Sīmíng

Siming was a frontier seat on the Ming River, governed by hereditary chiefs of the Huang family. Their influence was strongest under the Yuan, when Siming was raised to a circuit and its rulers exercised authority over other districts south of the Zuo River. The Ming made it a prefecture, retaining native rulers. In 1732 the Qing replaced the hereditary prefect with appointed officials and divided the territory. Western villages passed to Ningming, while the eastern district became the native prefecture of Sizhou, allowing a branch of Huang authority to continue. The old frontier administration thus survived in altered form even as Siming itself was reorganised.