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[edit]

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[edit]