Yuzhou (nine ancient provinces)
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Yuzhou or Yu Province was one of the
Nine Provinces The term Nine Provinces or Nine Regions (), is used in ancient Chinese histories to refer to territorial divisions or islands during the Xia and Shang dynasties and has now come to symbolically represent China. "Province" is the word used to t ...
of ancient China, later to become an administrative division around the reign of Emperor Wu (r. 141 BC - 87 BC) of the Western Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 9).


History


Pre-Qin dynasty

Pre- Qin dynasty (221 BC–206 BC) historical texts such as the '' Yu Gong'' or ''Tribute of Yu'' chapter of the '' Book of History'', ''
Erya The ''Erya'' or ''Erh-ya'' is the first surviving Chinese dictionary. Bernhard Karlgren (1931:49) concluded that "the major part of its glosses must reasonably date from the 3rd century BC." Title Chinese scholars interpret the first title chara ...
'', ''
Rites of Zhou The ''Rites of Zhou'' (), originally known as "Officers of Zhou" () is a work on bureaucracy and organizational theory. It was renamed by Liu Xin to differentiate it from a chapter in the ''Book of History'' by the same name. To replace a lost ...
'' and '' Lüshi Chunqiu'' all refer to the Nine Provinces. Yuzhou appears in all of these texts even though different names are provided for the Nine Provinces. The ''Rites of Zhou'' states that Yuzhou was Henan Province, while the ''Lüshi Chunqiu'' records: "Yuzhou was between the Yellow and
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 ...
rivers. That was where Zhou was located."


Han dynasty

In 106 BC during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Western Han dynasty (206 BC-AD 9), China was divided into thirteen administrative divisions (excluding the area under the central government's control), each governed by an Inspector (刺史). Yuzhou was one of the thirteen. The areas it governed included: north of the Huai River, east of the
Ru River Hong River is a major tributary river of Huai River system. Its source is on the western slope of Dengtaijia Peak near the border between the city of Wugang, Henan, Wugang and Biyang County of Henan province. If flows for about before meeting th ...
basin, and Feng and Pei counties in Jiangsu. However Yuzhou did not have a provincial capital and was only an administrative division in name. In 188 during the reign of Emperor Ling of the
Eastern 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 ...
(25-220), Yuzhou's capital was established in Qiao County (譙縣; present-day Bozhou, Anhui). The area under Yuzhou's jurisdiction included parts of eastern Henan, western Anhui. It was in charge of two
commanderies 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 Gr ...
- Yingchuan (潁川) and Runan (汝南) - and four states - Liang (梁), Pei (沛), Chen (陳) and Lu (魯).


Three Kingdoms

During the Three Kingdoms period (220-280), Yuzhou was in the state of Cao Wei (220–265) and its capital was designated in Ancheng County (northeast of present-day Zhengyang County, Henan, on the southwestern bank of the south
Ru River Hong River is a major tributary river of Huai River system. Its source is on the western slope of Dengtaijia Peak near the border between the city of Wugang, Henan, Wugang and Biyang County of Henan province. If flows for about before meeting th ...
). Under its jurisdiction were nine
commanderies 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 Gr ...
- Yingchuan (潁川), Chen (陳), Lu (魯), Runan (汝南), Qiao (譙), Yiyang (弋陽), Yang'an (陽安), Xiangcheng (襄城) and Ruyin (汝陰) - and two states - Liang (梁) and Pei (沛).


Jin dynasty and Sixteen Kingdoms

During the Western Jin dynasty (266-316), Yuzhou's capital was in Chen County (陳縣; present-day Huaiyang County, Henan), and it governed ten
commanderies 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 Gr ...
and states. Its capital constantly changed during the Eastern Jin dynasty (317-420) and its boundaries were not fixed. Yuzhou controlled the Huai River delta and parts of Anhui and Jiangsu along the Yangtze River when its land area was greatest during Eastern Jin. In 329 Yuzhou's capital was set up in Wuyang County (蕪湖縣; east of present-day Wuyang, Anhui). After 338 the capital kept changing, and its locations included: Zhucheng (邾城; northwest of present-day
Huanggang Huanggang is a prefecture-level city in easternmost Hubei Province, China. It is situated to the north of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and is bounded in the north by the Dabie Mountains and is named after Mount Huanggang. It borders ...
, Hubei); Wuhu (蕪湖); Niuzhu (牛渚; present-day Caishi Subdistrict, Ma'anshan, Anhui); Liyang (歷陽; present-day He County, Anhui); Matou (馬頭; southern bank of the Huai River at south of Huaiyuan County, Anhui); Qiao (譙; present-day Bozhou, Anhui); Gushu (姑孰; present-day Dangtu County, Anhui). From 416 onwards its capital was in Shouchun (壽春; present-day Shou County, Anhui). During the
Sixteen Kingdoms The Sixteen Kingdoms (), less commonly the Sixteen States, was a chaotic period in Chinese history from AD 304 to 439 when northern China fragmented into a series of short-lived dynastic states. The majority of these states were founded by ...
period (304-439), Yuzhou was under
Later Zhao The Later Zhao (; 319–351) was a dynasty of the Sixteen Kingdoms in northern China. It was founded by the Shi family of the Jie ethnicity. The Jie were most likely a Yeniseian people and spoke next to Chinese one of the Yeniseian languages.Vov ...
, and its capital was moved to Xuchang County (許昌縣; east of present-day Xuchang, Henan). The
Former Qin The Former Qin, also called Fu Qin (苻秦), (351–394) was a dynastic state of the Sixteen Kingdoms in Chinese history ruled by the Di ethnicity. Founded by Fu Jian (posthumously Emperor Jingming) who originally served under the Later ...
kingdom later renamed it Dongyuzhou (東豫州; Eastern Yu Province) and designated its capital in Luoyang County (洛陽縣; northeast of present-day Luoyang, Henan).


Southern and Northern Dynasties

During the Southern and Northern dynasties period (420-589), China was further divided into many administrative divisions so the land area in each division was reduced. Yuzhou fell under the control of several dynasties and experienced a series of renaming and changes to its capital. * The Liu Song dynasty (420-479) established a Nanyuzhou (南豫州; Southern Yu Province) with its capital in Gure (姑熟; present-day Dangtu County, Anhui). * The
Southern Qi Qi, known in historiography as the Southern Qi ( or ) or Xiao Qi (), was a Chinese imperial dynasty and the second of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties era. It followed the Liu Song dynasty and was succeede ...
(479-502) set up another Yuzhou in addition to Nanyuzhou, with the former's capital in Shouchun (壽春; present-day Shou County, Anhui). * In 500 Yuzhou fell under
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 and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties ...
(386-535) control and was renamed Yangzhou (揚州). It was later renamed to Luozhou (洛州), and Sizhou (司州) was renamed Yuzhou, with the latter's capital in Shangcai County (上蔡縣; present-day Runan County, Henan). * In 506 the Liang dynasty (502-557) set up Yuzhou's capital in Hefei (合肥; present-day
Hefei Hefei (; ) is the capital and largest city of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural center of Anhui. Its population was 9,369,881 as of the 2020 census and its built-up ( ...
, Anhui). In 526 it was renamed Nanyuzhou. Towards the end of the Liang dynasty its capital was moved to Huaining (懷寧; present-day Qianshan County, Anhui). In 550 it was renamed to Jinzhou (晉州) with its capital in Nanchang (南昌; present-day Nanchang, Jiangxi). In 557 it was renamed Jiangzhou (江州). * In 550 Yuzhou came under Eastern Wei (534-550) and was renamed back to Yangzhou. * In 573 Yuzhou came under the Chen dynasty (557-589) and was renamed back to Yuzhou. * In 579 Northern Zhou (557–581) renamed Yuzhou to Yangzhou (揚州), and later to Shuzhou (舒州) and Zhenzhou (溱州).


Sui and Tang dynasties

During the early Daye era (605-618) of the
Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and layi ...
(589–618), Yuzhou was renamed Caizhou (蔡州) and its capital designated in Luoyang (洛陽; present-day Luoyang, Henan). In 607 it was renamed to Henan Commandery (河南郡). Yuzhou was restored in the early Tang dynasty (618–907) and its capital set up in Ruyang County (汝陽縣; present-day Runan County, Henan). In 742 it was renamed Runan Commandery (汝南郡), and in 758 it was renamed back to Yuzhou. Around 762 and 763 it was renamed to Caizhou (蔡州) again.


Liao dynasty

During the Khitan-led Liao dynasty (907–1125), Yuzhou was under the control of the Prince of Chen (陳王) lineage. It was established as a military division of the capital Shangjing (上京; present-day
Baarin Left Banner Baarin Left Banner ( Mongolian: ''Baɣarin Jegün qosiɣu''; ), or Bairin, is a banner of eastern Inner Mongolia, China, under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Chifeng. The banner spans an area of 6,644 square kilometers, and ...
, Inner Mongolia). Its capital was near northwest of present-day
Jarud Banner Jarud Banner ( Mongolian: ; ) is a banner of eastern Inner Mongolia, People's Republic of China. It is under the administration of Tongliao City, , and the China National Highway 304 passes through the area. Climate Jarud Banner has a monsoon-i ...
, Inner Mongolia.


Jin dynasty

Yuzhou was abolished during the Jurchen-ruled Jin dynasty (1115–1234). {{Han dynasty provinces Provinces of Ancient China Provinces of the Han dynasty