Abstract: This paper reviews the reason，process and the result of the division of Linjin and Yuxiang Counties
of Shanxi in the Yongzheng Ｒeign． The initiative to divide the county was the result of the particular
political situation in Puzhou Prefecture，including incident of popular resistance to taxes，that lead to a
popular naoxian ( demonstration against the county administration) in the Yongzheng Ｒeign which，in
turn，produce a proposal to divide the county in two． The intention of this action was meant to increase
the strength of local social control rather than the outgrowth of any local developments． The repeated
naoxian resulting from the proposal to divide the county administration lead to repeated naoxian by the
people of Linjin and Yuxiang that revealed the various and multiple contradictions among the people
including educational quota，land reclamation，and corvee labor． Actually，dividing the county seemed
unplanned but the action had an intrinsic logic given the long development of the local history． The case
of Linjin and Yuxiang Counties also shows that the intervention of political power in the adjustment of
administrative in traditional China was“rigid”and could obliterate the voice of the grass roots of society．
Furthermore，the process and political factors that “filled ” the geographical space was coercive and
resolute，not flat and flexible，especially when facing large scale local political disorder．