Lingling Commandery

Lingling Commandery (零陵郡) occupied the upper middle Xiang River and the northern outlet of the Nanling Mountains. Founded in 111 BCE, it endured—with frequent boundary shifts—until the commandery tier was abolished by the Sui dynasty in 589 CE.

Lingling Commandery 零陵郡
Former subdivision of Western Han → successive Chinese dynasties
111 BCE–589 CE[1]
Capital	Lingling (零陵, ruins under Yongzhou’s Lingling District)
Historical era	Imperial China
• Created in the Lingnan reorganisation of Emperor Wu	111 BCE
• Disestablished	589 CE[1]
Today part of	south-western Hunan (seat beneath modern Yongzhou)

Geography and administrative layout

The *Book of Han* lists 15 counties at foundation; the 2 CE census registers 52 265 households (254 608 inhabitants).^[2] By 140 CE unrest had reduced this to nine counties and about 28 400 households.^[3]

Principal Western-Han counties

• Lingling ✪
• Liyang
• Leiyang
• Qiyang
• Xinning
• Dao
• Yongxing
• Lanli
• Lanshan
• Yunyang
• Guiyang (removed 26 BCE)
• Chenxi (later to Wuling)

Stone beacon platforms on Nanling crests guarded copper, timber, and salt caravans descending to the Xiang valley.

History

Western & Eastern Han (111 BCE – 220 CE)

Lingling was carved from the southern tier of Changsha Commandery in 111 BCE. Han colonists opened the Dao-River copper lodes and cut the Lingling–Leiyang Canal to skirt Nanling rapids.^[2] Under Wang Mang it was briefly renamed Xiangyang Commandery; Eastern-Han authorities restored the original name.

Late Eastern Han and the warlord era

Governor Liu Biao appointed Liu Du as Administrator; Liu Du’s son Liu Xian commanded the Dao-River fleet.^[4] In winter 208 / spring 209 Liu Bei advanced south after Red Cliffs; Liu Du capitulated, bringing Lingling under Liu Bei.

Cession to Eastern Wu (215 CE)

In 215 the mediator Lu Su brokered a partition of southern Jing Province: Liu Bei ceded Lingling, Changsha, and Guiyang Commandery to Sun Quan. Sun Quan’s cousin Sun Ben became acting Administrator but died the same year; he was succeeded by Wei Teng, who fortified river stockades and repaired Nanling passes.^[5]

Western Jin and the Six Dynasties (280 – 589 CE)

• 280 CE — Western Jin reunified China; *Jin Shu* lists six counties and 16 700 households.^[6]
• During the Eastern Jin period (317 – 420) Dao and Xinning were detached to the new Daozhou, while Yongle County was added on the northern frontier.
• Under the Liu-Song and Southern Qi dynasties the commandery shrank to four counties with roughly 19 000 households.
• The Liang dynasty (502 – 557) merged Lingling with Guiyang, then reinstated it in 552 after local revolts.

In 589 CE Emperor Wen abolished commanderies; Lingling became the core of Daozhou Prefecture, ending seven centuries of commandery administration.

Notable administrators

Name	Years in office	Affiliation	Key actions
Liu Du	≤ 208 – 209	Jing Province under Liu Biao	Capitulated to Liu Bei after the Red-Cliffs campaign.
Sun Ben	215	Eastern Wu	Installed after the Lu Su accord; died later the same year.
Wei Teng	230s	Eastern Wu	Re-fortified Nan-ling passes and expanded river stockades.
Xiao Zixian (蕭子顯)	548 – 550	Liang dynasty	Compiled an early *Gazetteer of Lingling* while serving as administrator.

Archaeology and legacy

Han–Jin tombs at Yongzhou’s Binjiang site yield bronze tallies stamped “Lingling Office.” South of Dao, stretches of the stone-paved “Five-Pass Road” survive from Wei Teng’s fortification programme. Lingling’s martial image lingers in local folklore praising Liu Du’s naval musters.

See also

• Changsha Commandery
• Guiyang Commandery
• Nanling Mountains
• Xiang River
• Daozhou