Administrative divisions of the Yuan dynasty

Administrative divisions of the Yuan dynasty.

The Yuan dynasty was a vast empire founded by Mongol leader Kublai Khan in China. During its existence, its territory was divided into the Central Region (腹裏) governed by the Central Secretariat (Zhongshu Sheng) and places under control of various provinces (行省) or Branch Secretariats (行中書省), as well as the region under the Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs (Xuanzheng Yuan). In addition, the Yuan emperors held nominal suzerainty over the western Mongol khanates, but in reality none of them were governed by the Yuan dynasty due to the division of the Mongol Empire.

Overview

The most important part of the Yuan Empire was the Central Region, which covered the region of the Yuan capital Khanbaliq (Dadu, modern Beijing). The Central Region consisted of present-day Hebei, Shandong, Shanxi, the south-eastern part of present-day Inner Mongolia and the Henan areas to the north of the Yellow River. Since it was considered the most important region of the dynasty, it was directly governed by the Zhongshu Sheng at Khanbaliq; similarly, another top-level administrative department called the Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs (or Xuanzheng Yuan) held administrative rule over Tibet.

Branch Secretariats (行中書省), or simply provinces (行省), were provincial-level administrative organizations or institutions subordinated to the Zhongshu Sheng, though they were not exactly provinces in modern sense. There were 11 "regular" provinces in Yuan dynasty.^[1]

Below the level of provinces, the largest political division was the circuit (道), followed by prefecture (府) operating under a prefect and subprefecture (州) under a subprefect. The lowest political division was the county (縣) overseen by a county magistrate. This government structure at the provincial level was later copied by the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Regular provinces (Branch Secretariats)

Gansu province (甘肅行省) with Zhangye District as its seat of government. Under this came most of present-day Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (originally the Tangut territory), south-eastern Gansu Province, and part of north-eastern Amdo.
Henan Jiangbei province (河南江北行省) with Kaifeng District as its seat of government. Under this came the Henan areas to the south of the Yellow River, north-east Hubei, Jiangsu, the north-eastern part of Jiangxi Province.
Huguang province (湖廣行省) with Wuhan of the present-day Hubei Province as its seat of government. Under this came a part of south-east Hubei, Hunan, Guangxi, most of Guizhou, and parts of south-western Guangdong Province.
Jiangxi province (江西行省) with Nanchang as its seat of government. Under this came part of present-day Jiangxi and Guangdong Province.
Jiangzhe province (江浙行省) with Hangzhou as its seat of government. Under this came Jiangsu and Anhui areas to the south of the Yangtze River, Zhejiang, Fujian, and a small area in the north-east of Jiangxi Province.
Liaoyang province (遼陽行省) with present-day Liaoyang District in Liaoning Province as its seat of government. Under this came north-east China, the northern part of Korea and the southern part of the Russian Far East.
Lingbei province (嶺北行省) with Karakorum as its seat of government. Under this province came the present-day Mongolia, northern Inner Mongolia and parts of Siberia.
Shaanxi province (陝西行省) with Xi'an as its seat of government. Under this came the majority of present-day Shaanxi Province, the south-western part of Inner Mongolia, south-eastern Gansu, north-western Sichuan, and a small part of Qinghai.
Sichuan province (四川行省) with Chengdu at its seat of government. Under this came most of present-day Sichuan Province and parts of south-western Shaanxi.
Yunnan province (雲南行省) with Kunming as its seat of government. Under this came present-day Yunnan Province, parts of western Guizhou and north-eastern part of Burma.
Zhengdong province (征東行省) with Kaesong of present-day Korea as its seat of government. Despite being listed as a regular province, it was still special in that it had the king of Goryeo, who married to the imperial Mongol princesses, as its head, and Goryeo survived under Yuan overlordship. Furthermore, it was originally set up to invade Japan (see "Special provinces" below).

Special provinces (Branch Secretariats)

These provinces or Branch Secretariats were set up before or during the invasions of certain regions outside the Yuan, such as Japan, Vietnam and Burma. They were usually abolished after the wars.

Zhengdong province (征東行省, lit. "Conquer East province"), also referred to as "Japanese Expedition province" (征日本行省): Originally set up during the invasion of Japan in 1281, with the king of Goryeo as its head. It was abolished when the invasion of Japan had failed. However, it was again set up in 1287, and gradually became a regular province which special characteristics (see "Regular province" above).
Zhengmian province (征緬行省, lit. "Conquer Burma province"), also referred to as "Middle of Burma province" (緬中行省), was the Branch Secretariat set up during the invasion of Burma.
Jiaozhi province (交趾行省), also known as Annan province (安南行省), was the Branch Secretariat set up during the invasion of Trần dynasty (Đại Việt or Jiaozhi).
Zhancheng province (占城行省), was the Branch Secretariat set up during the invasion of Champa.

Region under the Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs

Main article: Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs

The Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs, or Xuanzheng Yuan was a government agency and top-level administrative department set up in Khanbaliq that supervised Buddhist monks in addition to managing the territory of Tibet. Besides modern-day Tibet Autonomous Region, it also governed a part of Sichuan, Qinghai and Kashmir. It was separate from the other provinces of the Yuan dynasty such as those of former Song dynasty of China, but still under the administrative rule of the Yuan. While no modern equivalents remain, the political functions of the Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs might have been analogous to the India Office in London during the British Raj. To emphasize its importance for Hangzhou, the capital of the former Southern Song dynasty, a branch (行) Xuanzheng Yuan was established in that city in 1291.^[2]

References

↑ Duosang Mongol History, Vol. 1; Zhong-gou Tong-shi; History of Zhong-gou Border Nationalities; The New Yuan-shih
↑ ars orientalis, p9

Yuan dynasty topics

History	Division of the Mongol Empire Toluid Civil War Kaidu–Kublai war Kublai Khan's Campaigns Mongol invasion of China conquest of the Song dynasty Battle of Xiangyang Yamen Japan Vietnam Battle of Bạch Đằng (1288) Burma Battle of Ngasaunggyan Pagan Java Second Mongol invasion of Burma Esen Buqa–Ayurbarwada war War of the Two Capitals 1344 Yellow River flood Red Turban Rebellion Red Turban invasions of Goryeo Battle of Lake Poyang Ispah rebellion

Government	List of emperors family tree Empresses Imperial Preceptor Zhongshu Sheng Bureau of Buddhist and Tibetan Affairs Administrative divisions of the Yuan dynasty Yuan dynasty in Inner Asia Mongolia under Yuan rule Manchuria under Yuan rule Tibet under Yuan rule Dpon-chen Korea under Yuan rule

Architecture	Cloud Platform at Juyong Pass Gulou and Zhonglou (Beijing) Miaoying Temple Pagoda of Bailin Temple Temple of Azure Clouds Jinan Great Southern Mosque

Society and culture	Yuan poetry Chao (currency) History of Liao Jin Song Menggu Ziyun Wenxian Tongkao Zhongyuan Yinyun The Twenty-four Filial Exemplars Zaju The Chalk Circle The Injustice to Dou E The Orphan of Zhao The Story of the Western Wing Semu Islam during the Yuan dynasty

Other topics	Mongols Borjigin 'Phags-pa script History of Yuan Khanbaliq Shangdu Mongol Empire Northern Yuan dynasty

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