During the Spring and Autumn period, the northwest of present-day Changping (now part of Niehui Town) was home to the Hua clan of the State of Song. Those living in the east were known as Donghua ("East Hua"), while those in the west were called Xihua ("West Hua"), which is the origin of the name Xihua. During the
Qin dynasty, a settlement called Changping was established in the region, under the jurisdiction of
Chen Commandery. In the Western
Han dynasty, the area was divided into two counties—Xihua and Changping—under
Runan Commandery of Yuzhou Inspectorate. In the Eastern
Han dynasty, Xihua remained under Runan, while Changping became part of the Principality of Chen. During the
Three Kingdoms period, both counties were held by the state of
Cao Wei, still under the administration of Runan and Chen commanderies, respectively. In the early
Western Jin dynasty, the counties were abolished, but were restored in the first year of the
Yongkang era of the reign of
Emperor Hui of Jin (300 CE), both under
Yingchuan Commandery. In the
Sixteen Kingdoms period, the region changed hands between
Later Zhao,
Former Yan,
Former Qin,
Eastern Jin, and
Later Qin. During the
Northern and Southern dynasties, the area was first controlled by
Northern Wei and administered under Chen Commandery of Northern Yangzhou, then by
Eastern Wei and
Northern Qi. The county of Changping was abolished during the Northern Qi. Under the
Sui dynasty, Xihua County was part of
Huaiyang Kingdom. In the 18th year of the Kaihuang era (598 CE), it was renamed Honggou County but reverted to Xihua early in the
Daye era. During the
Tang dynasty, it was briefly renamed Jicheng at the beginning of the dynasty. In the first year of the
Zhenguan era (627), it was merged into Wanqiu County. In the first year of the Changshou era (692), it was reestablished and renamed Wucheng. In the first year of
Shenlong (705), the name was changed back to Jicheng, and in the first year of Jingyun (710), the historical name Xihua was restored. The county was administered under
Chen Prefecture. During the
Northern Song dynasty, it remained under Chen Prefecture of Jingxibei Circuit. Under the
Jin dynasty (1115–1234), it belonged to Chen Prefecture of the Nanjing Circuit. During the
Yuan dynasty, it was part of Bianliang Circuit, Chen Prefecture. Under the
Ming dynasty, it was placed under
Kaifeng Prefecture, Chen Prefecture. This administrative structure remained in the early
Qing dynasty. In the 12th year of the
Yongzheng reign (1734), Chen Prefecture was elevated to a
fu-level administrative division, and Xihua County fell under its jurisdiction. During the
Republic of China period, Xihua County was placed under the jurisdiction of Kaifeng Circuit in 1914, and later reassigned to the Seventh Administrative Inspectorate District of Henan Province in 1932. After the establishment of the
People's Republic of China in 1949, the county initially came under the administration of Huaiyang Prefecture. In January 1953, it was reassigned to Xuchang Prefecture, and in May 1965, it was transferred to Zhoukou Prefecture. In 1969, it became part of Zhoukou Region. On June 8, 2000, Zhoukou Region was abolished and reorganized as the prefecture-level
Zhoukou, with Xihua County under its jurisdiction to this day. ==Geography==