| Grand coordinator (Ming) Governor (Qing) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese name | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 巡撫 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 巡抚 | ||||||||
| Literal meaning | itinerant-&-pacifying [official] itinerant pacifier | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Vietnamese name | |||||||||
| Vietnamese alphabet | Tuần phủ / Tuần vũ | ||||||||
| Chữ Hán | 巡撫 | ||||||||
A xunfu was an important imperial Chinese provincial office under both the Ming (14th–17th centuries) and Qing (17th–20th centuries) dynasties.[1] However, the purview of the office under the two dynasties differed markedly. Under the Ming dynasty, the post originated around 1430 as a kind of inspector-general and ad hoc provincial-level administrator; such a xunfu is usually translated as a grand coordinator.[1] However, since the mid-17th century, xunfu became the title of a regular provincial governor overseeing civil administration in the Qing dynasty.[1]
Under both dynasties, the xunfu was subordinate in military affairs to the multi-provincial zongdu (總督), usually translated as "supreme commander" under the Ming and "governor-general" or "viceroy" under the Qing.[1]
The Nguyễn dynasty of Vietnam also established the position (known as tuần phủ or tuần vũ 巡撫) based on the contemporaneous position of Qing China.