Abstract
At the time of the Chinese unification, the central government found itself confronted with the problem of administering a vast area of land inhabited by people of many different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. As part of their reform of local government to incorporate their enormous territorial gains, Qin dynasty officials significantly extended the use of a previous administrative unit. This paper focuses on the nomenclature developed in the Qin and Han Dynasties for their commanderies established in what is now southern China and northern Vietnam.
