Circuits originated in China during the Han dynasty, and were used as a lower tier administrative division, comparable to the county, but only to be used in areas in the fringes of the Empire, that were either primarily inhabited by non-Han Chinese peoples, or too geographically isolated from the rest of the Han centers of power. The system fell into disuse after the collapse of the Western Jin dynasty. The administrative division was revived in 627 when Tang Emperor Taizong made it the highest level administrative division, and subdivided China into ten circuits. These were originally meant to be purely geographic and not administrative. Emperor Xuanzong added a further five and slowly, the circuits strengthened their own power, until they became powerful regional forces that tore the country apart during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. During the Song and Jin dynasties, circuits were renamed from dao to lu, both of which literally mean "road" or "path". Dao were revived during the Yuan dynasty. Circuits were demoted to the second-level after the Yuan dynasty established provinces at the very top, and remained there for the next several centuries. The Yuan dynasty also had lu but it was simply the Chinese word used for the Mongolian administrative unit, the cölge. The Yuan lu had little to do with the circuits in Song and Jin dynasties and were closer in size to prefectures. Under the Qing, they were overseen by a or . The circuit intendant of Shanghai was particularly influential. During the Republic of China era, circuits still existed as high-level, though not top-level, administrative divisions such as Qiongya Circuit. In 1928, all circuits were replaced with committees or simply abandoned. In 1932, administrative circuits were reintroduced back into the system until 1949. In 1949, after the founding of the People's Republic of China all the administrative circuits were all converted into zhuangqu in 1949 and renamed as diqu in the 1970s.
Japan
During the Asuka period, Japan was organized into five provinces and seven circuits, known as the Gokishichidō, as part of a legal and governmental system borrowed from the Chinese. Though these units did not survive as administrative structures beyond the Muromachi period, they did remain important geographical entities up until the 19th century. The seven circuits spread over the islands of Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū:
