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Territory of ChinaOriginally in the Zhou Dynasty, China was the region around the Yellow River. The territory since then had been expanding from the West outward in all directions, and was largest during the Tang, Yuan, and Qing Dynasties. From the Chinese point of view, the "Chinese" Empire included parts of modern far eastern Russia and Central Asia during the strongest periods of the Yuan, although China was merely one of many territories of the Mongol Empire.Like provincial administrators, some foreign monarchs sent envoys to offer gifts to the Emperor of China and the Emperor returned compliments to them. The Chinese ostensibly saw that barbarians attached themselves to the virtue of the Emperor, while the foreign governments sometimes had different perspectives. Since the end of the 19th century, China has tried to interpret this relationship as suzerainty-dependency based on Western international law. The Qing Empire reduced the territorial value of Great Wall as a barrier of China proper. In 1683, Taiwan became a part of the Qing Empire, originally as a prefecture, then two. Top-level political divisions of China have altered as the administration changed. Top levels inclduded circuits and provinces. Below that, there have been prefectures, subprefectures, departments, commandries, districts, and townships. Recent divisions include counties and cities.
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