Yanmen Commandery

Yanmen Commandery was an administrative subdivision (jùn) of the state of Zhao established c. 300 BC and of northern imperial Chinese dynasties until AD 758. It occupied lands in what is now Shanxi and Inner Mongolia. Its first seat was at Shanwu (near present-day Youyu, Shanxi); its later seats moved southeast to the more defensible sites at Yinguan (within present-day Shuozhou, Shanxi) and Guangwu (near present-day Daixian, Shanxi).

Yanmen Commandery
Traditional Chinese雁門郡
鴈門郡
Simplified Chinese雁门郡
Literal meaningWild Goose Gate Commandery

Name

The name derives from Yanmen Pass in Shanxi's Dai County. Yanmen, meaning "Wild Goose Pass"[1] or "Wildgoose Gate",[2] takes its name from the wild geese that migrate through the area.[3]

History

Zhao Kingdom
A map of Zhao (w "Chao"). The commandery was organized following King Yong's military reforms and expansion into Loufan and Linhu (shown in outline to the northwest).

Yanmen Commandery was first established around 300 BC during China's Warring States Period by the state of Zhao's King Yong, posthumously known as the Wuling ("Martial-&-Numinous") King.[4] It covered territory in what is now northern Shanxi and southern Inner Mongolia.[5] He created Yanmen Commandery along with its companion commanderies of Dai and Yunzhong to consolidate his conquests[4] from invasions of the Loufan (t 樓煩, s 楼烦, Lóufán) and "forest nomads" or "barbarians"[6][7] (林胡, Línhú) in 306 and 304 BC.[8] He protected these new lands by raising earthen walls along their northern border,[4][9] close to what is now Hohhot in Inner Mongolia.[10][11] Garrisons and forts were also placed at strategic spots within the new territory, such as Yanmen Pass[3] between the northern plains and the Hutuo Valley. In the mid-3rd century BC, the Yanmen governor Li Mu, relocated there under the command of Handan used these interior defenses and drills the commandery's citizens to minimalize casualties to good effect when he lured more than 100,000 Xiongnu horsemen into the heart of the commandery before defeating them with 160,000 chariots, cavalry, and archers.[12]

Qin Empire
Commanderies of the Qin Empire, with Yanmen in the central north

Under the Qin, Yanmen was one of the commanderies which made up the principal divisions of the empire.[13] Its seat was at Shanwu, south of present-day Youyu in Shanxi.[5][14] Its territory ran from present-day Shanxi's Hequ, Wuzhai, and Ningwu Counties in the south to Inner Mongolia's Huangqi and Dai Lakes in the north; its eastern border was near Mount Heng.[14] The Zhao wall was connected to those of the other former states as part of the Great Wall.[12] This territory was divided into:[13]

Qin-era Counties
EnglishChinese
Trad.Simp.Pinyin
Shanwu善無縣善无县Shànwú Xiàn
Pingcheng平城縣平城县Píngchéng Xiàn
Mayi馬邑縣马邑县Mǎyì Xiàn
Xincheng新城縣新城县Xīnchéng Xiàn
Loufan樓煩縣楼烦县Lóufán Xiàn
Woyang沃陽縣沃阳县Wòyáng Xiàn
Guo崞縣崞县Guō Xiàn
Fanshi繁畤縣繁畤县Fánshì Xiàn
Wangtao汪陶縣汪陶县Wāngtáo Xiàn
Lie埒縣埒县Liè Xiàn

Western Han Empire
A Chinese-language map of the Han Empire in 87 BC, showing Yanmen (雁门) on the main route north through the valleys of Shanxi
The Han Empire around AD 1

Under the Han, Yanmen Commandery maintained its seat at Shanwu.[14] It was part of the realm of Dai, used as an appanage of the imperial kings and a title of rebels like Han Xin and Chen Xi. Han-era Yanmen included the Qin-era counties above, excluding Xincheng and Wangtao, with the addition of:[15]

Additional Han-era Counties
EnglishChinese
Trad.Simp.Pinyin
Zhongling中陵縣中陵县Zhōnglíng Xiàn
Yinguan陰館縣阴馆县Yīnguǎn Xiàn
Wuzhou武州縣武州县Wǔzhōu Xiàn
Bintao鬓陶縣鬓陶县Bìntáo Xiàn
Juyang劇陽縣剧阳县Jùyáng Xiàn
Qiangyin彊陰縣强阴县Qiángyīn Xiàn

Eastern Han Empire

Under the Eastern Han, the commandery seat was moved to Yinguan, present-day Xiaguancheng Village[14] southeast of Shuozhou in Shanxi.[5]

Wei Kingdom

During China's Three Kingdoms Period, Wei moved the commandery seat to Guangwu, southwest of present-day Daixian in Shanxi.[5][14] The district is recorded as having 12,600 households around AD 285.[5]

Eastern Wei

During China's Northern and Southern Dynasties Period, Eastern Wei had the commandery seat at Daixian in what is now Shanxi.[5] During the 540s, the district is recorded having 30,434 people living in 6,328 households.[5]

Sui Empire
The Sui Empire's district capitals in AD 610. Yanmen lies in the central north.

Under the Sui, Yanmen Commandery was abolished in 583, then revived in 607.[5] It was recorded as having 42,502 households in 609.[5]

Tang Empire

Under the Tang, Yanmen Commandery was part of Hedong Circuit until it was abolished and replaced by Dai Prefecture in 618, although it was temporarily restored between 742 and 758.[5] During the Tang, the name was retained as an honorary title: the generals Tian Chengsi, Tian Xu, Tian Ji'an, and Wang Zhixing were created "Prince" or "King of Yanmen" (Yànménwáng).

In 882, Yanmen Defense Command (Yanmen Jiedushi) was also briefly established to oversee local defense. It had its seat at present-day Daixian, Shanxi. In 883, its name was changed to Daibei.[5]

Governors
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.
  • fl. mid-3rd century BC Li Mu
  • c. 318 Wang Ju (王據)[16]

References

Citations
  1. Evans (2006), p. 183.
  2. Wen (2003), p. 16.
  3. CIIC (2015).
  4. Di Cosmo (2002), p. 143.
  5. Xiong (2009), s.v. "Yanmen".
  6. Kierman (1962), p. 36.
  7. Sawyer (1995), p. 251.
  8. Spring (2015), p. 176.
  9. Yü (1990), p. 118.
  10. Jing (2015), pp. 34–5.
  11. Di Cosmo (2002), p. 147.
  12. Yü (1990), p. 119.
  13. Hou (2009).
  14. Hua & al. (2017), s.v. "Yanmen".
  15. Book of Han, Vol. 28B, "Treatise on Geography".
  16. Knechtges & al. (2010), p. 547.

Bibliography
  • Ban Gu; et al., Book of Han. (in Chinese)
  • "Yanmen Pass of the Great Wall", Official site, Beijing: China Internet Information Center, 21 April 2015.
  • Di Cosmo, Nicola (2002), Ancient China and Its Enemies: The Rise of Nomadic Power in East Asian History, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  • Evans, Thammy (2006), Great Wall of China: Beijing & Northern China, Chalfont St Peter: Brandt Travel Guides.
  • Hou Xiaorong (2009), 《秦代政区地理》 [Qíndài Zhèngqū Dìlǐ, An Atlas of Qin-Era Administrative Divisions], Beijing: Social Science Academic Press. (in Chinese)
  • Jing Ai (2015), Wang Gangliu; et al. (eds.), A History of the Great Wall of China, New York: SCPG Publishing.
  • Kierman, Frank Algerton Jr. (1962), Ssu-ma Ch'ien's Historiographical Attitude as Reflected in Four Late Warring States Biographies, Otto Harrassowitz.
  • Knechtges, David Richard; et al., eds. (2010), "Liu Kun", Ancient and Early Medieval Chinese Literature: A Reference Guide, Pt. I, Leiden: Brill, ISBN 978-90-04-19127-3.
  • Li Shizhen (2017), Hua Linfu; et al. (eds.), Ben Cao Gang Mu Dictionary, Vol. II: Geographical and Administrative Designations, Berkeley: University of California Press.
  • Spring, Peter (2015), Great Walls and Linear Barriers, Barnsley: Pen & Sword Books.
  • Sun Bin (1995), Sawyer, Mei-chün; Ralph D. Sawyer (eds.), Military Methods, Westview Press.
  • Wen, Robert K. (2003), Leaves upon the River, Lincoln: iUniverse.
  • Xiong, Victor Cunrui (2009), Historical Dictionary of Medieval China, Historical Dictionaries of Ancient Civilizations and Historical Eras, No. 19, Lanham: Scarecrow Press.
  • Yü, Ying-shih (1990), "The Hsiung-nu", The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia, Vol. I: From the Earliest Times to the Rise of the Mongols, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 118–150.
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