Qi Commandery ( zh, 齊郡) was a
commandery in historical China, located in what is now central
Shandong province.
The commandery was established in the
Qin dynasty
The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin state (modern Gansu and Shaanxi), ...
, possibly as Linzi Commandery (臨菑郡). In early Western Han dynasty, it became part of the
Qi Kingdom under
Liu Fei, son of
Liu Bang
Emperor Gaozu of Han (256 – 1 June 195 BC), born Liu Bang () with courtesy name Ji (季), was the founder and first emperor of the Han dynasty, reigning in 202–195 BC. His temple name was "Taizu" while his posthumous name was Emper ...
, and his descendants. In 165 BC, Liu Ze (劉則), the grandson of Fei and reigning King of Qi, died without issue and the Han court divided the kingdom among the sons of Fei. Linzi Commandery became the fief of Liu Jianglü (劉將閭) and retained the name "Qi", although it was only a fraction of Fei's Qi Kingdom. In 127 BC, Liu Cichang (劉次昌) died without issue, and the territory became directly administered by the Han central government as the Qi Commandery. In late Western Han dynasty, the commandery consisted of 12 counties and marquessates: Linzi (臨淄), Changguo (昌國), Li (利), Xi'an (西安), Juding (鉅定), Guang (廣), Guangrao (廣饒), Zhaonan (昭南),
Linqu
Linqu County () is a county, originally known as "Pianyi", located in the southwest of Weifang and the middle of Shandong Peninsula, Shandong Province, China. Linqu also has the name Zhuxu County. It covers an area of and governs 937 villages whic ...
(臨朐), Beixiang (北鄉), Pingguang (平廣) and Taixiang (臺鄉). The total population in 2 AD was 554,444, in 154,826 households. The seat was
Linzi, capital of the
Warring States era
The Warring States period () was an era in ancient Chinese history characterized by warfare, as well as bureaucratic and military reforms and consolidation. It followed the Spring and Autumn period and concluded with the Qin wars of conquest ...
Qi state.
In Eastern Han dynasty, Qi was the fief of Liu Zhang (劉章), nephew of
Emperor Guangwu, and his descendants until 206 AD. In 140 AD, there were 6 counties, namely Linzi, Xi'an, Changguo, Linqu, Guang and Banyang (般陽), with a total population of 491,765 (64,415 households).
In
dynasty, Qi was granted to
Cao Fang
Cao Fang () (232–274), courtesy name Lanqing, was the third emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. He was an adopted son of Cao Rui, the second ruler of Wei. Cao Fang ruled from 239 to 254 as a nominal emperor ...
, adopted son of
Emperor Ming of Wei
Cao Rui () (204 or 206 – 22 January 239), courtesy name Yuanzhong, was the second emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. His parentage is in dispute: his mother, Lady Zhen, was Yuan Xi's wife, but she later remarri ...
. After the foundation of
Western Jin
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
* Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
* Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that ...
, Qi was granted to
Sima You
Sima You (246 – 27 April 283), courtesy name Dayou, was an imperial prince of the Western Jin dynasty of China. He was the second son of Sima Zhao, a regent of the Cao Wei state during the Three Kingdoms period, and Zhao's wife Wang Yuanji.
...
, brother of
Emperor Wu, and passed to his descendants until the
Yongjia era.
In
Northern Wei, Qi administered 9 counties, including Linzi, Changguo, Yidu (益都), Panyang (盤陽), Pingchang (平昌), Guangrao, Xi'an, Anping (安平) and Guangchuan (廣川). According to the ''
Book of Wei
The ''Book of Wei'', also known by its Chinese name as the ''Wei Shu'', is a classic Chinese historical text compiled by Wei Shou from 551 to 554, and is an important text describing the history of the Northern Wei and Eastern Wei from 386 to ...
'', the population was 82,100, in 30,848 households. The commandery was abolished in early
Sui dynasty.
In Sui and
Tang dynasties, Qi Commandery became an alternative name of
Qi Prefecture (齊州). In 741, there were 6 counties, namely
Licheng,
Zhangqiu
Zhangqiu () is one of 10 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province, East China. The district has an area of 1721.29 square kilometers, 20 towns, 908 villages and the permanent resident population w ...
, Linyi (臨邑), Linji (臨濟), Changqing (長清) and
Yucheng. The population was 365,972, in 62,485 households.
['' New Book of Tang'', 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 Northern dynasties
Commanderies of the Sui dynasty