“Châu” in the Local Administrative System of Dai Viet under the Ly Dynasty (1009-1225)

Abstract

The Ly administrative system was divided into many local units such as phủ, lộ, châu, trấn, trại…. Châu however were among the most common. By synthesizing and systematizing information from historical sources, this article focuses on clarifying the following issues: the quantity of châu in the Ly Dynasty and their names, the distribution of châu units in the territory of Vietnam today, how was their scale, and their position in the local administrative structure; whether they were newly established or existing from earlier periods; and the nature of local officials and management issues of châu units. This research contributes to explain the administrative structure and territorial management of Dai Viet's government, especially in mountainous and frontier areas from the 11^th to the beginning of the 13^th century.