Province of Liangzhou（Introduction to Three Kingdoms Administrative Region Names 11）

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The Province of Liangzhou凉州 in Late Eastern Han period covers the whole of present-day Gansu甘肃 province from Chencang陈仓(Baoji宝鸡 City, Shaanxi陕西 Province) in the east , and is bounded on the west by the Western Region（a general term used in ancient China for the region of Xinjiang新疆 and Central Asia）.The area of Liangzhou spanned five provinces: Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia宁夏, Qinghai青海 and Xinjiang.

In the history of China, the area of Liangzhou was regarded as an important strategic area.

First of all, the most central part of Liangzhou was the HeXi河西 Corridor（in ancient Chinese，He河 usually means the Yellow River，xi西means the west，so HeXi corridor means the Corridor to the west of Yellow River ）. This corridor directly connected the Central Plains with the Western Regions. During the Han Dynasty(202BC-220AD), due to the lack of sophistication of seafaring technology, here became the only entrance and exit point to the outside world for the Han Empire.

Secondly, Liangzhou was basically separated from the Guanzhong关中 region by the Liupan & Long Mountains（六盘山-陇山）, and the armies of the Central Plains could only attack Liangzhou by crossing the Long Mountains, which increased in elevation steeply from east to west, and the forces of Liangzhou only needed to block a small number of passages in order to effectively stop the attack from the east, so the area was very easy for a force to become independent.

Thirdly, Liangzhou was rich in high-quality war horses, and in the center of the Hexi Corridor, there was the famous “Shandan山丹 Military Horse Farm”, which was the largest horse farm in China throughout many dynasties. Thanks to this unique advantage, Liangzhou's cavalry was able to leave a great reputation in the battles of the Three Kingdoms and even later generations.

Therefore, during the Three Kingdoms period, after the loss of Jingzhou荆州, although the Shu Han蜀汉（221-263AD） regime used the banner of “restoring the Han Empire and returning to the former capital（Chang’an）”, in fact, their first strategic goal has always been Liangzhou. If they could seize Liangzhou, they could open up the connection with the Western Region and develop trade, secondly, it would be easy for them to defend, and they could launch an attack on Guanzhong关中 at any time from a high position, and thirdly, they could set up a strong cavalry force to fight against the iron horsemen of the Wei Empire.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty(25-220AD), the war between the Han汉 and the Qiang羌 became the main theme in Liangzhou. Every time the army of the Eastern Han Empire defeated the Qiang, a new rebellion would break out, which led to the idea of abandoning Liangzhou by many important court officials.

It was only during the period of Emperor Huan of Han（reigned 146-168AD） that the situation in Liangzhou was gradually stabilized under the unremitting efforts of the “ Three Heroes of Liangzhou”(凉州三明). Many Qiangs who resisted fiercely were killed, while the rest of the Qiangs moved into Liangzhou in large numbers, living together with the local Han people, and continued to carry out cultural integration, followed by a large number of Qiangs joining the army of the Han .

However, by the late Eastern Han period, accompanied by a large number of land annexations and natural disasters, the people in the Central Plains, who could not survive, finally rose up in revolt. In 184 A.D., the Yellow Turban Uprising broke out, and although this uprising was quickly quelled, it became the trigger for the great chaos in the empire.

Soon the Qiang soldiers in Liangzhou, whose life was even more difficult, mutinied and the rebellion quickly swept through the entire Liangzhou. At the same time, these Qiang soldiers kidnapped a number of local Han officials and forced them to join the rebellion! Among these hijacked officials, there were many who sympathized with the Qiangs and soon joined them, the two most representative of them were Bian Zhang边章 and Han Sui韩遂, who were even elected as the leaders of the revolt, and soon many Han people in the Liangzhou area also joined them.

And then, in order to suppress the rebellion in Liangzhou, the imperial court once again sent a mighty army to quell the rebellion, in which the later famous warlords of the Three Kingdoms: Dong Zhuo董卓, Sun Jian孙坚, Ma Teng马腾, Tao Qian陶谦 and others were all involved.

With the gradual fall of Liangzhou, there was also infighting among the rebels, with Han Sui becoming the leader of the rebels, and Ma Teng, a member of the imperial army, defecting in a failed battle and becoming another leader of the rebels.

By 189 A.D., Emperor Ling of Han（reigned 168-189AD） suddenly died, and Dong Zhuo, who seized the opportunity, entered the capital city of Luoyang洛阳 and took control of the Eastern Han government. Unwilling to fight against Dong Zhuo, who was originally from Liangzhou, the rebels in Liangzhou , each occupying their own territory, creating a dozen independent warlords in the land of Liangzhou, with Ma Teng and Han Sui being the most powerful. This situation lasted until Cao Cao unified the north, when he defeated the coalition of Liangzhou warlords led by Ma Chao马超 (the son of Ma Teng) and Han Sui in one fell swoop, and coupled with the conquest of his mighty general Xiahou Yuan夏侯渊, the situation in Liangzhou was finally stabilized.

At the late Eastern Han period, Liangzhou had 12 commanderies: Wuwei武威, Dunhuang敦煌, Jiuquan酒泉, Zhangye张掖, Jincheng金城, Longxi陇西, Anding安定, Hanyang汉阳, Beidi北地, Wudu武都, the Dependent State of Zhangye张掖蜀国, and Xihai西海.

In 194 A.D., the court under Li Jue's李傕 control separated the commanderies of Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan, Dunhuang, and Xihai, which were located to the west of the Yellow River, and established the province of Yongzhou雍州, with Guzang姑臧 as the seat of it.

In 213 A.D., Cao Cao merged Liangzhou, Yongzhou, and the western part of Sizhou司州, including Chang'an长安, into a new Yongzhou, with its seat in Chang'an.

By the time Cao Wei（220-265AD） was established in 220 AD, the former Yongzhou set in 194AD become the new Liangzhou, and the area east of the Yellow River, including the area around Chang'an, became the new Yongzhou. Therefore, the vast area from Chang'an to the Hexi Corridor was called “Yong-Liang雍凉”.

Wuwei武威, Zhangye张掖, Jiuquan酒泉 and Dunhuang敦煌 are known as the “Four Commanderies of Hexi河西”, and the names of these four Commanderies are still used today, and they are arranged along the Hexi Corridor from southeast to northwest. These four prefectures were established in 121 B.C. after Emperor Wu of Han（reigned 141-87BC） dispatched Huo Qubing霍去病 to defeat the Xiongnu匈奴 who were entrenched in the Hexi Corridor. From then on, the Hexi Corridor became a part of China, and it became an important link for economic and cultural exchanges between the Central Plains Dynasty and the Western Regions, and even the whole world, thus the Silk Road was born.

Wuwei武威, which means “ Mighty Martial ”, is the Wuwei City in today's Gansu甘肃 Province, with its seat in Guzang姑臧, the present day Liangzhou district of Wuwei City. During the period of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the Sixteen Kingdoms(317-420AD), the Kingdoms as Former Liang（前凉301-376AD）, Later Liang(后凉386-403AD), Northern Liang（北凉397-439AD）, and Southern Liang（南凉397-414AD）, all of them set their capitals here. After the Sui(581-619AD) and Tang(618-907AD) dynasties, Liangzhou mostly referred to the former Wuwei Commandery alone.

Many generals under Dong Zhuo董卓, who terrorized the country at the late Han period, came from Wuwei, such as Li Jue李傕, Guo Si郭汜, Zhang Ji张济, Niu Fu牛辅, Jia Xu贾诩, and Duan Wei段煨. And Qu Yi麴义, who defeated Gongsun Zan's mighty cavalry force at the Jieqiao with only 800 soldiers under Yuan Shao's command, also came from Wuwei.

Zhangye张掖,“Zhang张” means to open,“Ye掖” means the arms,so ZhangYe means "opening up the arms of the empire to reach the Western Regions", and it is now also located in Zhangye City of Gansu Province.

The meaning of JiuQuan酒泉 is "the spring like wine". It is said that there is a spring water under the city here, and it tasted is like wine. Another legend is that after Huo Qubing霍去病 defeated the Xiongnu匈奴 here, Emperor Wu of Han（reigned 141-87BC） sent a jar of wine from Chang'an长安, which was thousands of miles away, to reward the generals. Huo Qubing believed that the credit for winning should be shared with all the soldiers in the army, he should not enjoy the wine alone. Therefore, he poured the wine into the spring near the city and quoted it together with the soldiers, hence the place gets the name Jiuquan.

Dunhuang敦煌 means something Grand. It was originally the territory of Tokhara大月氏（An ancient country from the first century BC） and was occupied by the Xiongnu匈奴. After defeating the Xiongnu here, Huo Qubing incorporated it into the territory of the Han Empire. Afterwards, the Han Empire built the Great Wall and beacon towers from Dunhuang to present-day Lop Nur罗布泊, and built Yang Pass阳关 and Yumen Pass玉门关. Beyond Yumen Pass lies the Western Regions.

The Dependent State of Zhangye张掖属国 is a management institution at the same level as Zhangye Commandery, used to manage ethnic minorities in the area west of Yelloe River. Its capital is located in Yonggu永固 City, which is in present-day Minle民乐 County of Zhangye City.

In addition, there is an another Dependent State of Zhangye Juyan张掖居延, which was renamed Xihai西海 Commandery during the reign of Cao Cao, it's in present-day Ejina Banner, Alxa League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region（内蒙古自治区-阿拉善盟-额济纳旗）.

Jincheng金城 is the ancient name of Lanzhou兰州 City, the capital of Gansu Province today. During the Han Dynasty, its jurisdiction also included a part of Qinghai青海 Province. In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, Jincheng was the stronghold of rebellious activist Han Sui for a long time.

The capital of Longxi陇西 Commandery was Didao狄道, which is now Lintao临洮 County in Gansu Province. The earliest Longxi commandery included the later Tianshui天水 commandery, and because this area is located west of Long陇 Mountain, it is called "Longxi"(Xi means West). During the late Three Kingdoms period, Jiang Wei姜维, the General-in-Chief of Shu Han蜀汉（221-263AD）, his Northern Expedition target were usually aimed at various counties and towns in Longxi Commandery.

The "Five Surnames and Seven Prestige Families" I mentioned earlier mostly come from wealthy cities in the Central Plains, except for the Li李 family in Longxi, who comes from the remote Liangzhou.

The Li family in Longxi claimed themselves to be the descendant of the famous general Li Guang李广 during the Western Han Dynasty（202BC-8AD）. Unlike other powerful families, they were not prominent during the Wei and Jin dynasties（220-317AD） and even fell into a humble family. But during the Sixteen Kingdoms period（317-420AD）, the Li family in Longxi rose to power in turbulent times, and Li Hao李暠 established the Western Liang Kingdom（西凉400-421AD） in Jiuquan酒泉 and Dunhuang敦煌 in Liangzhou, as well as most area of present-day Xinjiang新疆.

Of course, the real reason why the Li family in Longxi was regarded as the top surname in the country was because of the later Tang dynasty（618-907AD）, the Tang’s Emperors’ surname were Li李, they claimed themselves that they also come from the Li family in Longxi. And in order to strengthen the status of the imperial family, they listed the Li family in Longxi as the top ranked major family in the country.

Beidi北地 means the Northern Land, Beidi Commandery is to the west of Bingzhou并州, while to the north of here is the desert and the territory of the nomadic Xianbei鲜卑 . Beidi Commandery includes Yinchuan银川, the current capital of Ningxia宁夏, and the Qingyang庆阳 area of Gansu Province.

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, Beidi Commandery was affected by the Qiang Rebellion and had frequent migrations. It had relocated three times to the Pengyi冯翊 Commandery of Sili司隶, and later returned to its homeland after the war temporarily subsided. By the Three Kingdoms period（220-280AD）, it only existed in name. After the Sui and Tang dynasties, it's not until the deepening development of the Ningxia Plain irrigation area, did this land achieve development.

Anding安定 Commandery was separated from Beidi Commandery during the Western Han Dynasty, located to the west of Beidi Commandery, basically in the southern region of present-day Ningxia. Anding is located to the east of Liupan Mountain六盘山 &Long Mountain陇山 and belongs to the so-called Guanzhong关中 region. The Xiao Pass萧关, which guards the Guanzhong Plain from the north, is within Anding Commandery.

The core area of Anding Commandery is basically a generation area along the Xiao Pass Road (the ancient road from Xiao Pass to Chang'an along the Jing River泾水). The meaning of Anding is tranquility and stability. Only by guarding the Xiao Pass Road can the Central Plains dynasties ensure the stability of Chang'an.

Tianshui天水 Commandery was renamed Hanyang汉阳 Commandery during the Eastern Han Dynasty, and then reverted back to Tianshui during the Three Kingdoms period. The later seat of Liangzhou, Ji冀 County, was located in Tianshui and was also the seat of Tianshui Commandery itself.

After being defeated by Cao Cao in the Wei River渭水 in 211 AD, Ma Chao马超 made a comeback in places such as Ji County in Tianshui, causing considerable trouble for Cao Cao. Ma’s breaking promise and killing innocent people in Tianshui ultimately led to his expulsion by the local big families.

During Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition, the famous Battle of Jieting街亭 also took place within the territory of Tianshui, and Jiang Wei姜维, also a native of Ji County who surrendered to Zhuge Liang in this battle.

Wudu武都 Commandery is located in present-day Longnan陇南 City, Gansu Province. The territory of Wudu is mostly mountainous, which is not suitable for cultivation and large-scale military marching. Only Xiabian下辩 and Hechi河池 counties had a small basin.

In 219 AD, Liu Bei occupied Hanzhong汉中 and effectively controlled various passages from Hanzhong to Liangzhou or Guanzhong关中 via Wudu. Therefore, the southern part of Wudu Commandery was gradually abandoned by Cao Wei（220-265AD）.

Later, Zhuge Liang launched several northern expeditions to attack Qi Mountain祁山, and the Qi Mountain is located in the north of Wudu, there was a fortress here. During Zhuge Liang's third Northern Expedition, he occupied most of Wudu, and since then, Wudu has long belonged to the territory of Shu Han(221-263AD).

To be Continued.

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