Taiwan Prefecture
Taiwan Prefecture or Taiwanfu was a prefecture of Taiwan during the Qing dynasty.[1] The prefecture was established by the Qing government in 1684,[2] after the island came under Qing dynasty rule in 1683 following its conquest of the Kingdom of Tungning. The Taiwan Prefecture Gazetteer (臺灣府志; Táiwānfǔ Zhì)[3] documented it as part of Fujian Province.[4] The Gazetteer was completed by Gao Gonggan in 1695, the 34th year of the reign of the Kangxi Emperor.[5] With the development and population growth of Taiwan during the Qing Era, the scope of Taiwan Prefecture was also varied over time. Following the establishment of Fujian-Taiwan Province in 1887, the prefecture correspondingly became a subdivision under the newly founded province.
When the Qing wrested the island from the control of the Kingdom of Tungning in 1683, Taiwan was made a prefecture under the administration of Fujian Province. The new prefecture consisted of three counties:[6]
The aboriginal lands on the east coast—known to the Qing as the "Land Behind the Mountains" (後山)[7]—were not controlled at all. The seat of government, also known as "Taiwan" or "Taiwanfu" (a contraction of 臺灣府城; Táiwān fǔchéng, "prefectural city of Taiwan"), was located in modern-day Tainan, "which city had been in turn the capital of the Dutch, Koxinga, and the Chinese".[8]
During this period, Taiwan was administered as three counties and two subprefectures.
The counties (縣, xiàn) were, from south to north:[10]
The subprefectures (廳, tīng) were:
1875–1887[edit]
An administrative change occurred in 1875, when Imperial Commissioner Shen Baozhen demanded that another prefecture be added in Taiwan to revamp the administrative organization of the northern area of the island.[11] As a result, Taipeh Prefecture was created from part of Taiwan Prefecture.