Fu (Chinese: 府; pinyin: ), sometimes translated as prefecture or superior prefecture,[1] was a type of administrative division in historical China from Tang dynasty to Qing dynasty. Fu was a level between provinces or equivalent divisions and counties. The term was initially applied to larger or more important prefectures, while the name zhou was applied to common prefectures.[2] By Ming and Qing dynasties, however, most prefectures under provinces had become known as fu. After the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912, the fu-level administrative divisions were streamlined.