Rinan (; vi, Nhật Nam), also rendered as Jih-nan, was the southernmost

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 ...

of the Chinese

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 ...

. It was located in the central area of modern-day

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making ...

between Quảng Bình and Bình Định provinces. It was administered by a local mandarin under direction from the capital of Jiaozhi at Leilou or Longbian (after 200) near modern

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi i ...

. It was part of the territories briefly occupied by Trưng Trắc's rebellion forces in AD 39. The concept of "Rinan" (lit "South of the Sun", referring to the Southern Hemisphere) was originally astronomical: above the

Tropic of Cancer The Tropic of Cancer, which is also referred to as the Northern Tropic, is the most northerly circle of latitude on Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This occurs on the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted towa ...

, the Chinese always faced south during religious ceremonies concerning the sun. In his ''

Records of the Grand Historian ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese his ...

'',

Sima Qian Sima Qian (; ; ) was a Chinese historian of the early Han dynasty (206AD220). He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his ''Records of the Grand Historian'', a general history of China covering more than two thousand years be ...

claimed the

Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin state (modern Gansu and Shaanxi), ...

had expanded so far as ''Rinan'', where the houses faced north instead of south.Trương Thái Du.
A New Approach on Old Issues of Ancient Vietnamese History
. Institute of Vietnamese Studies
archived copy
/ref> The Han claimed this conceptual region as early as 111 BC upon their conquest of Nanyue but did not administer an actual district under the name until 48 BC. Under the

Western 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 war ...

, it was recorded as having 14,000 households or about 69,000 people. Several embassies from

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

('' Da Qin'') during the 1st and 2nd centuries – including one from

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good E ...

in AD 166are recorded as having come via Rinan, presumably by sea via

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

.Hill, John E. ''Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dynasty, 1st to 2nd Centuries CE'', pp. 27 ff. BookSurge (Charleston), 2009. . In AD 264, during the division of Jiaozhou by the Emperor Jing of Wu, Rinan was placed under the new Jiaozhou.Vu Dinh Dinh.
Cochinchina: Reassessment of the Origin and Use of a Westernized Place Name
. ''The Writers Post'', vol. 9, Jan & Jul 2007.

Counties

* Zhuwu * Bijing * Xijuan * Lurong (Lô Dung) * Xianglin (Tượng Lâm)

References

Ancient Vietnam Han dynasty Jin dynasty (266–420) Former commanderies of China in Vietnam {{vietnam-stub

Counties

See also

References