Changting Prefecture

Changting (长汀) was a prefecture in western Fujian during the Chinese Republic (1912--49). Its centre was the city on the upper Tingjiang River now called Tingzhou.

Changting was essentially the same territory as the imperial-era Tingzhou fu, simply renamed in 1913 (Year Two of the Chinese Republic). Real reorganisation only came in the early years of the People's Republic (1949-- ), which established a Diqu (地区, "region") --since upgraded to the Diji Shi (地级市, "prefecture-level city")-- called Longyan. Two counties of the Imperial- and Republican eras, Ninghua and Qingliu, were detached. The remaining seven have henceforth been administered from a new centre, Xinluo (新罗), which is more accessible to the province's heavily populated coast.

Note on Usage

By Chinese convention the prefectural name would also refer, depending on context, to the city which was the seat of its government. Thus Mao Zedong's Red Army column is said to have taken Changting in 1929, meaning that his column exercised real control over what is now Tingzhou town.

Famous Sons of Changting

• Yang Chengwu (杨成武), 1914-2004 Revolutionarian and General of People's Liberation Army
• Chen Pixian (陈丕显), 1916-1995 Revolutionarian and CPC official
• Fu Lianzhang (傅连璋), 1894-1968 Christian, practitioner of western medicine, Long March veteran, PRC Health Ministry official and Cultural Revolution victim.