Zhenfan Commandery


Zhenfan Commandery was one of the remnants of the Four Commanderies, which was a colony set up in the northern Korean Peninsula by the Han Chinese between 108 BC and 82 BC.

History

In 108 BC, the Zhenfan Commandery was established under Youzhou by the Han dynasty. This Commandery comprised 15 prefectures and the Zha prefecture, the headquarters of the Zhenfan Commandery, was 3,000 km from Chang’an. Its territorial jurisdiction is unclear. In 82 BC, Zhenfan Commandery was abolished.

Controversy

There are two theories for the location of the Zhenfan Commandery. One theory has it located in the north of the Korean peninsula and the other further south. In the academic community, the southern theory is preferred. However, there are also some views that the Zhenfan Commandery was in the Gyeongsang Province, Chungcheong Province or in the southern part of Korea which includes the Gyeongsang Province and Jeolla Province.

Revisionism

In the North Korean academic community and some parts of the South Korean academic community, the fact that at least part of the Korean peninsula was annexed by Han dynasty has been denied. They claim that the Four Commandaries of Han were actually located outside the Korean peninsula. They consider that the Four Commandaries were located in the Liaodong Commandery. In this theory, the location of Zhenfan Commandery is almost same as the eastern part of Liaodong Commandery.
These views are not accepted by the academic communities in the United States, China and Japan.