Shuozhou
prefecture-level city in Shanxi, China
Shuozhou is a prefecture-level city in northern Shanxi province, China, bordering Inner Mongolia to the northwest. It is situated along the upper reaches of the Fen River. The prefecture as a whole has an area of about 10,662 km2 (4,117 sq mi) and, in 2010, a population of about 1.71 million.
History
The site of Shuozhou was the ancient Chinese frontier town of Mayi (马邑), which was used as a trading post between China and the Xiongnu nomads of the eastern Eurasian steppe.
In 201 BC, the founder of the Han dynasty Liu Bang (posthumously known as Emperor Gaozu or the "High Ancestor") moved Han Xin from his fief around Yuzhou in Henan to Mayi, where he was attacked by the Xiongnu. Finding himself distrusted by the Han emperor, Han Xin allied with the Xiongnu instead and joined them on their raids against China until his death in battle in 196 BC. Mayi was subsequently the capital of Dai Prefecture and the scene of an attempted ambush of the Xiongnu by Chinese troops in 133 BC.
During the chaos between the fall of the Sui and rise of the Tang, Mayi was the base of the would-be emperor Liu Wuzhou.
Administrative divisions
The seat of government is in Shuocheng District, the urban core of the city.
Climate
Shuozhou has a continental, monsoon-influenced semi-arid climate (Köppen BSk), with cold, very dry, and somewhat long winters, and warm, somewhat humid summers. The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from −9.8 °C (14.4 °F) in January to 21.9 °C (71.4 °F) in July, and the annual mean is 7.42 °C (45.4 °F). Typifying the influence of the East Asian Monsoon, over three-fourths of the annual 399 millimetres (15.7 in) of precipitation occurs from June to September.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Shuozhou” as prefecture-level city in Shanxi, China. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as prefecture-level city in Shanxi, China. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q73020. VIAF identifies the subject as 147796289. The Library of Congress control number is n84088924. Authority coordinates are 39.341, 112.429. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2010.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Shuozhou”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Shuozhou primary sources, Shuozhou archive and Shuozhou research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Shuozhou”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Shuozhou” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.