Lu Commandery ( zh, 魯郡) was a Chinese
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 ...
that existed from
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by th ...
to
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...
. It was located in present-day southern
Shandong province.
The commandery's predecessor was the Xue Commandery (薛郡), an administrative division established during
Qin Shi Huang
Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of "king" ( ''wáng'') borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Emperor ( ...
's reign on the former territories of
Lu state
Lu (, c. 1042–249 BC) was a vassal state during the Zhou dynasty of ancient China located around modern Shandong province. Founded in the 11th century BC, its rulers were from a cadet branch of the House of Ji (姬) that ruled the Zhou d ...
. In early Western Han, it was part of the
Kingdom of Chu
Chu, or Ch'u in Wade–Giles romanization, (, Hanyu Pinyin: Chǔ, Old Chinese: ''*s-r̥aʔ'') was a Zhou dynasty vassal state. Their first ruler was King Wu of Chu in the early 8th century BCE. Chu was located in the south of the Zhou he ...
, a vassal kingdom/principality of the Han dynasty. In 155 BC,
Emperor Jing created a separate Principality of Lu, and granted it to his son
Liu Yu. Yu's descendants held Lu until the
Xin dynasty
The Xin dynasty (; ), also known as Xin Mang () in Chinese historiography, was a short-lived Chinese imperial dynasty which lasted from 9 to 23 AD, established by the Han dynasty consort kin Wang Mang, who usurped the throne of the Emperor Ping ...
, when the prince was deposed and Lu became a commandery. In 2 AD, the principality consisted of 6 counties: Lu (魯), Bian (卞), Wenyang (汶陽), Fan (蕃), Zou (騶) and Xue (薛).
['']Book of Han
The ''Book of Han'' or ''History of the Former Han'' (Qián Hàn Shū,《前汉书》) is a history of China finished in 111AD, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. ...
'', Chapter 28.
In Eastern Han, Lu Commandery was initially granted to Liu Xing (劉興). However, Lu was later merged to the Principality of Donghai (東海) while Xing was relocated to
Beihai
Beihai (; Postal romanization: Pakhoi) is a prefecture-level city in the south of Guangxi, People's Republic of China. Its status as a seaport on the north shore of the Gulf of Tonkin has granted it historical importance as a port of internation ...
. After the death of Liu Qiang (彊), Prince Gong (恭) of Donghai, the central government took over
Donghai Commandery
Donghai Commandery ( zh, 東海郡) was a historical commandery of China from Qin dynasty to Tang dynasty. It was located in present-day southern Shandong and northern Jiangsu.
Donghai Commandery was established in the Qin dynasty, possibly unde ...
, and the principality's territory became equivalent to Lu Commandery.
['']Book of Later Han
The ''Book of the Later Han'', also known as the ''History of the Later Han'' and by its Chinese name ''Hou Hanshu'' (), is one of the Twenty-Four Histories and covers the history of the Han dynasty from 6 to 189 CE, a period known as the Late ...
'', Chapter 42.
The commandery once again became the Principality of Lu in 232, when the
dynasty granted it to Cao Wen (曹溫). The commandery was restored with the establishment of
Jin dynasty. In
Song dynasty
The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...
, the commandery administered 6 counties, including Zou, Wenyang, Lu, Yangping (陽平), Xinyang (新陽), and Bian. It was eventually abolished during
Northern Qi
Qi, known as the Northern Qi (), Later Qi (後齊) or Gao Qi (高齊) in historiography, was a Chinese imperial dynasty and one of the Northern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties era. It ruled the eastern part of northern China ...
.
['']Book of Sui
The ''Book of Sui'' (''Suí Shū'') is the official history of the Sui dynasty. It ranks among the official Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written by Yan Shigu, Kong Yingda, and Zhangsun Wuji, with Wei Zheng as the lead au ...
'', Chapter 30.
In
Sui and
Tang dynasties, Lu Commandery became the alternative name for
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 ...
. It included 10 counties: Xiaqiu (瑕丘),
Qufu
Qufu ( ; ) is a city in southwestern Shandong province, East China. It is located about south of the provincial capital Jinan and northeast of the prefectural seat at Jining. Qufu has an area of 815 square kilometers, and a total population of ...
(曲阜), Qianfeng (乾封),
Sishui (泗水),
Zou (鄒),
Rencheng (任城), Gongqiu (龔丘),
Jinxiang (金鄉),
Yutai (魚台) and
Laiwu
Laiwu () was a prefecture-level city in central Shandong Province, China. Bordered the provincial capital of Jinan to the north, Zibo to the east and Tai'an to the southwest, it was the smallest prefecture-level city in the province. It had a ...
(萊蕪).
['' New Book of Tang'', Chapter 38.]
Population
Princes of Lu and Donghai
*
Liu Yu (餘), Prince Gong (共) of Lu, 155–128 BC;
* Liu Guang (光), Prince An (安) of Lu, 128–88 BC;
* Liu Qingji (慶忌), Prince Xiao (孝) of Lu, 88–51 BC;
* Liu Feng (封), Prince Qing (頃) of Lu, 51–23 BC;
* Liu Suo (睃), Prince Wen (文) of Lu, 23 BC – 4 AD;
* Liu Min (閔), 4–9;
* Liu Xing (興), Prince Jing (靖) of Beihai, 26–42;
* Liu Qiang (彊), Prince Gong (恭) of Donghai, 42–58;
* Liu Zheng (政), Prince Jing (靖) of Donghai, 58–102;
* Liu Su (肅), Prince Qing (頃) of Donghai, 102–125;
* Liu Zhen (臻), Prince Xiao (孝) of Donghai, 125–156;
* Liu Zhi (祗), Prince Yi (懿) of Donghai, 156–200;
* Liu Xian (羨), 200–220;
* Cao Wen (溫), 232–265.
References
{{Han dynasty provinces
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