Sixteen Prefectures

{{short description|Historical region in northern China}}

{{short description|Historical region in North China}}

{{Use American English|date=December 2023}}

{{Use American English|date=December 2023}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}}

[[File:10 songmapxknine9.PNG|thumb|300px|The Sixteen Prefectures (yellow) wedged between [[Liao dynasty|Liao]] (gray) in the north and [[Song dynasty#Northern Song, 960–1127|Northern Song]] (light gray) in the south. Some distance to its west is [[Western Xia]] (deep gray)]]

[[File:10 songmapxknine9.PNG|thumb|300px|The Sixteen Prefectures (yellow) wedged between [[Liao dynasty|Liao]] (gray) in the north and [[Song dynasty#Northern Song, 960–1127|Northern Song]] (light gray) in the south. Some distance to its west is [[Western Xia]] (deep gray)]]

The '''Sixteen Prefectures''', more precisely known as the '''Sixteen Prefectures of Yan–Yun''' ({{zh|t=燕雲十六州|s=燕云十六州|p=Yān Yún Shíliù Zhōu|first=t}}) or the '''Sixteen Prefectures of You–[[Beijing|Ji]]''' ({{zh|t=幽薊十六州|p=Yōu Jì Shíliù Zhōu}}), were a [[historical region]] in [[North China]] that comprises present-day municipalities of [[Beijing]], [[Tianjin]] and parts of northern [[Hebei]] and [[Shanxi]] provinces north of the [[Hai River]] and its two northern [[tributaries]] [[Sanggan River|Sanggan]] and [[Juma River (China)|Juma]] Rivers. The region's name came from the sixteen [[military district]] prefectures (''[[zhou (administrative division)|zhou]]'') of [[Tang dynasty]]'s northeastern borderlands under the ''[[fanzhen]]'' administration of the [[Youzhou Jiedushi|Youzhou]] and [[Jin (Later Tang precursor)|Hedong]] ''[[jiedushi]]'', whose [[administrative center|administrative seat]]s were at the [[Youzhou (ancient China)|Yan Prefecture]] and [[Yun Prefecture (Shanxi)|Yun Prefecture]], respectively.

The '''Sixteen Prefectures''', more precisely known as the '''Sixteen Prefectures of Yan–Yun''' ({{zh|t=燕雲十六州|s=燕云十六州|p=Yān Yún Shíliù Zhōu|first=t}}) or the '''Sixteen Prefectures of You–[[Beijing|Ji]]''' ({{zh|t=幽薊十六州|p=Yōu Jì Shíliù Zhōu}}), were a [[historical region]] in [[North China]] that comprises present-day municipalities of [[Beijing]], [[Tianjin]] and parts of northern [[Hebei]] and [[Shanxi]] provinces north of the [[Hai River]] and its two northern [[tributaries]] [[Sanggan River|Sanggan]] and [[Juma River (China)|Juma]] rivers. The region's name came from the sixteen [[military district]] prefectures (''[[zhou (administrative division)|zhou]]'') of the [[Tang dynasty]]'s northeastern borderlands under the ''[[fanzhen]]'' administration of the [[Youzhou Jiedushi|Youzhou]] and [[Jin (Later Tang precursor)|Hedong]] ''[[jiedushi]]'', whose [[Administrative centre|administrative seats]] were in [[Youzhou (ancient China)|Yan Prefecture]] and [[Yun Prefecture (Shanxi)|Yun Prefecture]], respectively.

Situated around the [[Great Wall of China|Great Wall]] within the [[Yan Mountains]] and the [[Mount Heng (Shanxi)|Heng Mountain]], the Sixteen Prefectures were a strategically important gateway region into the [[Zhongyuan|Central Plains]] and shielded the [[North China Plain]] from [[Hu (people)|Hu]] incursions from the northeast, north and northwest, reinforced by riverine logistic transport of the [[Grand Canal (China)|Grand Canal]].

Situated around the [[Great Wall of China|Great Wall]] within the [[Yan Mountains]] and [[Mount Heng (Shanxi)|Heng Mountain]], the Sixteen Prefectures were a strategically important gateway region into the [[Zhongyuan|Central Plains]] and shielded the [[North China Plain]] from [[Hu (people)|Hu]] incursions from the northeast, north and northwest, reinforced by riverine logistic transport of the [[Grand Canal (China)|Grand Canal]].

During the [[Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms]] period, the region was ceded to the [[Khitan people|Khitan]]-led [[Liao dynasty]] in 938 AD by [[Shi Jingtang]], who desperately sought Liao aid in his rebellion against his brother-in-law, the [[Later Tang]] emperor [[Li Congke]]. This cession subsequently caused various Central Plains dynasties to the region's south (including the [[Shatuo]]-led [[Later Jin (Five Dynasties)|Later Jin dynasty]] founded by Shi Jingtang himself) to become vulnerable against invaders from the north (who used the region as a strategic [[staging area]]), as there were no longer any significant [[natural barrier]]s north of the [[Yellow River]] capable of halting large-scale cavalry incursions. The region was marred by constant military conflicts for the next three centuries, both by the Central Plains regimes (such as the [[Later Zhou]] and the [[Song dynasty#Northern Song, 960–1127|Northern Song]] dynasties) attempting to recapture the region and by new northern invaders (such as the [[Jurchen people|Jurchen]]-led [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)|Jin dynasty]] and later the [[Mongols|Mongol]]-led [[Yuan dynasty]]) against the old occupiers (the Liao and Jin dynasties, respectively), until the [[Mongol Empire]] [[Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty|conquered northern China]] in 1234 AD. After the Yuan dynasty, the region came under the control of the subsequent [[Ming dynasty|Ming]] and [[Qing dynasty|Qing]] dynasties.

During the [[Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms]] period, the region was ceded to the [[Khitan people|Khitan]]-led [[Liao dynasty]] in 938 AD by [[Shi Jingtang]], who desperately sought Liao aid in his rebellion against his brother-in-law, the [[Later Tang]] emperor [[Li Congke]]. This cession subsequently caused various Central Plains dynasties to the region's south (including the [[Shatuo]]-led [[Later Jin (Five Dynasties)|Later Jin dynasty]] founded by Shi Jingtang himself) to become vulnerable against invaders from the north (who used the region as a strategic [[staging area]]), as there were no longer any significant [[natural barrier]]s north of the [[Yellow River]] capable of halting large-scale cavalry incursions. The region was marred by constant military conflicts for the next three centuries, both by the Central Plains regimes (such as the [[Later Zhou]] and the [[Song dynasty#Northern Song, 960–1127|Northern Song]] dynasties) attempting to recapture the region and by new northern invaders (such as the [[Jurchen people|Jurchen]]-led [[Jin dynasty (1115–1234)|Jin dynasty]] and later the [[Mongols|Mongol]]-led [[Yuan dynasty]]) against the old occupiers (the Liao and Jin dynasties, respectively), until the [[Mongol Empire]] [[Mongol conquest of the Jin dynasty|conquered northern China]] in 1234 AD. After the Yuan dynasty, the region came under the control of the subsequent [[Ming dynasty|Ming]] and [[Qing dynasty|Qing]] dynasties.