Anding Commandery ( zh, c=安定郡, l=Peaceful and Stable) 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 ...
of China, located in what is now eastern
Gansu
Gansu is a provinces of China, province in Northwestern China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeastern part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibetan Plateau, Ti ...
and southern
Ningxia
Ningxia, officially the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, is an autonomous region in Northwestern China. Formerly a province, Ningxia was incorporated into Gansu in 1954 but was later separated from Gansu in 1958 and reconstituted as an autonomous ...
.
History
Anding commandery was carved out of
Beidi
The Di or Beidi (Northern Di) were various ethnic groups who lived north of the Chinese ('' Huaxia'') realms during the Zhou dynasty. Although initially described as nomadic, they seem to have practiced a mixed pastoral, agricultural, and huntin ...
in 114 BC. Its capital was Gaoping (高平, modern
Guyuan
Guyuan ( zh, c=固原, p=Gùyuán ), formerly known as Xihaigu ( zh, links= , c=西海固, p=xīhǎigù, Xiao'erjing: قُيُوًا شِ) or Dayuan (), is a prefecture-level city in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of the People's Republi ...
, Ningxia). In late Western Han period, the commandery administered 21 counties: Gaoping (高平), Fulei (復累), Anbi (安俾), Fuyi (撫夷), Chaona (朝那), Jingyang (涇陽), Linjing (臨涇), Lu (鹵), Wushi (烏氏), Yinmi (陰密), Anding (安定), Candu (參讀), Sanshui (三水), Yinpan (陰槃), Anwu (安武), Zuli (祖厲), Yuande (爰得), Xuanjuan (眴卷), Pengyang (彭陽), Chunyin (鶉陰) and Yuezhidao (月支道). The total population in 2 AD was 143,294 (42,725 households). The Eastern Han census in 140 AD, however, documented a population of only 29,060 (6,094 households), and the number of counties had reduced to 8.
Due to attacks by the
Qiang people
The Qiang people (Qiangic languages, Qiangic: ''Rrmea''; ) are an List of ethnic groups in China, ethnic group in China. They form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognised by the People's Republic of China, with a population of approx ...
, the commandery's administration was relocated to
Youfufeng from 111 to 129. Anding was moved permanently to Youfufeng in 141 after another wave of Qiang attacks, and the original territories were eventually abandoned. In 280 AD, the commandery had 7 counties, with a total population of 5,500 households.
['']Book of Jin
The ''Book of Jin'' is an official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty (266–420), 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, ...
'', Chapter 14.
References
{{Han dynasty provinces
Commanderies of the Qin dynasty
Commanderies of the Han dynasty
Commanderies of the Jin dynasty (266–420)
History of Ningxia