{{Chinese|c=十二州|p=Shí Èr Zhōu}} [[File:12 Provinces of Yao and Shun era.png|300px|thumb|The map of 12 Provinces of Yao and Shun era of ancient China, recorded in the "Shiji" (Records of Grand Historian)]] The '''Twelve Provinces''' is a term used in ancient Chinese histories to refer to territorial divisions during the reigns of the mythological emperors [[Emperor Yao|Yao]] and [[Shun (Chinese leader)|Shun]] of the [[Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors]].
==Records in histories== The "Annals of the Five Emperors" (五帝本紀) section of ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'' mentioned:
<blockquote> [[Shun (Chinese leader)|Shun]] felt that the land north of [[Jizhou (ancient China)|Ji Province]] was too wide, so he created [[Bingzhou|Bing Province]]; [[Yan (state)|Yan]] and [[Qi (state)|Qi]] were too vast and distant, so he formed [[Youzhou|You Province]] out of Yan, and [[Yingzhou (ancient China)|Ying Province]] out of Qi, hence there were the Twelve Provinces. <ref>(舜以冀州之北廣大，分置并州；燕、齊遼遠，分燕置幽州，分齊為營州，於是為十二州。) Sima Qian. ''Records of the Grand Historian'', Volume 1, Annals of the Five Emperors.</ref> </blockquote>
Volume 85 of the ''[[Book of Han]]'' recorded that in 30 BC [[Gu Yong (Western Han)|Gu Yong]] (谷永) mentioned:
<blockquote> There was a great flood in [[Emperor Yao|Yao]]'s time, the land was divided into the Twelve Provinces...
<ref>(堯遭洪水之災，天下分絕為十二州……) Ban Gu et al. ''Book of Han'', Volume 85, Biographies of Gu Yong and Du Ye.</ref> </blockquote>
[[Yan Shigu]] of the [[Tang dynasty]] wrote this annotation in volume 85 of the ''Book of Han'':
<blockquote> The Twelve Provinces were [[Jizhou (ancient China)|Ji]], [[Yanzhou (ancient China)|Yan]], [[Yuzhou (ancient China)|Yu]], [[Qingzhou (ancient China)|Qing]], [[Xuzhou (ancient China)|Xu]], [[Jingzhou (ancient China)|Jing]], [[Yangzhou (ancient China)|Yang]], [[Yongzhou (ancient China)|Yong]], [[Liangzhou (ancient China)|Liang]], [[Youzhou|You]], [[Bingzhou|Bing]], and [[Yingzhou (ancient China)|Ying]] (營).
<ref>(十二州謂兾、兗、豫、青、徐、荊、揚、雍、梁、幽、並、營也。) Ban Gu et al. ''Book of Han'', Volume 85, Biographies of Gu Yong and Du Ye (including annotations by Yan Shigu).</ref> </blockquote>
== See also == {{Portal|China}} * [[Nine Provinces (China)|Nine Provinces]] * [[Eighteen Provinces]]
== References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== {{Ancient Chinese provinces}}
[[Category:Chinese words and phrases]] [[Category:Provinces of ancient China]]