Administrative Evolution

The Iron Wall of Yan River: Military Defense Logic and Geopolitical Reconstruction in Ming Dynasty Yongan

Have you ever wondered — what if a county was not created to make life better, but to make escape impossible? In 1452, the 3rd year of Jingtai in the Ming Dynasty, a new county appeared in central Fujian. Its name: Yongan — “Eternal Peace.” But it was born from anything but peace. I want to share a story with you: Yongan wasn’t a place that grew gradually. It was carved out of a battlefield, surgically, by imperial decree. ...

The Matrix of Cession: Territorial Fission of Youxi 'Mother County' and the Reconfiguration of Central Fujian

Imagine a county whose territory was carved up repeatedly over centuries, leaving it with less than one-third of its original size. That is Youxi. In the 29th year of Kaiyuan of the Tang Dynasty (741 AD), it entered history with a vast territory of 3,424.64 square kilometers. Five hundred years later, this land had been split into three pieces, giving birth to two new counties: Yongan and Datian. I opened the Youxi County Gazetteer, and between its yellowed pages lay the story of a “mother county” torn apart. ...

From Chaos to Precision: The Fragmentation and Reorganization of Central Fujian's Frontier in the Ming Dynasty

Did you know that some counties in Fujian were literally “pieced together” from scraps of their neighbors? Not just one. In the mountains of central Fujian during the Ming Dynasty, at least three counties were carved out—cut from the flesh of a “mother county,” stitched together at the borders, and stamped with a new name. The deepest cut went into Youxi County. Established in 741 AD during the Tang Dynasty, Youxi covered over 3,400 square kilometers in the early Ming—more than twice the size of modern-day Xiamen. But in 1452 and 1535, the imperial court took a knife to it: first slicing off four districts (Du) to create Yongan, then carving out another twelve to create Datian. ...

The Administrative Evolution of Taiwan: Analyzing Three Centuries of Governance Center Migration Through the Revised Taiwan Provincial Chronicles

I was in Wanhua not long ago. Standing in front of Longshan Temple, staring at the old streets, a question hit me: during the Qing dynasty, Taiwan’s administrative center was in Tainan. So why did it end up in Taipei? Most people would say it’s obvious — the north developed, the population grew, it just made sense to upgrade. But after reading the Revised Taiwan Provincial Chronicles: Administrative Evolution, I realized this was anything but “natural.” ...