Baxi Commandery (巴西郡) was a commandery of imperial China located in what is now northeastern

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

and parts of southern

Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...

. It was established in 111 BCE under 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 ...

following the administrative division of the larger

Ba Commandery Ba Commandery (巴郡) was a historical commandery of imperial China established in 316 BCE after the Qin conquest of the Ba kingdom. It was one of the earliest Chinese administrative units in southwestern China and covered the upper Yangtze Riv ...

. Centered on the Jialing River, Baxi played an important role in the Han administration of the southwestern frontier and remained active through the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...

Western Jin Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that ...

, and Southern dynasties until it was abolished by 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 ...

in 589 CE.

Geography and counties

According to the ''Book of Han'', Baxi governed twelve counties. A 2 CE census recorded 54,087 households and 269,613 individuals.Ban Gu. ''Book of Han'', Geography Treatise.

Han dynasty

Baxi was formed to solidify Han control over the upper

Jialing River The Jialing River, formerly known by numerous other names, is a major tributary of the Yangtze River in the Sichuan Basin. It is named after the Jialing Valley in Feng County, Shaanxi through which it flows. The Jialing River's most notable c ...

and the rugged Ba heartland. The commandery’s capital, Langzhong, developed into a walled garrison city and river port linking the Sichuan Basin with the northern and eastern highlands. Han governors implemented the tuntian (屯田) system, built canals, and registered local Di and Ba populations for tax and military service. The commandery provided troops, copper, and cattle, and served as a launch point for expeditions into the Di territories of northern Sichuan.

Eastern Han

Baxi remained an important frontier commandery in the Eastern Han period, with frequent military activity along its border. It was used to pacify Di uprisings and to maintain control over internal mountain routes. During the 180s and 190s, the commandery was a recruiting ground for warlords in the southwest, including Liu Zhang and later Liu Bei.

Three Kingdoms period

Baxi came under

Shu Han Han (; 221–263), known in historiography as Shu Han ( ) or Ji Han ( "Junior Han"), or often shortened to Shu ( zh, t=蜀, p=Shǔ; Sichuanese Pinyin: ''Su'' < Middle Chinese: *''źjowk'' < Eastern Han Chinese: *''dźok''), was a Dynasties in ...

control in 214 CE after

Liu Bei Liu Bei (, ; ; 161 – 10 June 223), courtesy name Xuande (), was a China, Chinese warlord in the late Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty who later became the founding Emperor of China, emperor of Shu Han, one of the Three Kingdoms of ...

seized Yi Province. Langzhong served as a logistical depot and staging ground for Shu’s military campaigns.

Zhuge Liang Zhuge Liang () (181September or October 234), also commonly known by his courtesy name Kongming, was a Chinese statesman, strategist, and inventor who lived through the End of the Han dynasty, end of the Eastern Han dynasty ( 184–220) and t ...

used Baxi as a recruitment and provisioning zone during his northern expeditions via the

Hanzhong Hanzhong ( zh, s= , t= , l=middle of the Han River (Hubei), Han River; abbreviation: Han) is a prefecture-level city in Southern Shaanxi, the southwest of Shaanxi, Shaanxi province, China, bordering the provinces of Sichuan to the south and Gans ...

region.Chen Shou. ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', vol. 35, Biography of Zhuge Liang. Baxi supplied crossbowmen and transport oxen to the Shu army. Shu maintained strong garrisons at Langzhong, Guandao, and Fangling to secure the frontier. The Di and Ba tribes were partially incorporated into Shu’s defense system.

Jin and Southern dynasties

Under the

, Baxi became part of

Yizhou Province Yi Prefecture or Yizhou may refer to: * Yizhou (Southwest China) (), a historical province of China covering Southwest China * Yi Prefecture (Shandong) (), active between the 7th and 18th centuries * Yi Prefecture (Guangxi) (), active between th ...

and administered fewer counties due to depopulation and tribal movements. Jin officials relied increasingly on local tribal chieftains who held hereditary military or administrative titles. During the 4th–6th centuries, the commandery saw both Di uprisings and Han gentry flight. The central court’s influence waned during the

Southern dynasties The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered as ...

period, and the region was effectively governed by local powers. Baxi remained a named commandery until its abolition by the

in 589.

Economy

Baxi’s economy relied on upland agriculture, copper mining, and forest products. The Jialing River enabled movement of tribute and military supplies toward Chengdu and downriver toward the Han River. Tribal markets operated seasonally at Langzhong and Quren.

Archaeology

* Han–Shu tombs near Langzhong include stamped bricks reading 巴西太守 * A stone stele commemorating a Shu general’s repairs to the Guandao Pass was found near Wangcang * Bronze drums and Di-style artifacts discovered in Fangling indicate continued tribal presence

References

{{Reflist Regions of China