This article's lead sectionmay be too short to adequately summarize the key points. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article.(September 2021)
A prefecture (from the Latinpraefectura) is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international church structures, as well as in antiquity a Roman district.
Prefecture originally refers to a self-governing body or area since the tetrarchy, when Emperor Diocletian divided the Roman Empire into four districts (each divided into dioceses), grouped under a Vicarius (a number of Roman provinces, listed under that article), although he maintained two pretorian prefectures as an administrative level above the also surviving dioceses (a few of which were split).
As canon law is strongly inspired by Roman law, it is not surprising that the Catholic Church has several offices under a prefect. That term occurs also in otherwise styled offices, such as the head of a congregation or department of the Roman Curia. Various ecclesiastical areas, too small for a diocese, are termed prefects.
Analogous prefectures
Brazilian equivalent of prefecture
In Brazil, the prefecture (prefeitura or prefeitura municipal in Portuguese) is the executive branch of the government of each Brazilian municipality (município in Portuguese). The term also refers to the office of the mayor (prefeito in Portuguese).
From 1836 until 2011, modern Greece was divided into nomoi (Greek: νομοί, singular νομός, nomos) which formed the country's main administrative units. These are most commonly translated into English as "prefectures" or "counties".
Each nomos was headed by a prefect (νομάρχης, nomarches), who was a ministerial appointee until ca. 1990, but was then elected by direct popular vote in a process of decentralization that saw the prefectures become local government units. Municipal elections in Greece are held every four years and voting for the election of prefects and mayors was carried out concurrently but with separate ballots.
The 2010 Kallikratis plan, which took effect on 1 January 2011, abolished the prefectures as separate administrative units, and transformed them into regional units within the country's thirteen administrative regions.
When used in the context of Chinese history, especially China before the Tang dynasty, the word "prefecture" is used to translate xian (縣). This unit of administration is translated as "county" when used in a contemporary context, because of the increase of the number of "xian" and the decrease of their sizes over time in the Chinese history.
In the context of Chinese history during or after the Tang dynasty, the word "prefecture" is used to translate zhou (Wade–Giles chou (州), another ancient unit of administration in China, equivalent to the modern province.
The modern sense
In modern-day China, the prefecture (地区; pinyin: dìqū) is an administrative division found in the second level of the administrative hierarchy. In addition to prefectures, this level also includes autonomous prefectures, leagues, and prefecture-level cities. The prefecture level comes under the province level, and in turn oversees the county level.
Italian prefettura
In Italy a prefettura is the office of a prefetto, the representative of the Government in each province.
In France, a préfecture is the capital city of a department, and by metonymy also designates the office and residence of the prefect. As there are 101 departments in France, there are 101 prefectures. A préfecture de région is the capital city of an administrative region. This is the city where the prefect - the appointed government representative - resides.
In English, "prefecture" is used as the translation for todōfuken (都道府県), which are the main subdivisions of Japan. They consist of 43 prefectures (県 ken) proper, two urban prefectures (府 fu, Osaka and Kyoto), one "circuit" or "territory" (道 dō, Hokkaido) and one "metropolis" (都 to, Tokyo). Before the end of World War II, the word was also used for overseas areas 庁 (chō)、州 (shu) and 道 (dō, in Korea).
Korean equivalents of prefecture
Until 1894 Hyeon (현; 縣) was the lowest level administrative division in Korea and can be translated into "Petty Prefecture" in the modern sense. It was below Gun (군, 郡; "county") in the administrative hierarchy.
Dohobu (도호부; 都護府) was a higher level administrative division and can be translated into "Protectorate General", "Greater Prefecture", "Metropolitan Prefecture", or "Martial Prefecture" in the modern sense. The capital, Hanyang (Seoul), can sometimes be translated as "Hanseong Prefecture".
In 1895, Hyeon and Dohobu divisions were abolished. From 1910 to 1949, the term "prefecture" was used to translate Bu (부; 府). Since 1949 neither Hyeon nor Bu have been used, and there has been no division in either the South Korean or North Korean administrative system which translates as "prefecture".
Mongolian equivalent
Mongolian prefectures (Aimags) were adopted during Qing dynasty's rule. Today these are usually translated as "provinces".
Traditionally the prefecture as being the City Hall and the prefect as being the equivalent of a mayor and commissioner until recently; now the prefectures and prefect are analogous with the figure of Town Clerk.
See also
Look up prefecture in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French comté denoting a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count (earl) or a viscount. Literal equivalents in other languages, derived from the equivalent of "count", are now seldom used officially, including comté, contea, contado, comtat, condado, Grafschaft, graafschap, and zhupa in Slavic languages; terms equivalent to 'commune' or 'community' are now often instead used.
Japan is divided into 47 prefectures, which rank immediately below the national government and form the country's first level of jurisdiction and administrative division. They include 43 prefectures proper, two urban prefectures, one regional prefecture and one metropolis. In 1868, the Meiji Fuhanken sanchisei administration created the first prefectures to replace the urban and rural administrators in the parts of the country previously controlled directly by the shogunate and a few territories of rebels/shogunate loyalists who had not submitted to the new government such as Aizu/Wakamatsu. In 1871, all remaining feudal domains (han) were also transformed into prefectures, so that prefectures subdivided the whole country. In several waves of territorial consolidation, today's 47 prefectures were formed by the turn of the century. In many instances, these are contiguous with the ancient ritsuryō provinces of Japan.
A circuit was a historical political division of China and is a historical and modern administrative unit in Japan. The primary level of administrative division of Korea under the Joseon and in modern North and South Korea employs the same Chinese character as the Chinese and Japanese divisions but, because of its relatively greater importance, is usually translated as province instead.
Jeolla Province was one of the historical Eight Provinces of Korea during the Kingdom of Joseon in southwestern Korea. It consisted of the modern South Korean provinces of North Jeolla, South Jeolla and Gwangju Metropolitan City as well as Jeju Province. The provincial capital was Jeonju, the current capital of North Jeolla. The entire inland region was called Honam, which is still commonly used today.
Prefectures are one of four types of prefecture-level divisions in China, the second-level administrative division in the country. While at one time prefectures were the most common prefecture-level division, they are in the process of being abolished and only seven formally-designated prefectures remain.
The term district, in the context of China, is used to refer to several unrelated political divisions in both ancient and modern China.
Zhou were historical administrative and political divisions of China. Formally established during the Han dynasty, zhou existed continuously for over 200 years until the 1912 establishment of the Republic of China. Zhou were also once used in Korea, Vietnam and Japan.
The Protectorate-General to Pacify the East was an administrative division of the Chinese Tang dynasty in Manchuria and the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. It was established after the Tang dynasty defeated Goguryeo and annexed its territories. In the place of Baekje and Goguryeo, the Tang dynasty created the Protectorate General to Pacify the East and the Ungjin Commandery. A proposal to set up the Great Commandery of Gyerim by the Emperor Gaozong of Tang to King Munmu of Silla was refused.
Suizhou, formerly Sui County, is a prefecture-level city in northern Hubei province, People's Republic of China, bordering Henan province to the north and east.
Suining County is under the administration of Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, China; it is the southernmost county-level division of Xuzhou and borders the prefecture-level cities of Suqian to the east and Suzhou of Anhui to the south and west.
The Jimi system or Jimifuzhou was an autonomous administrative and political organization system used in China between the 7th century and 10th century. It should not be confused with the Chinese tributary system. The term "Jimi" was first seen in the annotation of Shiji quoted by Sima Zhen from a book of the Eastern Han dynasty, which implied to a man directing a horse or ox by the use of rein. Jimi administrative divisions were used primarily during the Tang dynasty from the 650s until the 740s. It was subsequently used in the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties under other names such as the Tusi system until around 1726, when a new civil order under the Qing government was established.
Hua County or Huaxian is a county under the administration of Anyang City, in the north of Henan province, China.
Lianzhou, formerly Lian County or Lianxian, is a county-level city in northern Guangdong Province, China, and is the northernmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city of Qingyuan. It is known as the host city of the Lianzhou International Photography Festival (LIPF) and as a historic and cultural landmark of Guangdong Province.
Shimen County is a northernmost county of Hunan Province, China, it is under administration of the prefecture-level city of Changde.
Ningyuan County is a county of Hunan Province, China, it is under the administration of Yongzhou prefecture-level City.
Jingzhou or Jing Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China referenced in early Chinese texts such as the Tribute of Yu, Erya, and Rites of Zhou.
Yanzhou Prefecture was an administrative unit (prefecture) in Zhejiang Province of China during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It was abolished in 1912, soon after the fall of the Qing. The territory of the former Yanzhou Prefecture is now part of the Hangzhou Prefecture-level city.
Fu is a traditional administrative division of Chinese origin used in the East Asian cultural sphere, translated variously as commandery, prefecture, urban prefecture, or city. They were first instituted as a regular form of administrative division of China's Tang Empire, but were later adopted in Vietnam, Japan and Korea. At present, only two fu still remain: the prefectures of Kyoto and Osaka in Japan.
Shuntian Prefecture was an administrative region of China during the Ming and Qing dynasties, equivalent to Beijing Municipality in today's People's Republic of China. However, the area of the prefecture jurisdiction was different. The term Shuntian fu also referred to the yamen (office) of the prefecture's local government.
The Tang dynasty of China administered territory using a hierarchical system of three descending divisions: circuits, prefectures, and counties. Prefectures have been called jùn (郡) as well as zhōu (州) interchangeably throughout history, leading to cases of confusion, but in reality their political status was the same. The prefectures were furthered classified as either Upper Prefectures, Middle Prefectures, or Lower Prefectures depending on population. An Upper Prefecture consisted of 40, 000 households and above, a Middle Prefecture 20, 000 households and above, and a Lower Prefecture anything below 20, 000 households. Some prefectures were further categorized as bulwark prefectures, grand prefectures, renowned prefectures, or key prefectures for strategic purposes. A superior prefecture was called a fu (府).
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
