About
The character for "county", now written as "县", originates from the traditional form "縣", which pictographically represents the concept of an inverted severed head suspended from a thread, initially conveying the idea of something hanging or suspended. This graphic composition, combining elements for silk thread and a head, reflected its early meaning but was later wholly repurposed through a historical administrative metaphor. During the Zhou dynasty and formalized under the Qin, the term was adopted to denote a territorial district, conceptually a remote area "suspended" from or directly connected to the central authority of the prefecture. Over centuries, this administrative meaning became entirely fixed, and the character was subsequently simplified to its current form, "县", which discards the original pictorial elements but preserves the long-established semantic concept of a subordinate regional division.
Etymology Hide
Example Sentences Hide
他在县城工作。
这个县的风景很美丽。
县长亲自下乡考察。
我来自中国的一个小县城。
这个县以盛产优质水果而闻名。
省政府批准了该县的新发展规划。
经过行政区划调整，这个镇已经升级为县。
两个相邻的县在经济发展模式上形成了鲜明对比。