Grand coordinator and provincial governor

Grand coordinator (Ming)
Governor (Qing)
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese巡撫
Simplified Chinese巡抚
Literal meaningitinerant-&-pacifying [official]
itinerant pacifier
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyinxúnfǔ
Wade–Gileshsün-fu
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabetTuần 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.

  1. ^ a b c d Hucker 1985, p. 255, entry 2731.