Yingchuan Commandery ( zh, 潁川郡) 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 ...

from the

Warring States period The Warring States period () was an era in History of China#Ancient China, ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded ...

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

, located in modern central

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 a ...

province. The name referred to the

Ying River The Ying River () is the largest tributary of the Huai River with its origin in Henan Province, People's Republic of China. From Zhoukou City in Henan the river flows through Fuyang City in Anhui Province then empties into the Huai River at Zh ...

, which flowed through its territory. The commandery was established by the

state of Qin Qin () was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Traditionally dated to 897 BC, it took its origin in a reconquest of western lands previously lost to the Rong; its position at the western edge of Chinese civilization permitted e ...

after it conquered Hán. The seat was Yangdi (陽翟, modern

Yuzhou, Henan Yuzhou () is a county-level city in the central part of Henan, People's Republic of China. It occupies the northwest corner of the prefecture-level city of Xuchang. The city is named for Yu the Great, the founder of the Xia Dynasty, which the ci ...

), which, according to legend, was the capital of

Yu the Great Yu the Great (大禹) was a legendary king in ancient China who was famed for his introduction of flood control, his establishment of the Xia dynasty which inaugurated dynastic rule in China, and his upright moral character. He figures promine ...

, and was the capital of the Warring States era State of Han. After the establishment of Hàn dynasty, it originally became Xin, King of Hán's fief. However, Xin was soon moved to

Taiyuan Taiyuan (; ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; also known as (), ()) is the capital and largest city of Shanxi Province, People's Republic of China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province. ...

, and the commandery was restored. In 2 AD, it administered 20 counties: Yangdi, Kunyang (昆陽), Yingyang (潁陽), Dingling (定陵), Changshe (長社), Xinji (新汲), Xiangcheng (襄城), Yan (郾), Jia (郟), Wuyang (舞陽), Yingyin (潁陰), Chonggao (崇高), Xu (許), Yanling (傿陵), Linying (臨潁), Fucheng (父城), Cheng'an (成安), Zhouchengxiu (周承休), Yangcheng (陽城), and Guanshi (綸氏). The population was 2,210,973, in 432,491 households. In eastern Han dynasty, the commandery administered 17 counties. The population was 1,436,513 in 140 AD, in 263,440 households. During

Emperor Xian of Han Emperor Xian of Han (2 April 181 – 21 April 234), personal name Liu Xie (劉協), courtesy name Bohe, was the 14th and last emperor of the Eastern Han dynasty in China. He reigned from 28 September 189 until 11 December 220. Liu Xie was a s ...

's reign, the imperial court was moved to Xu, the home city of

Cao Cao Cao Cao () (; 155 – 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde (), was a Chinese statesman, warlord and poet. He was the penultimate grand chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the dynasty's final years. As one o ...

, as did the seat of the commandery. In Jin dynasty, Xiangcheng Commandery was formed from the southern part of Yingchuan. 9 Counties remained in Yingchuan. According to the ''

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 ...

'', the commandery had 28,300 households. In

Northern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei (), Tuoba Wei (), Yuan Wei () and Later Wei (), was founded by the Tuoba (Tabgach) clan of the Xianbei. The first of the Northern dynasties, it ruled northern China from 386 to 535 during t ...

, several new commanderies was established in the area. They were administered by Ying Prefecture (潁州, established in 535), later renamed Zheng (鄭州), and in

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 ...

, again to Xu (許州). In Sui and

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) ...

dynasties, the original commanderies were abolished and Yingchuan Commandery became an alternative name of Xu Prefecture. It administered 9 counties, and in 741, the population was 487,864, in 73,347 households.''

New Book of Tang The ''New Book of Tang'', generally translated as the "New History of the Tang" or "New Tang History", is a work of official history covering the Tang dynasty in ten volumes and 225 chapters. The work was compiled by a team of scholars of the So ...

'', Chapter 28.

References

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