History of the administrative divisions of China (1912–49)

Map of the Republic of China in 1926

The history of the administrative divisions of China between 1912 and 1949 refers to the administrative divisions under the Republic of China government control.

Beiyang Government (1912–28)

The Beiyang Government streamlined the system used in Qing Dynasty down to three levels:

• Provinces (省, shěng)
• Circuits (道, dào)
• Counties (縣, xiàn)

The Beiyang Government set up four more provinces out of Inner Mongolia and the surrounding areas (Chahar, Jehol, Ningsia, Suiyuan) and two others out of parts of historical Tibet (Sikang out of Kham and Tsinghai out of Amdo; Ü-Tsang was the Dalai Lama's realm at this time and not part of any province), bringing the total number of provinces up to 28.

Nationalist Government (1928–49)

Map of the Republic of China in 1936

Map of administrative divisions and claims by the Republic of China between 1949 and 2005.

Map of the Republic of China in 1945

The Nationalist Government also began setting up municipalities, cities directly administered by the central government. More levels began to be added below the county, townships for instance. Circuits were then abolished in 1928 as being superfluous. However, this reform was soon found to be unfeasible since the average province now had 50+ counties and some more than a hundred. As a result, some provinces were later subdivided into several prefectures.

• Provinces (省, shěng)
  • Administrative superintendent district (行政督察區, xíngzhèng dūcháqū)
• Counties (縣, xiàn)

The creation of the puppet state Manchukuo by the Empire of Japan in the 1930s deprived China of 4 provinces in the northeast (Fengtien, Heilungkiang, Jehol, Kirin). After the defeat of Japan in 1945, Manchuria was reincorporated into China as 9 provinces and 3 municipalities. The Republic of China also annexed Taiwan and the Pescadores and organized into Taiwan Province. By this time there was a total of thirty-five provinces, twelve municipalities (院轄市, yuànxiáshì), one special administrative region (特別行政區, tèbié xíngzhèngqǖ), and two regions (地方, difāng) as first-level divisions under the Republic of China.

Administrative divisions published after 1949 to 2005

Map comparing political divisions as drawn by the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China.

After the loss of the mainland to the Communist Party of China in the Chinese Civil War and its retreat to Taiwan in 1949, the Nationalist Party continued to regard the Republic of China as the sole legitimate government of China. The jurisdiction of the Republic was restricted to Taiwan, the Pescadores, and a few islands off Fujian, but the Republic of China has never retracted its claim to mainland China or Mongolia. Accordingly, the official first-order divisions of Republic of China remain the historical divisions of China immediately prior to the loss of mainland China and maps of China and the world published in Taiwan sometimes show provincial and national boundaries as they were in 1949, ignoring changes made by the Communist government and including Mongolia, northern Burma (northern Kachin state), and Tannu Uriankhai as part of the Republic. Maps and list of administrative divisions covering above places were published until 2005.

In 2005, the nominal political divisions of the Republic were 35 provinces, 1 special administrative region, 2 regions, 14 special municipalities (adding Taipei and Kaohsiung to the original list), 14 leagues, and 4 special banners. For second-order divisions, under provinces and special administrative regions, there are counties, province-controlled cities (56), bureaus (34) and management bureaus (7). Under provincial-level municipalities there are districts, and under leagues there are banners (127).

• Provinces (省, shěng) and Special municipalities (直轄市, zhíxiáshì)
• Counties (縣, xiàn) and Cities (市, shì)

See also

• Republic of China (1912–49)
• Physiographic macroregions of China
• Administrative divisions of the Republic of China

References

External links

• Summary of terms
• Historical map scans - maps of various sheng, dao, fu, ting, and xian of the late Qing era.
• The province in history by John Fitzgerald