Yongchang Commandery


Yongchang Commandery was an imperial Chinese commandery in present-day western Yunnan. Created in 69 CE during the Eastern Han and abolished by the Sui dynasty in 602 CE, it served as a military outpost, a hub on the Southern Silk Road, and a meeting ground between the Han world and mainland Southeast Asia.

History

Han foundation (69 – 220)

The Han Empire first reached Yunnan when Emperor Wu of Han annexed the Dian Kingdom in 109 BCE and organised it as Yizhou Commandery.
In 69 CE, the Ailao king and associated tribes formally submitted to the court of Emperor Ming. The Han government created Yongchang Commandery, comprising eight counties and headquartered at **Xitang** near modern Yongping.
A rebellion by the Ailao chief Le'ao in 76 CE expelled Han officials; imperial forces suppressed it in 77 CE and moved the seat east to **Buwei** for security.
By the 140 CE census the commandery was said to administer 231 897 households, a figure historians consider inflated because it counted tribal groups en masse.

Three Kingdoms period

After the Eastern Han collapse Yongchang fell to Shu Han. In the 220s the local magnate Yong Kai rebelled and sought recognition from Eastern Wu. Chancellor Zhuge Liang subdued the uprising in his 225 CE southern campaign and detached three eastern counties to form a separate Yunnan Commandery, leaving a smaller Yongchang.

Jin and Southern dynasties

Under the Western Jin Yongchang was placed in newly created Ningzhou. The 280 register lists four counties and about 7 000 households.
Real power soon shifted to the indigenous Cuan clan, who dominated Yunnan through the 4th–6th centuries while paying nominal allegiance to the Eastern Jin and Southern dynasties.

Sui abolition (602)

The reunified Sui dynasty crushed the Cuan confederation in 602 CE, abolished the old commanderies, and reorganised the region into prefectures. Yongchang Commandery became He-zhou, later Deng-zhou under the Tang dynasty.

Administrative divisions

Initial Eastern Han counties :
  • Xitang 巂唐
  • Buwei 不韦
  • Bisu 比苏
  • Yeyu 叶榆
  • Xielong 邪龙
  • Yunnan 云南
  • Ailao 哀牢
  • Bonan 博南
After the 225 CE reorganisation Yongchang retained Buwei, Xitang, Bisu, Ailao and Bonan; under Western Jin it again administered eight counties, adding Yongshou, Yongxiang and Nanfu.

Economy and trade

Yongchang lay on the over-land Southwest Silk Route linking Sichuan to Myanmar and India. Caravans exported silk and ironware from China and imported ivory, rhinoceros horn, spices, glass beads and precious stones. The Han court stationed garrisons to protect the Gaoligong passes and levied tariffs on traffic.

Archaeology

Han-era bricks stamped 永昌宮, official clay sealings and tomb objects combining Han mirrors with Dian-style drums have been excavated around Baoshan and Tengchong, evidencing a hybrid frontier culture. Stone milestones on caravan trails west of Baoshan still mark Han-dynasty distances from the Yongchang seat.

Legacy

Although the commandery vanished in the Sui period, the name Yongchang survived as a prefectural title under the Ming and remained in use for modern Baoshan until the early 20th century.