Chen Commandery ( zh, 陳郡) 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 G ...

that existed from the late

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

to the

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty ( ) was a short-lived Dynasties of China, Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 581 to 618. The re-unification of China proper under the Sui brought the Northern and Southern dynasties era to a close, ending a prolonged peri ...

. It was located in present-day eastern

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

province. For much of the

Western Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) and a warring in ...

, the territory was part of the vassal Principality of Huaiyang. In 88 AD, Huaiyang was renamed Chen, and was granted to Liu Xian (劉羨), a son of Emperor Ming; Xian was posthumously known as Prince Jing (敬) of Chen. Xian's descendants held the principality until 197 AD, when the last Prince of Chen was killed by

Yuan Shu Yuan Shu () (155 – 199), courtesy name Gonglu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty. He rose to prominence following the collapse of the Han central government in 189. He decla ...

. The commandery administered 9 counties, including Chen, Yangjia (陽夏), Ningping (寧平), Ku (苦), Zhe (柘), Xinping (新平), Fule (扶樂), Wuping (武平) and Changping (長平). The population was 1,547,572, or 112,653 households. In

Cao Wei Wei () was one of the major Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic states in China during the Three Kingdoms period. The state was established in 220 by Cao Pi based upon the foundations laid by his father Cao Cao during the end of the Han dy ...

dynasty, the Principality of Chen was briefly restored, and granted to

Cao Zhi Cao Zhi (; ; 192 – 27 December 232), courtesy name Zijian (), posthumously known as Prince Si of Chen (陈思王), was a prince of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China, and an accomplished poet in his time. His style o ...

, Prince Si (思) of Chen in 232. The commandery was briefly merged into the Principality of Liang in the early Jin dynasty, but was restored to independence soon after. Chen in this era was known for being the home commandery of the Xie clan, a powerful faction in the imperial court of the Jin with influential members such as Xie An and Xie Xuan. In

Northern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei ( zh, c=北魏, p=Běi Wèi), Tuoba Wei ( zh, c=拓跋魏, p=Tuòbá Wèi), Yuan Wei ( zh, c=元魏, p=Yuán Wèi) and Later Wei ( zh, t=後魏, p=Hòu Wèi), was an Dynasties of China, impe ...

, the commandery administered 4 counties, including Xiang (項), Changping (長平), Xihua (西華) and Xiangyi (襄邑), and according to the ''

Book of Wei The ''Book of Wei'', also known by its Chinese name as the ''Wei Shu'', is a classic Chinese historical text compiled by Wei Shou from 551 to 554, and is an important text describing the history of the Northern Wei and Eastern Wei from 386 to 5 ...

'', the population was 7,669, or 3,024 households. The commandery subsequently passed to the

Eastern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Eastern Wei (), was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that followed the disintegration of the Northern Wei dynasty. One of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Nor ...

Northern Qi Qi, known as the Northern Qi (), Later Qi (後齊) or Gao Qi (高齊) in historiography, was a Dynasties in Chinese history, Chinese imperial dynasty and one of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties during the ...

Northern Zhou Zhou (), known in historiography as the Northern Zhou (), was a Xianbei-led Dynasties in Chinese history, dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581. One of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties of China's ...

and eventually the

. It was abolished in 583 AD.

Princes of Chen

*Liu Xian (劉羨), Prince Jing (敬) of Chen (88－11 January 97; *Liu Jun (劉鈞), Prince Si (思) of Chen, January 97－ 13 September 117; *Liu Song (劉竦), Prince Huai (懷) of Chen, September 117－25 Oct 119; *Liu Chong (劉崇), Prince Qing (頃) of Chen, 28 May 120－2 April 124; *Liu Cheng (劉承), Prince Xiao (孝) of Chen, Apr 124－?Liu Cheng likely died before 173, as his son Liu Chong was already Prince of Chen in 173. * Liu Chong (劉寵), Prince Min (愍) of Chen, ?－197; *

(曹植), Prince Si (思) of Chen, 232. *

(曹志), son of Prince Si. His fiefdom was later shifted to Jibei (济北).

References

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