Xihai Jun (西海郡) is a prefecture of ancient
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
located in
Qingzang Plateau
The Tibetan Plateau (, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or the Qing–Zang Plateau () or as the Himalayan Plateau in India, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central, South and East Asia covering most of the Tib ...
. ''Xi'' means west, ''Hai'' means sea, and ''Jun'' is a kind of administrative unit above county in ancient China and may be translated as prefecture or province.
Xihai Jun or Xihai Prefecture was first established in the 4th year of Yuanshi (元始四年, AD 4) in the
Han dynasty
The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...
.
The site of the Longqi (龍耆), the capital city of Xihai Jun in the Han dynasty, is located on the south bank of Huangshui River (湟水), near
Qinghai Lake
Qinghai Lake or Ch'inghai Lake, also known by other names, is the largest lake in China. Located in an endorheic basin in Qinghai Province, to which it gave its name, Qinghai Lake is classified as an alkaline salt lake. The lake has fluctuat ...
at {{coord, 36.9074, N, 100.9809, E, display=inline,title. Today, it is called Sanjiao Cheng (三角城, Delta City). It is near the county town of
Haiyan County (海晏縣) and 90 kilometers west to
Xining
Xining (; ), alternatively known as Sining, is the capital of Qinghai province in western China and the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau.
The city was a commercial hub along the Northern Silk Road's Hexi Corridor for over 2000 years, and wa ...
City, the capital city
Qinghai
Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...
province.
In the 23rd year of Zhenguan (貞觀二十三年, AD 649), King of Xihai Jun (西海郡王) was conferred upon
Songtsen Gampo
Songtsen Gampo (; 569–649? 650), also Songzan Ganbu (), was the 33rd Tibetan king and founder of the Tibetan Empire, and is traditionally credited with the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet, influenced by his Nepali consort Bhrikuti, of Nepal ...
(松贊幹布), the King of
Tubo Tubo may refer to:
* Tibet, called Tubo or Tufan in Chinese historical texts
** Tibetan Empire (618–842)
* Tubo, Abra
Tubo, officially the Municipality of Tubo ( ilo, Ili ti Tubo; tgl, Bayan ng Tubo), is a 4th class municipality in the provin ...
(吐蕃, or
Tibet
Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
), by
Tang Gaozong
Emperor Gaozong of Tang (21 July 628 – 27 December 683), personal name Li Zhi, was the third emperor of the Tang dynasty in History of China, China, ruling from 649 to 683; after January 665, he handed power over the empire to his second wife ...
(唐高宗), the emperor of the
Tang dynasty
The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...
.
History of Tibet