Kuaiji Commandery ( Chinese: t , s , p ''Kuàijī Jùn''), formerly romanized as K'uai-chi Commandery, was a former

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 ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

in the area of Hangzhou Bay. When first established, its capital was at Wu (present-day

Suzhou Suzhou is a major prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. As part of the Yangtze Delta megalopolis, it is a major economic center and focal point of trade and commerce. Founded in 514 BC, Suzhou rapidly grew in size by the ...

), which became known as "Kuaiji" from this role. The initial territory ran from the south bank of the

Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dam Qu River the longest source of the Yangtze, i ...

through most of modern

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

to an indeterminate border among the free people of

Minyue Minyue (; Pinyin: ''Mǐnyuè, Mínyuè'') was an ancient kingdom in what is now the Fujian province in southern China. It was a contemporary of the Han dynasty, and was later annexed by the Han empire as the Southward expansion of the Han dynas ...

. Wu and Wuxing commanderies were later formed between the Yangtze and the north shore of Hangzhou Bay; the administration of the remainder of Kuaiji Commandery was then removed to the site of the former Yue capital in modern

Shaoxing Shaoxing is a prefecture-level city on the southern shore of Hangzhou Bay in northeastern Zhejiang province, China. Located on the south bank of the Qiantang River estuary, it borders Ningbo to the east, Taizhou, Zhejiang, Taizhou to the south ...

's Yuecheng District, which also became known as Kuaiji from this role. By the Tang,

Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...

was also separated and Kuaiji ran from a little north of the Zhe River in the west to

Ningbo Ningbo is a sub-provincial city in northeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. It comprises six urban districts, two satellite county-level cities, and two rural counties, including several islands in Hangzhou Bay and the Eas ...

in the east.Liu Taotao & al. ''Unity and Diversity: Local Cultures and Identities in China'', pp. 16–17. Hong Kong University Press (Hong Kong), 1996.

Name

The commandery was named for

Mount Kuaiji Mount Xianglu () is a mountain near Shaoxing, Zhejiang, China. Its summit has an elevation of . History Its historic name was Mount Kuaiji (), formerly romanized as Mount K'uai-chi. It was an important site for ancient China's Yue civilization ...

. It was a site long important to the area's native Yue people and connected in

Chinese legend Chinese mythology () is mythology that has been passed down in oral form or recorded in literature throughout the area now known as Greater China. Chinese mythology encompasses a diverse array of myths derived from regional and cultural tradit ...

with

Yu the Great Yu the Great or Yu the Engineer was a legendary king in ancient China who was credited with "the first successful state efforts at flood control", his establishment of the Xia dynasty, which inaugurated Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic ru ...

, whose putative gravesite was visited by

Shi Huangdi Qin Shi Huang (, ; February 25912 July 210 BC), born Ying Zheng () or Zhao Zheng (), was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of China. He is widely regarded as the first ever supreme leader of a unitary dynasty in Chine ...

in his tours of the

Qin Empire The Qin dynasty ( ) was the first 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 engaged in a series ...

. There are various folk etymologies of the Chinese characters, but they probably represent a transcription of a native

proto-Wu Wu ( zh, t=, s=, p=Wúyǔ; Romanization of Wu Chinese, Wugniu and International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: (Shanghainese), (Suzhounese)) is a major group of Sinitic languages spoken primarily in Shanghai, Zhejiang, Zhejiang province, and parts of ...

placename.

History

The commandery was first formed by

of the Qin to consolidate control over the lands of miscellaneous

Baiyue The Baiyue, Hundred Yue, or simply Yue, were various ethnic groups who inhabited the regions of southern China and northern Vietnam during the 1st millennium BC and 1st millennium AD. They were known for their short hair, body tattoos, fine swo ...

peoples southeast of Chu captured in 222 BC. The initial capital was at Wu (present-day

) through the Qin and Han

dynasties A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. Historians ...

and it was also known as "Kuaiji" from this role. In 209 BC, its governor Yin Tong initiated a plot to rebel against the collapsing Qin but was assassinated and replaced by his conspirators

Xiang Liang Xiang Liang (; died 208 BC) was a Chinese military leader who led a rebellion against the Qin dynasty between 209 and 208 BC. He is best known as an uncle of Xiang Yu, the rival of the Han dynasty's founding emperor Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Ban ...

and

Xiang Yu Xiang Yu (), born Xiang Ji, was a Chinese warlord who founded and led the short-lived ancient Chinese states, kingdom-state of Western Chu during the interregnum period between the Qin dynasty, Qin and Han dynasty, Han dynasties of China, d ...

. They employed Kuaiji as a base for their own rebellion, which restored a puppet king to Chu before Xiang Yu's defeat by Han. During the

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 ...

, an army from Kuaiji Commandery under Han Anguo ( t s ''Hán Ānguó'') moved against the Min (

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

ese) in . In , a major plague outbreak assaulted the area. Amid various local cults and practices, the governor Diwu Lun suppressed unauthorized sacrifices, particularly the sacrifice of

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

, as injurious to the area's economic strength. By 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 ...

period, the capital was restored to its pre-imperial position in present-day

. The commandery was conquered by

Sun Ce Sun Ce () () (175 – 5 May 200), courtesy name Bofu, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was the eldest child of Sun Jian, who was killed during the Battle of Xian ...

of Wu in 196 and he made its capital his base, assuming the title of governor himself. The area was later troubled by the bandits Lü He () and Qin Lang (), who were put down by Jiang Qin; bandits under Pan Lin (潘臨) were put down by

Lu Xun Lu Xun ( zh, c=魯迅, p=Lǔ Xùn, ; 25 September 188119 October 1936), pen name of Zhou Shuren, born Zhou Zhangshou, was a Chinese writer. A leading figure of modern Chinese literature, he wrote in both vernacular and literary Chinese as a no ...

. During the period, Yuyao suffered a plague outbreak but its administrator Zhu Huan's deft handling of the situation was credited with an influx of immigrants. The era of

Sun Quan Sun Quan (; 182 – 21 May 252), courtesy name Zhongmou (), posthumous name, posthumously known as Emperor Da of Wu, was the founder of Eastern Wu, one of the Three Kingdoms of China. He inherited control of the warlord regime established by hi ...

saw migrations from the north and the opening of the Shanyue area and the Zhedong and Jiangnan canals. Textile production expanded, using imported

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

from Shu.

Celadon Celadon () is a term for pottery denoting both wares ceramic glaze, glazed in the jade green Shades of green#Celadon, celadon color, also known as greenware or "green ware" (the term specialists now tend to use), and a type of transparent glaze, ...

pottery, later developed under the Jin, became more common. The primary centers of industrial production (specifically,

ceramics A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porce ...

) were at Kuaiji (

), Yuyao (within

), and Shangyu, with secondary centers at Yinxian,

proper,

Fenghua Fenghua (; ) is a district (China), district of the city of Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China. The district and its administrative hinterlands have a population of over 480,000. Fenghua is the hometown of two former president of the Republic of ...

, Linhai, Xiaoshan, Yuhang (present-day

), and

Huzhou Huzhou (, ; Huzhou dialect: Romanization of Wu Chinese, ''ghou² cieu¹'') is a prefecture-level city in northern Zhejiang province (Hangzhou–Jiaxing–Huzhou Plain, China). Lying south of the Lake Tai, it borders Jiaxing to the east, Hangzho ...

. Kuaiji also had a

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

mine which produced

mirror A mirror, also known as a looking glass, is an object that Reflection (physics), reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror forms an image of whatever is in front of it, which is then focused through the lens of the eye or a camera ...

s. Trade missions reached

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, Fun'an (

south Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

), and

Manchuria Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...

. The removal of the Jin dynasty to

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

in 317 sparked economic growth in the region known at the time as San Wu ("The Three Wus") from the commanderies of Wu, Wuxing, and Kuaiji (which had formerly been located in Wu).Dien, p. 120
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, Kuaiji Commandery was the scene of an abortive rebellion by the retired general Wang Jingze () against Emperor Ming of Qi in 498. The emperor was able to forestall the involvement of Emperor Gao's grandson Xiao Zike (),

marquess A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or wid ...

of Nankang, by threatening a mass poisoning of his family and General Wang was killed in battle. It was the capital commandery of Eastern Yangzhou and the richest commandery in the empire during the 6th century. During the Sui, the Grand Canal reached

in Kuaiji Commandery, which accordingly grew in importance. By the Tang, a separate commandery was established for

out of Kuaiji's territory north of the Zhe River. Emperor Yang of the Sui ordered a palace to be constructed in Kuaiji in 616.

Counties

* Shanyin County (山陰縣), within present-day

* Wushang County (烏傷縣), around present-day Yiwu * Yuyao County (餘姚縣), within present-day

* Juzhang County (句章縣), within present-day

* Xuancheng County (宣城縣)

Officials

Control of the territory was held by officials known in Chinese as ''taishou'' ''tàishǒu''), "

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

" or "grand administrator". Under the Kingdom of Wu and during the Jin dynasty, a number of royals bore the title "

Prince A prince is a 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, in some European states. The ...

of Kuaiji" notionally elevating the territory to the status of a minor kingdom. In the case of the Jin dynasty, it was a status beneath that of the Prince of Langya but the 6-year-old Sima Yu requested a demotion to it when the greater title precluded him from mourning for his mother. The title was granted on an ''ad hoc'' basis and, as it implied no actual administrative control, ran concurrently with the governors. In a similar fashion, some nobles were created "

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

of Kuaiji"

Governors

* . . . * Yin Tong, –209 BC *

, 209–208 BC * . . . * Diwu Lun (), c. AD 53–62 * . . . *

Wang Lang Wang Lang may refer to: * Wang Lang (Xin dynasty) (died 24), warlord during the Xin-Eastern Han transition * Wang Lang (Cao Wei) (died 228), minor warlord during the late Han period who became an official of Cao Wei * Wang Lang Market, in Bangkok N ...

, –AD 196 *

, 196–200 *

king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

of Wu, 200– * . . . * Chunyu Shi () * . . . * Wu Can, 222– * . . . * Yu Chen (), 3rd century, father of Empress Mingmu and General Yu of the Jin * . . . * Xie Xuan, –388 * . . . * Liu Dan (), Prince of Sui, c. 452, brother of Emperor Xiaowu of

Song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...

* . . . * Liu Zifang (), Prince of Xunyang, –466, son of Emperor Xiaowu * . . . * Xiao Dalian (蕭大連), Duke of Lincheng, c. 549 * . . .

Princes

Sun Xiu Sun Xiu (235 – 3 September 264), courtesy name Zilie, formally known as Emperor Jing of Wu, was the third emperor of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Early life Sun Xiu was born in 235 to Wu's founding emper ...

, c. 252 – c. 258 * Sun Liang, 258–260 * . . . * Sima Yu, 326–371 * Sima Daozi, the Wenxiao Prince of Kuaiji, 392–403 * . . . * Chen Zhuang (陳莊), 586–

Dukes

, c. 270– * Sima Chi, 311–313 * Helian Chang, 428–430

Notes

References

External links

* James M. Hargett's
: Guaiji? Guiji? Huiji? Kuaiji? Some Remarks on an Ancient Chinese Place-Name
(''Sino-Platonic Papers'' № 234) {{Han dynasty provinces Former commanderies of China Commanderies of the Sui dynasty Commanderies of the Han dynasty Commanderies of the Qin dynasty Commanderies of the Southern dynasties Commanderies of the Jin dynasty (266–420)