Note 15 — Chapter XXXI

Shuen-Hua-Fu is erroneously called a "Fu," for, strictly speaking, it is a Hsien. A Fu as nearly as possible corresponds to our "city" and a "Hsien" is only equal to a town, while a "Ting" is a place of the third class. A "Pu," properly speaking, means a fort, and appears to be equal to a "Ting" in importance. In some instances a city may have risen or fallen in importance since its title was originally fixed, such as, for instance, the city of Siao-Si-Fu, which is not much larger than a "Ting." In all towns of importance there is a yamen or magistrates' office, and the head civil official there is called a Fut'ai or Hsient'ai, as the case may be. In any large district there is also a higher official called a Taot'ai.