Shanyang Commandery ( zh, 山陽郡) was a historical

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 ...

in China, located in present-day southern

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

province. In early

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 warr ...

, Shanyang was part of the

Liang Kingdom 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 gr ...

. In 144 BC, Liang was split into five kingdoms among the sons of King Xiao, with

Liu Ding Liu Ding (; born 1976, Changzhou, Jiangsu Province) is a Chinese artist and curator based in Beijing. Liu’s artistic practices range from installation, painting, photography, and theatre set design and production, whereas his professional skills ...

gaining Shanyang. Ding died in 136 BC, posthumously known as the King Ai (哀) of Shanyang, and the territory was converted into a commandery.''

Book of Han The ''Book of Han'' or ''History of the Former Han'' (Qián Hàn Shū,《前汉书》) is a history of China finished in 111AD, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. ...

'', Chapter 14. In 97 BC, Emperor Wu granted Shanyang to his son Liu Bo (劉髆) as the Changyi Kingdom (昌邑國). Bo ruled for 11 years and was known as the King Ai (哀) of Changyi. His successor Liu He was selected as the new Han emperor by regent

Huo Guang Huo Guang (; died 68 BC), courtesy name Zimeng (子孟), was a Chinese military general and politician who served as the dominant state official of the Western Han dynasty from 87 BCE until his death in 68 BCE. The younger half-brother of the re ...

in 74 BC, and the kingdom was converted to a commandery. In 2 AD, it administered 23 counties and marquessates, including Changyi (昌邑), Nanpingyang (南平陽), Chengwu (成武), Huling (湖陵), Dongniang (東嬢), Fangyu (方與), Tuo (橐), Juye (鉅野), Shanfu (單父), Bo (薄), Duguan (都關), Chengdu (城都), Huang (黃), Yuanqi (爰戚), Gaocheng (郜成), Zhongxiang (中鄉), Pingle (平樂), Zheng (鄭), Xiaqiu (瑕丘), Zixiang (甾鄉), Lixiang (栗鄉), Quxiang (曲鄉) and Xiyang (西陽). The total population was 801,288 individuals, or 172,847 households. After the establishment of the

Eastern Han 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 warr ...

dynasty, a number of counties and marquessates were merged. In 140 AD, the commandery administered 10 counties, namely Changyi, Dongmin (東緡), Juye, Gaoping (高平), Hulu (湖陆), Nanpingyang, Fangyu, Xiaqiu, Jinxiang (金鄉) and Fangdong (防東). The population was 606,091 individuals, or 109,898 households. In Jin dynasty, Gaoping Principality (高平國) was established on the lands of Shanyang Commandery.''

Book of Jin The ''Book of Jin'' is an official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty from 266 to 420. It was compiled in 648 by a number of officials commissioned by the imperial court of the Tang dynasty, with chancellor Fang X ...

'', Chapter 14. The region became the Gaoping Commandery from

Liu Song Song, known as Liu Song (), Former Song (前宋) or Song of (the) Southern Dynasty (南朝宋) in historiography, was an imperial dynasty of China and the first of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. ...

dynasty onwards.

References

{{Han dynasty provinces Commanderies of the Han dynasty