Kuaiji Commandery
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Kuaiji Commandery (Chinese: t
Name
[edit]The commandery was named for Mount Kuaiji. It was a site long important to the area's native Yue people and connected in Chinese legend with Yu the Great, whose putative gravesite was visited by Shi Huangdi in his tours of the Qin Empire. There are various folk etymologies of the Chinese characters, but they probably represent a transcription of a native proto-Wu placename.
History
[edit]The commandery was first formed by Shi Huangdi of the Qin to consolidate control over the lands of miscellaneous Baiyue peoples southeast of Chu captured in 222 BC. The initial capital was at Wu (present-day Suzhou) through the Qin and Han dynasties and it was also known as "Kuaiji" from this role. In 209 BC, its governor Yin Tong initiated a plot to rebel against the collapsing Qin but was assassinated and replaced by his conspirators Xiang Liang and Xiang Yu. They employed Kuaiji as a base for their own rebellion, which restored a puppet king to Chu before Xiang Yu's defeat by Han.
During the Han dynasty, an army from Kuaiji Commandery under Han Anguo (t
By the Three Kingdoms period, the capital was restored to its pre-imperial position in present-day Shaoxing. The commandery was conquered by Sun Ce of Wu in 196 and he made its capital his base, assuming the title of governor himself. The area was later troubled by the bandits Lü He (
The era of Sun Quan saw migrations from the north and the opening of the Shanyue area and the Zhedong and Jiangnan canals. Textile production expanded, using imported cotton from Shu. Celadon pottery, later developed under the Jin, became more common. The primary centers of industrial production (specifically, ceramics) were at Kuaiji (Shaoxing), Yuyao (within Ningbo), and Shangyu, with secondary centers at Yinxian, Ningbo proper, Fenghua, Linhai, Xiaoshan, Yuhang (present-day Hangzhou), and Huzhou.[8] Kuaiji also had a copper mine which produced mirrors.[9] Trade missions reached Taiwan, Fun'an (south Vietnam), and Manchuria.
The removal of the Jin dynasty to Nanjing in 317 sparked economic growth in the region known at the time as San Wu ("The Three Wus") from the commanderies of Wu, Wuxing, and Kuaiji (which had formerly been located in Wu).[10]
During the Southern Dynasties period, Kuaiji Commandery was the scene of an abortive rebellion by the retired general Wang Jingze (
It was the capital commandery of Eastern Yangzhou and the richest commandery in the empire during the 6th century.
During the Sui, the Grand Canal reached Hangzhou in Kuaiji Commandery, which accordingly grew in importance. By the Tang, a separate commandery was established for Hangzhou out of Kuaiji's territory north of the Zhe River.[2] Emperor Yang of the Sui ordered a palace to be constructed in Kuaiji in 616.
Counties
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- Shanyin County (
山陰 縣 ), within present-day Shaoxing - Wushang County (
烏 傷 縣 ), around present-day Yiwu - Yuyao County (
餘 姚縣), within present-day Ningbo - Juzhang County (
句 章 縣 ), within present-day Ningbo - Xuancheng County (
宣 城 縣 )
Officials
[edit]Control of the territory was held by officials known in Chinese as taishou (
Under the Kingdom of Wu and during the Jin dynasty, a number of royals bore the title "Prince of Kuaiji" (t
In a similar fashion, some nobles were created "Duke of Kuaiji" (t
Governors
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- . . .
- Yin Tong, –209 BC
- Xiang Liang, 209–208 BC
- . . .
- Diwu Lun (
第 五倫 ), c. AD 53–62 - . . .
- Wang Lang, –AD 196
- Sun Ce, 196–200
- Sun Quan, king of Wu, 200–
- . . .
- Chunyu Shi (
淳 于式) - . . .
- Wu Can, 222–
- . . .
- Yu Chen (庾琛), 3rd century, father of Empress Mingmu and General Yu of the Jin
- . . .
- Xie Xuan, –388
- . . .
- Liu Dan (
劉 誕), Prince of Sui, c. 452, brother of Emperor Xiaowu of Song - . . .
- Liu Zifang (
劉 子房 ), Prince of Xunyang, –466, son of Emperor Xiaowu - . . .
- Xiao Dalian (
蕭 大連 ), Duke of Lincheng, c. 549 - . . .
Princes
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- Sun Xiu, c. 252 – c. 258
- Sun Liang, 258–260
- . . .
- Sima Yu, 326–371
- Sima Daozi, the Wenxiao Prince of Kuaiji, 392–403
- . . .
- Chen Zhuang (
陳 莊 ), 586–
Dukes
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- Sun Xiu, c. 270–
- Sima Chi, 311–313
- Helian Chang, 428–430
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ Less often, as Kuaiji Prefecture or K'uai-chi Prefecture.
References
[edit]- ^ The Geography of China: Sacred and Historic Places, p. 234. Britannica Educational Publishing.
- ^ a b Liu Taotao & al. Unity and Diversity: Local Cultures and Identities in China, pp. 16–17. Hong Kong University Press (Hong Kong), 1996.
- ^ Records of the Grand Historian, section 114.
- ^ Hu Shouwei, Nan Yue Kai Tuo Xian Qu—Zhao Tuo, pp. 76–77.
- ^ Loewe, p. 165.
- ^ Ge Zhaoguang. An Intellectual History of China, Vol. 1, p. 296.
- ^ Loewe, Michael. The Government of the Qin and Han Empires: 221 BCE—220 CE, p. 165.
- ^ Dien, Albert. Six Dynasties Civilization, pp. 237 ff. Yale University Press (New Haven), 2007. Accessed 23 July 2014.
- ^ Dien, p. 265.
- ^ Dien, p. 120.
External links
[edit]- James M. Hargett's "
會 稽: Guaiji? Guiji? Huiji? Kuaiji? Some Remarks on an Ancient Chinese Place-Name" (Sino-Platonic Papers № 234)