The commandery (in pinyin: jùn) was a historical administrative level of China. During the Zhou Dynasty (c. 1046–256 BCE), it was one level below a district (縣/县). Qin Shi Huang (r. 221–210 BCE), who unified the Warring States into one heavily-centralized empire, inverted the hierarchy and made commanderies higher than districts. During the Han Dynasty (202 BCE – 220 CE), the commandery became the core unit of local governmental administration, each commande… (More on Commandery)