Nanhai Commandery

Nanhai Commandery (Chinese: 南海郡) was an ancient Chinese commandery that existed from Qin dynasty to Tang dynasty. At the greatest extent, Nanhai's territories covered present-day Guangdong, Hainan, southeastern Guangxi and the southern tip of Fujian. The seat of Nanhai Commandery was Panyu (番禺, in modern Guangzhou).

## History

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In 214 BC, Qin dynasty conquered Lingnan and established three commanderies, Nanhai, Guilin and Xiang within the region.[1] After the collapse of Qin, Zhao Tuo, the Qin prefect of Longchuan County, Nanhai, established the Nanyue kingdom on Nanhai and surrounding commanderies.[2] Panyu became the kingdom's capital.

In 112 BC, Nanyue was annexed by the Han dynasty. In late Western Han period, Nanhai had a population of 19,613 households (94,253 individuals). The commandery administered 6 counties: Panyu, Boluo (博羅), Zhongsu (中宿), Longchuan (龍川), Sihui (四會) and Jieyang (揭陽).[3] During the Eastern Han period, a new county, Zengcheng, was created. By 140 AD, the population had grown to 71,477 households (250,282 individuals).[4]

Jin dynasty unified the Three Kingdoms in 280. At the time, the commandery recorded a population of 9,500 households.[5] Two new commanderies were split off from Nanhai during Eastern Jin: Dongguan (東官) in 330 and Xinhui (新會) in 420. In 464, the population in Nanhai was 8,574 households (49,157 individuals). The number of counties had been increased to 10.[6] The commandery was abolished when the Sui dynasty conquered the Chen dynasty.[7]

During Sui and Tang dynasties, Nanhai Commandery became an alternative name of Guang Prefecture. In 741, Nanhai administered 13 counties: Nanhai, Panyu, Zengcheng, Sihui, Huameng (化蒙), Huaiji, Jianshui (洊水), Dongguan, Qingyuan, Hankuang (浛洭), Zhenyang (湞陽), Xinhui, Yining (義寧). The population was 42,235 households (221,500 individuals).[8]

## References

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1. ^ Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 6.
2. ^ Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 113.
3. ^ Book of Han, Chapter 28.
4. ^ Book of Later Han, Chapter 113.
5. ^ Book of Jin, Chapter 15.
6. ^ Book of Song, Chapter 38.
7. ^ Book of Sui, Chapter 31.
8. ^ New Book of Tang, Chapter 43.

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Full list (202 BC – 220 AD)
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