Pengcheng Commandery was a historical
commandery of China 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 ...
, centered in Pengcheng (present-day
Xuzhou
Xuzhou (徐州), also known as Pengcheng (彭城) in ancient times, is a major city in northwestern Jiangsu province, China. The city, with a recorded population of 9,083,790 at the 2020 census (3,135,660 of which lived in the built-up area ma ...
).
Han dynasty
In the early Han dynasty, Pengcheng was a commandery in the
Chu Kingdom, a semi-independent kingdom ruled by
Liu Jiao, brother of the
Emperor Gaozu, and his descendants. After Chu rebelled and was defeated during the
Rebellion of the Seven States, a part of Pengcheng was granted to Liu Li (劉禮), a son of Liu Jiao, and retained the name "Chu Kingdom". Pengcheng became a centrally administered commandery in 69 BC, when the Chu king Liu Yanshou (劉延壽) committed suicide for participating in a conspiracy against the Han court. In 51 BC, Chu Kingdom was again created and awarded to Liu Xiao (劉囂), a son of the reigning
Emperor Xuan. Xiao's lineage held Chu until
Wang Mang
Wang Mang () (c. 45 – 6 October 23 CE), courtesy name Jujun (), was the founder and the only emperor of the short-lived Chinese Xin dynasty. He was originally an official and consort kin of the Han dynasty and later seized the thro ...
's usurpation.
Pengcheng was granted to Liu Ying (劉英), a son of the
Emperor Guangwu, as Chu in 37 AD, but was revoked in 70 because Ying was accused of plotting rebellion. In 88, the region was gifted to Liu Gong (劉恭), a son of the
Emperor Ming, as the Pengcheng Kingdom. It survived until the end of Han dynasty. In 140 AD, Pengcheng administered 8 counties: Pengcheng (彭城), Wuyuan (武原), Fuyang (傅陽), Lü (呂), Liu (留), Wu (梧), Ziqiu (甾丘), and Guangqi (廣戚). The population was 493,027 individuals, or 86,170 households.
Jin dynasty
Pengcheng continued to serve as the fief of various imperial princes during
and the
Jin dynasty. In the Jin dynasty, the title Prince of Pengcheng was held by Sima Quan (司馬權), a nephew of
Sima Yi
Sima Yi ( ; 179 CE – 7 September 251 CE), courtesy name Zhongda, was a Chinese military general, politician, and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China.
He formally began his political career in 208 un ...
, and his descendants. In 280, the population was 4,121 households.
Yongjia period
The region became part of the
Sixteen Kingdoms
The Sixteen Kingdoms (), less commonly the Sixteen States, was a chaotic period in Chinese history from AD 304 to 439 when northern China fragmented into a series of short-lived dynastic states. The majority of these states were founded by ...
during the
Yongjia period.
Liu Song
Song, known as Liu Song (), Former Song (前宋) or Song of (the) Southern Dynasty (南朝宋) in historiography, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China and the first of the four Northern and Southern dynasties#Southern ...
conquered it in early 5th century, but later lost the commandery to
Northern Wei during
Emperor Ming of Song's reign. In 464, Pengcheng administered 5 counties: Pengcheng, Lü, Fan (蕃), Xue (薛) and Liu, with a population of 41,231 (8,627 households). The commandery was abolished in early
Sui dynasty.
Sui and Tang dynasties
In Sui and Tang dynasties, Pengcheng became an alternative name of
Xu Prefecture. In 741, it covered 7 counties, namely Pengcheng,
Xiao,
Feng Feng may refer to:
*Feng (surname), one of several Chinese surnames in Mandarin:
**Féng (surname) ( wikt:冯 féng 2nd tone "gallop"), very common Chinese surname
**Fèng (surname) ( wikt:鳳 fèng 4th tone "phoenix"), relatively common Chinese fa ...
,
Pei,
Teng,
Suqian and
Xiapi.
['' New Book of Tang'', Chapter 38.]
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