Linhuai Commandery ( zh, 臨淮郡) was a historical

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 ...

of China, located in what is now central

Jiangsu province Jiangsu is a coastal 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 third smallest, but the fifth most populous, with a population of 84. ...

History

The ''

Shuowen Jiezi The ''Shuowen Jiezi'' is a Chinese dictionary compiled by Xu Shen , during the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 CE). While prefigured by earlier reference works for Chinese characters like the ''Erya'' (), the ''Shuowen Jiezi'' contains the ...

'' records the commandery as the area of the former

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

of Han. The commandery was first established in 117 BC, from part of Pei and Guangling commanderies. In late Western Han period, the commandery administered 29 counties and marquessates: Xu (徐), Qulü (取慮), Huaipu (淮浦),

Xuyi Xuyi is a county under the administration of Huai'an Prefecture in central Jiangsu Province in eastern China. The southernmost of Huai'an's county-level divisions, it borders the prefecture-level cities of Suqian, Jiangsu, to the north and Chuzh ...

(盱眙), Rouyou (厹猶), Tong (僮), Sheyang (射陽), Kaiyang (開陽), Zhuiqi (贅其), Gaoshan (高山), Suiling (睢陵), Yandu (鹽瀆), Huaiyin (淮陰), Huailing (淮陵), Xiaxiang (下相), Fuling (富陵), Dongyang (東陽), Bojing (播旌), Xiping (西平), Gaoping (高平), Kailing (開陵), Changyang (昌陽), Guangping (廣平), Lanyang (蘭陽), Xiangping (襄平), Hailing (海陵), Yu (輿), Tangyi (堂邑) and Leling (樂陵). Total population in 2 AD was 1,237,764 individuals or 268,283 households. In early Eastern Han, Linhuai was briefly granted to Liu Heng (劉衡), son of the

Emperor Guangwu Emperor Guangwu of Han (; 15 January 5 BC29 March AD 57), born Liu Xiu (), courtesy name Wenshu (), was a Chinese monarch. He served as an emperor of the Han dynasty by restoring the dynasty in AD 25, thus founding the Eastern Han dynasty. He ...

, as his fief. At Heng's death, Linhuai reverted to the status of a commandery. In 75, Linhuai was merged into the Xiapi Kingdom, then ruled by Liu Yan (劉衍), son of the Emperor Ming. Linhuai Commandery was reestablished at the time of

Jin dynasty Jin may refer to: States Jìn 晉 * Jin (Chinese state) (晉國), major state of the Zhou dynasty, existing from the 11th century BC to 376 BC * Jin dynasty (266–420) (晉朝), also known as Liang Jin and Sima Jin * Jin (Later Tang precursor) ...

's founding. The commandery then only had 10 counties: Xuyi, Dongyang, Zhuiqi, Gaoshan, Panjing (潘旌, formerly Bojing),

Gaoyou Gaoyou (), is a county-level city under the administration of Yangzhou, Jiangsu province, China, located in the Yangtze River Delta on the north side of the Yangtze River. History Recent archaeological finds at the Longqiuzhuang site in Gaoyou has ...

, Huailing, Siwu (司吾), Xiaxiang and Xu. In 280, the population was 10,000 households. The region was lost during the Yongjia period. When recovered by the Jin in 411, it was renamed Xuyi Commandery. During the

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 ...

, Linhuai Commandery became an alternative name of

Si Prefecture Sizhou, Si Prefecture, or Si Subprefecture was a ''Zhou (country subdivision), zhou'' of imperial China variously placed in what is now Xuyi County, Jiangsu, or nearby Si County, Anhui, both in China. Named for the Si River, it existed intermit ...

. In 741, the commandery consisted of four counties: Linhuai, Lianshui, Xuyi and Xucheng (徐城). The population was 205,959 individuals or 37,526 households.''

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 Han dynasty Commanderies of the Jin dynasty (266–420)