Chen Commandery ( zh, 陳郡) was a Chinese

commandery In the Middle Ages, a commandery (rarely commandry) was the smallest administrative division of the European landed properties of a military order. It was also the name of the house where the knights of the commandery lived.Anthony Luttrell and G ...

that existed from the late

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...

to the Sui dynasty. It was located in present-day eastern

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

province. For much of the

Western Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a wa ...

, the territory was part of the vassal Principality of Huaiyang. In 88 AD, Huaiyang was renamed Chen, and was granted to Liu Xian (劉羨), a son of the Emperor Ming later known as the Prince Jing (敬) of Chen. Xian's descendants held the principality until 197 AD, when the last Prince of Chen was killed by

Yuan Shu Yuan Shu () (died July or August 199), courtesy name Gonglu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He rose to prominence following the collapse of the Han central government in 18 ...

. The commandery administered 9 counties, including Chen, Yangjia (陽夏), Ningping (寧平), Ku (苦), Zhe (柘), Xinping (新平), Fule (扶樂), Wuping (武平) and Changping (長平). The population was 1,547,572, or 112,653 households. In

Cao Wei Wei (Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' < Middle Chinese: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

dynasty, the Principality of Chen was briefly restored, and granted to

Cao Zhi Cao Zhi (; ; 192 – 27 December 232), courtesy name Zijian (), posthumously known as Prince Si of Chen (陈思王), was a prince of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China, and an accomplished poet in his time. His style o ...

, Prince Si (思) of Chen in 232. The commandery was briefly merged into the

Principality of Liang Liang (梁國) was a kingdom/principality in Han dynasty. Its territories was located within the modern Henan, Anhui and Shandong provinces. History Shortly before the establishment of the Han dynasty, the Qin-era Dang Commandery (碭郡) was g ...

in the early Jin dynasty, but was restored to independence soon after. Chen in this era was known for being the home commandery of the Xie clan, a powerful faction in the imperial court of the Jin with influential members such as

Xie An Xie An (謝安) (320 – 12 October 385), courtesy name Anshi (安石), formally Duke Wenjing of Luling (廬陵文靖公), also known as "Xie Dongshan" (谢东山, "dongshan" literally 'East mount'), was a Chinese politician of the Eastern Jin d ...

and

Xie Xuan Xie Xuan (謝玄) (343–388), courtesy name Youdu (幼度), formally Duke Xianwu of Kangle (康樂獻武公), was a Jin Dynasty (266–420) general who is best known for repelling the Former Qin army at the Battle of Fei River, preventing the Fo ...

. In Northern Wei, the commandery administered 4 counties, including Xiang (項), Changping (長平), Xihua (西華) and Xiangyi (襄邑), and according to the ''

Book of Wei The ''Book of Wei'', also known by its Chinese name as the ''Wei Shu'', is a classic Chinese historical text compiled by Wei Shou from 551 to 554, and is an important text describing the history of the Northern Wei and Eastern Wei from 386 to ...

'', the population was 7,669, or 3,024 households. The commandery subsequently passed to the

Eastern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Eastern Wei (), was an imperial dynasty of China that followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei dynasty. One of the Northern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period, the Eastern W ...

Northern Qi Qi, known as the Northern Qi (), Later Qi (後齊) or Gao Qi (高齊) in historiography, was a Chinese imperial dynasty and one of the Northern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties era. It ruled the eastern part of northern China ...

Northern Zhou Zhou (), known in historiography as the Northern Zhou (), was a Xianbei-led dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581. One of the Northern dynasties of China's Northern and Southern dynasties period, it succeeded the Western Wei dynasty a ...

and eventually the Sui dynasty. It was abolished in 583 AD.''

Book of Sui The ''Book of Sui'' (''Suí Shū'') is the official history of the Sui dynasty. It ranks among the official Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written by Yan Shigu, Kong Yingda, and Zhangsun Wuji, with Wei Zheng as the lead au ...

'', Chapter 30.

Princes of Chen

*Liu Xian (劉羨), Prince Jing (敬) of Chen 88－97; *Liu Jun (劉鈞), Prince Si (思) of Chen, 97－118; *Liu Song (劉竦), Prince Huai (懷) of Chen, 118－120; *Liu Chong (劉崇), Prince Qing (頃) of Chen, 120－125; *Liu Cheng (劉承), Prince Xiao (孝) of Chen, 125－? *

Liu Chong Liu Min (劉旻) ( 895 – 954), named Liu Chong (劉崇) before 951,, also known Emperor Shizu of Northern Han by his temple name '' Shizu'' (世祖), was the founding emperor of the Northern Han state during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms ...

(劉寵), ?－197; *

(曹植), Prince Si (思) of Chen, 232.

References

{{Han dynasty provinces Commanderies of the Han dynasty Commanderies of the Jin dynasty (266–420) Commanderies of the Sui dynasty Commanderies of the Northern dynasties Kingdoms of the Han dynasty