According to the "General History of Jiangnan" (江南通志, Jiangnan Tongzhi) in the Complete Library of the Four Treasuries,[6] Jiangnan Province consisted of 16 full prefectures (fu) and 8 independent subprefectures or autonomous counties (zhou). After 1661, its provincial governor was assisted by lieutenant governors who each oversaw half of the prefectures. The "Right" administration (右布政使) was based in Suzhou and oversaw Suzhou, Songjiang, Changzhou, Zhenjiang, and Ningguo Prefectures. The "Left" administration (左布政使) was based in Jiangning (now Nanjing) and oversaw the rest. After a series of changes, this division eventually became the basis for the separate provinces of Jiangsu and Anhui at some point under the Qianlong Emperor.
Administrative divisions in Chinese and varieties of romanizations
Each of these were further divided into counties (xian), some of which were attached to the prefectural seats. Lower levels were not centrally appointed by the imperial government, but were overseen by the county, prefectural, and provincial administration.
See also
Jiangnan, a geographic concept related to the south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River
Yang Province, a zhou during Han dynasty, considers one of the Nine Provinces