Daifang (帶方郡 dai4 fang1 jun4) was one of the Chinese commanderies in the Korean peninsula.

History

Gongsun Kang, a warlord in Liaodong, separated the southern half from the Lelang commandery and established the Daifang commandery in 204 to make administration more efficient. He controlled southern natives with Daifang instead of Lelang.

In 236 under the order of Ming Di of Kingdom of Wei, Sima Yi conquered the Gongsun family and annexed Liaodong, Lelang and Daifang to Wei. A dispute over the control of southern natives caused their revolt. The armies of Lelang and Daifang eventually stifled it.

The Daifang commandery was inherited by the Jin Dynasty. Due to bitter civil wars, Jin became unable to control the Korean peninsula at the beginning of the 4th century. Zhang Tong (張統) broke away from Jin in Lelang and Daifang. After Luoyang, the capital of Jin, was occupied by the Xiongnu in 311, he went for help to Murong Hui , a Xianbei warlord, with his subjects in 313. Goguryeo annexed Lelang and Daifang soon after that. The Chinese residents maintained their own cultures for a century.

Area

The Daifang commandery was located in Hwanghaedo and Kyǒnggido. According to Jinshu (晉書), it had the following seven prefectures (縣):

• Daifang Prefecture (帶方)
• Liekou Prefecture (列口)
• Nanxin Prefecture (南新)
• Changcen Prefecture (長岑)
• Tixi Prefecture (提奚)
• Hanzi Prefecture (含資)
• Haiming Prefecture (海冥)

The capital was put in the Daifang prefecture. The controversy over its location is not resolved yet. Historians believe that it was on the Han River, while archaeologists insist that a site of a city in Hwanghaedo is the capital.

See also

• List of Korea-related topics

References

• Nahm, Andrew C. (1988). Korea: Tradition and Transformation - A History of the Korean People. Elizabeth, NJ: Hollym International.