Lei Prefecture Explained

Lei Prefecture (雷州)
Also Known As:	Haikang Commandery (海康郡)
Map:	260px
Preceded By:	Donghe Prefecture (東合州)
Start:	634 (Tang dynasty)
End:	1278 (Yuan dynasty)
Replace:	Leizhou Pacification Commission (雷州安撫司)
Populationfirst:	20,572
Populationfirstyear:	740s or 750s
Populationsecond:	Unknown, 13,784 households
Populationsecondyear:	1070s or 1080s
Membership Title1:	Circuit

Leizhou or Lei Prefecture was a zhou (prefecture) in imperial China in Leizhou Peninsula, Guangdong. It existed from 634 to 1329, but between 742 and 758 it was known as Haikang Commandery (also translated as Haikang Prefecture).

The modern county-level city Leizhou retains its name.

Counties

Lei Prefecture administered the following counties (Chinese: 縣) through history:

1. Haikang (Chinese: 海康), roughly modern Leizhou.
2. Suixi (Chinese: 遂溪), roughly modern Suixi County, Guangdong and Mazhang District, Zhanjiang. Suixi was created in 742 by merging two counties, Tiepa (Chinese: 鐵杷) and Shenchuan (Chinese: 椹川).
3. Xuwen (Chinese: 徐聞), roughly modern Xuwen County.

References

• Book: Shi Weile. 2005. Zhongguo Lishi Diming Da Cidian (中国历史地名大词典). Large Dictionary of Chinese Historical Place Names. China Social Sciences Press. 7-5004-4929-1. zh. .
• Book: Ouyang Xiu. Xin Tang Shu. New Book of Tang. 1060. . etal.
• Book: Toqto'a. Song Shi. History of Song. 1345. . etal.