Mǎhú

Mahu was a prefecture in the mountains along the Jinsha River, its name recalling the lake and river country of the southern Sichuan frontier. Under the Yuan it was governed as Mahu circuit; in 1371 its hereditary ruler An Ji submitted to the Ming, which established a prefecture under the An family. The prefecture oversaw Pingshan and several local chieftaincies, including Muchuan and Nixi, in the rugged country north of the Jinsha.

In 1495 the Ming executed the hereditary prefect An Ao and replaced his office with an appointed official. The change at the prefectural seat did not abolish all local chieftaincies, which continued to govern parts of the surrounding mountains. Mahu remained a meeting point of imperial administration and hereditary rule.