Jizhou thorn historical maps during the Western Han Dynasty of China

Map reference

Jizhou thorn historical maps during the Western Han Dynasty of China

发布时间：2016-10-24 11:29:00 UTC

类别：Qin and Han Dynasties Historical Maps

Map Description

In the fifth year of the Yuanfeng era of Emperor Wu of Han (106 BCE), due to the inconvenience of directly administering the forty commanderies inherited from the Qin Dynasty, an additional level of administration was added above the commanderies. Except for the Sili capital district near the capital, the empire was divided into thirteen provincial inspectorates (Cishi Bu).

Among them, Ji Province administered four commanderies and six principalities, with Ji County belonging to the Principality of Guangchuan. The Ji Province Inspectorate encompassed the entire areas of present-day Handan, Xingtai, and Shijiazhuang in Hebei Province, most of the Hengshui area, the southwestern part of the Baoding area, a small part of the Cangzhou area, three or four counties at the northern tip of Henan Province, and three or four counties at the western tip of Shandong Province. The inspectorate was headed by one Inspector (Cishi).

Establishment and Function Emperor Wu of Han divided the empire into thirteen provincial inspectorates, with Ji Province being one of them, responsible for supervising the commanderies and principalities. Initially, the Inspector held a salary rank of 600 dan, and their authority was limited to the "Six Articles for Investigation." They could only supervise commandery/county officials and powerful local families and had no fixed administrative seat.

Expansion of Authority and Relocation of the Seat During the Zhao-Xuan period, due to the need for administrative rectification, the Inspector's authority gradually expanded to include executive governance. During the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han, the title was changed to Governor (Zhoumu), and the seat of Ji Province was moved to Hao City (present-day Guchengdian, Baixiang, Hebei). During the Eastern Han Dynasty, the title of Inspector was reinstated, but the official gained judicial and military powers, ultimately becoming the highest local administrative authority.

Changes in Jurisdiction The Ji Province Inspectorate initially governed the entire territory of modern Shanxi, northwestern Hebei, and northern Henan. During the Eastern Han period, its jurisdiction expanded to include parts of present-day Cangzhou and it administered nine commanderies (such as Wei Commandery, Qinghe Commandery, etc.).

Map Source

Jizhou thorn historical maps during the Western Han Dynasty of China is sourced from The Historical Atlas of China, Volume 2(2)—Maps of the Western Han Dynasty, published by SinoMaps Press on October 1, 1982, with Tan Qixiang as its author.

The Historical Atlas of China is an atlas focusing primarily on the historical administrative divisions and territories of China throughout its dynasties, compiled under the chief editorship of Tan Qixiang. The entire work spans from the primitive society to the end of the Qing dynasty, organized into 8 volumes and 20 sections according to historical periods, containing a total of 304 maps (not including illustrations). All maps juxtapose historical and modern geography. The compilation of this atlas began in the 1950s, it was seriously disturbed during the cultural revolution. The internal edition was published in 1975 but contained numerous errors. Publication of Volumes 1-8 occurred successively starting in 1982. The Historical Atlas of China is a rare and valuable resource for studying the historical administrative divisions of China.

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