Changzhou, Wade-Giles romanization Ch’ang-chou, city, southern Jiangsu sheng (province), China. It was a part of the commandery (jun; a military district) of Kuaiji under the Qin (221–206 BCE) and Han (206 BCE–220 CE) dynasties and, after 129 CE, a part of Wu Commandery. It first became an independent administrative unit under the Xi (Western) Jin in 280–290 CE, when it became the seat of Biling Commandery, renamed Jinling Commandery in 304. It was given the name Chang prefecture (zhou) under the Sui dynasty (581–618) in 589. After 609, with the completion of the southern section of the Grand Canal, it became a canal port and transshipment point for grain produced in the area. At the end of the Sui it was the centre of a rebel regime led by Li Zitong, suppressed in 621. During the Five Dynasties (907–960) it formed part first of the Wu kingdom and then of the Nan (Southern) Tang, and it continued to prosper. In Song (960–1279) and Yuan (1279–1368) times it was a rich and flourishing centre of commerce. After 1368 it was for a while renamed Changchun prefecture (fu), but it then became the superior prefecture of Changzhou, subordinated to the government of Nanjing. In 1912 the prefecture was reduced to a county (xian) for some years and took the name Wujin, but it continued to be known colloquially as Changzhou. The city has thus retained the name for 14 centuries.