Fanzhen

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Fanzhen (simplified Chinese: 藩镇; traditional Chinese: 藩鎮; pinyin: fānzhèn; lit. 'barrier town'), also called fangzhen (Chinese: 方镇; lit. 'region town'), was a system of decentralized governance in Medieval China that involved strategic military districts and commanderies along the empire's borderland areas administered through highly autonomous regional governors known as jiedushi during the Tang dynasty (618–907 CE). Primarily designed to be buffer regions shielding the politically and economically vital heartlands, these districts came under the control of increasingly influential provincial military commissioners, who became ambitious warlords, rebels and even usurpers during the late Tang period. The phenomenon of fanzhen domination has been termed fanzhen geju (simplified Chinese: 藩镇割据; traditional Chinese: 藩鎮割據; pinyin: fānzhèn gējù; lit. "secessionist occupation of barrier towns") by historians.^[who?]

Parallels have been made between the rise of the fanzhen in Tang China and the rise of self-ruling feudalist states in Medieval Europe following the decline of the Carolingian Empire.^[who?]