# hsien
## English
### Alternative forms

* Hsien
* (from Hanyu Pinyin) xian

### Etymology

From Mandarin 縣／县 (xiàn), Wade–Giles romanization: hsien⁴.

### Noun

hsien (plural hsiens)
* (Taipei, Taiwan) An administrative subdivision of Taiwan, commonly translated as county. (Alternative form of xian for mainland China.)
    Synonym: county
    In the hsien, there shall be a hsien government with a hsien magistrate who shall be elected by the people of the hsien. (Constitution of the Republic of China, Article 126)
** [1871, Frederick Porter Smith, Contributions Towards the Materia Medica & Natural History‎, →OCLC, page 176‎:The fruit is largely eaten, the best coming from Yü-chau hien in Honan, and from Han-yang fu and T'ung-shan hien in Hupeh.]
** 1924 August 2, “Who's Who in China”, in The China Weekly Review‎, volume XXIX, number 9, Shanghai, →OCLC, page 316, column 2‎:General Li Shu-ch’eng was born at Ch’ien-chiang Hsien, Hupei province, in 1873 and was a salaried licentiate or Linsheng in the Ching Dynasty.
** 1962, Tʻung-tsu Chʻü, Local Government in China under the Ch'ing‎, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 299:Tea certificates were issued by the magistrates of the following localities: Ch'ien-shan and sixteen other hsien in Anhui; Shan-hua and sixteen other hsien in Hunan. In Hupeh, certificates were issued by the magistrate of Chien-shih to tea merchants. In Hsien-ning and six other chou and hsien, tea planters also received certificates to sell tea (Hu-pu tse-li, 32:4-5).
** 1963, Survey of China Mainland Press‎, numbers 2889-2909, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 2:(2) Huaipin hsien is restored; its present administrative area is the administrative area of the former Huaipin hsien incorporated into Hsi hsien and the two administrative areas of Ch'issu and Changchuang ch'u of the former Huaipin hsien incorporated into Kushih hsien.
** 1968, “Hu Shih”, in Biographical Dictionary of Republican China‎, volume II, Columbia University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 167:A native of Chihsi hsien, Anhwei, Hu Shih was born in Shanghai.
** 1969, T’ung-tsu C’hü, “Chou and Hsien Government”, in Local Government in China Under the Ch’ing‎, Stanford: Stanford University Press, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 1:In China in the Ch’ing dynasty local government was organized on the same principle at all levels. All administrative units, from the province down to the chou (department) and the hsien (district), which are the focus of our study, were designed and created by the central government which financed their budgets, appointed their officials, and directed and supervised their activities.
** 1975, Michael Y. M. Kau, editor, The Lin Piao Affair: Power Politics and Military Coup‎, White Plains, NY: International Arts and Sciences Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 6:On the first day of the eleventh month of the lunar calendar in the year 1907, our respected and beloved Vice Chairman Lin Piao was born to a poverty-stricken family of Lin-chia-ta-wan at the foot of Pai-yang Hill in the Hui-lung mountainous area, Huang-kang hsien, Hupei Province.
** 1981, Annual Review of Government Administration, Republic of China‎, →OCLC, page 52, column 1:B. Relocation and Construction of the Tainan Prison and the Tainan Detention House: The new prison and detention house is located at Taichutso, Kueijen Hsiang, Tainan Hsien, and has a total space of more than 30 hectares.
** 1981, Yu Lu, You Lu, Chun-shu Chang, Joan Smythe, South China in the Twelfth Century: A Translation of Lu Yu's Travel Diaries, July 3 - December 6, 1170‎, Chinese University Press, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 144:We moored at Kuan-tzu Mouth,⁶⁷ which is between the two cities of Sung-tzu and Chih-chiang (modern Chih-chiang Hsien, Hupeh). Sung-tzu was a hsien under the Chin, and from there one enters the Shu River.⁶⁸ Chih-chiang was a hsien under the Tʻang, and anciently was the State of Lo.⁶⁹
** 1987, “Chin-shih”, in Encyclopedia Britannica‎, 15th edition, volume 3, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 220, column 3:Chin-shih is a market town in Li County (hsien) in Ch'ang-te Prefecture (ti-ch'ü).
** 1988 February 15, “SALESIANS CELEBRATE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF ST. JOHN BOSCO´S DEATH”, in Union of Catholic Asian News (China)‎, archived from the original on 11 March 2023‎:Nine Salesian priests and eight brothers manage the Salesian Professional School in Taiwan, Boys Town for orphans in Chaochou in Pingtung Hsien, the parish in Taipei, and Salesiana Publishers.
** 2000, Sheau-yueh J. (趙賀筱岳) Chao, “Genealogy of Chinese Surnames”, in 尋根溯源中國人的姓氏 [In Search of Your Asian Roots: Genealogical Research on Chinese Surnames]‎, Clearfield Company, Inc., →ISBN, →OCLC, page 83‎:The State of Huang was located in Huang-ch'uan hsien 潢川縣, Ho-nan 河南 province, which was later defeated by the State of Ch'u (Ch'u kuo 楚國), setting the stage for the adoption of Huang as a surname by Lu Chung's descendants in commemoration.
** 2007 January 2, “A Brief Introduction To The Prosecutorial System Of The Republic Of China”, in Taiwan Shihlin District Prosecutors Office (臺灣士林地方檢察署)‎, archived from the original on 28 June 2022‎:The prosecutors’ office for the Nantou District Court exercises the jurisdiction within the of district Nantou Hsien.
** 2008 October, “Introduction”, in Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics Executive Yuan, Republic of China, editor, Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of China 2007‎, Taipei, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 27 May 2021, page i:Taiwan-Fukien Area referred to Taiwan District's Taiwan Province, Taipei Municipality, Kaohsiung Municipality and Fukien Province's Kinmen Hsien and Lienchiang Hsien.
** 2010 September 27, “The Newly-Elected Public Office Holders Touted by TKU Office of”, in 淡江時報 [Tamkang Times]‎, →OCLC, archived from the original on 11 March 2023‎:Surprisingly, we find the mayor-elect of Penghu hsien, Mr. Lai Fong-wei to be the husband of Ms. Kuo Mei-cheng, who has been the alumnae of TKU majoring in English.
** 2014 November 9, Steve Brachmann, “The Evolution of Wind Shield Wipers – A Patent History”, in IP Watchdog‎, archived from the original on 05 December 2014‎:Assigned to the Faidek Corporation of Changhua Hsien, Taiwan, the patent protects a windshield wiper assembly that achieves the desired vibration reductions through the application of a shock-absorbing function created by elastic members within the assembly.
** 2015, Yu-Hsuan Peng et al., “Green tea inhibited the elimination of nephro-cardiovascular toxins and deteriorated the renal function in rats with renal failure”, in Scientific Reports‎, volume 5, →ISSN, →OCLC:EGC (purity 92.7%) was obtained from ChromaDex, Inc. (Irvine, CA, U.S.A.). and ethyl acetate were LC grade and obtained from ECHO Chemical Co. (Miaoli Hsien, Taiwan).
** 2018, Yu-Yi Chan et al., “The Constituents of the Stems of Cissus assamica and Their Bioactivities”, in Molecules‎, volume 23, →DOI, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 5 of 10:The fresh stems of C. assamica L. were collected from Taitung Hsien, Taiwan, in October 2009 and verified by Prof. Chang-Sheng Kuoh (Department of Biology, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan).
** 2022 May 30, Trinetra Paul, “10 best Asian whisky brands on our radar right now and where you can buy them”, in Lifestyle Asia‎, archived from the original on 11 March 2023, Dining:Nestled in Nantou Hsien, Taiwan, this distillery was founded by the Taiwan Tobacco & Liquor Corporation in 1978, however, it was only in 2008 that it produced its first whisky.
** For more quotations using this term, see Citations:hsien.

#### Derived terms

* P'i Hsien

### Further reading

* “hsien”, in Collins English Dictionary.
* hsien in Encyclopædia Britannica
* “hsien”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
* “hsien” in TheFreeDictionary.com, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.: Farlex, Inc., 2003–2024.

### Anagrams

* Enshi, Heins, Hines, NIEHS, Shine, shine