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Yunzhong Commandery

historical political subdivision in China

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJun 29, 2024
Entity authorityQ10880714
Source-derived summary

Yunzhong Commandery was a historical commandery of China. Its territories were located between the Great Wall and Yin Mountains, and correspond to part of modern-day Hohhot, Baotou and Ulanqab prefectures in Inner Mongolia.

The commandery was created during King Wuling of Zhao's reign after a successful campaign against the Linhu (林胡) and Loufan (樓煩) peoples. After the establishment of Han dynasty, the commandery became the frontier between Han and the Xiongnu. In early Han dynasty, the region saw frequent Xiongnu raids. However, from Emperor Wu's reign onwards, it became an important base of military operations in the wars against the Xiongnu. In 127 BC, it was from Yunzhong that General Wei Qing led a 40,000-men strong cavalry force and conquered the modern Hetao and Ordos regions. In 2 AD, the commandery administered 11 counties, namely Yunzhong (雲中), Xianyang (咸陽), Taolin (陶林), Zhenling (楨陵), Duhe (犢和), Shaling (沙陵), Yuanyang (原陽), Shanan (沙南), Beiyu (北輿), Wuquan (武泉) and Yangshou (陽壽). The population totaled 38,303 households, or 173,270 people. During Eastern Han, 3 counties were abolished, while 3 new counties were added from Dingxiang Commandery.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Yunzhong Commandery” as historical political subdivision in China. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Yunzhong, Commandery and historical.

Editorial reviewA strong contextual entry point for chronology, institutions and public events when official records are distinguished from later interpretation. The current 182-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Yunzhong, Commandery and historical providing the first useful test.
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A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Yunzhong Commandery”, the useful work is to connect “historical political subdivision in China” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Chronology, provenance and viewpoint should be read together before a broad social or political interpretation is accepted. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 29, 2024. The linked authority identifier is Q10880714. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Yunzhong Commandery” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.