xians

Noun

xian (plural xians)

1. (China, Taiwan) An administrative subdivision of imperial, republican, and communist China roughly equivalent to counties, now distinguished from the more urban "districts" (qu). (Alternative form of hsien for Taiwan (ROC).)
   • Tight and dense motifs occur on bronzes excavated in 1923 from a tomb at Lijialou at Xinzheng Xian in southern Henan attributed to the small state of Zheng.1987, Jessica Rawson, “The Eastern Zhou Period”, in Chinese Bronzes: Art and Ritual, British Museum Publications, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 47

   Synonyms:

   county

See all 2 meanings of xian