Donghai Commandery ( zh, 東海郡) was a historical commandery of China from

Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ) was the first Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China. It is named for its progenitor state of Qin, a fief of the confederal Zhou dynasty (256 BC). Beginning in 230 BC, the Qin under King Ying Zheng enga ...

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

. It was located in present-day southern

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

and northern

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

. Donghai Commandery was established in the Qin dynasty, possibly under the name Tan Commandery (郯郡). In early

Western Han 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 int ...

, it became part of Liu Jiao's Chu Kingdom. After the abortive Rebellion of the Seven States, Donghai was carved out from Chu. Later, the commandery's borders gradually expanded as marquessates split from nearby kingdoms were added to the commandery. In late Western Han, it administered a total of 38 counties and marquessates: Tan (郯), Lanling (蘭陵), Xiangben (襄賁), Xiapi (下邳), Liangcheng (良成), Pingqu (平曲), Qi (戚), Qu (朐), Kaiyang (開陽), Fei (費), Licheng (利成), Haiqu (海曲), Lanqi (蘭祺), Zeng (繒), Nancheng (南成), Shanxiang (山鄉), Jianxiang (建鄉), Jiqiu (即丘), Zhuqiu (祝其),

Linyi Linyi ( zh, s=临沂 , t=臨沂 , p=Línyí) is a prefecture-level city in the south of Shandong province, China. As of 2011, Linyi is the largest prefecture-level city in Shandong, both by area and population, Linyi borders Rizhao to the eas ...

(臨沂), Houqiu (厚丘), Rongqiu (容丘), Dong'an (東安), Hexiang (合鄉), Cheng (承), Jianyang (建陽), Quyang (曲陽), Siwu (司吾), Yuxiang (于鄉), Pingqu (平曲), Duyang (都陽), Yinping (陰平), Wuxiang (郚鄉), Wuyang (武陽), Xinyang (新陽), Jianling (建陵), Changlü (昌慮), Duping (都平). The population was 358,414 households, or 1,559,357 individuals. A number of counties and marquessates were merged in early Eastern Han. The commandery constituted part of the Lu Kingdom during the reigns of Emperor Guangwu and Emperor Ming, until Liu Qiang (劉彊), the prince of Donghai, offered the territory back to the imperial government. In 72 AD, several counties were separated to create the new Xiapi Commandery (下邳郡). In 140, there were 13 counties, namely Tan, Lanling, Qi, Qu, Xiangben, Changlü, Cheng, Yinping, Licheng, Hexiang, Zhuqi, Houqiu, and Ganyu (赣榆). The population was 148,784 households, or 706,416 individuals. During

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, Donghai served as the fief of Cao Lin, a son of the Emperor Wen, and his son Cao Qi (曹啟). By the reunification of Jin dynasty in 280, 11,100 households remained in the commandery. In 291, a new commandery, Lanling, was established. Donghai subsequently became the fief of the prince and regent Sima Yue. After the Disaster of Yongjia, the region fell to

Later Zhao Zhao, briefly known officially as Wei (衛) in 350 AD, known in historiography as the Later Zhao (; 319–351) or Shi Zhao (石趙), was a dynasty of China ruled by the Shi family of Jie ethnicity during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. Among the ...

. Emperor Ming of Qi reestablished Donghai Commandery at Xiangben. In 549 during

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 ...

, a commandery centered in Ganyu was renamed Donghai, while the former commandery was renamed to Haixi (海西). Meanwhile, the former seat of Han and Jin era Donghai, Tan, was part of a new Tan Commandery. They were abolished in early

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 Sui and Tang dynasties, Donghai Commandery became an alternative name of Hai Prefecture.'' Book of Sui'', Chapter 31. In 742, it administered 4 counties: Qushan (朐山), Donghai (東海), Shuyang (沭陽) and Huairen (懷仁). The population was 28,549 households, or 184,009 individuals.''

New Book of Tang The ''New Book of Tang'', generally translated as the "New History of the Tang" or "New Tang History", is a work of official history covering the Tang dynasty in ten volumes and 225 chapters. The work was compiled by a team of scholars of the So ...

'', Chapter 38.

References

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