Abstract: Although the county tier system in the Song Dynasty was influenced by the Later Zhou Dynasty,it basically originated from the Tang Dynasty.The Song Dynasty ruled the counties within its jurisdiction based on their geographical location,size,and economic status.The tier of the county determined the political and economic status of the county.Although there were still differences in the county tier system between Tang and Song,in terms of the phenomenon of the existence of county tier,the Chi,Cichi,and Gi tier under the jurisdiction of the capital government,both Tang and Song still existed.This situation also had a profound impact on the transition of the county tier system in the Song Dynasty from initially focusing on political factors to real household registration.After the Southern Expedition of the Song Dynasty,the establishment of the county tier of “counties of multiple administrative businesses and multiple criminal incidents” can be seen as the origin of the Ming and Qing Dynasties division of county tier based on multiple administrative businesses, multiple criminal incidents,frequent traffic,and late payment of taxes and grain.

Key words: the Tang and Song Dynasties, county tier system, Eastern and Western Zhejiang areas, counties of multiple administrative businesses and multiple criminal incidents