郡 (jùn) — prefecture (historical administrative division)

Definition

A historical Chinese administrative division, larger than a 县 (county) and below a 州 (zhou prefecture/state). Prominent in the Qin and Han dynasties.

noun

prefecture (historical administrative division)

，郡。
Qín cháo tǒng yī hòu, tuī xíng le jùn xiàn zhì.
After the Qin dynasty unified, it implemented the prefecture-county system.
，郡。
Táng cháo chū nián, jùn de shù liàng zhú jiàn jiǎn shǎo.
In the early Tang dynasty, the number of prefectures gradually decreased.
郡。
Zhè ge jùn guǎn xiá zhe zhōu biān shí jǐ zuò chéng chí.
This prefecture governed more than ten surrounding towns.

Sound + meaning

六书liùshū

形声xíngshēng

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

⻏Written in full as邑yìcity; town

Sound part声符shēngfú

君

Same sound today

In 郡, 君 gives the sound, and ⻏ (from 邑, a city or town) marks a settlement or administrative area.

Appears in