Yanmen Commandery was an administrative subdivision (''jùn'') of the state of Zhao established BC and of northern imperial Chinese dynasties until AD758. It occupied lands in what is now

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

and Inner Mongolia. Its first seat was at

Shanwu Youyu County, also known by its Chinese language, Chinese name Youyuxian, is a Chinese county, county under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Shuozhou, in the northwest of Shanxi, Shanxi Province, China. It borders Inner Mongol ...

(near present-day Youyu,

); its later seats moved southeast to the more defensible sites at

Yinguan Shuocheng District, formerly Shuo County, is the main urban district of the prefecture-level city of Shuozhou in Shanxi province, China. History Shuocheng is the site of the ancient Chinese frontier post of Mayi and its territory was previously ...

(within present-day Shuozhou,

) and

Guangwu Emperor Guangwu of Han (; 15 January 5 BC – 29 March AD 57), born Liu Xiu (), courtesy name Wenshu (), was a Chinese monarch. He served as an emperor of the Han dynasty by restoring the dynasty in AD 25, thus founding the Eastern Han (Later ...

(near present-day Daixian,

Name

The name derives from Yanmen Pass in

's Dai County. Yanmen, meaning "Wild Goose Pass". or "Wildgoose Gate", takes its name from the wild geese that migrate through the area.

History

Zhao Kingdom

Yanmen Commandery was first established around 300BC during China's Warring States Period by the state of Zhao's King Yong, posthumously known as the Wuling ("Martial-&-Numinous") King.. It covered territory in what is now northern

and southern Inner Mongolia.. He created Yanmen Commandery along with its companion commanderies of Dai and

Yunzhong Yunzhong Commandery ( zh, 雲中郡) was a historical commandery of China. Its territories were located between the Great Wall and Yin Mountains, and correspond to part of modern-day Hohhot, Baotou and Ulanqab prefectures in Inner Mongolia. The ...

to consolidate his conquests from invasions of the Loufan ( t s ''Lóufán'') and " forest nomads" or "barbarians" ( ''Línhú'') in 306 and 304BC. He protected these new lands by raising earthen walls along their northern border,.. close to what is now

Hohhot Hohhot,; abbreviated zh, c=呼市, p=Hūshì, labels=no formerly known as Kweisui, is the capital of Inner Mongolia in the north of the People's Republic of China, serving as the region's administrative, economic and cultural center.''The Ne ...

in Inner Mongolia. Garrisons and forts were also placed at strategic spots within the new territory, such as Yanmen Pass between the northern plains and the

Hutuo Valley The Hutuo River is a major river in northern China and an important member of Hai River system. It derives from Wutai Mountain in Shanxi province and flows through the Taihang Mountains to reach the North China Plain, and meets the Ziya River nea ...

. In the mid-3rd centuryBC, the Yanmen governor Li Mu, relocated there under the command of

Handan Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwest of Hebei province, China. The southernmost prefecture-level city of the province, it borders Xingtai on the north, and the provinces of Shanxi on the west, Henan on the south and Shando ...

used these interior defenses and drills the commandery's citizens to minimize casualties to good effect when he lured more than 100,000

Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, the supreme leader after 209 ...

horsemen into the heart of the commandery before defeating them with 160,000

chariots A chariot is a type of cart driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, dated to c. 2000 ...

, cavalry, and archers..

Qin Empire

Under the

Qin Qin may refer to: Dynasties and states * Qin (state) (秦), a major state during the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China * Qin dynasty (秦), founded by the Qin state in 221 BC and ended in 206 BC * Daqin (大秦), ancient Chinese name for the Roman Emp ...

, Yanmen was one of the commanderies which made up the principal divisions of the empire. Its seat was at

, south of present-day Youyu in

. Its territory ran from present-day

Hequ Hequ () is a county in the northwest of Shanxi province, China, bordering Shaanxi province to the west and Inner Mongolia Inner Mongolia, officially the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China ...

Wuzhai Wuzhai () is a county of northwestern Shanxi province, China. It is under the administration of Xinzhou City. Climate Wuzhai has a monsoon-influenced, humid continental climate (Köppen ''Dwb''), with cold and very dry winters, and warm, humid su ...

, and Ningwu Counties in the south to Inner Mongolia's Huangqi and Dai Lakes in the north; its eastern border was near Mount Heng. The Zhao wall was connected to those of the other former states as part of the Great Wall. This territory was divided into:

Western Han Empire

Under the

Han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...

, Yanmen Commandery maintained its seat at Shanwu.. It was part of the realm of Dai, used as an appanage of the imperial kings and a title of rebels like Han Xin and Chen Xi. Han-era Yanmen included the Qin-era counties above, excluding Xincheng and Wangtao, with the addition of:

Eastern Han Empire

Under the Eastern Han, the commandery seat was moved to

, present-day Xiaguancheng Village southeast of Shuozhou in

Wei Kingdom

During China's Three Kingdoms Period,

Wei Wei or WEI may refer to: States * Wey (state) (衛, 1040–209 BC), Wei in pinyin, but spelled Wey to distinguish from the bigger Wei of the Warring States * Wei (state) (魏, 403–225 BC), one of the seven major states of the Warring States per ...

moved the commandery seat to

, southwest of present-day Daixian in

. The district is recorded as having 12,600 households around AD285.

Eastern Wei

During China's Northern and Southern Dynasties Period, Eastern Wei had the commandery seat at Daixian in what is now

. During the 540s, the district is recorded having 30,434 people living in 6,328 households.

Sui Empire

Under the Sui, Yanmen Commandery was abolished in 583, then revived in 607. It was recorded as having 42,502 households in 609.

Tang Empire

Under the

Tang Tang or TANG most often refers to: * Tang dynasty * Tang (drink mix) Tang or TANG may also refer to: Chinese states and dynasties * Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) b ...

, Yanmen Commandery was part of Hedong Circuit until it was abolished and replaced by Dai Prefecture in 618, although it was temporarily restored between 742 and 758. During the Tang, the name was retained as an honorary title: the generals Tian Chengsi, Tian Xu, Tian Ji'an, and

Wang Zhixing Wang Zhixing (758– August 21, 836), Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter./ref>'' Old Book of Tang'', vol. 17, part 2. courtesy name Kuangjian and formally the Prince of Yanmen, was a general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty ...

were created "Prince" or "King of Yanmen" (''Yànménwáng''). In 882, Yanmen Defense Command (''Yanmen Jiedushi'') was also briefly established to oversee local defense. It had its seat at present-day Daixian,

. In 883, its name was changed to Daibei.

Governors

* centuryBC Li Mu *

Wang Ju Wang Ju may refer to: * Gyeongjong of Goryeo (955–981), king of Goryeo * Naomi Wang (born 1992), Chinese singer {{hndis ...

(王據)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . * . {{Han dynasty provinces Former commanderies of China Commanderies of the Qin dynasty Commanderies of the Han dynasty Commanderies of the Jin dynasty (266–420) Commanderies of the Sui dynasty