Xicheng (modern Ankang, Shaanxi).

History

Jin was created from Eastern Liang Prefecture (東梁州, Dōngliángzhōu) in AD 554 under the Western Wei Dynasty. Its name—the "gold" or "golden" prefecture—derives from the placer deposits along the Yue or Moon River still exploited to this day.

Under the Sui, it was renamed Xicheng Commandery (西城郡, Xīchéngjùn). Under the Tang, it was renamed Ankang Commandery (安康郡, Ānkāngjùn). It held 53,029 people in 14,091 households in 639 and 57,929 people in the same number of households in 742.

It was abolished again under the Ming in 1583.

Geography

Jin Commandery in the Tang dynasty lay around modern Ankang, Shaanxi. It probably includes parts of modern Ankang, Hanyin, Xunyang, and Shiquan.

See also

• Other Jin Prefectures/Jinzhous

References

Bibliography

• 《中国历史地名大词典》 [Zhōngguó Lìshǐ Dìmíng Dà Cídiǎn, The Big Dictionary of Historical Placenames in China], China Social Sciences Press, 2005, p. 1601, ISBN 7-5004-4929-1. (in Chinese)
• Xiong, Victor Cunrui (2009), "Jinzhou", Historical Dictionary of Medieval China, Historical Dictionaries of Ancient Civilizations and Historical Eras, No. 19, Lanham: Scarecrow Press, p. 264, ISBN 9780810860537.