Rinan


Rinan, formerly known as Jih-nan, was the most southern commandery of the Han Empire. It was located in the central area of modern Vietnam between Quảng Bình and Bình Định provinces. It was administered by a local mandarin under direction from the capital of Jiaozhi at Leilou or Longbian near modern Hanoi. It was part of Trưng Trắc's revolt in 39.
The concept of "Rinan" was originally astronomical: above the Tropic of Cancer, the Chinese always faced south during religious ceremonies concerning the sun. In his Records of the Grand Historian, Sima Qian claimed the Qin Empire had spread so far as Rinan, where the houses faced north instead of south. The Han claimed this conceptual region as early as 111 BC upon their conquest of Nanyue but did not administer an actual district under the name until 48 .
Under the Western Han, it was recorded as having 14,000 households or about 69,000 people. Several embassies from Rome during the 1st and 2nd centuries – including one from Marcus Aurelius in AD 166are recorded as having come via Rinan, presumably by sea via India.
In 264, during the division of Jiaozhou by the Emperor Jing of Wu, Rinan was placed under the new Jiaozhou.

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