Pei Commandery ( zh, 沛郡) was a Chinese
commandery from
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 ...
to
Northern Qi dynasty. Its territory was located in present-day northern
Anhui and northwestern
Jiangsu, as well as part of
Shandong and
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 al ...
.
Pei was established in early Western Han on an area formerly known as Sishui Commandery (泗水郡) during 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), ...
, and received its name from
Pei County,
Liu Bang's home county. The seat was at Xiang (相), in modern
Huaibei,
Anhui. The commandery was part of the vassal
Kingdom of Chu
Chu, or Ch'u in Wade–Giles romanization, (, Hanyu Pinyin: Chǔ, Old Chinese: ''*s-r̥aʔ'') was a Zhou dynasty vassal state. Their first ruler was King Wu of Chu in the early 8th century BCE. Chu was located in the south of the Zhou he ...
during its early years, however, during
Emperor Jing's reign, the imperial forces defeated Chu in the
Rebellion of Seven States
The Rebellion of the Seven States or Revolt of the Seven Kingdoms () took place in 154 BC against the Han dynasty of China by its regional semi-autonomous kings, to resist the emperor's attempt to centralize the government further.
Background
...
and revoked the territory. In 117 BC, part of Pei was split off to form the new
Linhuai Commandery Linhuai Commandery ( zh, 臨淮郡) was a historical commandery of China, located in what is now central Jiangsu province. History
The commandery was first established in 117 BC, from part of Pei and Guangling commanderies. In late Western Han per ...
. In 2 AD, the commandery consisted of 37 counties: Xiang (相), Longkang (龍亢), Zhu (竹), Guyang (穀陽),
Xiao (蕭), Xiang (向), Zhi (銍), Guangqi (廣戚), Xiacai (下蔡),
Feng (豐), Dan (鄲), Qiao (譙), Qi (蘄), Zhuan (颛), Zheyu (輒與), Shansang (山桑), Gongqiu (公丘), Fuli (符離), Jingqiu (敬丘), Xiaqiu (夏丘), Xiao (洨), Pei, Mang (芒), Jiancheng (建成), Chengfu (城父), Jianping (建平), Cuo (酇), Li (栗), Fuyang (扶陽), Gao (高), Gaochai (高柴), Piaoyang (漂陽), Ping'e (平阿), Dongxiang (東鄉), Lindu (臨都), Yicheng (義成) and Qixiang (祈鄉). The population was 2,030,480, or 409,079 households.
During Eastern Han, the commandery was converted to a principality nominally held by an imperial
prince
A prince is a Monarch, male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in s ...
. A number of counties were merged in early Eastern Han, and in 140 AD, the principality administered 21 counties, including Xiang (相), Xiao, Pei, Feng, Guyang, Qiao, Xiao, Qi, Zhi, Dan, Jianping, Linsui (臨睢), Zhuyi (竹邑), Gongqiu, Longkang, Xiang (向), Fuli, Hong (虹), Taiqiu (太丘) and Zhuqiu (杼秋).
After
dynasty was founded,
Cao Pi
Cao Pi () ( – 29 June 226), courtesy name Zihuan, was the first emperor of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the second son of Cao Cao, a warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty, but the eldest son ...
followed
Liu Bang's example and created a new commandery, Qiao Commandery, which was named after his father's home county. In 280 AD, Pei and Qiao had 9 and 7 counties respectively. The former had 5,096 households, while the latter had 1,000. Under the
Northern dynasties, the commandery was further divided several times before being abolished in
Northern Qi.
['' Book of Sui, Chapter 30.'']
References
{{Han dynasty provinces
Commanderies of the Han dynasty
Commanderies of the Jin dynasty (266–420)
Commanderies of the Northern dynasties
Kingdoms of the Han dynasty