[[Characters]] #Characters \ #Society-and-Culture \ #Politics-and-Military # 州 zhōu administrative division ## Components [[川 chuān]] [[川 (chuān)]] [[丶 (zhǔ)]] [[左点 ((zuǒ diǎn))]] ## Meaning Today, the character "州" (zhōu) is primarily used to refer to administrative divisions, similar to a province or state. It is often used as part of the names of administrative regions in China, such as "广州" (Guangzhou) or "江苏" (Jiangsu). ## History The character "州" originally depicted a piece of land in the middle of a river, represented by three curved lines in oracle bone script, with a small circle in the center symbolizing the land surrounded by water. This evolved into the modern character "州", which is used to represent administrative divisions. In ancient times, during the era of Emperor Yao, when the land was flooded, people lived on high ground surrounded by water, which was referred to as the "Nine Provinces". Today, "州" is often used as a place name, such as "兖州" (Yanzhou) and "徐州" (Xuzhou), while its original meaning of land in the middle of water is now represented by the character "洲" (zhōu). ## Evolution ### Oracular Script ![[州 zhōu - ora.svg]] ### Bronze Script ![[州 zhōu - bronce.svg]] ### Seal Script ![[州 zhōu - sello.svg]] ### Clerical Script ![[州 zhōu - cle.svg]] ### Regular Script ![[州 zhōu - reg.svg]]