Circuit (administrative division)
Circuit | |||||||||||
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Dao (mainly Tang dynasty) | |||||||||||
Chinese | |||||||||||
Literal meaning | way, path, circuit | ||||||||||
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Lu (Song and Jin dynasties) | |||||||||||
Chinese | |||||||||||
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Korean name | |||||||||||
Hangul | 도 | ||||||||||
Hanja | |||||||||||
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Japanese name | |||||||||||
Kanji | |||||||||||
Kana | どう | ||||||||||
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A circuit (Chinese:
China[edit]
"Circuit" | |||
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Period | Chinese | Pinyin | Level |
Han | dào | 3rd | |
Tang, Liao | 1st | ||
Song, Jin | lù | ||
Yuan | dào | 2nd | |
Qing, ROC (12-28) | |||
ROC (32-49) | xíngzhèng dūchá qū |
Circuits originated in China during the Han dynasty and were used as a lower-tier administrative division, comparable to the county (simplified Chinese: 县; traditional Chinese:
The administrative division was revived in 627 when Tang Emperor Taizong made it the highest level administrative division and subdivided China into ten circuits. These were originally meant to be purely geographic and not administrative. Emperor Xuanzong added a further five, and slowly the circuits strengthened their own power until they became powerful regional forces that tore the country apart during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. During the Song and Jin dynasties, circuits (“dao”) were renamed lu (
Dao were revived during the Yuan dynasty. Circuits were demoted to the second level after the Yuan dynasty established provinces at the very top and remained there for the next several centuries. The Yuan dynasty also had lu (sometimes translated as "route"), but it was simply the Chinese word used for the Mongolian administrative unit, the cölge. The Yuan lu had little to do with the circuits (lu) in the Song and Jin dynasties and were closer in size to prefectures.[2]
Under the Qing, they were overseen by a circuit intendant or tao-tai (Chinese:
During the Republic of China era, circuits still existed as high-level, though not top-level, administrative divisions such as Qiongya Circuit (now Hainan province). After the Nationalists had successfully reunite China in 1928, all circuits were replaced with committees or simply abandoned. In 1932, administrative circuits (Chinese:
In 1949, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, all of the administrative circuits were converted into zhuanqu (Chinese: 专区; pinyin: zhuānqū) in 1949 and renamed diqu (Chinese:
Japan[edit]
Kinai | Tōkaidō | Tōsandō |
Hokurikudō | San'indō | San'yōdō |
Nankaidō | Saikaidō |
During the Asuka period (538–710), Japan was organized into five provinces and seven circuits, known as the Gokishichidō (5 ki 7 dō), as part of a legal and governmental system borrowed from the Chinese.[3] Though these units did not survive as administrative structures beyond the Muromachi period (1336–1573), they did remain important geographical entities until the 19th century. The seven circuits spread over the islands of Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū:
- Tōkaidō (
東海道 ) "East Sea Circuit": 15 provinces (kuni) - Nankaidō (
南海 道 ) "South Sea Circuit": 6 provinces - Saikaidō (
西海 道 ) "West Sea Circuit": 8 provinces - Hokurikudō (
北陸 道 ) "North Land Circuit": 7 provinces - San'indō (
山陰 道 ) "Shaded-side Circuit": 8 provinces - San'yōdō (
山陽 道 ) "Sunny-side Circuit": 8 provinces - Tōsandō (
東山 道 ) "East Mountain Circuit": 13 provinces
In the mid-19th century, the northern island of Ezo was settled, and renamed Hokkaidō (
Korea[edit]
Since the late 10th century, the do ("province") has been the primary administrative division in Korea. See Eight Provinces, Provinces of Korea, Subdivisions of South Korea and Administrative divisions of North Korea for details.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Cambridge History of China.
- ^ Buell, Paul D. (2003). The A to Z of the Mongol World Empire. Scarecrow Press. pp. 141, 188. ISBN 978-0-8108-7578-4.
- ^ Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005). "Goki-shichidō" in Japan Encyclopedia, p. 255, p. 255, at Google Books; n.b., Louis-Frédéric is pseudonym of Louis-Frédéric Nussbaum, see Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Authority File.