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Chinese History ­ Han dynasty map and geography

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From the capital Chang'an 長安 (modern Xi'an 西安,Shaanxi) the Former Hanempire 前漢 (206 BCE­8 CE) was administrated in regions or "provinces"(zhou 州; in the map in courier type and underlined) and subordinatedcommanderies (jun 郡) and princedoms (wangguo 王國; in violet letters).The number of princedoms changed during the four centuries of Former andLater Han periods, but it can be observed that the main areas of principalfiefdoms were the modern provinces Shandong, Jiangsu and Hebei. WhenLiu Bang 劉邦 became emperor of Han (Han Gaozu 漢高祖, r. 206­195 BCE)he enfeoffed seven followers as kings, the so­called non­familiar princes(yixingwang 異姓王; underlined red). In 154 BC seven princes rebelledagainst Emperor Jing 漢景帝 (r. 157­141 BCE, underlined yellow). Thecapital region was called Sili 司隸 "Directly administered", and the capitalcommandery was the Jingzhao gouvernement 京兆尹.

Regions or provinces (zhou 州) of the Han Empireregion modern location

Sili 司隸 southern Shaanxi

Shuofang 朔方 northern Shaanxi

Liangzhou 涼州

Gansu

Bingzhou 并州 Shanxi

Jizhou 冀州 southern Hebei

Youzhou 幽州 northern Hebei, Beijing, Tianjin, Liaoning

Qingzhou 青州 Shandong

Yanzhou 兗州 northern Anhui, Henan

Xuzhou 徐州 northern Jiangsu

Yangzhou 揚州

southern Jiangsu, Shanghai, southern Anhui, Zhejiang,Fujian

Jingzhou 荊州 Hubei, Hunan, Guangxi, Guangdong, Guizhou

Yizhou 益州 Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan

Jiaozhi 交趾 Hainan, north of modern Vietnam

Under Emperor Wu 漢武帝 the great expansion of the Han empire took place,first by defeating the Xiongnu 匈奴, then by the advance of Chineses armies,and later colonists, into modern Gansu province, Korea (from thecommanderies Lelang/Nangnang 樂浪, Canghai/Changhae 蒼海,Lintun/Imdun 臨屯 and Zhenfan/Chinbŏn 真番 only the first was permanent;Xuantu/Hyŏndo 玄菟 was later moved westwards), Yunnan province andGuangzhou province and the north of modern Vietnam (commanderiesJiaozhi/Giao Chỉ 交趾, Jiuzhen/Cửu Chân 九真 and Rinan/Nhật Nam 日南).The commanderies on the island of Hainan were only temporary. TheProtectorate of the Western Regions (xiyu duhufu 西域都護府) over the citystates of the silkroad with the seat in Wulei 烏壘 (modern Luntai 輪台,Xinjiang) was established in 60 BC. A special zone was the colonel of Wuji 戊己校尉 (modern Turfan 吐魯番, Xinjiang) from where the region of thekingdoms of Cheshi 車師 and Gaochang 高昌 were governed. In allnorthwestern regions the Han rulers had established military agro­colonies(tuntian 屯田; green dots).

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3/1/2015 Chinese History ­ Han Dynasty 漢 map and geography (www.chinaknowledge.de)

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The northern neighbours of the Former Han empire were the mighty nomadconfederations of the Xiongnu, the Wusun 烏孫, Wuhuan 烏桓 and Xianbei 鮮卑. Chinese military campaigns and emissaries were even sent further westinto the land of the Yuezhi 月氏 that are sometimes identified with theSkythians. While the Manchurian Basin and the mountain areas of modernNorth Korea were inhabited by the peoples of Fuyu/Puyŏ 夫余 andHuimo/Yemaek 濊貊, the south of the Korean Peninsula was roamed by theThree Han tribes (Samhan/Sanhan 三韓): Mahan 馬韓, Chinhan/Chenhan 辰韓, Pyŏnhan/Bianhan 弁韓. The southwest that was incorporated into theHan empire in 109 BC the former kingdoms of Dian 滇 and Ailao 哀牢

became tributaries. Rebellions often occured like in 86 BC. The modernprovince of Fujian was still scarcely populated and did not really belong thethe Han empire partially because this territory was too mountainous andless interesting for colonization, and because it was still dominated by thebelligerent tribes of the Min­Yue 閩越 and Eastern Ou 東甌.

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Except some minor changes the governmental structure of the Former Hanwas perpetuated by the Later Han 後漢 (25­220 CE) government. The threemost important innovations or changes are the shifting of the capital toLuoyang 雒陽 (or 洛陽 modern Luoyang, Henan), the new AdministrationArea of the Western Regions (Xiyu changshifu 西域長史府) with the seat inQiuci 龜茲, and the installation of dependant non­Chinese kingdoms (shuguo屬國) in border regions (slim brown arrows).From the time of the usurper Wang Mang 王莽 (r. 8­25 CE) on China wasshaken by rebellions and uprising, beginning with the movement of the"Red Eyebrows" (Chimei 赤眉) and the Lülin 綠林 armies that made an end tothe reign of Wang Mang, uprisings of tribes and peoples in the southwest (inthe region of Yizhou 益州, modern Yunnan several times, the resistance warof the two Vietnamese sisters "Hai Bà Trưng" Trưng Trắc 徵側 and Trưng Nhị徵貳), and the numerous rebellions of the proto­Tibetan Qiang 羌 people inLiangzhou 涼州 (modern Gansu and Shaanxi provinces). But the moststriking uprisings that contributed to the end of the central government ofthe Later Han Dynasty were the religious movements of the "YellowTurbans" 黃巾 that originated in modern Sichuan and Hebei, and the Five­Pecks­of­Grain movement 五斗米道 of Zhang Lu 張魯.The mighty steppe federation of the Xiongnu was crushed during the end offormer Han, and other peoples replaced these warriors of the steppe. Butboth the Wuhuan and the Xianbei had intensive diplomatic and traderelations with the Han empire and were partially forced to settle down. InKorea the kingdom of Koguryŏ/Gaogouli 高句麗 started to dominate thenorth of the peninsula. The southeastern area was now brought undercontrol of the Han empire, and the commandery of Yongchang 永昌 shouldgovern the non­Chinese mountain tribes.

April 26, 2013 © Ulrich Theobald · Mail