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Shuofang (Chinese:朔方) was an ancient Chinesecommandery, situated in theHetao region in modern-dayInner Mongolia nearBaotou. First founded byEmperor Wu of Han in the wake of the successful reconquest of the area fromXiongnu tribes, it was dissolved during the late Eastern Han dynasty and then reconstituted centuries later during theNorthern Wei andSui periods, before finally being dissolved during theTang dynasty.
The term Shuofang, in Ancient usage, simply referred to the north; this definition was recorded in dictionaries such as theErya.
The northward bend of theYellow River is an area of considerable strategic importance that had been part of theState of Zhao during the earlyWarring States period. During this period it was calledJiuyuan, and was a commandery. As Zhao gradually weakened, the area fell under Xiongnu control, only to be reconquered during theQin dynasty by a large expedition led by the generalMeng Tian.
In the chaos of the rebellions that took place during the end of the Qin dynasty, the Xiongnu once again moved into the area and took control, and retained this area even after the foundation of the Han dynasty, using it as an important staging post for raiding into northern and northeastern China. It was only during theHan–Xiongnu War launched by Emperor Wu that the Han dynasty proactively sought to take over the former borderlands of the Qin dynasty. In 127 BC, an expedition led byWei Qing defeated the Xiongnu, leading to the foundation of Shuofang Commandery; by 8 BC the commandery had ten constituent counties.
In the spring of 617,Liang Shidu, a former regimental commander from a prominent family of Shuofang commandery on the southern edge of ethe Ordos, seized power from the commandery officials and declared the establishment of the "Liang" state with himself as emperor.
| Sili |  Han provinces and commanderies in 219 CE | |
|---|---|---|
| Yu Province | ||
| Ji Province | ||
| Yan Province | ||
| Xu Province | ||
| Qing Province | ||
| Jing Province | ||
| Yang Province | ||
| Yi Province | ||
| Liang Province | ||
| Bing Province | ||
| Shuofang Province | ||
| You Province | ||
| Jiaozhi Province | ||
Full list(202 BC – 220 AD) | ||