Bao'an County (simplified Chinese: 宝安县; traditional Chinese: 寶安縣; pinyin: Bǎo'ān Xiàn), formerly named Xin'an County (simplified Chinese: 新安县; traditional Chinese: 新安縣; pinyin: Xīn'ān Xiàn; Wade–Giles: Hsin-An Hsien; Sanon; San On; Sinon; Hakka: Sin On; Sunon; Sun On; literally "new peace") is a historical region of South China. It is the predecessor of the modern city of Shenzhen and the territory of Hong Kong.
During the Han Dynasty and at the time of the Three Kingdoms, the later Bao'an County, together with those of Dongguan and Boluo, formed only one large district bearing the name of Boluo (博羅).[1]
In 331, the Eastern Jin Dynasty established Bao'an County, which was one of the six counties under Dōngguān (東官) Prefecture. This prefecture's area covered modern Shenzhen and Dongguan.[2] Since the second year of the Zhide of Suzong of the Tang Dynasty (757 AD), Dōngguān was renamed to Dōngguǎn (東莞).
Hongwu Emperor (1368–1399), the founder of the Ming dynasty, found it necessary in the 27th year of his reign, to appoint an officer with the title Shou-yu-suo (守御所), "Protector of the region", in order to protect the population, which was rapidly increasing, against the bands of robbers and vagabonds which infested the district.[1]
In 1573, during the first year of the reign of Wanli of the Ming Dynasty, Xin'an County (sometimes referred to as district) was established as a separate administrative division of the Guangzhou Prefecture. The area was then separated from the old Dongguan County in response to problems of defence.[3]
In Qing Dynasty, the Xin'an County, to which the mainland opposite to the Island of Hong Kong belongs, was one of the fourteen districts of the department of Guangdong. During the time of the Great Clearance (1661–1669), most of Xin'an County was affected by the coastal evacuation. By the 5th year of Kangxi (1666), Xin'an had ceased to be a separate administrative county, and the areas not affected by the evacuation were temporarily absorbed into the adjoining Dongguan County, until the lift of the ban in 1669.[3] From 1842 to 1898, 1055.61 km2 out of 3076 km2 of Xin'an County was ceded to the United Kingdom to form Hong Kong.[2]
After the Republic of China was founded, the name of Xin'an was changed back to Bao'an in 1913.[2]
In 1979, Bao'an County was renamed to Shenzhen City and became a Special Economic Zone.