Dong Commandery ( zh, 東郡) was a commandery in historical China from the Warring States period to

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 ...

. Its territories were situated in present-day Henan, Hebei and

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

provinces. The commandery was established by the

state of Qin Qin () was an ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Traditionally dated to 897 BC, it took its origin in a reconquest of western lands previously lost to the Rong; its position at the western edge of Chinese civilization permitted ex ...

in 242 BCE after a successful campaign against the state of Wei. In early Western Han dynasty, the commandery became a part of the Liang Kingdom, which was subsequently abolished during the Lü Clan Disturbance. In late Western Han dynasty, the commandery administered 22 counties and marquessates: Puyang (濮陽), Panguan (畔觀),

Liaocheng Liaocheng (), is a prefecture-level city in western Shandong province, China. It borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the southeast, Dezhou to the northeast, Tai'an to the south, and the provinces of Hebei and Henan to the west. The Grand ...

(聊城), Dunqiu (頓丘), Fagan (發干), Fan (范), Chaping (茬平), Dongwuyang (東武陽), Boping (博平), Li (黎), Qing (清), Dong'e (東阿), Lihu (離狐), Linyi (臨邑), Limiao (利苗), Xuchang (須昌), Shouliang (壽良), Lechang (樂昌), Yangping (陽平), Baima (白馬), Nanyan (南燕) and Linqiu (廩丘). The population in 2 CE was 1,659,028 individuals or 401,297 households. The commandery went through a series of administrative changes in 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 ...

, and by 140 CE, 15 counties remained in the commandery: Puyang, Yan (formerly Nanyan), Baima, Dunqiu, Dong'e, Dongwuyang, Fan, Linyi, Boping, Liaocheng, Fagan, Leping (樂平, formerly Qing), Yangping, Wei (衞, the fief of the descendants of the Zhou dynasty kings) and Gucheng (穀城). The population in 140 was 603,393 individuals, or 136,088 households. From late Eastern Han to early Cao Wei dynasty, most counties of Dong was transferred to surrounding commanderies, while Linqiu and

Juancheng Juancheng County falls under the jurisdiction of Heze, in the southwest of Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandon ...

(鄄城) counties from Jiyin were added. After the foundation of Jin dynasty, the commandery was converted to Puyang Principality (濮陽國) and successively served as the fief of several imperial princes. The region was lost during the wars of the Yongjia period. The commandery was later restored. 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 ...

, Dong Commandery administered seven counties in the mid-6th century: Dongyan (東燕), Pingchang (平昌), Baima, Liangcheng (涼城), Suanzao (酸棗, formerly part of Chenliu Commandery), Changyuan (長垣, formerly part of Chenliu) and Changle (長樂). The population was 107,717 individuals or 30,521 households. The commandery was abolished in 583. In 607, however,

Yan Prefecture Yan may refer to: Chinese states * Yan (state) (11th century – 222 BC), a major state in northern China during the Zhou dynasty * Yan (Han dynasty kingdom), first appearing in 206 BC * Yan (Three Kingdoms kingdom), officially claimed indepe ...

was renamed Dong Commandery. There was a total of nine counties: Baima, Linchang (靈昌), Weinan (衛南), Puyang, Fengqiu (封丘), Kuangcheng (匡城, renamed from Changyuan), Zuocheng (胙城, renamed from Dongyan), Weicheng (韋城) and Lihu. The population was 121,905 households.''

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 ...

'', Chapter 30.

References

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