382 70 13MB
English Pages [649] Year 1984
Table of contents :
Table of Contents
Maps and Tables
Preface
1 The Government and Geography of the Northern Frontier of Later Han 1-53
The Qiang Tribes and the Empire of Han: the establishment of Chinese authority
3 The Qiang Tribes and the Empire of Han: frontier wars and the great rebellions 50-150 AD
4 The Qiang Tribes and the Empire of Han: make a desert and call it peace 150-220 AD
5 The Xlongnu, the Former Han Dynasty, and the government of Wang Mang
6 Division and Conquest: Xiongnu and Han in the first century AD
7 Ashes of Success: Xiongnu, Xianbi and Han 90-150 AD
8 The End of Empire in the North
9 The Wuhan People and the Empire of Han
10 The Causes and Consequences of Failure
Chronology of the Northern Frontier in the First Two Centuries AD
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Northern Frontier The Policies and Strategy of the Later Han Empire
by Rafe de C respigny
Northern Frontier The Policies and Strategy of the Later Han Empire
by Rafe de C respigny
Faculty of Asian Studies Monographs: Mew Series No. 4
Faculty of Asian Studies Australian National University, Canberra 1984
F i r s t P u b lis h e d i n A u s t r a l i a 1984 S e t up and p r i n t e d a t The A u s tr a lia n N a tio n a l U n iv e r s ity P r i n t e r y
c
F a c u lty o f A slan S tu d ie s , A u s tr a lia n N a tio n a l U n iv e r s ity , 1984
T his book i s c o p y r ig h t. Apart from any f a i r d e a lin g fo r th e purpose o f p r iv a te stu d y , r e se a r c h , c r i t i c i s m , or rev iew , a s perm itted under th e Copyright Act no p art may be reproduced by any p ro cess w ith ou t w r itte n p erm issio n . In q u ir ie s should be made to th e p u b lish e r .
N ation a l Library o f A u s tr a lia C a ta lo g u in g -in -P u b lic a tio n en try :
De C re sp lg n y , R afe, 1936- . N o rth ern f r o n t i e r . B ib lio g ra p h y . In clu d es index ISBN 0 86784 410 8 .
1. C hina - H is to r y - Han d y n a s ty , 202 B .C .-2 2 0 A.D. 2 . M anchuria - H is to r y . I . A u s tr a lia n N a tio n a l U n iv e r s ity . F a c u lty o f A slan S tu d ie s . I I . T i t l e . ( S e r i e s : F a c u lty o f A slan S tu d ie s m onographs. New s e r i e s ; no. 4 ) . 93I 1. 04
Cover d e s ig n by ANU G rap h ic D esign D is tr ib u te d f o r th e F a c u lty o f A sian S tu d ie s by B ib lio te c h , A u s tr a lia n N a tio n a l U n iv e r s ity , G.P.O. Box 4 , C anberra 2601, A u s tr a lia
TO CHRISTA
TABLE OF CONTENTS P re fa c e C h ap te r 1:
x iii The Government and Geography o f th e N o rth ern F r o n tie r o f L a te r Han 1-53 The stru ctu re o f lo ca l adm inistration Liang province A note on the question o f clim ate Bing province ro u province The lands beyond the fro n tie r The m ilita r y system o f Later Ban
C hap ter 2:
19 23 36 40 45
The QLang T rib e s and th e Empire o f Hans th e e s ta b lis h m e n t o f C h in ese a u th o r ity
Introduction The te r r ito r y and tr ib e s o f the Qlang in the f i r s t cen tu ries BC The conquest o f the Qlang by former Ban Chinese colonisation and settlem en t Frontier p o lic y a t the beginning o f Later Ban C h ap te r 3:
1
1
54-75 54 55 60 62 67
The Qiang T rib e s and th e Em pire o f Hans f r o n t i e r v e rs and th e g r e a t r e b e l l i o n s 50-150 AD
76-125
The Shaodang fro n tie r wars 57-101 78 P rotectorate p o lic y and m ilita r y power in the f i r s t century 82 The Great East Qiang Rebellion 107-118 90 Reconstruction and the Second Rebellion 119-150 115 C h ap te r 4s
The Qiang T rib e s and th e Empire o f Hans make a d e s e r t and c a l l i t p eace 150-220 AD
The devastation o f Duan Jiong The end o f Ban government in the northwest The s ta te o f Mai and the northwestern fro n tie r Epilogue: sh iftin g barbarians C h a p te r 5s
126-172
126 146 162 168
The X longnu, th e Former Han Dynasty» and th e governm ent o f Wang Hang
The e a rly h isto ry and the nature o f the Xlongnu s ta te 173 The Xiongnu s ta te a t the end o f Former Han 186 The p o lic ie s o f Wang Hang 194
173-218
v iii C hapter 6:
D iv is io n and C onquest: Xiongnu and Han i n th e f i r s t c e n tu ry AD
The The The The
C h ap ter 7:
weakness o f China 23-45 d iv isio n o f the Xiongnu 46-50 northern peace 51-85 destru ction o f the northern Shanyu 87-93
Ashes o f S u ccess: 90-150 AD
264
290 306 318-354 318 329 342
The Wuhuan P eo p le and th e Empire o f Han
The sources fo r the h isto ry o f the Wuhuan The manners and customs o f the Wuhuan The Wuhuan and Former Han Emperor Guangwu and the settlem en t o f the Wuhuan The Wuhuan and Later Ban The road to White Wolf Mountain P o stsc rip t: the Wuhuan and the s ta te o f Wei
276-317
276 284
The End o f Empire i n th e N orth
The Chinese generals 155-169 The v ic to r y o f Tanshihuai 177 Fall o f empires C hapter 9:
219 227 242
Xiongnu, X ianbi and Han
The problems o f v ic to r y The re b ellio n s o f the Xiongnu The coming o f the Xianbi and the wars o f Q izhijian 121-133 The Chinese withdrawals C hapter 8:
219-275
355-416
355 360 367 375 386 398 415
C h ap ter 10: The C auses and Consequences o f F a ilu r e
417-437
Chronology o f th e N o rth ern F r o n t i e r i n th e F i r s t Two C e n tu rie s AD
439-443
ix 445-560
N otes
Notes Notes Notes Notes Notes Notes Notes Notes Notes Notes
to to to to to to to to to to
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10
B ib lio g ra p h y
561-593 I E a rly C hinese Works I I Maps and A tla s e s I I I Modern Books and A r t i c l e s i n C h in ese and Ja p a n e se IV Books and A r t i c l e s i n W estern Languages
Index
445 469 476 489 504 515 523 529 538 560
561 564 565
585 595-
Map8 and T a b le s Map No. 1.
The QLang F r o n t i e r i n t h e F i r s t C entury
AD
70
2.
The T e r r i t o r y o f th e QLang R e b e llio n s i n th e Second C entury AD
92
3.
The F i r s t G reat QLang R e b e llio n 107-118
98
4.
The C anpaigns o f Duan J io n g 168-169
138
5.
The R e b e llio n i n L iang P ro v in c e 184-189
148
6.
Cao C a o 's Approach t o th e B a t t l e o f H uayin: autumn 211
164
7.
T h e a tre o f O p e ra tio n s i n th e N orth 30-50
224
8.
Han and XLongnu 89-92
270
9.
The C hinese W ithdraw als 140-141
310
10.
The S tra te g y o f Zhang Huan 155
320
11.
The Empire o f T a n sh ih u a l and th e F r o n tie r T e r r ito r y o f Han c . 180
334
12.
Cao C ao 's Approach t o th e N o rth e a s t 206-207
406
13.
Cao C a o 's R oute t o W hite Wolf M ountain 207
409
14.
The N o rth e rn F r o n tie r o f L a te r Han: g e n e ra l map
a t th e end
T able No. 1.
C hinese P o p u la tio n Changes i n th e N ear N orthw est 2-140 AD
145
2.
C hinese P o p u la tio n Changes i n th e N o rth 2-140 AD
244
PREFACE
The
p e rio d
flu c tu a tio n s s e ttle d , of
At
of
in
th e
th e
th e of
fa ll
Xiongnu
th ey
had
fo rm e rly
by
Emperor
Wu.
But
of
in te rn a l
d iv is io n
Han d y n a sty (23 -2 2 0 AD) saw n o ta b le long-draw n
China
s tr u g g le betw een
th e
and th e p a s t o r a l nomad t r i b e s
th e b e g in n in g o f th e d y n a s ty , i n th e tim e o f c i v i l
acco n p an ied
w a r r io r s w hich
la te r
c iv ilis a tio n
s te p p e .
which
th e
f o r tu n e
a g ra ria n
th e
war
of
of
of
s e iz e d been
th e n
g re a t
d riv e n
Emperor
among
th e
th e
governm ent a re a s
by
of
of Wang Mang, th e n o r th
Q iin a ,
from
th e F i r s t Emperor o f Qln and
Guangwu was a b le to ta k e advan tag e
XLongnu,
and
he r e s to r e d th e C hinese
f r o n t i e r to a lm o st th e f u l l e x te n t o f th e p a s t . By t h e end o f th e f i r s t c e n tu r y , m oreover, a s e r i e s o f g r e a t m i lita r y e x p e d itio n s s ta te ,
had
d e s tro y e d
th e
l a s t rem nants o f th e in d e p e n d e n t Xiongnu
w h ile C hin ese arnd.es i n c e n t r a l A sia re c o v e re d th e fo rm er hegemony
o f Former Han o v e r th e o a s i s c i t i e s o f th e S ilk Road. W ith in of
Han
th e n
in
by
a
w id e sp re a d
T h e r e a f te r , c o n tr o ll e d to
th e
th e
few y e a rs of th e s e a p p a re n t triu m p h s, how ever, th e c o n tr o l
th e n o r th was s h a k e n , f i r s t by r e v o l t i n th e W estern R egions,
as
re b e llio n
th e
X ianbi
from th e Qlang p eo p le p e o p le
moved
in to
th e
of H a n g p ro v in c e . re g io n s
fo rm e rly
by th e v a n q u ish e d Xiongnu, th e y p r e s e n te d an in c r e a s in g t h r e a t
s e c u r i t y and s e ttle m e n t o f th e n o r th e r n f r o n t i e r s .
By th e end o f
d y n a s ty , C h in ese a u t h o r i t y had been d r iv e n w e ll t o th e s o u th , and th e
fro n tie r
la n d s
had
fa lle n
C hinese o r ren eg ad e r u l e r s . th e r e
emerged
th e
under
th e c o n t r o l o f a m edley o f p e t t y n o n -
From t h e s e , and p a r t i c u l a r l y from th e X ian b i,
" b a r b a r ia n " s t a t e s w hich dom inated n o r th China i n th e
c e n tu r ie s o f d i v i s i o n t h a t fo llo w e d th e o v erth row o f W estern J i n .
In p r e s e n tin g a h i s t o r y o f th e n o r th e r n f r o n t i e r d u rin g th e p e rio d o f L a te r Han, 1 have d is c u s s e d i n t u r n th e m ajo r n o n -C hinese g ro u p s, from th e QLang
i n th e n o rth w e s t th ro u g h th e Xiongnu and t h e i r r i v a l s th e X ianbi i n
p re s e n t-d a y of
China
so u g h t
M ongolia, P ro p er
and
to th e Wuhuan who o c c u p ied th e n o r th e a s te r n re g io n th e b o rd e rla n d s o f M anchuria. In e ach c a s e , I have
t o p ro v id e some a c c o u n t o f th e p e o p le th e m se lv e s, and a d is c u s s io n
o f th e p o l i c i e s by w hich th e C hinese a tte m p te d to d e a l w ith them .
(x iv ) Any
such
h is to ria n s
and
n o n -C hin ese Bou
sen
account o th e r
p e o p le s
shu
m ust r e l y h e a v ily upon th e re c o rd s o f th e C hinese
of
c la s s ic a l a re
th e
Fan Ye.
te x ts .
The m ain s o u rc e s f o r a l l th e s e
s ta n d a rd
h is to rie s ,
and m ost n o ta b ly th e
T here I s an a c o u n t o f each m ajor
n o n -C hinese
g ro u p , supplem ented on o c c a s io n by r e f e r e n c e s I n th e a n n a ls o f e a c h r e i g n , and
by p a r t i c u l a r b io g r a p h ie s o f le a d in g s ta te s m e n and g e n e ra ls who d e a l t
w ith th e problem s o f th e f r o n t i e r . I n e v i t a b l y , th e p i c t u r e p r e s e n te d from su ch a s o u rc e I s s l n o - c e n t r l c , and
b ecau se
a ls o
of
co n cern ed
d is c o n c e r tin g Is fo r
th e n a tu r e o f t r a d i t i o n a l C hinese h i s t o r y - w r i t i n g , I t I s
a
p r im a r ily
e x te n t,
c a ta lo g u e th e
most
of
w ith
th e
th e
h is to ry
In te re s ts
of
governm ent:
to
a
o f th e " b a r b a r ia n s '' I n C hinese term s
m L lita ry I n c id e n ts and p o l i t i c a l e m e rg e n c ies, view ed
p a rt
from
th e
s ta n d - p o in t
of
a
c e n tra lis e d
Im p e ria l
governm ent.
To fu ll
a
la r g e
e x te n t
tra n s la tio n
te x ts .
of
I n s te a d ,
supplem ented
f o r t h i s r e a s o n , I have n o t so u g h t t o p ro v id e a
th e
r e le v a n t
c h a p te r s
of
and o th e r
I have a tte m p te d t o u s e th e m a te r ia l w hich th e y c o n ta in ,
by
some
re a d in g
betw een
p re s e n t
a
s o c ia l,
econom ic,
ev id e n c e
from
a rc h e o lo g y
and
g eo g rap h y , and by
th e l i n e s o f th e C hin ese re c o rd s them B elves, I n o r d e r to
n a rra tiv e ,
In te rp re tiv e
h is to ry .
There a r e many q u e s tio n s ,
and ev en th e m ig h t-h a v e -b e en s o f c o n je c tu r e , w hich a r e
alm o st Ig n o re d I n th e t r a d i t i o n a l C hinese s o u r c e s . s lig h t
Hou Ban shu
e v id e n c e
w hich
Is
le ft
to
u s,
O c c a s io n a lly , w ith th e
I have so u g h t t o d is c u s s th o s e
m a tte r s . D ates a r e e x p re s s e d , by c o n v e n tio n , i n c o rresp o n d en ce w ith th e J u l i a n c a le n d a r
of
e q u iv a le n t C hinese
th e
N e st,
AD o r lu n a r
tra n s la tio n s Dubs
and
Dubs
sy stem
of
and
w ith C hinese y e a rs e q u a te d t o t h e i r n e a r e s t
BC; a llo w a n c e m ust be made f o r th e o v e rla p betw een th e
and
W estern
o ffic ia l
fo llo w e d seemB
by
s o la r
title s ,
c a le n d a rs
each
w in te r .
For
th e
I g e n e r a lly u se th e sy stem ad o p te d by
B le l e n s t e i n , w ith some sm all v a r i a t i o n s w here th e
p a rtic u la rly
clum sy.
and te rm s fo llo w s th e o f f i c i a l P in yin s t y l e .
T r a n s c r ip tio n of C h inese names
(xv) C h a p te rs In
Papers
and
I
2
on
am
g ra te fu l
h e re .
w ritte n
jo in tly on
c o n s id e re d Item s»
by
th e
Dr
th e
a ls o
an
a r t i c l e I n Papers on Far Eastern History,
K .H .J. G a rd in e r and m yself» e x p lo re d a number of
X lanbl In
would
o f th e A u s tr a lin N a tio n a l U n iv e rsity »
to t h e e d i t o r s f o r p e rm is s io n t o p r e s e n t th e r e v is e d
S im ila rly »
a g a in
I
3 o f t h i s work w ere p u b lis h e d I n a p re lim in a ry form
Far Eastern B istory
v e r s io n s
q u e s tio n s
and
c ite
and
th e
c o u rs e
em pire of
h e re
of
C h ap ter 8.
th e
Han
X anshlhual
Which I have
B esid es th e s e s p e c i f i c
P r o je c t o f th e U n iv e rs ity o f
W ashington a t S e a ttle » d i r e c t e d by P r o f e s s o r Jack L. Dull» w hich I n i t i a t e d my
work
on
th e
geography
t e r r i t o r y o f Han. Among p ro g re s s
th e over
guidance»
I
P ro fe sso r
Uu
The p r e s e n t volume owes i t s g e n e s is t o t h a t P r o je c t. many
P ro fe s s o r
w ith
whom
I have d is c u s s e d t h i s w>rk In
would th a n k p a r t i c u l a r l y my c o lle a g u e s i n Canberra» E m eritus T s'u n -y an » Dr G ardiner» Dr Ig o r de R a c h e w lltz » Dr J . J . Fox Dr M.A.N. Loewe o f Cam bridge, P ro fe s s o r A .F .P . Hulsewe
of Im iden, P r o f e s s o r Hans B ie l e n s t e in of Colum bia U n iv e rs ity and D enis S in o r o f In d ia n a have a l l h e lp e d me In c o rresp o n d en ce and
c o n v e r s a tio n s ; U n iv e rs ity g u id an ce
s c h o la r s
many y ears» and who have g iv e n me m ost v a lu a b le a d v ic e and
and Mr G.C. Young. fo rm e rly
and ' a d m in is tr a tio n o f th e n o r th e r n f r o n t i e r
and
I
g iv e th a n k s t o Dr M arg aret S c o tt, o f th e Cambridge
L ib r a r y , whose d o c to r a l t h e s i s on th e QLang, w r itte n under th e of
P ro f e s s o r
G hstav
H aloun,
p ro v id e d
a
b a s is
fo r
my own
e x p lo r a tio n o f t h a t f i e l d . The re se a rc h drawn
by
c h a r a c te r s s c h o la r
in
th ro u g h o u t th e
have
F a c u lty
been
w r i t t e n by Mr Lee C h euk-yin,
o f A sian S tu d ie s .
The maps have been
Ms W in ifre d Mumford, o f th e R esearch School o f P a c i f i c S tu d ie s .
The m a n u s c rip t h a s been l a r g e l y ty p e d by Mrs Bob P in k e rto n , Mrs Sue Layton and
Mrs
g ra te fu l
J e s s i c a R a d n e ll o f th e F a c u lty o f A sian S tu d ie s . to
I am immensely
a l l o f them f o r t h e i r c a r e and th o u g h tf u ln e s s , and f o r t h e i r
rem ark ab le p a tie n c e and to l e r a n c e .
R afe de C respigny March 1984
CHAPTER 1
THE GOVERNMENT AND GEOGRAPHY OF THE NORTHERN FRONTIER OF LATER HAN
The s t r u c t u r e o f l o c a l a d m in is tr a tio n L iang p ro v in c e A n o te on th e q u e s tio n o f c lim a te Bing p ro v in c e You p ro v in c e The la n d s beyond th e f r o n t i e r The m i l i t a r y sy stem o f L a te r Han
The stru ctu re o f lo ca l adm inistration To a rem ark ab le d e g re e , th e form s o f lo c a l a d m in is tr a tio n under Han
were
u n ifie d
th ro u g h o u t
th e em p ire. Though th e problem s o f th e
f r o n t i e r on th e n o r th were c l e a r l y d i f f e r e n t from th o s e o f th e s e t t l e d a re a s th e
w ith in th e em pire o r th e ex p an d in g c o lo n is a tio n o f th e la n d s to s o u th ,
s tra tiv e
th e
p a tte rn
o f governm ent was th e same, and th e ad m in i
u n i t s o f commanderle8 (jun) and c o u n tie s ( xian ) p ro v id e d th e
e s s e n tia l s tru c tu re .
Under th e governm ent o f L a te r Han,
a l l C hina
was d iv id e d I n to
some
one hundred commandery u n i t s , and s u b o rd in a te to each commandery
w ere
a
c h ie f
v a rio u s o ffic ia l
number o f co u n ty u n i t s , a lm o st 1200 a l t o g e t h e r . of
a
commandery, th e Grand
was ran k ed a t th e s a l a r y l e v e l o f 2000 of
a
m in is te r
A s s is ta n t th e
at
( cheng) ,
commandery,
th e
c a p ita l.
r e s p o n s ib le
in c lu d in g
such
s h i,
2
The
A d m in is tra to r ( taishou ) , ju s t
below
th e
s ta tu s
His s e n io r s u b o rd in a te s were th e fo r
th e
m a tte rs
c i v i l i a n a d m in is tr a tio n of as
ta x a tio n
and o f f i c i a l
2 a p p o in tm e n ts , m a tte r s
as
and th e
re c ru itm e n t
th e Commandant s u p p re s s io n
(w e i) , whose
of
b a n d itr y
fo r m ilita ry s e rv ic e .
d u tie s In c lu d e d such
and
th e
s u p e r v is io n
of
In th e f r o n t i e r com m anderles, a s a
re fle c tio n
o f th e g r e a t e r d a n g e r and r e s p o n s i b i l i t y , t h i s o f f i c e r was
g iv en
t i t l e o f C hief Commandant
had
th e more
(d u w e i), and
some commanderles
th a n one c h ie f commandant, ea c h r e s p o n s ib le f o r a d i f f e r e n t
te rrito ry
(duw ei b u ).
These c h ie f o f f i c i a l s o f th e commandery w ere a p p o in te d d i r e c t l y by
th e
c e n tra l
c o u n tie s . was
A s m a lle r 400
or
300
a s s is ta n ts
were th e o f f i c i a l s i n ch arg e o f th e
by a P r e f e c t ( l i n g ) , county was headed s h i.
w ith
s a la r y and ra n k a t 1000
by a C h ief (zh a n g ), w ith
As i n th e commandery,
s a la r y
p r e f e c t s and c h ie f s had
and commandants, who w ere a l s o com m issioned by th e c e n t r a l
governm ent. ran k s
as
A co u n ty o f la r g e p o p u la tio n , o v e r te n th o u san d h o u se h o ld s,
a d m in is te re d
s h i. of
governm ent,
of
Both
ln
commanderles and c o u n tie s , how ever, th e low er
a d m i n is tr a tio n ,
from
s e n io r s e c r e t a r i e s to yamen r u n n e r s ,
were h e ld by men r e c r u i t e d l o c a l l y .
T here commandery fie f to
to
w ere and
county
v a ria tio n s
in
th e
no m en clatu re
of
th e
u n i t s : when a commandery was g iv en a s a ro y a l
a member o f th e Im p e ria l f a m ily , I t s d e s c r i p t i o n was changed
kingdom
(g u o ),
C h a n c e llo r
(x ia n g ).
d e s ig n a te d
as
title
some
th e
o f C h a n c e llo r.
and
th e
c h ie f
S im ila r ly , th e fie f
of
a d m in is tr a to r
was
head o f a co u n ty
a m arquis
(houguo)
d e s c rib e d a s w hich had been
was a ls o g iv en th e
In th e f r o n t i e r t e r r i t o r i e s , m oreover, a number
3 o f cou n ty u n i t s were d e s c rib e d a s m arches ( shuguo)
and
s p e c ia l
p r o v is io n was made
(d a o ),
o r dependent s t a t e s
fo r th e ir
s u r v e illa n c e o f
n o n -C h in ese p e o p le s .
In
th is
m ilita ry
m atter» however» th e d i s t i n c t i o n betw een c i v i l i a n and
a d m in is tr a tio n b e g in s to b l u r .
Marches» i t would seem» were
re g a rd e d m erely a s a s p e c i a l ty p e o f c o u n ty , b u t depen d en t s t a t e s were develo p ed Emperor
b o th a t co u n ty and a t commandery l e v e l , and i n th e r e ig n o f An,
d ep end en t w ith
at
th e
b e g in n in g o f th e seco nd c e n tu ry AD, a number o f
s ta te s
were fo rm a lly e s t a b l i s h e d a s commander y -ty p e u n i t s ,
s u b o r d in a te
c o u n tie s o r m arch es, and w ere a d m in is te re d by c h ie f
commandants r a t h e r th a n by g ran d a d m i n i s t r a t o r s .^
Under
th e
L a te r
could
In d ic a te
any
c h ie f
m ilita ry
a s s is ta n t
commandery;
Han
sy stem ,
th e t i t l e o f
C h ief Commandant
o f th r e e d i f f e r e n t ty p e s o f r e s p o n s i b i l i t y : to
th e
th e
g ran d a d m in is tr a to r o f a f r o n t i e r
th e e x e c u tiv e head o f a commander y - l e v e l dependent s t a t e ;
and t h i r d l y , v ery commonly, th e t i t l e was g iv e n t o th e o f f i c e r h o ld in g re s p o n s ib ility g a rris o n , th is
a g ric u ltu ra l
in
fo r
exam ple,
s e ttle m e n ts
g a r r is o n
a d m in is tr a tio n
o f a f ix e d m i l i t a r y u n i t :
we
f in d
( nong
c h ie f
duwei)
commandants and
o th e r s
in
a In
ch arge o f
re s p o n s ib le f o r
and t r a i n i n g camps, a s a t Yong n e a r Changan o r Liyang
Mel commandery.^
G reat
th e
a camp, a f o r t i f i e d p a s s o r an e x ten d ed b a se o f s u p p ly .
way,
m ajor
fo r
I t a p p e a r s , m oreover, t h a t th e g a r r is o n s o f th e
W all, a s a s t a t i c m i l i t a r y i n s t a l l a t i o n , were a ls o a d m in is te re d
4 by c h ie f commandants, w ith s u b o rd in a te com panies (hou) and s e c tio n s
The im p e ria l
governm ent
and
th e
arm ies w hich w ere r a i s e d from tim e to tim e by th e fo r
s p e c ia l
e x p e d itio n s
th e g a r r is o n commandants, b u t
c o lo n e ls
hand, th e
by
p la to o n s
( s u i) .^
v a rio u s
c o n tr o l l e d
(h o uguan),
( x ia o w ei)
a p p o in te d
f o r th e
were by
n o t, o f c o u rs e ,
g e n e ra ls ( jia n g ju n )
cam paign.
On th e
o th e r
e s ta b lis h m e n t i n L a te r Han o f th e tr a n s - L ia o command, w ith
ap p o in tm en t o f f i r s t an A ctin g and th e n a s u b s ta n tiv e G eneral Who
C ro sse s
th e L ia o , e s t a b l i s h e d i n a g a r r i s o n b a se a t Manbo n e a r modern
B aotou,
but
a ls o
w ith r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r a c tiv e cam paigning, i n t r o
duced a co m p o site form o f m i l i t a r y command.^
Like broad d id
any s e n s ib le a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , th e Han governm ent a l lo c a te d
a r e a s o f r e s p o n s i b i l i t y to d i f f e r e n t ty p e s o f o f f i c i a l s , b u t i t not
exam ple, c e n tu r ie s
in s is t co u ld of
upon a r i g i d d i s t i n c t i o n . be
e x p e c te d
Grand a d m in is tr a to r s , f o r
to le a d tr o o p s i n th e f i e l d , and i n th e
th e Han p e rio d many a r e re c o rd e d on a c tiv e s e r v i c e , and
even
as
m eetin g d e a th i n
th e
commandery,
th e
b a ttle .
in s p e c to r s
Q
M oreover, on a w id er s c a le th a n of
th e
p ro v in c e s
had
d e fin ite
r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r g e n e r a l d efen ce c o - o r d in a tio n and a c tiv e le a d e r s h ip in tim e o f s e r io u s t r o u b l e .
The developm ent o f th e p ro v in c e i s an i n t e r e s t i n g a s p e c t o f th e q a d m in is tr a tiv e h i s t o r y of Han. At th e b e g in n in g , th e u n i t d e s c rib e d n o rm ally a s th e c i r c u i t
(b u ),
in c lu d in g a number o f commanderies and
5 kingdom s, manner out
had
in
an
in s p e c to r
w hich
th e ir
th e
d u tie s .
a u th o rity
to
ta k e
is tra tio n .
(c is h i)
a p p o in te d
grand
a d m in is tr a to r s
His ran k
was low , o n ly
im m ediate a c tio n
on
to check upon
and c h a n c e llo r s c a r r ie d 600 s h i9 and
He d id how ever, have th e r i g h t to r e p o r t d i r e c t l y to th e M oreover,
tim e o f d is tu r b a n c e w ith in th e t e r r i t o r y o f h is s u p e r v is io n , i f i t
was
found
w ith
th e
and
he had no
any m a tte r o f c i v i l admin
th ro n e and t o s e t i n t r a i n an i n v e s t i g a t i o n o f m a lp r a c tic e . in
th e
th a t
th e co u n ty and th e n commandery f o r c e s co u ld n o t cope
r a i d i n g , b a n d itr y o r r e b e l l i o n , th e in s p e c to r had th e r i g h t
th e
d u ty
commanderles
to in
c o - o r d in a te th e
th e lev y
p ro v in c e
of
an
and would o f te n
army
from a l l th e
command t h i s fo rc e
a g a i n s t th e enemy.
G ra d u a lly , of
th e
from
i n s p e c to r s
c lo s in g
y e a rs
of
Former
and th e
th e
Han th ro u g h L a te r Han, th e im p o rtan ce p r o v in c ia l
d y n a s ty ,
as
u n i t s in c r e a s e d , and i n th e
d is tu rb a n c e
became
w id espread
th ro u g h o u t th e e m p ire , th e developm ent re a c h ed i t s f u lf ilm e n t w ith th e ap p o in tm en t ra n k
who
o f g o v e rn o rs o f p ro v in c e s (z h o u mu), th u s
h e ld
e x e c u tiv e
com m an d eries.10
For
developm ent
g r a d u a l,
was
a u th o rity
ov er
men o f
m in is te ria l
th e ir
s u b o rd in a te
th e g r e a t e r p a r t o f th e d y n a s ty , and
th e a u t h o r ity
of
however, t h i s
th e in s p e c to r was
g e n e r a lly u n c e r ta in .
On th e o th e r hand, i n term s o f th e f r o n t i e r r e g io n s , w ith m ajor m ilita ry th e
fo rc e s
p ro v in c e
In v o lv e d and a g r e a t e x te n t of t e r r i t o r y to c o n t r o l ,
o f te n
se rv e d a s a s e n s i b l e s t r a t e g i c u n i t f o r d e fe n c e .
6 M ilita r y
commanders
is tra tio n ,
and
b a rb a r ia n c e n tu ry w ith
in
th e
not
bound
by th e b o rd e rs o f c i v i l adm in
tim es o f m ajor c r i s e s , as of in v a s io n o r I n t e r n a l
re b e llio n AD,
d e s c r ib e
were
such
as
th a t
o f th e Qiang i n th e e a r l y second
th e p r o v i n c i a l u n i t p ro v id e d th e e f f e c t i v e s c a le t o cope
em ergency.
For t h i s r e a s o n , i n th e pages which fo llo w , I
th e geography o f th e n o r th e r n f r o n t i e r p r im a r ily i n term s o f
th e a r e a s o f th e p ro v in c e s .
F i n a l l y , how ever, one may em phasise once a g a in th e f l e x i b i l i t y , and
even
th e
n o r th .
th e
The
h is to rie s
in
c e rta in ly
a
ment
th e
and
v a g u e n e ss, o f Han a d m in is tr a tio n alo n g th e f r o n t i e r o f fo rm al c i v i l i a n a d m in is tr a tio n i s d e s c rib e d by th e
term s
of
commanderles
and
c o u n tie s ,
and
th e r e
is
c l e a r se n se of d i s t i n c t i o n betw een r e g u la r l o c a l g o v ern cam paigns o f m ajor e m e rg e n c ies.
On th e o th e r hand th e
m ainten an ce o f s e t t l e d o c c u p a tio n by C hin ese p eo p le i n th e n o r th was a p ra c tic a l nomads
problem
w hich
had
to
be
so lv e d a g a in s t a background o f
beyond th e f r o n t i e r , in d ig e n o u s n o n -C hinese p e o p le s w ith in i t ,
lo n g -te rm
g a r r is o n s
and
o c c a s io n a l
e x p e d itio n a ry
fo rc e s,
c o n tin u in g need f o r l o c a l m i l i t i a t o d e fe n d t h e i r own homes.
and
a
In th e s e
c irc u m s ta n c e s , w ith in th e fo rm al s t r u c t u r e o f im p e ria l a d m in is tr a tio n , th e
C hinese
a p p r o p r ia te
governm ent o f f e r e d i t s o f f i c i a l s th e o p p o rtu n ity to ta k e a c tio n
s t r a te g y o f s u r v i v a l .
as
th e
p a rtic u la r
need
a ro s e i n th e lo n g -te rm
Liang province: The
L iang
p ro v in c e
of
L a te r
Han
was d iv id e d i n two by th e
Y ellow R iv e r, flo w in g e a stw a rd s from th e T ib e ta n m a ssif and th e n n o r th tow ards
th e
d e se rt
te rrito rie s ,
th e
co m m in icatio n s o p p o rtu n ity
fo r
la n d o f th e O rdos.
Yellow
r o u te :
R iv er Its
tra v e l
was
of
v a lle y
u p stre a m
In t h i s re g io n , u n lik e o th e r o n ly
and
or
Its
down,
m inor Im portance a s a w a te rs but
p ro v id e
some
r iv e r tra n s p o rt Is
g e n e r a lly
p r a c t i c a b l e o n ly d u rin g th e h ig h w a te r o f summer, and th e re
w ere.
any c a s e , few p la c e s o f I n t e r e s t o r v a lu e a lo n g th e stream *
On
In
th e
c o n tr a r y . I n f a c t , I n th e tim e o f Qln and a t th e b eg in n in g o f
Former Han th e Yellow R iv er se rv e d as th e f r o n t i e r l i n e o f th e e m p ire, and d u rin g l a t e r c e n t u r i e s I t was a b a r r i e r t o be overcome f o r commini c a t i o n betw een China and c e n t r a l Asia*
A ccording began
at
Lanzhou,
Shi j i 9 th e
to
G reat W all
of
th e
em pire o f Qln
L ln ta o , In th e v a lle y o f th e Tao R iv er so u th o f p re s e n t-d a y th e n
ran n o rth to th e r e g io n o f Lanzhou, and th e n n o r th e a s t
below th e O r d o s * I t
was n o t u n t i l
b e fo re
th e
Han
e s t a b l i s h e d a m i l i t a r y and p o l i t i c a l
a c ro s s
th e
Yellow
100
p re se n c e m anderles were
BC,
th a t
n o rth w e st
th e tim e o f Emperor Wu, s h o r tly
of Hexl "West o f th e R iv e r" .
p ro b a b ly
e s ta b l i s h e d
In
104
and
Jln c h e n g i n th e h a lf - c e n tu r y f o l l o w i n g . ^
R iv er
and
founded th e com-
J lu q u a n , Zhangye and Dunhuang su b seq u en t y e a r s , Wuwel and
8 Under
L a te r
Han,
th e commanderies o f Wuwel, Zhangye, Jlu q u a n
and Dunhuang s t r e t c h e d in t h a t o rd e r from s o u th e a s t to n o rth w e st a lo n g th e p r e s e n t- d a y Gansu c o r r i d o r .
On th e s o u th w e st, th e y were backed by
th e Q ilia n Shan and th e m ountainous r e g io n o f p r e s e n t-d a y Q in g h ai. th e
n o r th
d e s e rts b ased
and
on on
h ig h
was
e a s t th e y fa c e d th e H elan Shan, th e Tengger and o th e r
th e
edges
o f th e G obi.
The c i t i e s and s e ttle m e n ts were
o a s e s , s u p p lie d by th e snowmelt stream s w hich flow from th e
ground
d e s e rt.
To
to
th e
so u th
and
th e n
d is a p p e a r i n t o m arshes i n th e
As i n th e Tarim b a s in o f c e n t r a l A sia , i r r i g a t i o n a g r i c u l t u r e
m a in ta in e d
around
th e s e c i t i e s , and th e s e t t l e d farm in g economy
was s u f f i c i e n t to p ro v id e a f r o n t i e r d e fe n c e f o r th e tr a d e and commun ic a t i o n s
of
th e
S ilk
Road w hich le d th ro u g h th e W estern R egions to
I n d ia and Rome.
T h is n a tu ra lly been
re g io n th e
ta k e n
of
b ase
o v er
fo r
th e an
Gansu
c o r r id o r
a g ric u ltu ra l
was n o t n e c e s s a r ily and economy.
I t had fo rm e rly
from c h i e f t a i n s o f Xiongnu s t a t e s , whose p e o p le had
no doubt found a d e q u a te g ra z in g grounds and p a s tu r e s among th e m arshes and of
alo n g th e r i v e r s o f t h i s t e r r i t o r y . Han
was
Though th e m i l i t a r y p re se n c e
r e in f o r c e d by a g r i c u l t u r a l c o lo n ie s and s e ttle m e n ts , th e
w a te r su p p ly o f th e r i v e r s to d ay i s s t i l l c h a n g e a b le , and r u in s i n th e d e se rt
te s tify
e lse w h e re .
The
to
th e lo s s o f o a se s and th e need f o r new s e ttle m e n t m ain ten an ce
of C hin ese c o lo n is a tio n d u rin g th e Han
p e rio d was by no means im p o s s ib le , b u t i t r e q u ire d c o n s ta n t e f f o r t and care.
9 In E dsin
G ol,
more
p a rt
th e
th a n
E dsin in
one
of
Ruo
th r e e
t h i s r e g io n , now known by th e Mongol name o f
Shui flow s p a s t th e p re s e n t c i t y o f Jiu q u an f o r
hundred
k ilo m e tr e s i n t o th e d e s e r t .
Nowadays, th e
Gol p ro v id e s l i t t l e more th a n b r a c k is h w ater and s a l t p a n s, but
th e tim e o f Han th e s e m arshes w ere f e r t i l e , and abundant w ith w ild
life .
The whole r i v e r system th e n p ro v id e d a s a l i e n t o f a r a b le la n d
s t r e t c h i n g i n t o th e h e a r t o f th e d e s e r t .
T his t e r r i t o r y , c a l l e d Juyan by th e Han C h inese, was m ain ta in e d and g a r r is o n e d by th e em pire from th e tim e o f Emperor Wu t i l l th e l a s t c e n tu ry
of
L a te r Han.
M i l i t a r i l y , th e o u tp o s t o f th e G reat W all was
im p o rta n t f o r two re a s o n s :
a s a su p p ly p o in t f o r th e g a r r is o n s in th e
n o rth w e s t an d , p e rh a p s more s i g n i f i c a n t , as a means to deny t h i s p ro s p e ro u s have
re g io n
to
th e n o r th e r n nomads.
p ro v id e d
an
id e a l
r o u te
m an d eries o f th e c o r r i d o r i t s e l f .
D uring Block Gol,
th e
Former
Enemy),
Han, had
fo r
L e ft undefen d ed , Juyan would
a t t a c k a g a in s t th e C hinese com-
13
th e re fo re ,
th e
Zhelu Zhang ( F o r tr e s s to
been c o n s tr u c te d by th e m arshes o f th e E dsin
and i t was from t h i s b a s e , f o r exam ple, t h a t th e g e n e r a l Li Ling
went f o r t h on h i s d is a s t r o u s a t t a c k a g a in s t th e XLongnu i n 99 B C .^
S outh
o f th e Juyan s a l i e n t , th e m ain l i n e o f d efen ces fo llo w ed
th e G reat W all, w hich ra n i n t h i s re g io n from th e p a sse s o f Yumen Guan and
Yang
Guan
i n Dunhuang commandery o f th e f a r w est a lo n g th e n o r
th e r n edge o f th e Gansu c o r r id o r p a s t J iu q u a n , Zhangye and W u w e l.^
10 The le ss and
commandery
o f Wuwei a ls o e x te n d ed a s a l i e n t t o th e n o r th ,
marked th a n t h a t o f Ju y an , b u t a ls o p r e s e n tin g a fo rw ard d efen ce a
fro n tie r
c o n tr o l
was
p a ss to th e s te p p e and d e s e r t .
b ased
upon
th e
riv e r
T his a re a of C hinese
system o f th e Shiyang He i n th e
re g io n of modern Minqin.***
Between o u ts id e
th e
th e s e G reat
two more advanced p o s i t i o n s , a lo n g and p ro b ab ly W all,
th e
Dependent S ta te o f Zhangye ex ten d ed a
s e r i e s o f m i l i t a r y p o s ts o v e r m a rg in a l la n d .
The c iv ilia n Behind
g a r r is o n s of th e w atch to w ers on th e w a ll were su p p o rte d by farm in g
and
by m i l i t a r y
a g ric u ltu ra l
c o lo n ie s (tu n tia r i) .
t h i s l i n e o f f o r t i f i c a t i o n s , th e governm ent o f Han was a b le to
m a in ta in
its
R eg io n s,
in
s e ttle m e n ts c e n tra l
n o r th .
In
th e
Q ilia n
Shan,
and
A sia ,
and
its
com m unications
g e n e r a lly
s e c u re
to
th e
W estern
from a tta c k s from th e
o th e r d i r e c t i o n , th e h ig h ground o f th e Q inghal and th e
lim ite d
p o litic a l
p e o p le , r e q u ir e d no such s c a l e o f p r o t e c t i o n .
o r g a n is a tio n
o f th e h i l l
R aids a r e re c o rd e d , b u t
f o r th e most p a r t th e w a lls o f th e C hinese c i t i e s and s e ttle m e n ts were a d e q u a te f o r d e fe n c e o r d e te r r e n c e .
In many r e s p e c t s , d e s p i t e th e s t r a t e g i c im p o rtan ce o f th e Gansu c o rrid o r,
it
d iffic u lty m a in ta in e d ,
was
not
a
te rrito ry
to th e Han d y n a s ty . th e
m ountains
on
w hich
p re s e n te d g r e a t m i l i t a r y
So lo n g a s th e d e fe n c e s were p ro p e rly one
s id e and th e d e s e r t on th e o th e r
r e s t r i c t e d th e r i s k o f s e r io u s a t t a c k , and th e l o c a l p o p u la tio n o f th e re g io n ,
la rg e ly
C hinese s e t t l e r s , had sm a ll re a so n o r o p p o rtu n ity to
11 cause
tr o u b le to t h e i r governm ent.
C hinese
p e o p le
a ro s e
The problem s o f d e a lin g w ith non-
r a t h e r i n th e s o u th and e a s t» among th e broken
ground o f th e Yellow R iv er and i t s t r i b u t a r i e s .
It Yellow
is
R iv er
p re s e n tH ta y th e
not
b a se
d u rin g
Han
L a n z h o u ;^ fo r
Jln c h e n g
c e r t a i n w here th e S ilk Road from China c ro s s e d th e tim es»
and t h i s
b u t i t was s u r e ly i n th e re g io n o f f r o n t i e r p la c e o f
e x p a n sio n t o th e w est o f th e r i v e r .
e a r ly Han became The commandery o f
was n o t fo rm a lly e s t a b l i s h e d u n t i l 81 BC» b u t a d m in is tr a tiv e
and p o l i t i c a l c o n tr o l had been m a in ta in e d f o r a g e n e ra tio n b e fo re t h a t tim e ,
b ased
n o ta b ly
upon th e g a r r i s o n c i t y o f L ianju» on th e Datong
R iver» a b o u t a hundred k ilo m e tr e s n o rth w e s t o f p r e s e n t-d a y Lanzhou.
U n lik e te rrito ry
n o rth w e s t
more
c o rrid o r, th a n
a
how ever,
th e
landform
of th is
sim p le com m unications r o u te to th e
À s h o r t d is ta n c e u p stream from Lanzhou, th e Yellow R iv er
jo in e d
riv e rs
Gansu
p ro v id e s
n o rth w e s t. is
th e
1Q
from by
flow
th e
th e
s o u th by th e Daxla and Tao r i v e r s , and from th e
ftiang S h u l, o r
th ro u g h
X lnlng R iv e r. ^
The two s o u th e rn
h i l l c o u n try and th e low er edges o f th e Q inghai
m a s s if , and c o m p a ra tiv e ly s p e a k in g , com m in icatlon a c r o s s th e w atersh ed from th e Tao R iv er v a lle y e a stw a rd s to th e u pper re a c h e s o f th e Wei i s not
p a rtic u la rly d if f ic u lt.
p o ra te d Han
as
governm ent
e s ta b li s h e d in to
fro n tie r
th e
does
So th e Tao and Daxia v a lle y s were in c o r
te rrito rie s
in to
th e em p ire, and a lth o u g h th e
n o t a p p e a r t o have m a in ta in e d th e w a ll d e fe n c e s
by Q in, th e r e was sm a ll need o r o p p o rtu n ity f o r ex p an sio n h ig h
ground alo n g th e upper re a c h e s o f th e Yellow R iv er to
12 th e
By
w est
fo llo w e d
th e
and
la rg e .
g e n e ra l
lin e
It of
a p p e a rs th e
t h a t th e im p e ria l f r o n t i e r
p r e s e n t a d m in is tr a tiv e boundary
between Gansu and Q in g h ai.
N orth o f th e Yellow R iv e r, how ever, th e X inlng v a lle y p re s e n te d a
d iffe re n t
s itu a tio n .
The
X inlng
R iv er has i t s so u rc e n e a r th e
c lo s e d s a l t la k e o f Koko Nor, o r Qing H al, from w hich th e w hole modern re g io n
g e ts
its
name.
I t flow s g e n e r a lly e a s t to j o i n th e Yellow
R iv e r, and s h o r t l y b e fo re t h a t j u n c t i o n i t i s jo in e d from th e n o r th by th e Datong R iv e r.
The
u p p er
re a c h e s o f th e X inlng R iv e r were o f no s ig n if ic a n c e
f o r th e com m unications ro u te o f th e S ilk Road, w hich p ro b a b ly fo llo w ed th e
Zhuanglang
th e
lin e
guard
on
narrow alo n g
of
R iv er th e
th e
from th e c r o s s in g o f th e Yellow R iv er c lo s e to
p re s e n t r a i l r o a d , w ith th e f o r t r e s s o f L ia n ju a s a
w e s t.
F u rth e r
w e st, th e X inlng V alley i s g e n e r a lly
betw een th e m o u n tain s, b u t th e r e i s f e r t i l e , c u l t i v a b l e ground th e
riv e r.
p ro v id e d
econom ic
te rrito ry
w hich
F or
th e
a d v an tag e co u ld
C h in ese, to
th e ir
t h i s re g io n , l i k e E dsin Gol, c o n tro l,
and
be d an g ero u s i f l e f t u n a tte n d e d .
i t was a ls o a N on-Chinese
p e o p le s m ight f in d h e re th e o p p o r tu n ity f o r p o l i t i c a l a s s o c i a t i o n , and from
them c o u ld come a c o h e re n t t h r e a t a g a i n s t th e im p e r ia l p o s itio n s
on th e Yellow R iv e r.
The e s ta b lis h m e n t o f Jin ch en g commander y , t h e r e f o r e , se rv e d two p u rp o s e s :
f i r s t l y a s th e b ase f o r th e com m unications l i n e a c ro s s th e
13 Yellow
R iv er
which
le d
n o r th
th ro u g h Wuwel and I n to c e n t r a l A sia ;
second a s an a r e a f o r c o l o n i s a t i o n by th e C h in ese, n o r th o f th e Yellow R iver and among th e X inlng v a l l e y •
So w ith th e
fa r,
th o s e tim e
a re a s of
p ro v in c e ,
th e
by
th e
o f L iang p ro v in c e h as been concerned
which were th e s u b je c t o f ex p an sio n and s e ttle m e n t
Emperor
how ever,
c o n tr o l l e d
d is c u s s io n
was
Wu
of
Former
te rrito i^
Han.
w hich
The e a s t e r n p a r t o f th e had f o r th e most p a r t been
governm ent o f th e Qin s t a t e and em pire i n th e th e
t h i r d c e n tu ry BC.
Under th e Q in, th e g r e a t e r p a r t o f t h i s re g io n was a d m in is te re d by Longxi commandery, so named from i t s p o s i tio n w est o f Long M ountain, a s o u th e rn peak o f th e L iupan Shan, on th e b o rd e r o f p re s e n t-d a y Gansu and
Shaanxi p r o v in c e s .
In g e o g ra p h ic a l te rm s , th e term "w est o f Long
M ountain" d e s c r ib e s a l l th e v a l l e y o f th e u p p er Wei, b e in g th e b u lk of th e e a s t e r n p a r t o f p r e s e n t- d a y Gansu.
D uring th e
commandery
im m ed iately governed
was
th e
L iang
m ountainous
p e rio d , u n d er th e arran g em en ts o f Emperor Wu,
o f Long M ountain, and th e rump o f Longxi commandery fro n tie r
te rrito ry
p a r t o f th e Wei v a l l e y .
commandery, in
Han
o f T la n sh u l was e s t a b l i s h e d to c o n tr o l th e Wei v a lle y
w est
o n ly
w estern m o st Wudu
th e
w hich
p ro v in c e
of
th e
Tao
R iv er
and th e
South o f th e Wei and th e Tao was
had been i n Yi c i r c u i t under Former Han, b u t of
L a te r
Han.
The commandery cov ered th e
c o u n try o f th e Min Shan i n p r e s e n t-d a y s o u th e rn Gansu and
14 th e
b o rd e rs o f S ich u an , w ith th e upper c o u rse o f th e Han R iv er and of
th e
B allo n g J ia n g .
In t h i s r e g io n a l s o , b o th th e n o n-C hinese and th e
C hinese s e ttle m e n ts were s c a t t e r e d and I s o l a t e d among th e m ountains a t th e
fo o th ills
of
T ib e t
and
th e b ase o f th e g r e a t rid g e o f th e Qln
L ing.
Wudu from
n o r th
Qln
Ling
wound
In
to s o u th .
d id
Its
way of
Bao
c o n ta in a good com m unications r o u te
The main a c c e s s from th e Wei R iver th ro u g h th e
s o u th th e
from
Mel county i n Y oufufeng, up th e Ye R iv er
Wei, a c r o s s th e T a lb a l Shan and i n t o th e v a lle y o f
R iv e r, t r i b u t a r y o f th e u p p er Han, w ith term in u s a t Baozhong
Hanzhong commandery.
Cloud"
Road,
c o u n ty ,
in
county
not
to p r e s e n t- d a y S ichuan was th e c e le b r a te d Baoye Road, which
trib u ta ry th e
commander y
w hich th e
In
A se c o n d , o ld e r ro a d , th e L ianyun o r "Linked
la y
re g io n
east of
o f th e Baoye, ra n so u th from Chencang
p r e s e n t- d a y B a o jl, to Gudao ("O ld Road")
Wudu commandery, n e a r p r e s e n t- d a y Fengxian In S h aan x i, and
th e n a c r o s s th e w a te rsh e d to th e r e g io n o f p re s e n t-d a y L iu b a, a g a in on th e Bao R iv er above Baozhong.
Both ro u te s ,
th e s e
are
ro a d s ,
rem ark ab le
and
th e
v a r io u s m inor and more d i f f i c u l t
exam ples o f e n g in e e rin g s k i l l and I n g e n u ity ,
w ith g a l l e r i e s c u t i n t o th e c l i f f s and e s c a rp m e n ts, and t r e s t l e s b u i l t out
o v er
a c tu a lly
th e r a v i n e s . a d m in is te re d
com m unication v a lle y ,
b e in g
and
Though Gudao on th e as
p a rt
tra n s p o rt
of
were
Wudu
Linked Cloud Road was
commandery, th e s e l i n e s o f
d e sig n e d to co n n ect th e low er Wei
th e r e g io n a b o u t Changan, w ith th e u p p er c o u rse o f th e
15 Han R iv e r .
They c lim b e d , t h e r e f o r e , th ro u g h th e ran g es o f p re s e n t-d a y
s o u th e rn S h aan x i, and m ost o f Wudu commandery, i n p re s e n t-d a y so u th e rn Gansu, was a somewhat i s o l a t e d f r o n t i e r t e r r i t o r y , w ith i t s a x is a lo n g th e
r id g e s
and
among th e v a l l e y s o f th e h ead w aters o f th e Han R iv er
and th e Tao.
The m ain com m unications r o u te e a s t and w est a lo n g th e Wei R iv er was th e Long Road, so c a lle d from th e m ountain by which i t p a s s e d . seems of
m ost p ro b a b le t h a t th e a n c ie n t ro a d g e n e r a lly fo llo w e d th e l i n e
th e
th e
modern
ra ilw a y from X i'a n alo n g th e Wei v a l l e y , th e n c ro sse d
w a te rsh e d
R iv er
near
in to
c e n tra l
lo e s s
h ills ,
but
It
to
R iv e r, and th e n went n o r th t o th e Yellow
where i t jo in e d th e S ilk Road le a d in g n o rth w e st
A sia .
Most o f th e c o u n try o f e a s t e r n Gansu i s r o l l i n g
n o t a m ajor o b s tr u c tio n to open movement and m anoeuvre, to
s tre a m s ,
Yellow
Tao
Lanzhou,
s u ffic ie n t
m ajor
th e
re n d e r
w h ile
a t t r a c t i v e th e s i l t e d f l o o d - p la in s o f th e
in
th e u pper re a c h e s of th e Wei and ab o u t th e
R iv e r th e t e r r a i n i s s te e p enough t o make t r a v e l away from th e
v a lle y s q u ite d i f f i c u l t .
N ear Gansu In
and
th is
co u n try
Long
M ountain,
S h aan x i, re g io n
th e
th e road
how ever,
on
th e b o rd e rs o f p re s e n t-d a y
Wei R iv er ru n s th ro u g h g o rg es i n th e l o e s s . le ft
th e Wei v a lle y and c ro s s e d th e h i l l
th ro u g h th e Long P a s s , n o rth o f th e r i v e r .
The Long Pass was
a f o r t i f i e d b a r r i e r , and i t a p p e a rs a l s o t h a t th e Long Road I t s e l f was p r o te c te d
as
a m i l i t a r y highw ay, w ith p a t r o l s , g a r r is o n s , s t o r e s and
a r s e n a l s a t I n t e r v a l s a lo n g i t s c o u rs e .
21
16 N orth
of
th e Wei, th e v a r io u s v a l l e y s o f I t s t r i b u t a r i e s w est
o f Llupan Shan were c o n tr o lle d by T la n sh u l commandery, renamed Hanyang In
74 ÂD, w h ile th e s m a ll r i v e r v a l l e y s w hich jo in e d th e Yellow R iv er
fu rth e r
n o r th
Wuwel. Quwu
and
a c ro s s
th e narrow w a te rsh ed were a d m in is te re d by
Some peaks o f th e L lupan Shan and I t s n o r th e r n e x te n s io n th e Shan may r i s e above 2500 m e tre s , b u t th e ground I s c o m p a ra tiv e ly
open,
w ith
a number o f broad v a l l e y s , and th e p o s s i b i l i t y o f h e rd in g
and movement.
In
one
re sp e c t
In
so u th e rn
p re s e n t. fo re s ts ,
but
e x te n s iv e
th e
are a s
Wei of
th e
c o u n try
S h aan x i, v a lle y
th e
and
c h a n n e lle d
and
d r a in e d ,
d e f o r e s te d
and
te r r a c e d .
c e rta in ly
Qln
Its
d i f f e r e n t to th e
Ling I s s t i l l co v ered by
trib u ta rie s
once c o n ta in e d
and
Now th e m arshes a r e a lm o st e n t i r e l y
th e In
h i l l s lo p e s have been e x te n s iv e ly
th e
tim e
of
th e
Han d y n a s ty , th e
o f Liang p ro v in c e was n o t f u l l y c o m p lete, and th e r e were
a re a s
c a tio n s .
m arkedly
m arsh lan d , and th e h i l l c o u n try o f Long M ountain
and th e n o r th w ere a ls o tim b e re d .
c o lo n is a tio n
was
where
m arshland
p ro v id e d
an
o b s ta c le t o communi
We a r e t o l d , m oreover, t h a t th e commanderles o f T la n sh u l and
Longxl o f Han w ere n o te d f o r t h e i r m ountains and f o r e s t s , and I t seems c e rta in a c ro ss
t h a t th e tim b ered c o u n try o f th e Qln Ling exten d ed north w ard s th e
Wei,
th in n in g
g ra d u a lly
u n til
g r a s s la n d s o f th e s te p p e s s o u th o f th e O rdos.
The Liang
developm ent
It
p e te re d
o u t I n th e
22
o f a d m in is tr a tiv e geography I n t h i s re g io n o f
p ro v in c e r e f l e c t s a p ro c e s s o f amendment to th e o r i g i n a l scheme
17 of
Qln and e a r l y Han.
With I t s power b ase on th e low er v a lle y of th e
Wei, a s th e governm ent o f Qln had expanded w est and n o r th . I t r a d ia te d I t s a d m in is tr a tiv e c o n tr o l outw ards l i k e th e a rc s of a c i r c l e . w e st, th e
Longxl Wei
of
th e
so
beyond
had
th e Long P a ss, and from t h a t advanced base Qln
expanded to th e v a lle y of th e Tao R iv e r and th e co u rse
Yellow R iv er f u r t h e r n o r th .
c o n tr o l th e
commandery of Qln had been based on th e up p er v a lle y of
ju s t
a u th o r i t y
On th e
In l a t e r g e n e r a tio n s , as C hinese
became firm and th e p o p u la tio n u nder I t s a u th o r ity In c re a s e d ,
o rig in a l th a t
u n its
o f ex p a n sio n were d iv id e d up I n to s m a lle r a r e a s ,
T la n s h u i/Hanyang and Wudu commanderies w ere e s t a b l i s h e d from
p a r t o f th e t e r r i t o r y o f L ongxl.
The p ro c e s s was a lo n g o n e, and i t c a n n o t be su g g e ste d t h a t th e governm ent
of
b a la n c e .
T here
fro n tie r th e
was
In s ta n tly
w as,
how ever,
re s p o n s iv e a
to
changes
i n a th e
dynamic t o th e governm ent o f th e
p r o v in c e s , w ith power e x p re s s e d by com m unication r o u te s from
s e ttle d
tim e .
Han
It
h in te rla n d
was
to
e s s e n tia l
th e more u n c e r ta in b o r d e r s .
At th e same
b o th t h a t th e b o rd e rs sh o u ld n o t be to o f a r
ex ten d e d and t h a t th e h i n t e r l a n d sh o u ld rem ain s e t t l e d and s e c u re .
To th e n o r th o f th e Wei, two f u r t h e r commanderies were In c lu d e d in th e
L iang
p ro v in c e .
e a s te rn m o s t
p a rt
Anding and B e id i had been b ased upon what i s now of
Gansu
p ro v in c e ,
e a s t o f th e L lupan Shan,
e x te n d in g o v e r th e g r e a t e r p a r t o f t h i s d ra in a g e b a s in w hich form s th e J ln g R iv e r. from
a
The J ln g I s a t r i b u t a r y o f th e low er Wei, g a th e r in g w a te r
broad
open
v a lle y and th e n p a s s in g th ro u g h a rid g e o f h i l l s
18 n o rth w e s t
of
known
th e Qian Shan, marked th e b o rd e r betw een Liang p ro v in c e and
th e
as
p re s e n t-d a y
im p e r ia l
c a p ita l
X i'a n .
Under th e Han d y n a sty th e s e h i l l s ,
d i s t r i c t a b o u t Changan.
In modern tim e s , th ey
s e p a r a te Shaanxi p ro v in c e from th e extrem e e a s te r n s e c tio n o f Gansu.
In C hinese th e
Former
Han,
s e ttle m e n ts
Andlng
and B e id l had c o n tr o lle d a p a t t e r n o f
which ex ten d ed n o rth w e st from th e J ln g
Yellow R iv e r n e a r p r e s e n t- d a y Y inchuan i n N in g x ia.
R iv er to
Like Wuwel to
th e w e s t, and th e lo n g l i n e o f th e E d sin G ol, th e a r e a o f Yinchuan may be
se e n
among to r y
as
th e was
an
o u tp o s t
o f f e r t i l e , i r r i g a b l e a g r i c u l t u r a l farm lan d
d ry la n d s o f d e s e r t and s te p p e .
In Tang tim es t h i s t e r r i
an im p o rta n t c e n tr e o f com m unications, and i t had lo n g been
s e ttle d
by
th e
Chinese
p e rio d ,
how ever,
reach ed
th e
though
under th e
Qln
and
te rrito rie s
Han.
During th e L a te r Han
o f th e commanderies s t i l l
Yellow R iv e r, th e r e were few er county c i t i e s and c o n tr o l
was l e s s e f f e c t i v e .
Two fe rre d
by
re s tric te d Here
th e
He. Andlng,
c o u n tie s L a te r to
th e
county
S anshul an
was
i n th e w est of Former Han Andlng had been t r a n s
Han
to
th e t e r r i t o r y o f Wuwei, and Andlng was now
e a s t o f th e Quwu ra n g e , n o r th o f th e L iupan Shan. o f Sanshul ex ten d ed o v er th e v a lle y o f th e Q lngshui a ls o
a d m in is tr a tiv e
th e
h e a d q u a rte rs o f th e Dependent S ta te o f
e x p e d ie n t
to
e x ten d
p o t e n t i a l l y o v e r - s t r e t c h e d c o u n ty a d m in is tr a tio n « ^
th e a u t h o r i t y o f a
19 N o rth
and
east
of
Anding,
B e id l
commandery had s u f f e r e d a
s i m i l a r f a t e . I t s t e r r i t o r y s t i l l ex ten d ed from th e v a lle y o f th e J ln g to
th e
Yellow R iv e r, b u t m ost o f th e re g io n i n betw een was u n d er th e
s in g le
county
p re s e n t- d a y a b o lis h e d , c lo s e
to
of
L ingzhou,
Y inchuan. and
th e
modern
À
whose la r g e
c i t y was i n th e neighbourhood o f number
o f o th e r c o u n tie s had been
c a p i t a l , F u p in g , which under Former Han had been
Y inchuan,
was
s h ifte d
so u th
by L a te r Han to th e
neighbourhood o f Jin g y an g i n Gansu
In
t h i s re g io n , t h e r e f o r e , i n th e la n d s on th e s o u th e rn f r in g e
o f th e O rdos, th e ex p an sio n o f Former Han had been la r g e l y h a lte d by a co m b in a tio n fa c to rs .
of As
p o litic a l, in
o th e r
econom ic
and
u ltim a te ly
g e o g ra p h ic a l
r e g io n s to th e n o r th and e a s t , th e f r o n t i e r
p o s i t i o n o f L a te r Han was n o t e q u a l to t h a t o f i t s p re d e c e s s o r.
A note on the question o f clim ate :
lan d
At
t h i s p o in t we sh o u ld c o n s id e r th e f a c t t h a t th e form o f th e
and
th e p o t e n t i a l f e r t i l i t y o f th e s o i l a re o f alm o st seco n d ary
im p o rta n c e Like
a ll
compared of
C hina,
w ith
th e q u e s tio n s o f r a i n f a l l and te m p e ra tu re .
t h i s re g io n o f th e n o rth w e st i s a f f e c te d by th e
an n u a l monsoon a l t e r n a t i o n o f a i r movement; w ith warm w et summers from th e
s o u th in f lu e n c e d by th e s e a s o n a l c o n tin e n ta l low p re s s u r e r e g io n ,
and
c o ld
dry w in te r s from th e g r e a t h ig h p re s s u re re g io n which forms
over M ongolia.
20 Ät
th e
p ro v in c e
p re se n t
tim e , th e r e g io n o f Lanzhou and m ost o f Gansu
l i e s c lo s e to th e l i n e o f 250 m illim e tr e s (10 In c h e s ) an n u al
r a i n f a l l , and th e minimum a v e ra g e te m p e ra tu re I n Jan u ary re a c h e s ab o u t -5°C ,
so t h a t o n ly
Under
th e s e c o n d itio n s , w heat and q u ic k -g ro w in g g r a in s such a s m i l l e t
and
b a r le y
fu rth e r
can
s o u th ,
p re c ip ita tio n w heat
150 to 200 days o f th e y e a r
be
sown
near and
a re f r e e from f r o s t .
I n s p r in g f o r h a r v e s t In autum n.
p r e s e n t day
X i'a n ,
S lig h tly
a s m a ll in c r e a s e i n an n u a l
a somewhat m ild e r w in te r allo w f o r th e p la n tin g o f
In w in te r f o r h a r v e s tin g I n m id -y e a r, fo llo w ed a g a in by m i l l e t ,
b a rle y o r o th e r c r o p s . 25
The w ith
Wei v a lle y a b o u t X i'a n , how ever, i s re c o g n is e d a s a re g io n
lo c a l
c lim a te
a g ric u ltu re :
o ffe rin g
more
fa v o u ra b le
c o n d itio n s
fo r
a t th e p r e s e n t- d a y , th e Wei v a lle y i s th e f u r t h e s t p la c e
n o rth of th e Qin Ling d iv id in g ran g e which w i l l s u p p o rt th e grow ing of bamboo,
a
g e n e r a lly
fe rtility
of
tro p ic a l
p la n t.
It
was,
in d e e d ,
th e v ery
t h i s re g io n which made i t th e key econom ic a re a f o r th e
dominance o f n o r th C hina f i r s t by Qin and th e n by Former Han.
It d e ta ils
is of
th e
in te re s tin g and
im p o s s ib le to a s s e s s , w ith any deg ree o f p r e c i s i o n , th e c lim a te
a c c o u n ts
of
n o r th
China d u rin g th e Han.
i n l i t e r a t u r e , and s p e c i f i c re c o rd s o f d ro u g h ts
flo o d s have been p re s e rv e d i n th e h i s t o r i e s .
is o la te d dangerous rem ark ab ly
ite m s , as
th e
re la te d b a s is
d iffic u lt
There a r e
to
o n ly fo r ju d g e
to
These a r e , how ever,
one p a r t i c u l a r p la c e o r tim e , and
g e n e ra lis a tio n :
i t i s , f o r exam ple,
w h eth er a r e f e r e n c e to a d ro u g h t, o r
21 even a
a
s e rie s
g ra d u a l
of
d ro u g h ts o v er s e v e r a l y e a r s . I s th e in d i c a t i o n o f
change i n c lim a te o r a p p e a rs r a t h e r a s a l o c a l phenomenon,
i n d ic a t i n g
re a s o n a b le
but
u n fu lfille d
e x p e c ta tio n s of s a t i s f a c t o r y
ra in fa ll;
and
th e d ro u g h t i t s e l f may have been re p o r te d to th e c o u rt
more
th e
p o litic a l
fo r
v a lu e
of
th e
p o r te n t
th a n as an ite m o f
p r a c t i c a l c o n c e rn . °
The 1972,
C hinese
assesses
s c h o la r
lite ra ry
p a rtic u la r
r e g io n s ,
in d ic a to rs
found
G reenland betw een u n til
ic e
p h y s ic a l
in
so u rc e s
Z h u 's in
th e
bamboo From
th a t
h is
judgem ents
w ith th e c lim a te
in
th e
is
an im p re s s iv e g e n e r a l c o r r e l a t i o n
and
th e e v id en ce from G reen lan d , and
re s u lts
of
d e t a i l e d re s e a r c h from
C hina, P ro f e s s o r Z h u 's work i s th e b e s t g e n e ra l 27
f o r th e Qin and Han p e rio d s u g g e s ts t h a t
and second c e n tu r ie s BC th e c lim a te of n o r th China was
more
w e ll
T here
r e c o n s tr u c tio n
th ird
g e n e r a lly
com pares
p u b lish e d
o u t l i n e t h a t we h av e.
in an a r t i c l e p u b lish e d in
and h i s t o r i c a l re c o rd s o f p la n ts grow ing in
r e c o n s tr u c tio n s a re
Kezhen,
oxygen is o to p e p r o f i l e s from d r i l l c o re s in th e
s h e e t.
Z h u 's th e r e
and
Zhu
te m p e ra te th a n to d a y , w ith an e a r l i e r s p rin g and w ith
e s t a b l i s h e d i n th e re g io n o f p re s e n t-d a y Henan p ro v in c e . tim e , how ever, th e c lim a te g r a d u a lly became c o ld e r , w ith a
low p o in t about th e b e g in n in g o f L a te r Han, e a r ly i n th e f i r s t c e n tu ry AD,
a s l i g h t improvement a t th e end of th e f i r s t and th e b eg in n in g o f
th e
second
c e n tu r y , and th e n a n o th e r c o ld s p e l l le a d in g to th e Three
22 Kingdoms
p e rio d
and
Che
J in .
I t may be e s tim a te d th a t th e o v e r a ll
te m p e ra tu re o f China may have f a l l e n 1 o r 2 d eg rees below th e p r e s e n t.
I t Is a te m p tin g s p e c u la tio n to l i n k th e d e c lin e o f Former Han, and
th e
L a te r Han s h i f t o f th e c a p i t a l from Changan t o Luoyang, w ith
th e
e ffe c t
of
te m p a tlo n ,
how ever,
re s is te d . about and
th e
Even
g ra d u a l c o ld and d ry change of th e c lim a te . In
a p a rt
our
p resen t
s ta te
of
know ledge,
The
must be
from th e g e n e r a l u n c e r ta in ty of c a lc u la tio n s
th e c lim a te , th e r e w ere many o th e r f a c t o r s , p o l i t i c a l , p e rs o n a l m i l i t a r y , which d eterm in ed th e s h i f t s o f power w ith in th e C hinese
w orld from one g e n e r a tio n to a n o th e r .
I t sh o u ld be n o te d , m oreover, t h a t t h e r e I s no e v id e n c e f o r any m ajo r,
c a ta s tro p ic
th o u san d In
change
i n th e c lim a te o f China ov er th e p a s t two
y e a rs.
Such v a r i a t i o n s a s th e r e have b een, i n r a i n f a l l and
te m p e ra tu re ,
have been In c re m e n ta l one way o r a n o th e r , and though
th e e f f e c t o f such changes may have s e r io u s l o c a l c o n seq u en ces, p a r t i c u la r l y
when
change
i s compounded by m istak en e f f o r t s o f man, i t i s
p re se n t
s c i e n t i f i c o p in io n t h a t th e c lim a te o f n o r th C hina d u rin g Han
was s im i l a r to t h a t o f th e p r e s e n t- d a y .
From must of
th e
28
p o in t o f view o f th e f r o n t i e r h i s t o r y , however, what
be re c o g n is e d I s t h a t th e g r e a t e r p a r t of th e n o rth e rn p ro v in c e s Han la y alo n g th e m argin o f a g r i c u l t u r e
With
th e
th e
more
a id
and th e p a s t o r a l economy.
of w a te r c o n tr o l and s to r a g e to p ro v id e i r r i g a t i o n f o r
le v e l ground o f th e r i v e r v a l l e y s , th e fa rm e rs o f Han, l i k e
23 t h e i r c o u n te r p a r ts today» co u ld h a r v e s t t h e i r c ro p s and m a in ta in t h e i r way
of
life ,
g ra z e d
th e ir
fro n tie r th e
w h ile f u r t h e r o u t, on th e open h i l l s i d e s , o th e r p eo p le f lo c k s
and
h e rd s.
These p ro v in c e s a lo n g th e n o rth e rn
o f th e em pire p ro v id e d th e c o n d itio n s f o r a mixed economy on
m argins
of
s e ttle m e n t.
In such c irc u m s ta n c e s , a co m p arativ ely
s l i g h t o r s h o r t- te r m change i n th e p a t t e r n o f r a i n f a l l and te m p e ra tu re co u ld have Im p o rta n t co n seq u en ces.
29
Bing province: N orth day
of
S haanxi
th e Wei R iv e r below X i'a n , th e t e r r i t o r y o f p r e s e n t-
c o n tr o ls
trib u ta rie s .
The
c lo s e
W ei's
to
bend. th e
th e U n lik e
low er
th e
Luo
wide
v a lle y
of
th e
Luo
R iv er and i t s
a ls o flo w s s o u th t o j o i n th e Wei R iv e r, very
own ju n c tio n w ith th e Yellow R iver a t i t s g r e a t
th e J in g R iv e r, how ever, th e o th e r m ajor t r i b u t a r y of
Wei, th e Luo a p p e a rs r a t h e r a s a main stre a m w ith numerous
trib u ta rie s At
th e
th a n
as a complex o f m inor stream s a c ro s s a bro ad b a s in .
head o f th e v a l l e y , th e w a te rsh e d o f th e Baiyu Shan s e p a r a te s
th e
u p p er re a c h e s o f th e Luo from th e Wudlng and o th e r t r i b u t a r i e s of
th e
Yellow
R iv er on th e n o r t h e a s t , and from th e ste p p e and d e s e r t o f
th e Ordos r e g io n t o th e n o rth w e s t.
In d u rin g
L a te r
Z uoplngyi v a lle y
th e
in
were
re g io n Han S ill under
was
o f th e Wei v a l l e y , th e low er c o u rse o f th e Luo c o n tr o lle d
by
th e
c a p ita l
commandery
of
p ro v in c e , b u t th e m id d le and up p er re a c h e s of th e Shang
commandery,
and
th e
te rrito ry
of
th e
24 commandery, v a lle y
to
a
Qin
d y n asty
In c lu d e
fo u n d a tio n ,
ex ten d ed n o r th from th e Luo
most o f n o r th e r n Shaanxi and to e x e r c is e a t l e a s t
nom inal r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r th e so u th o f th e O rdos.
Under c a p ita l
at
commandery from
th e
on
n o r th
d y n a s ty , th e D ir e c t Road le d from th e im p e ria l
Xianyang th e
Ganquan,
due
Qin
to
n o r th e r n
s ite
alo n g
th e
o u tly in g
fro n tie r
p o s ts
loop o f th e Yellow R iv e r.
of
Jiu y u an
The ro ad ra n
o f a g r e a t d e ta c h e d p a la c e o f th e F i r s t Em peror,
th e r id g e o f th e Zlwu L ing ra n g e s , a c ro s s th e B aiyu
Shan and th e n n o r th th ro u g h th e c e n tr e o f
th e Ordos to re a c h and c ro s s
th e
i n In n e r M ongolia.
Yellow
rem ark ab le b u ild e r th e In
of
C hinese th e
R iv er by p r e s e n t- d a y Baotou fe a t
o f c o n s tr u c tio n by th e c e le b r a te d g e n e ra l Meng H a n ,
th e
G reat W all o f Qin, and i t confirm ed th e a u t h o r i t y o f
em pire alo n g
c e n tu ry
n o rth e rn
I t was a
which
te rrito rie s
th e f u r t h e s t re a ch
fo llo w e d
were
lo s t
of th e Yellow R iv e r.
30
th e f a l l o f Qin, how ever, th o s e f a r to
C hinese c o n tr o l, and i t was n o t
u n t i l th e tim e of Emperor Wu t h a t th e em pire re tu r n e d to th e n o r th .
When e s ta b lis h e d Shang of
Han
alo n g th e
commandery
commanderles n o rth e rn
p ro v id e d
of
Wuyuan
and
Shuofeng
past
to
have
p r e s e n t- d a y c a p ita l
Y u lin .
of
were
loop o f th e Yellow R iv er i n 127 BC,
th e main r o u te o f a c c e s s .
The N orth Road
Han, how ever, d id n o t ta k e th e d i r e c t l i n e o f th e Qin:
ra th e r
th e
th e
i t a p p e a rs
fo llo w e d th e Luo v a l l e y , c ro sse d th e w atersh ed n o r th Y an'an, th e
th e n fo llo w e d th e Wudlng R iv e r p a s t F u s h l,
commandery, and n o r th th ro u g h th e G reat Wall a t
From t h e r e , a motor ro ad now ru n s n o r th
th ro u g h th e d e s e r t
25 to
Dongsheng
ta c u la r a ls o
and
feat
on
of
a s s is te d
to
B aotou.
m ilita ry
th e
The Han road was n o t such a sp ec
e n g in e e rin g
as
th a t
o f th e Q ln, b u t I t
a d m in is tr a tio n o f Shang commandery I t s e l f » and I t
p ro v id e d a l e s s exposed r o u te f o r r e g u l a r com m unications.
N orth th e
trib u ta ry
p re s e n t- d a y H alf b ut
of
of
Wudlng R iv er and e a s t o f th e N orth Road o f Han»
stream s and v a l l e y s o f th e Yellow R iv er I n th e a r e a of
Shennu
formed
p a r t o f th e t e r r i t o r y o f Xlhe commander y .
t h a t commandery la y on th e e a s t e r n bank o f th e Yellow River»
u n t i l 140 AD th e c a p i t a l o f Xlhe was a t Plngdlng» p ro b a b ly on th e
N orth
Road n e a r p re s e n t-d a y Dongsheng I n In n e r M ongolia.
Im p o rta n tly » th e
th e
q1
Yellow
c a p ita l
of
R ath e r more
d u rin g th e L a te r Han p erio d » th e c i t y o f M eljl» c lo s e to R iv e r
n e a r p r e s e n t- d a y Fugu I n Shaanxi» was th e e n fo rc e d
th e Shanyu o f th e S o u th ern Xlongnu» t r i b u t a r y and h o sta g e
t o Han.
Beyond n o rth e r n riv e rs
th e r e th e W all
of
re g io n th e
to g e th e r
of
d e se rt
Yellow R iv e r.
and
s te p p e ,
th e n ,
la y
th e
At th e e a s t , where a number o f
a c r o s s open I r r i g a t e d g round, th e r e was th e
commandery o f Yunzhong, w ith I t s c a p i t a l , a c i t y o f th e same
near
ex ten d e d T hat
loop meander
fro n tie r name,
th is
p r e s e n t-d a y
e a stw a rd s
T ogtoh.
The
te rrito ry
o f th e commandery
beyond Huhhot, now th e c a p i t a l o f In n e r M ongolia.
c i t y . I n f a c t , d a te s I t s h i s t o r y o n ly from th e Ming d y n a s ty , b u t were Daqlng
Han
s e ttle m e n ts I n th e r e g io n , and th e main ro ad th ro u g h
m ountains a t p re s e n t- d a y Wuchuan was g u ard ed by th e G reat
26 To of
th e
In
th is
th e
w est
Yellow
Yunzhong, u p stream a lo n g t h i s n o r th e r n re a c h
R iv e r,
were th e commande r i e s o f Wuyuan and Shuofang.
re g io n o f f r o n t i e r t e r r i t o r y , s te p p e and d e s e r t , th e a n c ie n t
id e n tific a tio n p ro b a b le of
of
of
s ite s
are
not
alw ays c e r t a i n , b u t i t seems most
t h a t Wuyuan commandery c o n t r o l l e d th e m iddle o f t h i s s t r e t c h
th e
riv e r,
B aotou.
and
its
c a p ita l,
J lu y u a n , was d o s e to p re s e n t-d a y
The t e r r i t o r y o f Shuofang em braced th e complex o f stream s and
m eanders a t th e w est o f th e lo o p o f th e Yellow R iv e r, and th e c a p i t a l , L in ro n g , was w ith in th e lo o p o f th e m ain stre a m , n o r th e a s t of p r e s e n t day Dengkou, o r Bayan G ol.
In
th is
ch an g e s.
r e g io n ,
th e r e
have
been
s ig n ific a n t
g e o g ra p h ic a l
As a r e s u l t o f e x p lo r a tio n s on th e ground d u rin g th e e a r ly
1960s, P r o f e s s o r Hou R enzhi o f B e ijin g U n iv e rs ity was a b le t o I d e n t i f y th e
s ite
a tte n d a n t
of
th e
Han
c itie s
of
L inrong
and
S anfeng, w ith t h e i r
f o r t i f i c a t i o n s , i n th e d e s e r t n e a r Dengkou, and he h as a ls o
r e c o n s tr u c te d
th e a n c ie n t c o u rse of th e Yellow R iv e r, a s d e s c rib e d by
Shuijing zhu. 32
In
th e p r e s e n t d a y , th e Yellow R iv e r flow s p a s t Dengkou on th e
e a s t , and i t s c o u rse t r a c e s a g e n tle curv e n o rth e a s tw a rd s . tim e s ,
how ever,
riv e r
to
th e w est o f th e p r e s e n t s i t e o f
and
s ite
L in ro n g , some t h i r t y k ilo m e tr e s n o r th e a s t o f Dengkou, i s now
on
th e
w e ste rn
c o n s id e r a b le
lin e
la y
Dengkou, of
its
th e
D uring Han
bank
d is ta n c e
was more d i r e c t l y to th e n o r th .
of east
th e
Yellow
R iv e r,
o f th e s tre a m .
but
it
The a n c ie n t
was
th e n
a
A l i t t l e t o th e n o r th o f
27 L ln ro n g , much
th e
th e
s h o rte r
same
f a s h io n a s i t does to d a y .
cu rv e
a tte n d a n t th e
a n c ie n t c o u rse o f th e Y ellow R iver d iv id e d I n to two» In
to
th e south» b u t th e secondary» o u te r loop» w ith i t s
s tr e a m s ,
B e ljla »
The main ch a n n e l fo llo w s a
d e f in e s
form ing
an
th e w ide a r e a known In th e Han p e rio d a s
im p o rta n t p a r t o f th e t e r r i t o r y o f Shuofang
commander y .
However» b e s id e s t h i s modern map» I n th e on
P ro fe s s o r Hou h as d e m o n stra te d a f a r more d ra m a tic change
c o u n try .
th e
w est
A ccording to
of
th e oo
c a l l e d Chushen z e . J th e
r e c o n c i l i a t i o n o f S h u ijin g zhu w ith th e
whole
a re a
is
S h u ijin g zhu, to th e n o r th o f S anfeng,
Yellow R iv e r, th e r e was a g r e a t marsh and la k e T his can be I d e n t i f i e d now
i n th e p r e s e n t d a y , b u t
a d e s e r t o f s a n d h i l l s and ro c k , u s e le s s f o r
a g r i c u l t u r e o r f o r g r a z in g , and t o t a l l y changed from th e f e r t i l e o a s is o f two th o u san d y e a rs ag o . a
few
p a tc h e s
d is ta n c e th e
of
so u th
e a s t,
Modern Dengkou i s a sm all s e ttle m e n t, w ith
i r r i g a t e d ground a lo n g th e Yellow R iv e r.
A s h o rt
o f Dengkou, th e ra ilw a y c r o s s e s from th e w est bank to
ju s t
to
av o id
th e
s h i f t i n g dunes w hich co v er th e whole
w e ste rn bank and flow d i r e c t l y i n t o th e r i v e r i t s e l f .
South th e
re g io n
betw een
of of
th e
h ig h
ground
of
th e
H elan
Shan
of
te rrito ry
s lo p e s
th e
some hundred and f i f t y k ilo m e tre s so u th to
S h lz u is h a n , n o rth o f Y lnchuan, th e Yellow R iv er flow s
m ountains
a c ro s s
Dengkou,
g ra d u a lly
m id d le ;
but
th e
Qrdos
on
to
nowhere
on th e e a s t and th e d e s e r t
th e w e st.
th e is
On one s i d e , th e Ordos
e a s t , w ith s c a t t e r e d s a l t la k e s it
h o s p ita b le .
In th e o th e r
28 d ire c tio n ,
th e
Tengger
D e s e rt,
w hich in c lu d e s th e Helan Shan, i s a
s o u th e rn e x te n s io n o f th e G obi, betw een th e Yellow R iver and th e Gansu c o rrid o r.
T his
ra in fa ll, no
and
p ra c tic a b le
re g io n h as l e s s th a n 100 mm, a b o u t 3 I n c h e s , an n u al
a lth o u g h th e r e a r e s c a t t e r e d la k e s and o a s e s , th e r e i s o p p o rtu n ity
fo r
s e ttle d
of
p o s s ib le
a g r i c u l t u r e o r even p ro p e r
g ra z in g .
It th e r e from
w as,
were
o c c a s io n s
Shuofang
manned.
to
when
Juyan,
to t r a v e r s e th e d e s e r t re g io n :
th e Han m a in ta in ed com m unications d i r e c t and
some
f o r t i f i e d p o s ts were s e t up and
At o th e r tim e s , th e n o r th e r n nomads a re d e s c rib e d a s coming
so u th
th ro u g h
th o se
of
th e ir
commandery of
c o u rs e ,
th e
d e s e r t to t r a d e o r t o a t t a c k th e Han p o s itio n s o r
a l l i e s i n th e Ordos r e g io n , o r th e f r o n t i e r o f Wuwei
fu rth e r
w e st.
For th e m ost p a r t , how ever, th e main p a th s
com m unication betw een th e C hinese em pire and th e n o r th la y th ro u g h
Juyan
and th e Wuwei s a l i e n t o r th ro u g h th e v a rio u s p a s s e s o f Shuofang
and Wuyuan.
I t seem s, th e n , m ost l i k e l y t h a t d u rin g th e Han p e rio d th e a r e a about to ld
Sanfeng
marked
th e end o f a s e c t i o n of th e G reat W all. We a re
e x p l i c i t l y t h a t th e Han f o r t i f i c a t i o n s , r e - e s t a b l i s h e d a lo n g th e
n o rth e r n p a r t o f th e Ordos loop a f t e r th e c o n q u ests o f th e g e n e ra l Wei Qing
i n 127, fo llo w e d th e Qin sy stem o f d e fe n c e s t h a t had been s e t up
by Meng T ia n , and th o s e f o r t i f i c a t i o n s had guarded th e l i n e of th e Yin Shan,
from
Yunzhong
th e p a s s a t Gaoque, n o r th o f Shuofang, th ro u g h Wuyuan and
commanderies
e a s tw a rd s .
In
th is
way,
th e cam paigns o f
29 Emperor
Wti
r e s to r e d
reco n q u ered
th e
Irrig a b le
la n d s n o rth o f th e Ordos and
th e s p u r o f d e fe n c e s w hich p r o te c te d t h a t t e r r i t o r y from th e
s te p p e . 34
South
of
Shuofang,
alo n g th e w e s te rn s id e o f th e Ordos lo o p ,
to th e re g io n o f p re s e n t- d a y Y inchuan, th e f r o n t i e r was marked p erh ap s only
by
o c c a s io n a l
d e fe n s iv e
sy ste m .
p a tro ls
35
and
M oreover,
w a tc h p o s ts ,
not
by
a co n tin u o u s
i t a p p e a rs t h a t th e Qln d y n a sty , and
th e Form er Han a f t e r i t , had m a in ta in e d a second l i n e , th e o ld w a ll o f th e
Qin s t a t e .
T lan
as
guard
ru n n in g
th e
W all
Shi j i
n o r th
d e s c r ib e s
th e d e fe n ce l i n e com pleted by Meng
from L in ta o to L iaodong, w ith an a d d itio n a l sp u r to of
th e Yellow R iv e r:
th e main l i n e o f th e o ld Qin
was t h e r e f o r e i n th e s o u th o f th e O rdos, n o r th e a s t from p r e s e n t -
day
Lanzhou and a lo n g th e b o rd e rs o f modern Shaanxi p ro v in c e .
th e
e a r ly
arm ies
of
C hinese
During
p a r t o f Former Han, u n t i l t h e c o n q u e st o f th e n o r th by th e Emperor
d e fe n c e ,
Wu, and
t h i s s o u th e rn Qin w a ll was th e f r o n t l i n e o f even
d u rin g
L a te r
Han
th e r e
i s o c c a s io n a l
r e f e r e n c e to th e o ld f o r t i f i c a t i o n .
At
th e
p resen t
day, th e r e g io n s o u th o f th e Ordos m o u n tain s,
alo n g th e n o r th e r n b o rd e rs o f Shaanxi and e a s t o f Y inchuan, i s a n o th e r w ild e r n e s s Sanfeng
of
d riftin g
sand
dunes
and d e s e r t .
Like th e re g io n o f
i n Shuofang, how ever, th e la n d was n o t alw ays so d e s o l a t e . In
th e f i f t h c e n tu ry AD, th e c h i e f t a i n H e lia n Bobo, fo u n d e r o f th e s h o r t liv e d tim e
Xla
s ta te ,
d e s c r ib e
th e
s e t h is c a p i t a l i n t h i s t e r r i t o r y . p la c e
as
an
Records of th e
open, g ra s s y s te p p e , i d e a l f o r th e
30 c e n tr e
of
power
s e ttle m e n t
can
of
a
nomad
em p ire,
The
r u in s
o f th e a n c ie n t
s t i l l be i d e n t i f i e d » b u t th e y a r e now su rro u n d ed by a
w a ste o f san d . °
Though s u ita b le
th e
s te p p e
g ra z in g
land»
o f t h i s re g io n i n L a te r Han s t i l l p ro v id e d it
a p p e a rs
t h a t a tte m p ts to e s t a b l i s h f u l l
C h in e s e - s ty le s e ttle m e n t had l a r g e l y f a i l e d .
We on
have o b serv ed how Andlng and B e ld l o f Liang p ro v in c e r e l i e d
Is o la te d
c o u n tie s
th e
Yellow R iv er
th e
L a te r
Han
it
would
both»
is tra tio n , lo o s e
38
to c o v e r bro ad a r e a s o f t e r r i t o r y s o u th e a s t o f
and so u th w est o f th e O rdos. e s ta b lis h m e n ts appear»
were
w ith
d esig n ed
s u p e r v is io n
of
th e
37
In s im ila r fa sh io n »
o f Q lu ci Dependant S ta te and Houguan» a
to
m i l i t a r y component i n t h e i r adm inco v er b ro a d a r e a s
nomad
trib u ta rie s
of te r r ito r y in a
of
th e
em p ire .
The
i n te n s i v e and a m b itio u s c o l o n i s a t i o n p a t t e r n o f Former Han had la r g e ly been d is m a n tle d .
T h is foundin g It th a t
was
a
Emperor at
th e
was
once
d e lib e ra te Guangwu
in
p o lic y th e
of
e a rly
L a te r days
Han»
begun by th e
o f h i s governm ent.
39
a p o lic y o f economy and a ls o p ro b a b ly a r e c o g n itio n
c o lo n is a tio n
of
th e
fro n tie rs
was
o v erex ten d ed
i n th e
g e o g ra p h ic a l and m i l i t a r y c irc u m s ta n c e s o f th e tim e .
S im ila r
w ith d raw al
and r e d u c tio n o f th e Im p e ria l p re se n c e may
be o b se rv e d e lse w h e re i n th e n o r th and n o rth w e s t.
As a r e s u lt» though
31 th e
n o r th e r n
fro n tie r
of
L a te r
Han g e n e r a lly fo llo w ed th e l i n e o f
Former Han, th e r e I s c l e a r l y a l e s s e n e r g e t i c o c c u p a tio n o f th e ground by
th e
p eo p le and by th e c i v i l a d m i n is tr a tio n .
f o llo w s ,
one
may
observe
some
of
In th e h i s t o r y w hich
th e re a so n s and r e s u l t s o f t h i s
p o lic y .
In d e se rt
th e
of
th e
r e p r e s e n te d With
th e
a
b a rrie r
t h a t we a r e c o n s id e rin g ,
th e c e n t r a l
and
o f f e r e d a c h o ic e to th e r u l e r s o f C hina.
p o lic y , th e l i n e o f th e o ld Wall o f th e Qln s t a t e
s o u th e rn
h e a rt
are a
O rdos, frin g e d by a broad b e l t of a r a b le s te p p e , lo n g
a c o n s e r v a tiv e
a lo n g th e
im m ediate
f r o n t i e r o f th e Ordos c o u ld be h e ld i n d efen ce of
o f th e em pire ab o u t Changan and Luoyang.
In c o n t r a s t , th e
F i r s t Emperor o f Qin
and Emperor Wu o f Han ad o p ted a "fo rw ard " p o lic y ,
e s t a b l i s h i n g C hinese
s e ttle m e n ts a lo n g th e n o rth e rn loop o f th e Yellow
R iv e r.
The Han c o lo n ie s w ere d e sig n e d t o s e rv e a s an advanced d efen ce
lin e
a g a in s t
th e
th e
irrig a te d
n o r th e r n t r i b e s , d e p r iv in g them of th e b e n e f i t s o f
la n d ,
and
h o ld in g them back from any s e c u re p o s itio n
w ith in re a c h o f th e h e a r tla n d s o f th e e m p ire .
Each so u th
of
c h o ic e th e
p re s e n te d
O rdos,
th e
problem s:
p eo p le
of
if th e
th e f r o n t i e r l i n e was
ste p p e co u ld e s t a b l i s h a
p o l i t i c a l o r m i l i t a r y f o r c e w hich would pose a c o n tin u a l t h r e a t to th e v a lle y s
of
th e
im p e r ia l
c a p ita l
th e
n o rth ,
fa r
Luo
and
th e
i t s e l f I f though
J ln g ,
and to th e t e r r i t o r y ab o u t th e
th e C h in ese com m itted th em selv es to
th e y g ain ed I n c re a s e d s e c u r i t y i n th e s o u th ,
th e r e fo llo w e d i n e v i t a b l e problem s of m i l i t a r y m ain tenance and su p p ly .
32 By f o rc e of n a t u r e ,
t h a t n o r th e r n la n d was a tr u e f r o n t i e r t e r r i t o r y ,
dangero u s to abandon and y e t d i f f i c u l t to h o ld .
Hie dilemma o f p o lic y
rem ained w ith th e Han governm ent th ro u g h o u t I t s h i s t o r y .
So a
fa r,
how ever,
n o r th - s o u th
a x is ,
th e problem h a s been c o n sid e re d I n term s o f
a c ro s s
th e
O rdos:
th e e a s te r n p a r t o f Bing
p ro v in c e gave a d i f f e r e n t s l a n t t o Han s t r a t e g y .
Though Meng Tlan o f Qln had conquered th e la n d s o f th e n o r th e r n lo o p
of
th e
Yellow
R iv e r, th e f i r s t C hinese m i l i t a r y o c c u p a tio n o f
t h a t re g io n was acco m p lish ed by th e s t a t e o f Zhao, n o rth e rn m o st o f th e th r e e s u c c e s s o r s to th e d iv id e d s t a t e o f J i n , ab o u t 300 BC.
The
base
p re s e n t- d a y Zhao
D al,
th e
p e o p le s .
te rrito ry
th e
s ta te
of
h is
Yanmen
of
c lo th in g During kingdom
s ty le th e
and
c o u rse
many
th a t of
King W uling o f
th e custom s o f th e
of h is r e ig n , he exten d ed th e
to th e n o r th , founded th e commanderies o f
and Yunzhong, and c o n s tr u c te d a d e fe n s iv e w a ll alo n g th e
Yin Shan range w estw ards to Gaoque.
From
Zhao la y in th e n o rth e rn p a r t o f
we a r e t o l d i n Shi j i
S h aan x i, and
ad o p ted
n o rth e r n
of
41
t h i s p e r s p e c tiv e , th e d e fe n c e o f th e n o r th e r n lo o p o f th e
Yellow R iv er was a means to p r o t e c t th e C hinese p o s itio n s in th e n o rth o f present-nday S h aan x i.
Hie c o n q u e st by Meng H a n o f Qln marked a r e
e s ta b lis h m e n t o f th e C hinese p o s i t i o n fo rm e rly m a in ta in e d by th e s t a t e of
Zhao,
and
th e l a t e r e x p a n sio n by Emperor Wu o f Han i n t o th e same
33 re g io n of
was a g a in d e sig n e d a s much to s u p p o rt th e n o rth e rn t e r r i t o r i e s
D al,
Yainnen
O r d o s .^
It
o c c u p a tio n a tte m p t
and
of
Yunzhong
w as, th e
In
as
fa c t,
re g io n
to p r o t e c t th e la n d s so u th o f th e
a n a t u r a l c o r o lla r y
about
o f th e C hinese
Togtoh and Huhhot t h a t th e y sh o u ld
to deny t h e i r nomad enem ies th e la n d Im m ediately w est of t h a t
p o s itio n .
P re se n te d a y L a te r th e
Han.
Shanxi
In th e s o u th w e s t, th e Han commandery o f Hedong, p a r t o f
a d m in is tr a tio n
re a c h e s
of
e x te n d in g Bing
was l a r g e l y c o n t r o lle d by Bing p ro v in c e o f
th e
of
th e c a p i t a l p ro v in c e S i l l , governed th e low er
Fen R iv er and th e n o r th e r n bank o f th e Yellow R iv e r,
I n to
p re s e n t-d a y
Henan,
b u t th e commandery o f T aiyuan In
p ro v in c e , c e n tr e d upon th e s i t e o f th e p re s e n t-d a y T aiyuan c i t y ,
o ccu p ie d
th e u p p er v a lle y o f th e Fen, and Im m ediately to th e s o u th o f
T aiyuan ,
th e
T alhang
Shan,
Zhuozhang.
commandery
of
Shangdang
e x ten d ed
w estw ards from th e
and In c lu d e d th e u p p e r b a s in s o f th e Qln R iv e r and th e From t h i s b ase w ith in China P ro p er th e n o rth e rn command-
e r l e s o f Bing p ro v in c e reach ed I n to p r e s e n t- d a y In n e r H o n g o lla.
Under n o rth e a s tw a rd s of
th e
P la in . of
th e
Han
from
d y n a s ty , Changan,
a m ajor highway had been c o n s tru c te d a c ro s s th e Yellow R iv e r, up th e v a lle y
Fen t o T aiy u an , th e n th ro u g h th e m ountains to th e N orth China In
s i m i l a r f a s h io n , though on a p r o v in c ia l s c a l e , th e l i n e s
com m unication
to th e n o r th e r n f r o n t i e r fo llo w ed th e Fen R iv er and
th e u p p e r re a c h e s o f th e Sanggan R iv e r p a s t p re s e n t-tia y D a to n g .^
34 À Shan, th e
s tre tc h
above Fen
o f th e Ming G reat W all fo llo w s th e l i n e o f th e Heng
th e
R iv er
u p p er w a te rs o f th e Fen, w h ile on th e w e st, betw een and
th e
southw ards
c o u rse o f th e Yellow R iv e r, th e
Guancen Shan and th e LU llang Shan a re I n h o s p ita b le t e r r i t o r y , which In th e
Han
Heng
p e rio d
Shan
d iv i s i o n
was p ro b a b ly u n c o lo n ls e d .
and
th e
betw een
rid g e
th e
of
th e
Guancen
Thus th e w atersh ed o f th e Shan formed a s t r a t e g i c
s o u th e rn com m anderles o f Bing p ro v in c e and th e
n o r th .
Yanmen p re s e n t- d a y
commandery D atong,
was based on th e u p p er Sanggan v a lle y ab o u t
and
Its
t e r r i t o r y ex ten d ed n o rth w a rd s.
To th e
w e s t,
Yunzhong commandery was b ased upon th e open v a lle y o f th e Dahel
R iver
In
th e
commandery
re g io n
of
s e c tio n
of
g e n e ra l
a re a
Guancen
Shan,
modern
D lngxlang,
th e
on
th e
Hun
th e
Huhhot and T ogtoh, w h ile th e sm all
w hich
fro n tie r,
of
In n e r M ongolia.
The
of
In
was
Han
had a ls o guard ed a
com pressed d u rin g L a te r Han I n to th e
R iv er
b o rd e r
Form er
of
and
th e n o r th e r n f o o t h i l l s o f th e
p re s e n t-d a y Shaanxi p ro v in c e w ith
44
c i t y o f Datong was th e s i t e o f th e c a p i t a l o f N o rth ern Wei
d u rin g th e f i f t h c e n tu ry ÀD, and I t was a l s o a p o l i t i c a l c e n tr e o f th e Liao
and
J i n d y n a s t i e s , contem porary w ith N o rth ern and S o u th ern Song
a t th e b e g in n in g o f our m ille n n iu m .
With r a i n f a l l ab o u t 300 mm, o r 10
In c h e s ,
per
Is
g ra z in g
c o u n tr y .
d e fo re s ta tio n
y e a r,
of
th e
te rrito ry
m a rg in a l betw een farm lan d and
The h i l l s now a r e b a r e , a r e s u l t o f th e d e s p e r a te recen t
c e n t u r i e s , b u t Shi j i
s ta te s
th a t In
th e
35 n o r th and
of
th e
pre-H an s t a t e o f J i n
th e r e were
F o re s t B a rb a ria n s
I t a p p e a rs t h a t th e Dal F o r e s t , a s a c re d s i t e o f th e Xlongnu, was
In th e a re a which l a t e r became th e Mayl county o f Yanmen commandery of H an.46
In
th e p e r io d up t o th e Han d y n a s ty , t h e r e f o r e , t h i s r e g io n of
n o r th e r n and
Shanxi
and In n e r M ongolia la y on th e f r o n t i e r betw een China
th e b a r b a r ia n s , and I t was th e p o l i t i c a l ex p a n sio n o f th e W arring
S ta te s ,
and
of
I n c o rp o r a te d
th e
th e
Qln and Han d y n a s tie s which fo llo w ed them , t h a t
te rrito ry
g e n e r a lly
I n to
th e
C hinese
sp h e re o f
governm ent.
N o rth lie s
fo r
J ln ln g
Datong,
th e
r a i l r o a d t o J ln ln g I n In n e r M ongolia
th e most p a r t th ro u g h open v a l l e y , w ith g e n tle h i l l s .
one
M ongolian
from
lin e
ex ten d s
P e o p le 's
Daqlng
M ountains,
Yellow
R iv e r.
opens
In
n o r th e a s tw a r d s ,
R e p u b lic , through
but
R ihhot
Ulaan
B aatar
goes
and
to th e Ordos loop of th e
on
w e s t, so u th o f th e
and easy to I r r i g a t e ,
d e l t a w here I t n e a rs th e Yellow R iv e r.
n o r th , how ever, h ig h though n o t v ery s t e e p , mark th e
th e
g r a s s la n d s ,
p e r io d ,
and
a
p a s tu r e ,
from
snows
c a ttle
th e and
of
sh e e p ,
b e g in n in g o f
low r a i n f a l l , c o ld w in te r s and a s h o r t grow ing
v ast
e x c e lle n t
and
The m ountains to
th e
w ith
In th e
a n o th e r
The Dahel v a lle y I s broad
a
to
From
expanse w ith
m o is tu re
w in te r , as
u s e f u l to th e herdsm en •
of
w e ll
open c o u n try .
The s te p p e p ro v id e s
b o th from th e o c c a s io n a l r a i n and
and th e c o u n try s u p p o rts g r e a t h e rd s of a s th e h o r s e s , cam els and o th e r anim als
I t I s n o t , how ever, a re g io n where e f f e c t i v e
36 s e ttle d
a g ric u ltu re
Is
p o s s ib le
by
t r a d i t i o n a l methods u s in g p r e
modern eq u ip m en t.
As
a
n o rth e r n and
re s u lt,
Sanggan
v a lle y
and
th e
Dahel v a lle y of
Shaanxi and In n e r M ongolia a r e t r a n s i t i o n a l betw een farm lan d
s te p p e ,
th ro u g h
th e
and th e b a la n c e o f n a tu r e h a s changed o n ly v ery s l i g h t l y
s lig h t
was
p r im a r ily
set
th e
v a ria tio n s a
G reat
of c lim a te and th e a c t i v i t i e s of men.
It
m a tte r o f p o l i t i c a l w i l l and m i l i t a r y s tr e n g th t h a t Wall f r o n t i e r o f Han a lo n g th e h ig h ground o f th e Yin
Shan and th e Daqlng S h a n ,^ 7 and b o th w i l l and s tr e n g th were l i a b l e to f l u c t u a t i o n and change.
In
th is
c o n s id e r a b le
r e g io n , how ever, though t h e r e w as, a s we s h a l l s e e ,
lo s s
of
C hinese
AQ
s e t t l e m e n t , th e f r o n t i e r o f L a te r Han
fo llo w e d e s s e n t i a l l y th e same l i n e a s t h a t o f Former Han.
You Province: E ast
o f Yanmen i n Bing p ro v in c e , th e L a te r Han commanderles o f
Dal and Shanggu o ccu p ied th e m iddle b a s in o f th e Sanggan R iv e r.
As i n
th e re g io n ab o u t D atong, th e t e r r a i n i s g e n e r a lly open, s e p a ra te d from th e
N orth
China P la in by th e r id g e s o f th e Taihang Shan to th e so u th
and from th e n o r th e r n s te p p e by th e Damaqun Shan. fo llo w s p a rt
th e
Yang
The modern r a i l r o a d
R iv er t r i b u t a r y o f th e Sanggan, alo n g th e n o rth e rn
of th e b a s in , p a s t Yanggao, c lo s e t o th e s i t e o f a n c ie n t G a o liu ,
c h ie f county o f Dai commandery.
37 It re g io n of
seems
most
fo llo w e d
p ro b a b le
th a t
th e
G reat W all o f Han I n t h i s
th e
l i n e o f th e l a t e r Ming, alo n g th e low er re a c h e s
th e Damaqun Shan.
We know t h a t Nlng c i t y n e a r modern Z h an g jlak o u ,
o r K algan, was th e h e a d q u a rte rs o f th e C o lo n el P r o te c to r of th e Wuhuan and
a
c e n tr e
fo r
tr a d in g
w ith th e n o r th e r n b a r b a r ia n s .
There was
e v id e n tly a s i g n i f i c a n t com m unications ro u te le a d in g n o r th th ro u g h th e m o u n ta in s.
49
L ike how ever, th e
th is
firs t
sway
of
te rrito rie s
of
p re s e n t-d a y
R ihhot
and D atong,
L a te r Han th e w hole re g io n had f a l l e n u n d er th e
th e Xlongnu.
th e
ab o u t
re g io n o f th e Sanggan was a ls o m arg in al g ro u n d , and I n
y e a rs
e ffe c tiv e In
th e
The l i n e o f h i l l s to th e so u th th e n became th e
f r o n t i e r o f th e e m p ire , and th e F e lh u , o r F ly in g Fox, p a s s , Talhang
Shan n o r th o f L alyuan l n H ebei, and th e Juyong P a s s ,
now In c o r p o r a te d I n to th e p r e s e n t- d a y G re a t W all a t B ad alln g n o rth w e st o f B e ijin g , were two m ajor d e fe n c e p o s t s . ^
In
th e r e c o n s t r u c t i o n w hich fo llo w e d th e re - o c c u p a tlo n o f t h i s
re g io n
In
w hich
had
e s ta b lis h e d
th e
m iddle
of
th e f i r s t c e n tu ry AD, Shanggu commandery ,
fo rm e rly ex te n d e d t o th e s o u th o f th e Juyong P a ss, was r e e n tire ly
In
th e
n o rth ,
and
th e
sm all
commandery o f
Guangyang, I n th e a r e a ab o u t p r e s e n t- d a y B e ijin g , and Zhuo commandery, to
th e
s o u th w e s t,
c o n tr o lle d
Guangyang and Shanggu,
th e s o u th e rn a p p r o a c h e s E a s t o f
re a c h in g from p re s e n t-d a y T ia n jin n o r th to th e
f r o n t i e r , was Yuyang commandery, and e a s t o f Yuyang was Y oubelplng.
38 In
th is
fro n tie r Han.
re g io n ,
n o r th e a s t
of
th e
N orth
P la in , th e
of th e em pire changed s i g n i f i c a n t l y betw een Former and L a te r D uring
n o rth w ard s
Former
to
Han,
th e
te rrito ry
of
Yuyang
had e x ten d ed
th e w est o f Chengde, beyond th e l i n e o f th e Ming G reat
W all i n th e n o r t h e a s t o f modern Hebei p ro v in c e . had
China
c o n tr o lle d
S im ila r ly , Y oubeiping
a s t r e t c h o f t e r r i t o r y from th e n o rth e rn sh o re o f th e
Gulf o f Bohai a b o u t Tangshan, up th e v a l l e y o f th e Luan He th ro u g h th e Yan Shan ra n g e , and i n t o th e re g io n o f Chengde. Han,
th e
c a p ita l
of
Y oubeiping
commandery
In d eed , d u rin g Former was
a t P lnggang, n e a r
p re s e n t- d a y Plngquan e a s t o f Chengde.
W hile o ccupied
by
Chengde
L a te r
was
a p p e a re d , Han
th e
o th e r
fro n tie r
Han,
how ever,
abandoned.
and
t e r r i t o r i e s o f Former Han w ere r e th e u p p er b a s in o f th e Luan a b o u t
The th r e e n o r th e r n c o u n tie s o f Yuyang d i s
Y oubeiping was redu ced from s ix te e n c o u n tie s i n Former
to f o u r i n L a te r Han; some o f t h i s r e d u c tio n r e p r e s e n te d th e d i s
e s ta b lis h m e n t
of
c o u n tie s
w ith sm a ll p o p u la tio n i n th e so u th o f th e
commandery, b u t a s i g n i f i c a n t number r e f l e c t e d th e w ith d ra w a l from th e Chengde r e g io n .
The fo o th ills China
it
is
fo rtific a tio n s
of
L a te r Han, t h e r e f o r e , now fo llo w e d th e
of
th e
h ig h
ground im m ed iately to th e n o r th o f th e N orth
P la in ,
and
th e
t e r r i t o r y o f th e em pire was r e s t r i c t e d t o th e
lo w -ly in g c o a s t:
52
ground at
th a t
betw een
th e Yan Shan and th e m arshland o f th e s e a -
tim e , m oreover th e c o a s t a l s t r i p was n a rro w er th a n
now, f o r two th o u san d y e a rs o f s i l t a t i o n has ex ten d ed th e la n d
c o n s id e r a b ly •
39 From
Y oubeiping
an
Im p e ria l
highway
fo llo w ed
th e
coast
n o rth e a s tw a r d s , p a s t Shanhalguan a t th e end o f th e G reat Wall o f Ming, and
a lo n g
th e
s t r i p o f la n d betw een th e Song L ing ran g e and th e se a
to th e C h in e s e - c o n tr o lle d t e r r i t o r i e s o f s o u th e rn M anchuria and K orea. D uring
Han,t h i s
commander y ,
lin e
w hich
of
com m unication
ex ten d ed
to
was
c o n tr o lle d by L lao x i
th e re g io n o f p r e s e n t-d a y Jin zh o u in
L ia o n in g .
The d u rin g
a d m in is tr a tiv e
Hantim es
q u e s tio n s any
rem ain
a tte m p t
been
m ilita ry
th e
u n s e ttle d .
geography
s u b je c t
of
o f th e n o r th e a s t
some
d eb a te and many
I t does n o t a p p e a r t h a t L a te r Han made
to m a in ta in a f u l l l i n e o f f o r t i f i c a t i o n s among th e Song
Ling m o u n ta in s. v a lle y
has
and
I n s te a d , some f r o n t i e r p o s i t i o n was m a in ta in e d i n th e
o f th e D allng He, known a s th e Bolang He, "W hite Wolf R iv e r" ,
w hich
ru n s
N uluerhu
betw een
Shan
th e
fu rth e r
i n la n d ,
L iaodong e a s t o f Jin z h o u . c o u n try ,
th e
Song
Ling
and th e
th e n
c u rv es
p a r a l l e l r id g e o f th e to
e n te r
th e Gulf o f
By c o n t r o l l i n g a t l e a s t p a r t o f t h i s rugged
Han was a b le to m a in ta in a re a s o n a b le s e c u r i t y from th e
h i l l and f o r e s t t r i b e s o f th e f r o n t i e r ; on th e o th e r h and, th e s p e c ia l problem s
of
th e
governm ent
of
of
and
L la o x i
fro n tie r
in
th is
a re a
were
re c o g n ise d
by
th e
Emperor An, w ith th e r e - o r g a n is a tio n o f th r e e c o u n tie s th r e e
c o u n tie s
of
Liaodong
commanderies
i n t o th e
eo
D ependent S ta te o f L iaodong. J
The Xuantu
and
rem ain in g L elan g ,
commanderies a re
of
of
th e
n o r th e a s t
of L a te r Han,
lim ite d i n t e r e s t to t h i s s tu d y , and th e
40 d e a lin g s re g io n ,
of
th e
Han
s o u th e rn
M anchuria
s c h o l a r s I n in
L a te r
Han
open
c o u n try
some
p a rt
em pire
g e n e r a l,
w ith
th e
n on-C hinese p e o p le s o f t h i s
and K orea, have been c o n s id e re d by o th e r i t a p p e a rs t h a t th e commandery o f Liaodong
c o n tr o lle d th e lo w er re a c h e s o f th e L iao R iv e r and th e of
th e
so u th M anchurian p l a i n , w h ile L elang p re s e rv e d
o f th e Former Han a u t h o r i t y o v e r th e s o u th e a s t o f p r e s e n t -
day L iao n in g and th e n o rth w e s te rn p a r t o f K orea. p re s e n t- d a y
Shenyang,
fa c e d
w ith
mixed
X uantu, n o r th e a s t o f
su c c e ss
th e tu r b u le n t and
in c r e a s i n g l y a g g r e s s iv e kingdom o f Koguryo, o r G ao g o u li. w ith
Korea
and
M anchuria
were
in
But d e a lin g s
some r e s p e c ts a sideshow to th e
p r e s s in g
problem s w ith which th e Han governm ent had to contend on th e
n o r th e r n
f r o n t i e r s o f China P ro p e r:
a s i n c e n t r a l A sia , th e power o f
China on t h i s d i s t a n t b o rd e rla n d depended u l tim a te ly upon th e power o f th e
C hinese
problem and
governm ent
fo r
L a te r
X ia n b i,
p r a c tic e
of
i n i t s own t e r r i t o r y c lo s e to home. The r e a l
Han la y w ith th e b a r b a r ia n Q lang, Xiongnu, Wuhuan
and
it
is
w ith
th e
im p e ria l
th o s e
p e o p le s ,
and th e p o l i c i e s and
governm ent i n d e a lin g w ith them , t h a t th e
p re s e n t work m ust d e a l.
The lands beyond the fro n tie r: The s e p a ra te d ex te n d s M anchuria To
th e
two by
a
g e o g ra p h ic a l th e
r id g e
m ountain from
southw ards n o r th ,
re g io n s
of
M anchuria and M ongolia a r e
c o u n try o f th e G reat Xingan ra n g e , which
p r e s e n t- d a y H e ilo n g jia n g p ro v in c e o f n o rth e rn a lo n g
th e w e ste rn p a r t s o f J i l i n and L ia o n in g .
th e w a te rsh e d m arks th e i n t e r n a t i o n a l b o rd e r o f China
w ith th e S o v ie t Union and w ith th e M ongolian P e o p le 's R e p u b lic , and i n
41 th e
so u th
i t p ro v id e s th e boundary betw een L iao n in g p ro v in c e and th e
Autonomous ra n g e s ,
Region
ris in g
of
In n e r M ongolia.
s te e p ly
above
th e
T o p o g rap h ically » th e m ountain
r i v e r b a s in s o f M anchuria on th e
e a s t , mark th e w e s te rn rim o f th e M ongolian p la te a u .
South th e
and
b roken
east
c o u n try
o f th e main l i n e o f th e G reat Xingan range i s
o f th e w e s te rn h e a d w a ters o f th e L iao R iv e r, and
f u r t h e r s o u th th e r i v e r v a lle y s ab o u t Chengde in n o rth e rn H ebei. r e g io n , has
p a rtic u la rly
been
tra d itio n a lly
B a rb a ria n s of
th e
s ite s
of
t e r r i t o r y o f p re se n tH la y w e s te rn L ia o n in g , id e n tifie d
(donghu), and
This
w ith th e homeland o f th e E a s te rn
modern a rc h a e o lo g y
has
d is c o v e re d numbers
tom bs, w ith b ro n ze weapons and u t e n s i l s , i n th e v a lle y s
r e g io n o f th e Laoha R iv e r s y s te m .55
F u r th e r n o r th , two p eaks o f th e
G reat Xingan ra n g e , Wuhuan M ountain i n L iao n in g and X lanbi M ountain i n J ilin ,
a re
d e s c rib e d
by
leg en d
a s th e o r i g i n a l homes o f th o s e two
p e o p le s .5^
R e g a rd le s s may
be
a c c e p te d
in h a b ita n ts la n d s X ian b l. X lanbi
of
of
th e
th a t
th e
t r u t h o f such d e t a i l e d i d e n t i f i c a t i o n s , i t Wuhuan
and
th e
XLanbl were o r i g i n a l l y
o f th e m ountains and f o r e s t s o f t h i s r e g io n , and t h a t th e th e
Wuhuan
From came
th is
in to
were
i n i t i a l l y so u th and somewhat w est o f th e
c o u n try , how ever, th e Wuhuan f i r s t and th e n th e c o n ta c t w ith th e C hinese to th e so u th and w ith th e
s te p p e p e o p le o f th e Xiongnu c o n fe d e ra c y to th e w e st.
42 The I n to
th e
The at
w e s te rn In n e r
m ountains Shenyang
M ongolian p l a t e a u , some 1000 m etres above s e a le v e l*
is
in c h e s ),
y e a r,
but
to
and
o f th e G reat Xlngan ran g e merge g ra d u a lly
a c t a s a b a r r i e r t o th e r a i n f a l l :
(22*5
in c h e s )
s lo p e s
th e a n n u a l r a i n f a l l
ab o u t 700 mm (28 I n c h e s ) and o f H arbin alm o st 600 mm and th e
th e
m ountain
n o rth
below*
c o u n try r e c e iv e s ab o u t 500 mm per
and w est th e re a d in g s red u ce to 250 mm (10
W ith
low r a i n f a l l , and lo n g c o ld w in te r s , th e
f o r e s t co u n try g iv e s way to g ra s s y s te p p e , and a g a in , i n th e n o r th and w est o f In n e r M ongolia, to d e s e rt*
From fro n tie rs n o r th
th e
p o in t
m ight
be
and south*
le a d
of
view
c o n s id e re d
o f Han C hina, th e re g io n beyond th e i n th r e e seg m en ts, e x te n d in g ro u g h ly
On th e e a s t , th e m oun tain s o f th e M anchurian b o rd e r
down to th e p la te a u , w ith i n t e r n a l d r a in a g e , l i g h t r a i n f a l l , and
s te p p e g ra s s la n d s su rro u n d in g and i n t e r s p e r s e d w ith d e s e rt*
In
th e
c e n tra l
s e c t i o n , w est o f th e ra ilw a y l i n e w hich le a d s
from Datong and J ln ln g to U laan B a a ta r, th e s te p p e g ra s s la n d s n o r th o f Huhhot
and
c o u n try th e in
loop th e
Han
as
on
th e
th e Ordos e x te n d , th ro u g h some poor c o u n try , to th e r i v e r
of
th e
Orhon*
N o rth e a s t o f th e E d sln G ol, and n o rth w e st of
o f th e Yellow R iv e r, a peak o f th e Gurvan Sayhan Uul ra n g e , b o rd e rs
o f th e M ongolian P e o p le 's R e p u b lic , was known t o th e
Zhuoye M ountain, and was a landm ark f o r arm ies and t r a v e l l e r s steppe*
Ongin R iver*
N orth
of
th e s e h i l l s i s th e u s e f u l stre a m o f th e
43 F u r th e r N lngxla
Hui
to
th e
w est
Autonomous
a g a in ,
R egion,
from
th e
th e re g io n o f p re s e n t-d a y
h e a rt
of th e Gobi D esert I s a
b a r r i e r betw een th e Gansu c o r r id o r and th e A lta i M ountains, w ith o th e r rid g e s such a s th e Gurvan Sayhan Uul n o r th e a s t o f E dsln G ol. th e
A lta i,
a g a in
In
riv e rs
th e w e s te rn p a r t o f th e M ongolian R e p u b lic , th e r e a r e and
la k e s ,
a d ra in a g e system s e p a ra te d from th e Orhon
system by th e mass o f th e Hangayn Nuruu. Is
p o s s ib le
o a s is
th e
From t h i s w e ste rn r e g io n , I t
to c ro s s th e A lta i m ountains and th e d e s e r t so u th to th e
c itie s
In to
N orth o f
of modern X in jia n g , th e W estern R egions o f Han, o r w est
s te p p e
c o u n try
of
D zu n g aria,
n o rth o f modern T ürfan and
Urumchi.
In modern
th is
X in jia n g ,
Im p o rtan ce o a s is
as
on
c itie s
B ark ö l le a d
r e g io n ,
Tagh
th e
th e
th e re g io n
ab o u t
Haml
was
e v id e n tly a p o in t o f
ro u te from th e s te p p e la n d s o f th e Xlongnu to th e
o f c e n t r a l A sia .
N orth o f Haml, th e h ig h ground o f th e
p ro d u ces stre a m s w hich I r r i g a t e th e low er g r a s s la n d s and
I n to th e Bar Kol l a k e . th e
so u th w e st o f M ongolia on th e b o rd e rs of
T lan
In Han tim e s , th e B arköl Tagh were known
Shan, and th e s te p p e c o u n try th e r e , Ylwu, was a n o ta b le
t e r r i t o r y o f th e w e ste rn Xlongnu s t a t e . ^
The from of
th r e e segm ents d e s c r ib e d above, however, e x te n d n o rth w ard s
th e lo n g a r c o f th e Han Im p e ria l f r o n t i e r , to th e c e n t r a l re g io n th e
gap Nuruu
Orhon b a s in and th e r e g io n o f modern U laan B a a ta r, I n a broad
betw een to
th e
th e
H entlyn Nuruu m ountains on th e e a s t and th e Hangayn
w e st.
I h e r e , some 800 k ilo m e tre s from th e l i n e o f th e
44 G reat
W all
M ongolian
of
Qln
p la te a u
d r a in in g
n o r th
and
Han,
g iv e s
way
th e g r a s s la n d and a r i d c o u n try o f th e to m ountains and f e r t i l e r i v e r v a lle y s
in to Lake B a ik a l. Though th e w in te r s a re c o ld and th e
grow ing se a so n s h o r t , th e r a i n f a l l i s a f f e c t e d by th e S ib e ria n c lim a te ra th e r
th a n
by th e rem nants o f th e monsoon p a t t e r n o f C hina, and th e
c o u n try s u p p lie s e x c e l l e n t p a s t u r e .
U nlike
o th e r re g io n s o f th e G obi, th e t e r r i t o r y s o u th o f Ulaan
B aatar i s n o t p a r t i c u l a r l y d i f f i c u l t to t r a v e r s e : to
th e
s o u th e a s t,
below
th e
r e g io n
is
c a p a b le
B aatar/O rh o n
R iver
and
th e in
SB
concern ed a g a in s t
v a lle y
so u th w e st
F u rth e rm o re , w ith
of p a s to r a lis ts .
So th e t r i a n g l e betw een th e
re g io n i n th e n o r th , th e Ordos lo o p o f th e Yellow
Sanggan
th e
More g e n e r a lly , t h i s
o f s u p p o rtin g c o n s id e r a b le f lo c k s and h e rd s and a
p o p u la tio n
U laan
s ta te .
r o u te s le a d so u th w e st t o th e E d sin Gol and
Hangayn Nuruu i n t o w e ste rn M ongolia.
s ig n ific a n t
c o r r id o r
o th e r
b e s id e s th e ra ilw a y
th e
in
was
a
th e s o u th e a s t, and th e E dsin Gol c e n tr e
of
power i n th e Xiongnu
i n th e h i s t o r y which i s to fo llo w , p r im a r ily
p o lic ie s
and
a c tiv itie s
o f th e Han governm ent
th e p e o p le s and s t a t e s o f th e n o r th , t h i s c e n t r a l t r i a n g l e o f
g e o g ra p h ic a l
M ongolia
was o f c o n s id e r a b le m i l i t a r y im p o rta n c e , s in c e
i t was c o m p a ra tiv e ly easy f o r arm ies to t r a v e r s e on r a id s and p u n itiv e e x p e d itio n s betw een n o r th and s o u th . 7
In g e n e r a l te rm s , t h e r e f o r e , lo o k in g upon g e o g ra p h ic a l M ongolia as
a
w hole,
one
may
n o te th e d i f f e r e n t re g io n s o f m ountain f o r e s t
m erging t o s te p p e i n th e e a s t , th e f e r t i l e c r e s c e n t o f g r a s s la n d n o r th
45 alo n g of
th e
th e
G reat
W all f r o n t i e r o f China P ro p e r, th e p ro sp e ro u s b a s in
Orhon R iv er In th e n o r t h , and th e more I s o l a t e d re g io n beyond
th e A l t a i , f u r t h e r t o th e w est tow ards c e n t r a l A sia .
As L a ttlm o re has
o b se rv e d , th e zone o f p o l i t i c a l a c t i v i t y has t r a d i t i o n a l l y been i n th e m argin one
la n d s
of
th e
fro n tie r
se e
In
th e
Han
may
betw een
p e rio d
China
th a t
and
th e s te p p e , b u t
th e e s s e n t i a l a x is o f power
exten d ed n o rth w ard s to th e la n d s of th e Orhon.
The m i l i t a r y system o f L a te r Han: The fo r
th e
firs t c iv il
p r o v in c e s . c o n s id e r m ight
on
s e c tio n
a d m in is tr a tio n
It th e
o f t h i s c h a p te r d is c u s s e d th e arran g em en ts
Is
s till
m ilita ry
o c c a s io n
and
n e c e s s a ry
re s o u rc e s
be
lo c a l
b ro u g h t
d efen ce
and
of
a p p r o p r ia te ,
th e f r o n t i e r however, to
o f th e L a te r Han governm ent, which to b e a r I n tim es o f emergency o r f o r
m ajor cam paigns.
The c e n t r a l m i l i t a r y power o f th e em pire was r e p r e s e n te d by th e N o rth ern com prised C avalry R egim ent,
Army, fiv e
s ta tio n e d
F o o ts o ld ie r 8
th e
A rch ers
E lite Who
(tu b in g ).
im p e r ia l
C avalry
Shoot
Each
hundred o f f i c e r s and men. of
th e
c a p i t a l , L u o y a n g .^
re g im e n ts , ea c h commanded by a c o lo n e l:
( tu n ji) , th e
at
at
( y u eji) , a
Sound
th e
It
th e G a rriso n Chang
R iver
(shesheng) , and th e
re g im e n t had a s tr e n g th o f some e ig h t
A j u n i o r o f f i c e r , th e C a p ta in o f th e C en tre
th e N o rth ern Army, was r e s p o n s ib le f o r th e o v e r a ll s u p e r v is io n and
d is c ip lin e
of
th e s e
tr o o p s ,
but
c o lo n e lc ie s o f th e re g im e n ts were
46 q u ite by
o f te n g ra n te d to members o f th e d a n s o f th e I m p e ria l r e l a t i v e s
m a rria g e ,
re la tiv e s , C h a rio ts tim es
and
w ith and
of
d u rin g
L a te r
title
such
a
Han as
th e s e n io r male o f th e d i s t a f f G en eral
in
C hief o r G en eral o f
C a v a lry , o f te n h e ld fo rm al command o f th e s e tr o o p s .
d o m estic
c ris is ,
th e
In
N o rth ern Army co u ld be an im p o rta n t
p o l i t i c a l weapon.
The th e
c h ie f p u rp o se o f th e N o rth e rn Army, how ever, was to a c t a s
c e n tra l
g u a rd s ,
and
p r o te c tio n sent and
s tra te g ic
re s e r v e
a lth o u g h of
th e
th e ir
o f th e e m p ire.
r e g u la r
d u tie s
These were th e e l i t e concerned th e m i l i t a r y
e m p e ro r's c a p i t a l , one or more reg im en ts could be
on a c t i v e s e r v i c e a s s t i f f e n i n g f o r r e g u la r tr o o p s , l o c a l le v i e s non-C h in ese a u x i l i a r i e s .
Few m ajor f r o n t i e r cam paigns to o k p la c e
w ith o u t one o r more o f th e f i v e re g im e n ts .
The and
d a y -to -d a y and fo rm al guard d u tie s o f th e e m p e ro r's p a la c e
o th e r
o ffic ia l
e s ta b lis h m e n ts
fo rm a tio n s .
The
Gentlemen
u n its ,
th e
command
u n d er
H ousehold
For
Rapid
T ig e rs
The
as firs t
recommended s e rv in g c iv il v a rie d
a ra n k .
A ll
th r e e fo r p e rio d
of
c a r r ie d
out
by two o th e r
o f th e Household were o rg a n is e d i n f i v e of
P urposes (hüben)
were
th e
G en erals o f th e Gentlem en o f th e
(wuguan), o f th e L e ft and o f th e R ig h t,
and
of
th e
F e a th e re d
F o re s t ( y u l i n ) . ^ 1
th e s e were i n f a c t composed o f men who had been
o ffic e
by
th e ir
lo c a l
com m anderies, and who were
o f p ro b a tio n b e fo re b e in g a p p o in te d to s u b s ta n tiv e
The number o f men i n th e th r e e u n i t s combined e v id e n tly
betw een some 700 and 2000, b u t th e y co u ld n o t be re g a rd e d as a
47 real of
m ilita ry th e
f o r c e . The Gentlemen Rapid a s T ig e rs and th e Gentlemen
F e a th e re d
F o r e s t, num bering some 1500 and 1700 r e s p e c t i v e l y ,
were o f more p r a c t i c a l u s e . p a rtic u la r,
were
chosen
The Gentlemen o f th e F e a th e re d F o r e s t, i n from
th e so n s and gran d so n s o f men who had
d ie d i n b a t t l e , and a ls o from w orthy f a m ilie s o f th e n o rth w e s t.
It is
p o s s ib l e ,
though th e r e i s no f ir m e v id e n c e , t h a t th e F e a th e re d F o re s t
may
p ro v id e d
have
a
form
o f m i l i t a r y c a d e ts h ip s i m i l a r to t h a t of
th r e e c i v i l i a n u n i t s .
The
d u t i e s of th e
c e re m o n ia l,
and
Gentlemen
th e a c t u a l
work o f
of
th e H ousehold w ere la r g e ly
g u a rd in g
th e
p a la c e ,
th e
a d m in i s t r a t i v e o f f i c e s , th e im p e r ia l p a rk s and tom bs, and o th e r p la c e s of governm ent im p ortan ce was e n tr u s te d to o rd in a ry g u a rd s, c o n s c rip te d from
th e
more
th a n
d o o rs ,
em pire
a s a w hole, and p ro b a b ly s e rv in g f o r a p e rio d o f no
tw elve
and
a c te d
m onths.
These were th e men who k e p t th e g a te s and
as e s c o r t s to h ig h o f f i c i a l s and to members o f th e
im p e ria l f a m i l y .62
N e ith e r th e Gentlem en o f th e H ousehold no r th e c o n s c r ip t g u ards could
be
re g a rd e d a s p r o f e s s io n a l
cam paigns; n o r, tro o p s each th e
of
In d eed ,
th e
year
some
were
N o rth ern
th ey
s o ld ie rs .
They to o k no p a r t i n
e v e r c o n sid e re d a m atch f o r th e
Army i n any coup d 'e t a t .
I t is lik e ly th a t
c o n s c r ip t g u ard s t r a n s f e r r e d t o th e r e g u la r u n i t s o f
N o rth ern Army, b u t t h a t would r e p r e s e n t t h e i r f i r s t e x p e rie n c e o f
s e r io u s m a jo rity
m ilita ry of
tra in in g
as
p a rt
of
a
d is c ip lin e d
fo rc e .
The
th e c o n s c r ip t guards r e tu r n e d to t h e i r homes a f t e r t h e i r
48 p e rio d o f s e r v ic e and were I n c o rp o ra te d I n to th e l o c a l m i l i t i a *
D uring th e
th e
L a te r Han d y n a s ty , t h e r e was a d i s t i n c t i o n betw een
commanderl e s
empire* been
p e rio d
of
(jish i)
Commandant tra in in g
or
of
s a ilo r
p ro v in c e s
and
th o se w ith in th e
zhongwei
as
a
In
a
In
a
S k ille d
kingdom ), w hich
S o ld ie r
Towered
(caigruan).
e n ta ile d
a
Cavalryman
W arship (louchuari) t fo llo w e d by a
s e r v ic e a t th e c a p i t a l , on th e f r o n t i e r o r i n th e p ro v in ces*
T h e r e a f te r ,
th ey
r e tu r n e d
m i l i t i a , which h e ld an
It
a p p e a rs
dem anding. in
fro n tie r
f o r m i l i t a r y s e r v i c e , s u p e rv is e d by th e C hief Commandant
P alace
year
th e
In Former Han, th e men o f a l l commanderles and kingdoms had
lia b le
(o r
of
We
home
to
c o n tin u e
an n u a l e x e r c is e and
s e r v ic e
i n th e l o c a l
I n s p e c tio n each autumn*
t h a t th e system o f L a te r Han was c o n s id e ra b ly l e s s a r e t o l d t h a t e a r l y i n th e re ig n o f Emperor Guangwu,
30 AD, among th e in n e r commanderies o f th e e m p ire, th e p o s i t i o n o f
C hief
Commandant
m anoeuvres S k ille d
were
was
redu ced to Commandant, and th e an n u al m i l i t a r y
d is c o n tin u e d *
S o ld ie r s ,
tra in in g
was
Cavalrymen
th e re a fte r
In th e fo llo w in g y e a r , th e u n i t s o f and
c a rrie d
s a ilo rs out
were a ls o d isb a n d e d , and
through
th e
o r g a n is a tio n o f
P e o p le 's S e c tio n s ( jninwu), presum ably a form o f home g u a r d * ^
B ie le n s t e i n
has
argued
t h a t t h i s change was only s h o r t- te r m ,
and
he h as p o in te d o u t, q u ite c o r r e c t l y , t h a t th e system o f l i a b i l i t y
fo r
c o n s c r ip tio n
put
h is
fu ll
r e m a in e d * ^
However, t h e r e a r e t h r e e p o in ts w hich
argum ent i n t o q u e stio n *
F i r s t l y , th e r e a re no f u r t h e r
49 r e f e r e n c e s In L a te r Han m a te r ia l to th e S k ille d S o ld ie rs o r o th e r such u n its .
Second,
where
tro o p s
except
Ylng
from
th o s e
T h ird ly ,
th e r e a r e a lm o st no o c c a s io n s re c o rd e d i n L a te r Han in n e r
d e a lin g
commanderies
w ith
th e r e i s a sad and
Shao,
q u o ted
Hou
Han
Shu,
th e
w eakness
lo c a l
were used f o r any o p e ra tio n s
b a n d itr y
e lo q u e n t
and
m inor r e b e l l i o n . ^
p a ssag e from th e Hanguan y i o f
i n th e commentary t o th e T r e a t i s e o f O f f i c i a l s i n
where
t h i s s c h o la r o f th e
second c e n tu ry AD d e p lo re s
and la c k o f t r a i n i n g o f th e l o c a l m i l i t i a , and a s c r ib e s
th e f a u l t d i r e c t l y to th e changes made by Emperor G uangw u.^
At
th e b e g in n in g o f L a te r Han, a s th e c i v i l war was draw ing to
i t s c l o s e , Guangwu's i n t e n t i o n was c l e a r l y to reduce th e number of men u n d er
arm s,
w ith in
th e
th a t
it
and
to
e m p ire .
is
b e tte r
p o p u la tio n ,
if
you
le s s e n
th e
lik e lih o o d o f f u t u r e i n s u r r e c t i o n s
There i s a good d e a l to be s a id f o r th e argum ent to
have
cannot
an be
e s s e n tia lly c e rta in
unarmed and u n tr a in e d
o f i t s l o y a l t y ; and th e new
p o lic y , o f c o u rs e , m eant a r e d u c tio n i n th e m i l i t a r y a b i l i t y o f f u tu r e b a n d its th e
and r e b e l s , a s w e ll a s th o s e o f th e lo c a l lo y a l f o r c e s .
e v id e n c e
From
above, i t would a p p e a r t h a t t h i s rem ained th e p o lic y o f
th e L a te r Han governm ent, and a lth o u g h c o n s c r ip tio n was m a in ta in e d f o r lig h t
m i l i t a r y d u t i e s , th e r e was no a tte m p t t o r e s t o r e th e Former Han
t r a d i t i o n o f a n a tio n under arms and an e f f e c t i v e m i l i t i a .
As had
sm a ll
em p ire .
a
68
r e s u l t o f t h i s chan g e, th e men o f th e in n e r commanderies c o n tr ib u tio n
to
make
to
th e
m i l i t a r y r e s o u rc e s of th e
A lready i n Former Han, a sy stem o f com m utation f o r m i l i t a r y
50 s e r v ic e had been e s t a b l i s h e d - a developm ent which was I n e v i t a b l e when each
man
th e
owed a s h o r t p e r io d o f s e r v ic e I n a t e r r i t o r y a s d i s t a n t a s
la n d s
of
c o n tin u e d ,
th e Gansu c o r r i d o r .
and
th e m i l i t a r y
There seems no q u e s tio n t h a t t h i s
ta x ( gengf u)
was a c o n s id e ra b le so u rc e
of revenue f o r m i l i t a r y exp en ses o f th e governm ent.
N e v e r th e le s s , g ro u n d . fo r
On
a c tiv e
tro o p s
to p u t th e men on th e
R egular
There I s no
a s to how th e y w ere r e c r u i t e d , though I t was p o s s ib ly , a s ab o v e,
c a p ita l.
by
v o lu n ta ry
B e sid e s
fo r
th e
t r a n s f e r a t th e end of th e p e rio d o f N o rth ern
Army,
th e r e
was
c e rta in ly
r e c r u itm e n t and t r a i n i n g o f r e g u la r tro o p s o u ts id e th e
In p a r t i c u l a r ,
In
n e c e s s a ry
s t i l l o b ta in e d from th e In n e r com m anderles.
c o n s c r ip tio n .
R iver
s till
and th e n m i l i t i a s e r v ic e I n d e fe n c e o f h is home.
In fo rm a tio n
p ro v is io n
was
th e n o r th e r n f r o n t i e r s , o f c o u rs e , ev ery man was l i a b l e
were
su g g e ste d
It
th e Encampment a t L iyang, n e a r th e Yellow
Wei commandery I n th e w est o f th e Yellow P la in , w hich had a
complement
o f 1000 men, I s known t o have s e rv e d a s a s o u rc e o f supply
fo r
th e
command o f th e G en eral Who C ro sses th e L iao s ta tio n e d In th e
fa r
n o r th .
and
of
In
th e
S i m ila r ly , th e r e w ere th e camps o f th e g a r r is o n a t Yong
th e T ig e r Tooth C hief Commandant a t Changan e s ta b lis h e d l a t e r d y n a s ty .
These u n i t s se rv e d a s s t a t i o n a r y d e fe n c e p o s i t i o n s ,
but th e y co u ld a ls o be used on a c t i v e campaign on th e f r o n t i e r
F in a lly , can In
one
must c o n s id e r th e problem o f th e G reat W all:
we
be re a s o n a b ly c e r t a i n ab o u t I t s p h y s ic a l p o s itio n upon th e ground th e
tim e
of L a te r Han, b u t I t I s by no means c e r t a i n a s to when.
51 and
in
what
a re a s,
it
was
a c tu a lly
m ain ta in e d
a s a p a r t o f th e
d e fe n s iv e sy stem o f th e n o r th .
T here manned,
is
th e
no
q u e s tio n
G reat
Wall
d e fe n c e ,
th a t,
se rv e d
p ro p e rly
of
m obile
enemy such a s th e n o r th e r n nomads. of
i n e v it a b l y s trik in g a tta c k
fo rc e
s u rp ris e ,
th e of
in
th ro u g h
ram ps,
c ra n e s
and
th e
Where a s w if t r a id in g p a r ty o r main
th e
th e
norm al
d e fe n s iv e
c o u rse o f e v e n ts , be a b le to p e rim e te r
and
a c h ie v e
lo c a l
The mounted enemy, fa c e d w ith th e W all, must one o f
ro p e s .
In
w atch to w ers
fo rtific a tio n s , In fo rm a tio n
in
movement.
b re a k
on
In th e s im p le s t te rm s , th e
W all p r e s e n te d an im m ediate o b s ta c le t o th e a t t a c k e r s '
e ith e r
p ic k e t s
d e fe n c e .
would,
p o in t
s u i t a b l e f o r d e a lin g w ith a h ig h ly
a r t i f i c i a l b a r r i e r re g a in e d th e i n i t i a t i v e f o r an
slow -m oving
any
freedom
p a rtic u la rly
th is
and f u l l y
a s an I n t e g r a l p a r t o f an e f f e c t i v e
system
e x is te n c e
m a in ta in e d
th e
enem y's
th e g a t e s , o r s c a le th e o b s ta c le w ith e i t h e r c a s e , w ith guards a t th e g a t e s , and
r e g u la r ap p ro ach
p a tr o ls a lo n g th e l i n e o f would
be
d is c o v e re d
and
ab o u t h i s s t r e n g t h and movement co u ld be s e n t back t o th e
main
body
of
th e l o c a l d e fe n c e f o r c e .
make
a d e q u a te
lo s t
th e f i g h t th e y had a g a in to d e a l w ith th e Wall as an o b s ta c le to
p r e p a r a tio n s to
So w arned, th e d efen ce co u ld
m eet th e enemy; and when th e a tta c k e r s
th e ir r e tr e a t.
The
wooden
s lip s
re c o v e re d
from
th e
d e s e r t re g io n s o f th e
n o rth - w e s te r n f r o n t i e r o f Han, p a r t i c u l a r l y th o se found a t s i t e s a lo n g th e
E d sln
Gol,
p ro v id e
Im p re ssiv e
e v id e n c e
of
th e
p r o f e s s io n a l
52 a ttitu d e
and
th e
a d m in is tr a tiv e e f f e c t i v e n e s s o f th e Han g a r r i s o n s .
There a r e r e p o r t s o f equipm ent m a in ta in e d I n th e w atc h to w e rs, b o th f o r d efen ce and
and
f o r s ig n a llin g » th e r e a r e re c o rd s o f p a t r o l s c a r r i e d o u t
in c id e n ts
engaged,
in v e s tig a te d ,
th e ir
d a ily
and t h e r e a r e r e g u la r f i l e s f o r th e men
d u t i e s , and th e a c c o u n ts o f t r a v e l l e r s a s th e y
p a sse d th ro u g h th e g u a rd p o ln ts and p a s s e s . ^ 1
The d a tin g o f th e s t r i p s does n o t g iv e a com plete re c o rd o f th e o c c u p a tio n
of
e s ta b lis h m e n t Han
p e r io d ,
th e in
72
W all, th e
and
but
it
does
ap p ear
th a t
th e
m ilita ry
n o rth w e s t was m a in ta in ed f o r most o f th e L a te r
in
t h a t r e g io n th e f ix e d d e fe n c e p ro v id e d by th e
Wall was e v id e n tly th e most e f f e c t i v e and s a t i s f a c t o r y .
Loewe, re q u ire d
how ever, h a s e s tim a te d t h a t some 3250 men may have been
fo r
in c lu d in g
w atchtow ers
th e
E dsin
a lo n g
G o l/Ju y an
s a lie n t;
from and
Dunhuang to Wuwel,
th is
f ig u r e ta k e s no
of
th e
c u ltu r e
or
a t h e a d q u a r te r s , n o r f o r any s t r a t e g i c r e s e r v e . O n th e
of
m anders so
lin e
Wall
acco u n t
b a s is
second
th e
tr o o p s , such a s th o se engaged i n a g r i
t h i s e s t i m a t e , th e re s o u rc e s a v a i la b le to th e m i l i t a r y com in Bing and You p ro v in c e s may n o t have p e rm itte d them to keep
many
tro o p s
w h ile
a ls o
th e ir
a s s is ta n c e
b e in g
an
in
f ix e d p o s i t i o n s a lo n g t h e i r s e c tio n of th e W all,
m a in ta in in g in
a
reserv e
s u f f i c i e n t l y pow erful t o come to
tim e o f n e e d .
I t i s n o t a q u e s tio n o f th e Wall
i n e f f i c i e n t form o f d e fe n c e :
i t i s r a t h e r a m a tte r w h eth er
th e manpower was a v a i l a b l e f o r i t s e f f e c t i v e u s e .
53 In o b serv e
th e a
n o r th e r n
economy to
is tra tiv e were
th e
of
th e L a te r Han dynasty» we may
b ein g
a p p lie d to th e problem o f th e
problem was
set
by th e geography o f th e
and s o c i e t y o f C hina. a
s o l u tio n
to
The governm ent o f th e em pire
th e problem by p o l i t i c a l , admin
and m i l i t a r y means b u t, l i k e a l l governm ents, i t s re s o u rc e s
and
re c o rd
fo llo w
p o lic ie s The
a c h ie v e
lim ite d ,
a d v ic e
of
y e a rs
and th e n a t u r a l d if f e r e n c e s betw een th e p eo p les o f th e s te p p e
th e
so ught
number
hundred
fro n tie r.
re g io n , and
two
o ffe r
and
its
demands.
p o lic ie s
were o f te n co nfused by c o n f l i c t i n g
The ach iev em en t o f governm ent may be ju d g ed by
o f s u c c e s s w ith th e m a te r ia l a t hand, and th e pages w hich an
a sse ssm e n t
of
L a te r Han governm ent i n th e n o r t h .
th e p o l i c i e s and achievem ent o f th e
C H APTER 2
THE QIANG TRIBES AND THE EMPIRE OF HAN: THE ESTABLISHMENT OF CHINESE AUTHORITY
The t e r r i t o r y and t r i b e s o f th e Qlang I n th e f i r s t c e n t u r i e s BC The co n q u est o f th e Qlang by Former Han C hinese c o lo n i s a t i o n and s e ttle m e n t F r o n tie r p o lic y a t th e b e g in n in g o f L a te r Han
I n tr o d u c tio n : In
d is c u s s io n s
c h ie f em phasis nomad
has
p e o p le s
C hinese
of
n o rm ally
n o r th
s u z e r e lg n ty
p ro g re s s
of
C hinese
R iv e r,
v a lle y ,
of in
w ith
has
th e in th e
g iv en
G reat
W all,
W estern th e
and
on of
of th e Han d y n a s ty , to
to
R egions,
Y angtse
Q lang,
seco n d ary
a g a in s t th e Xlongnu
h is to ry
been
in th e n eighbourhood
ap p eared to be o f
cam paigns
fro n tie r
th e
c o lo n is a tio n
d e a lin g s
Yellow
th e
th e
e x p an sio n
of
and to th e s te a d y
v a lle y and th e s o u th .
th e th e
th e c o n f l i c t w ith
upper
re a c h e s o f th e
Koko Nor and th e X inlng
Im portance
compared
w ith
th e
th e e n e r g e tic ex p a n sio n a lo n g th e
S ilk Road i n t o c e n t r a l A sia .
In th e f i r s t two c e n t u r i e s AD, how ever, th e governm ent o f L a te r Han
was
th e s e of
th e
u nder
c o n tin u a l t h r e a t o f r e b e l l i o n and f r o n t i e r w a rfa re i n
n o rth w e st t e r r i t o r i e s . There i s l i t t l e d o ubt t h a t th e h o s t i l i t y Qlang and th e damage w hich th e y i n f l i c t e d upon one o f th e key
55 econom ic a r e a s o f th e em pire p la y e d a s i g n i f i c a n t r o l e i n th e weakness and d e c l i n e o f Han.
In t h i s and th e fo llo w in g c h a p te r s , I p r e s e n t an acco u n t o f th e Q lang, of
from
th e
th e ir
g reat
f i r s t co n q u e st by th e C h in ese, th ro u g h th e p e rio d
re b e llio n s
in
L a te r
Han,
to
th e
e v e n tu a l
bloody
d e s tr u c t i o n o f t h e i r p eo p le and th e r u in w hich th ey l e f t behind them .
The te r r ito r y and tr ib e s o f the Qiang in the f i r s t cen tu ries BC Han shu o f
The
Ban
Gu
c o n ta in s no c h a p te r
d ev o ted to th e
p e o p le
known a s Q iang, though th e y a r e n a t u r a l l y m entioned a t v a rio u s
p la c e s
in th a t h is to r y .
u n d er of
th e
th e
th e
Q iang,
tim es
C h r is tia n
Fan Ye
Hou Han shu 87 ( lieju a n 7 7 ), th e
Han d y n a sty i s
W estern
le g e n d a ry
The most Im p o rta n t e a r ly so u rc e on th e Qiang
of
w hich
Account
g iv e s a summary o f t h e i r h i s t o r y from
and a more d e t a i l e d re c o r d o f th e f i r s t 150 y e a rs of e ra .
th e
The
lieju an
f i f t h c e n tu r y ,
of
Hou Han shu were com piled by
b u t i t i s known t h a t th e contem porary
h i s t o r y o f L a te r Han, th e Dongguan Hanji, c o n ta in e d a w hich
was
Huang
J in g ,
and th e r e i s good e v id e n c e t h a t t h i s m a te r ia l was a v a i l
to
th e
la te r
ab o u t
th e
Qiang
a b le
com piled
c h a p te r on
h is to ria n
150 AD by th e s c h o la r s Fu Wuji and
and was I n c o rp o ra te d i n la r g e m easure
w ith in th e p r e s e n t t e x t o f Hou Han Shu.
In id e n tifie d
2
th e s e a c c o u n ts , th e Qiang b a r b a r ia n s o f th e Han p e rio d w ere w ith
th e
San Mlao, who were b a n ish ed to th e la n d s o f th e
56 w est
by th e le g e n d a ry Emperor Shun.
a n c ie n t
The name Qlang Is r e l a t e d to th e
clan-nam e J ia n g and th e h i s t o r y o f th e s e t r i b e s i s i d e n t i f i e d
w ith t h a t of th e Rong and D1 b a r b a r ia n s o f th e w est d u rin g th e tim e o f Zhou
and
by th e
Q in.
The e a r l y
h is to rie s
C hinese a g a in s t th e w e ste rn
%1/n
s ta te s
th a t
in
th e
d e s c r ib e co n q u est and p r e s s u re
f r o n t i e r p e o p le s , and Hou Han shu
tim e o f Qin and Han th e t e r r i t o r y o f th e
Qlang la y w est o f th e re g io n o f modern Lanzhou.
The g r e a t e r p a r t o f Qlang t e r r i t o r y rem ained f o r e v e r beyond th e fro n tie rs
of
in e v ita b l y Q lang,
of
Er
B asin . ^
alo n g
th e
Qlang th e
are
re fe re n c e s
to
th e
Fa o r " D is ta n t"
who
of th e
liv e d
Qiang
W estern R egions i n
s o u th
Han shu
te lls
of th e S ilk Road i n th e Tsaidam
p eople w ith
whom th e C hinese had
g re a te s t
u p p er re a c h e s o f th e Yellow R iv er and i t s t r i b u t a r i e s , th e
p ro v in c e s of
" T ib e ta n " , d w elt
much o f th e g e o g ra p h ic a l d e s c r ip tio n i s
were l i v i n g to th e e a s t o f th e g r e a t s a l t la k e , th e Koko Nor,
modern p o in t
T here
th e Account
But
c o n ta c t
th a t
a p p e a r to have in h a b ite d th e h ig h e r ground o f th e T ib etan
and
th e
so
vague.
who
m a s s if ,^
Han,
on
view ,
of
Q in g h ai, Gansu and p a r ts o f S haanxi.
though
th e
term
Qiang
i s som etim es
th e a s c r i p t i o n i s n o t p a r t i c u l a r l y h e l p f u l . th e
From t h i s
re n d e re d
as
Hie Qiang who
f r o n t i e r s o f Han can be t r a c e d a s d i s t a n t a n c e s to r s o f
th e p e o p le s o f modern T ib e t, b u t th e y were n o t th e n c lo s e ly a s s o c ia te d w ith
th a t
te rrito ry ,
and th e r e i s c l e a r I m p lic a tio n t h a t th e y had a
long h i s t o r y in th e n o rth w e s te rn re g io n o f C h in a .^
In d y n a s ty ,
d is c u s s in g th e
o ffic ia l
C hinese
d e a lin g s w ith th e Qiang d u rin g th e Han
h is to rie s
make
some d i s t i n c t i o n betw een th e
57 W estern
and
fro n tie r Yellow
R iv e r; of
and
th e
th e
h ill
E a s te rn
th e W estern Qian g were th o se o f th e
c o u n try w e st o f th e Tao and n o r th o f th e Qlang
I n h a b ite d
th e
low er
ground and
th e p r e s e n t- d a y p ro v in c e s o f Gansu, Shaanxi and S h an x i.
d is tin c tio n
e m ig ra te d
or
i s n o t alw ays c l e a r l y m a in ta in e d : some t r i b e s e i t h e r
were
f o r c i b l y r e s e t t l e d from th e w est to th e e a s t , and
re c o rd s do n o t i n d i c a t e how many o f th e Qlang p eo p le were a lr e a d y
s e ttle d of
E a s te rn Qlang:
v a lle y s
lo e s s la n d The
th e
u n d er C hinese c o n t r o l a t th e b e g in n in g o f Han. The commandery
T ian8hui ( l a t e r H anyang), i n th e u p p er Wèi v a l l e y , a p p e a rs t o have
been re g a rd e d a s m a rg in a l t e r r i t o r y betw een E a s t and W est.
The ra n g e s
te rrito ry
of
th e
Qlang
was bounded on th e n o r th by th e
o f th e Q illa n Shan, a lo n g th e Gansu c o r r id o r , and on th e s o u th
by th e Min Shan, a r id g e o f th e g r e a t Qln Ling d iv id e .
The c lim a te o f
th e re g io n i s c o ld and d ry and th e grow ing se a so n e x te n d s over no more th a n seven o r e ig h t months o f th e y e a r . and
X inlng
q u a r te r
of
In p re s e n t-d a y C hina, Lanzhou
are
i n th e r e g io n o f sp rin g -so w n w heat, b u t only ab o u t a
th e
la n d i s u nder c u l t i v a t i o n , and much o f i t depends on
a r t i f i c i a l i r r i g a t i o n by d y k e s, r e s e r v o i r s and c a n a ls . alo n g c e rta in
th e
Tao
th a t
F u rth e r s o u th ,
R iv e r, th e r e a r e p a tc h e s o f f e r t i l e g ro und, and i t i s a ll
t h i s r e g io n o f lo e s s la n d was more h e a v ily f o r e s te d
and l e s s ero d ed b e fo re i t re c e iv e d th e in t e n s iv e c o lo n is a tio n o f man.
A ccording people
of
Gansu,
and
th e
to
th e
Zhou
th e re
is
t r a d i t i o n o f th e Zuo zhuan, th e
Qlang-Rong
p e rio d had been fa rm e rs i n th e re g io n o f modern a r c h a e o lo g ic a l
e v id en ce
f o r some farm in g and
58 p a in te d - p o tte r y R iv e r.^
s e ttle m e n ts
The
p eo p le
Qln Ling
d iv id e
and
e m ig ra n t
Qlang
from
even
known who
as
i n th e u pper re a c h e s o f th e Yellow D l, who
liv e d t o
th e s o u th o f th e
were d e s c rib e d by th e C hinese h i s t o r i e s a s
th e n o r th , had
a mixed economy,
Q
Hou Han Shu,
how ever. In I t s I n tr o d u c to r y d e s c r i p t i o n o f th e Q lang, o b se rv e s t h a t : The p e o p le do n o t l i v e s e t t l e d I n any one p la c e , b u t t r a v e l w herever th e r e I s w a te r and g r a s s . Few cro p s a re grown th e r e and th e y make t h e i r li v i n g by r a i s i n g and h e rd in g a n im a ls .
From
th is
d e a lin g s g o a ts .
were
p r im a r ily a p a s t o r a l p e o p le , h e rd in g c a t t l e , sheep and
On th e o th e r hand, even I n L a te r Han, when L ai XI and Ma Yuan
a tta c k e d tu r e d
I t may a p p e a r t h a t th e Qlang w ith whom th e Han d y n asty had
th e s e
g reat
re a so n
to
b a r b a r ia n s , I t I s re c o rd e d t h a t th e two g e n e r a ls cap
s to re s o f g ra in
from
t h e i r d e fe a te d enemy, ^
There I s
b e l i e v e , t h e r e f o r e , t h a t I n s u i t a b l e c o n d itio n s o f c lim a te
and s o i l th e Qlang w ere p re p a re d to a c c e p t th e ad v an tag es o f a farm in g economy.
T hroughout and
c la n s .
th e
There
Han were
p e r io d , th e Qlang were a p eo p le o f t r i b e s many o c c a s io n s when t r i b e s would u n i t e f o r
w a rfa re o r f o r r a i d i n g , and a few m ajor le a d e r s w ere a b le t o e s t a b l i s h a
c o n f e d e r a tio n which m ight endure f o r s e v e r a l y e a r s .
But u n lik e th e
Xlongnu n o r th of C hina, th e Qlang had no s t a b l e p o l i t i c a l o r g a n is a tio n nor
any
trib e , titu la r
c e rta in though le a d e r,
s u c c e s s io n
one h is
man
of
of
pow er.
c h ie f ly
b r o th e r s
and
W ithin a p a r t i c u l a r c la n o r
fa m ily m ight be re g a rd e d a s th e c o u sin s
co u ld
seek
th e ir
own
59 fo llo w e rs ro s e
and
to
th e r e
t h e i r own p o l i t i c a l I n t e r e s t s ; and even when one group
a p o s i t i o n o f power and le a d e r s h ip u n d er a s in g le w a r - c h ie f ,
were
alw ays
riv a ls ,
f r ig h te n e d
fo r
th e ir
own p o s i t i o n and
a n x io u s t o b re a k away.
The C hinese c h r o n i c l e r s d e s c r ib e d th e Qiang a s h a rs h and c r u e l, w ild and r e b e l l i o u s , "anim ated w ith th e s p i r i t of m etal w hich p erv ad es th e
w e s te rn
due
to
th e
Han
la n d s " ,
b u t much o f th e tr o u b le w hich th e y re c o rd e d was
th e se n se o f o p p re s s io n and m i s t r u s t which th e Qiang f e l t f o r C h in ese.
non-C h in ese A m erica,
From th e e v id e n c e o f h i s t o r i c a l t r a d i t i o n , th e s e
p e o p le s
had
of
tu rn e d
to
th e th e
w e s t,
lik e
th e
Red
In d ia n s o f N orth
w ild e rn e s s and to w a rfa re l e s s th ro u g h
t h e i r own b a rb a ro u s q u a l i t i e s th a n th ro u g h th e i m p e r i a l i s t p r e s s u re o f th e ir
c iv ilis e d
m ountains th e
th is
s itu a tio n ,
s c a t t e r e d among
o f B r i t i s h I n d ia o r th e h ig h la n d s o f S c o tla n d , th e y proved
d iffic u lt
to p a c if y c o m p le te ly , b u t th e y co u ld g e n e r a lly be p re v e n te d
w id e 8 c a le
trib e s
In
and v a l l e y s , d i f f i c u l t o f a c c e s s , a g a in l i k e th e p e o p le s i n
h ills
from
n e ig h b o u rs .
were
re v o lt.
o f te n
th e
The a rts
m ost of
e ffe c tiv e
dip lo m acy,
weapons a g a in s t such p o l i t i c a l i n t r i g u e and
o c c a s io n a l a s s a s s i n a t i o n , r a t h e r th a n fo rm al m i l i t a r y power.
At th e v ery b e g in n in g o f th e Han p e r io d , when th e g r e a t XLongnu le a d e r Modun e s t a b l i s h e d h i s power t o th e n o r th of C hina, he conquered th e th a t n ev er
Yuezhl he
people
e x ten d ed
became
who h is
a c tiv e
in h a b ite d th e Gansu c o r r i d o r , and i t i s s a id hegemony
s u p p o r te r s
over th e Qiang.
In f a c t , th e Qiang
o f Modun o r h is s u c c e s s o r s , b u t th e
60 e x p an sio n
of
F irs tly ,
th e
te rrito ry as
Xlongnu
th e
Yuezhi
was
were
occuped
L ittle
power
d id
d riv e n
have
from
two
th e
n o ta b le co n seq u en ces.
Gansu
c o r r id o r :
th e ir
by Xlongnu c h i e f t a i n s ; and some re m n a n ts, known
Y uezhi, s e t t l e d
in
th e
h ill
c o u n try of th e Q llia n
S h a n .11
S econdly, a s a r e s u l t o f t h e i r concern ab o u t th e Xlongnu, th e
C hinese
became
Qlang and
an x io u s
th a t
an
a l l i a n c e betw een th e Xlongnu and th e
would th r e a te n them w ith a t t a c k from b o th th e n o r th and th e w e st: th is
a n x ie ty
th e Gansu th re a t,
form ed p a r t o f th e C hinese m otive f o r e x p a n sio n i n t o
c o r r id o r fo r
th e
tow ards Qiang
c e n t r a l A s ia .
trib e s
In f a c t , th e r e was no r e a l
a p p e a r t o have been q u i t e in c a p a b le o f
lo n g -te rm o rg a n is e d m i l i t a r y a c t i o n , and th e Xlongnu were i n no p o s itio n to compel them i n t o form ing an a l l i a n c e .
In second
th e
r e ig n
of
BC,
th e
c e n tu ry
Emperor Yan
J in g
trib e
o f Han, i n th e m iddle o f th e
of th e Qiang asked and o b ta in e d
p e rm issio n to s e t t l e i n Longxi commandery and a s s i s t i n th e d efen ce o f th e
fro n tie r.
1?
The e n e r g e t i c
Emperor Wu, how ever, who came to th e
th ro n e i n 141 BC, used th e ex cu se o f th e Qiang t h r e a t f o r h i s own wars of
a g g r e s s io n ,
and
th e
C hinese
h is to rie s
d e s c rib e
many
of
th e
c o n f l i c t s i n term s o f Qiang r e b e l l i o n and C hinese p re v e n tiv e w ar.
The conquest o f the Qiang by Former Han: In arm ies th e
of
th e
firs t,
tw enty
y e a rs
of
th e r e ig n of Emperor Wu, th e
Han r e - e s t a b l i s h e d C hinese c o n tr o l over th e t e r r i t o r i e s i n
n o rth w e st
w hich
had fo rm e rly been h e ld by Q in, so th e f r o n t i e r s
61 of
th e
em pire
fo llo w e d
Longxi
commandery,
Wuyuan
n o r th
of
in
th e
e a s te rn
bank o f th e Yellow R iv er from
th e r e g io n o f modern Lanzhou, t o Shuofang and
th e
O rdos.
In
121 BC, how ever, th e r e began th e
f i r s t o f a s e r i e s o f m ajor cam paigns to th e n o rth w e st w hich c u lm in ated in
th e e v e n tu a l C hinese c o n tr o l o f th e Gansu c o r r id o r and th e carav an
ro u te
in to
C hinese
had
Dunhuang, th e
c e n tra l
e s ta b lis h e d
and
e a s te rn
A sia.
By th e end o f th e second c e n tu ry BC, th e th e
commanderies
of
J iu q u a n , Zhangye and
th ey m a in ta in e d .m ilita r y p o s ts and a p r o te c te d ro ad in p a rt
of
th e
Gansu
c o r r i d o r , th e f u tu r e commandery of
Wuwei.13
Though
th e
m ilita ry
p r o t e c t i o n o f th e tr a d e r o u te d id red u ce
th e p r o f i t s o f r a i d i n g p a r t i e s , th e C hinese o p e ra tio n s to th e n o rth o f th e ir
trib a l
th e le s s , th e
were n o t aimed d i r e c t l y a t th e Q iang. Never
Han ex p a n sio n o n to th e w e ste rn bank of th e Yellow R iv e r, and
e s ta b lis h m e n t o f a m ajor m i l i t a r y p o s t a t
obvious th e
te rrito ry
th re a t
X la n lla n
L ia n ju , R iv e r.
at
to t h e i r hom elands. trib e ,
Fuhan
The
Han
on
L i a n j u ,1^ p re s e n te d an
In 112 BC, in an a l l i a n c e le d by
groups o f Qiang a tta c k e d C hinese s e ttle m e n ts a t th e u p p er Yellow R iv e r, and a t Angu on th e Tao
s e n t a m ajor f o r c e , d e s c rib e d a s more th a n 100,000
men, drawn from th e s ta n d in g army a t th e c a p i t a l w ith c o n tin g e n ts from th e
c e n tra l
b o rd e r d e f e a te d
commanderies
re g io n s
of
and
d riv e n
of
Henan
L ongxi, away;
and
T ia n sh u i th e
w e ste rn bank o f th e Yellow R iv e r
Henel and c a v a lry from th e and
Anding.
The Qiang were
C hinese confirm ed t h e i r ho ld on th e
62 T h is e a r l y war w ith th e Qlang showed many o f th e e le m e n ts w hich la te
formed
a
fro n tie r. o ccu p ied
fo r
X lnlng
v a lle y ,
w ith
lt.^
C hinese
In
such but
Datong
th e ir
and
v a lle y s
a
to
e s ta b lis h e d
be
at
p o lic y
on
th e Qlang
t h i s tim e t h a t th e Han f i r s t
n a tu ra l
b ro u g h t
s a lie n t
I n to th e m ountain
Its
I n to
th e r e g io n to c o lo n is e
was a d eq u ate w a te r from th e X lnlng R iv e r, th e
trib u ta rie s , th e kept
and
d iv is io n s
th e of
th e
u n d er o b s e r v a tio n .
f o r th e f i r s t tim e a
xiaowei) on
s u b je c ts
th e r e
enco u rag ed
movements
Though
exam ple,
C hinese
m a rg in a l t e r r i t o r y , a g r i c u l t u r e depended l a r g e l y on
Irrig a tio n ,
arn y
of
of th e Q lang, and th e y e s t a b l i s h e d f o r t i f i c a t i o n s and s e t t l e
m en ts,
Qiang
p a rt
I t w as, th e
c o u n try
s ig n ific a n t
C olonel
C hinese
o c c u p a tio n of th e
Qlang
and e n a b le d t h e i r
Also in 112 BC, th e r e was P r o te c to r of th e Qlang (h u
[ h e r e a f t e r c i t e d a s P r o t e c t o r ] , who cam paign
and
s u p e rv is e d
accom panied
th e
th e s e ttle m e n t and c o n q u e s t.
i t was n o t m a in ta in e d c o n t i n u a l l y , th e o f f i c e o f P r o te c to r was
f r e q u e n tly
e s ta b lis h e d
a fte r
th is
tim e :
th e
P r o te c to r
m ight
o c c a s io n a lly
le a d an army I n th e f i e l d , b u t h i s d u t i e s w ere p r im a r ily
th o se
p o litic a l
of
a
in fo rm a tio n
on
th e
o ffic e r,
w ith
re s p o n s ib ility
f o r o b ta in in g
Qlang beyond th e f r o n t i e r s and a ls o f o r p e a c e fu l
r e l a t i o n s betw een C hinese and Qlang w ith in th e b o r d e r s .
Chinese colon isation and settlem en t: In
81
BC,
d u rin g
o r g a n is a tio n
of
Q lang,
Jln c h e n g
and
th e r e ig n o f Emperor Zhao, th e r e was a r e
a d m in is tr a tiv e commandery
u n i t s alo n g th e f r o n t i e r a g a in s t th e was e s t a b l i s h e d
w ith c o u n tie s from
63 th e
ju ris d ic tio n
of
new
a d m in is tr a tio n
L ongxl, U a n s h u l and Zhangye com m anderles. co v ered
th e
The
X lnlng v a lle y and th e c o u rse o f th e
Yellow R iv er u p stre a m from p r e s e n t- d a y Lanzhou, but I t does n o t ap p ear th a t In
C hinese
th e r e ig n o f Emperor Yuan (74 to 48 BC), th e X la n lla n tr lb e s p e o p le
liv in g
above th e X lnlng v a lle y ask ed p e rm is sio n t o move down from th e
h ills was
and ta k e up u n c u ltiv a te d la n d f o r p a s tu ra g e . re fu se d ,
y e a rs
th e y
fo llo w e d
C h o n g g u o .^ Chongguo In
c o lo n is a tio n I n t h i s r e g io n was Im m ediately p ro s p e ro u s .
th e
b e fo re In
a
proposed X lnlng
e n te re d
th e f r o n t i e r s w ith o u t p e rm issio n and two
th e ir
d e fe a t
m em orial t o th a t
v a lle y
th e by
When t h i s r e q u e s t
In
61
th e th ro n e
BC by th e g e n e ra l Zhao a f t e r h i s v i c t o r y , Zhao
C hinese sh o u ld co n firm t h e i r s e ttle m e n t means
of
m i l i t a r y a g r i c u l t u r a l c o lo n ie s
( tu n tia n ) : ^ The o ffic e rs and s o l d i e r s t h a t I command, w ith t h e i r h o rs e s and c a t t l e , consume each month 199,630 hu o f g r a i n , 1,693 hu o f s a l t , and 250,286 s h i of fo d d e r. ® I t I s d i f f i c u l t to m a in ta in such a f o r c e f o r any le n g th of tim e , and th e corv ee la b o u r f o r t r a n s p o r t of th e s e s u p p lie s I s n e v e r-e n d in g . M oreoever, I am a f r a i d t h a t th e r e a re o th e r b a r b a r ia n s , e q u a lly u n p r e d ic ta b le , who may suddenly g a th e r to g e th e r and make a r i s i n g . They w i l l alw ays be a s o u rc e o f a n x ie ty to Your M a je sty , and th e r e I s a b s o lu te ly no way to p re p a re fo rm al m i l i t a r y p la n s f o r d e a lin g w ith them I n ad vance. Oa th e o th e r h an d , though I t I s d i f f i c u l t to c ru sh th e Qlang In b a t t l e . I t w i l l be e a sy f o r us to d e s tro y them I f we s e t up a lo n g -te rm p o l i c y . I t I s ny humble o p in io n t h a t th e r e I s l i t t l e t o be g a in e d by d i r e c t a t t a c k . A ccording to m e s t i m a t i o n . In th e re g io n from L ln q lan g east to Gaomen19 th e r e a r e more th a n 2,000 q in g o f la n d b e in g f i e l d s w hich were fo rm e rly c o n tr o lle d by th e Q lang, to g e th e r w ith governmment f i e l d s which have n ev er been c u ltiv a te d by our p e o p l e , ^ w h ile many o f th e p o s t and g u a rd s t a t i o n s I n th e re g io n have d e t e r i o r a t e d . My advance p a r ty has a lr e a d y gone o u t I n to th e h i l l c o u n try , and th e y have f e l l e d t r e e s and o b ta in e d more th a n 60,000 p ie c e s o f good tim b e r, la r g e and s m a ll, a l l o f them n e a r r i v e r s .
64 What I p ro p o se I s t h a t we sh o u ld d isb a n d th e c a v a lry u n i t s , h u t keep th e c o n v ic t r e c r u i t s and th e v o lu n te e r s , to g e th e r w ith f o o t s o l d l e r s from ftia iy a n g and Runan and th e p e rs o n a l fo llo w e rs o f th e o f f i c e r s . A lto g e th e r t h i s would amount to 10,281 men, and th e y would r e q u ir e e ach month 27,363 hu of g r a in and 308 hu o f s a l t . They would e s t a b l i s h camps a t v a rio u s im p o rta n t and s t r a t e g i c p la c e s , and when th e ic e b re a k s 22 th e y w i l l be a b le to b rin g th e t r e e s down by w a te r to r e p a i r th e l o c a l s e ttle m e n ts and g u ard s t a t i o n s and to d redge th e d itc h e s and m a in ta in th e i r r i g a t i o n sy ste m . They would keep i n o rd e r th e roads and b rid g e s through s e v e n ty s t a t i o n s to th e w est of th e g o rges o f th e tfciang R iv e r p o s s ib ly even a s f a r a s th e re g io n o f Xian Shui [th e Koko N o r]. 3 [In s p r i n g ,] when i t i s tim e to go o u t and work i n th e f i e l d s , each man would be a l l o t t e d tw enty mou* In th e f o u r th m onth, when p la n ts s t a r t to grow, we would r a i s e one th o u san d a b le -b o d ie d horsemen from th e commandery, and th e same number of a u x i l i a r y c a v a lry from th e b a r b a r ia n s o f th e d ependent s t a t e s , w ith two sp a re h o rs e s f o r e v e ry te n mounted men, to g ra z e in th e open c o u n try and a c t as a m obile d efence fo rc e f o r th e men w orking on th e fa rm s. T h is program w i l l in c r e a s e th e s t o r e s i n Jin c h e n g commandery and save enormous expense [in t r a n s p o r t from China P ro p e r]: i f th e Grand M in is te r of A g r ic u ltu re i s o rd e re d to su p p ly j u s t enough g ra in f o r te n th ousand men f o r a s in g le y e a r [th e y w i l l t h e r e a f t e r be s e l f - s u p p o r t i n g ] .
The th e
p ro p o s a ls
governm ent
of
of
Zhao Chongguo met w ith some o p p o s itio n , f o r
Former
Han
had
lo n g abandoned th e e x p a n s io n is t
p o l i c i e s o f Emperor Wu, and th e c h ie f Chinese co ncern was f o r a se c u re fro n tie r, c o u r t, ra is e d ,
not
and by
f o r an e x te n d e d one.
T here was a long-draw n d e b a te i n
Zhao Chongguo r e p l i e d to a v a r i e ty o f q u e s tio n s t h a t were fu rth e r
m em orials
sent
from h i s army h e a d q u a r te rs .
In
60 BC, how ever, h i s program was p u t in t o e f f e c t , m i l i t a r y a g r i c u l t u r a l c o lo n ie s Y u a n jie , The
were 25
Qlang
s u g g e s te d ,
o rg a n iz e d
and t h r e e new c o u n tie s , Heguan, Poqiang and
were
e s t a b l i s h e d i n th e X lning
who
s u rre n d e re d
under
a
system
were of
and Yellow R iver v a l l e y s .
c o n tr o lle d dependent
as
s ta te s
Zhao
Chongguo had
w ith m i l i t a r y and
65 p o litic a l
s u p e r v is io n
from C hinese o f f i c i a l s .
T his p a t t e r n rem ained
a model f o r th e n e x t s i x t y y e a r s .
B e sid e s trib e s
on
s tra te g y were new
th e
th e of
e s ta b lis h m e n t
f r o n t i e r , how ever, Zhao Chongguo a ls o made use o f th e
fo rc e d
b ro u g h t co u n ty
o f d ep en d en t s t a t e s to c o n tr o l th e
im m ig ra tio n .
Members o f th e Han and Qian t r i b e s
back i n t o th e v a l l e y o f th e Wei R iv e r, and s e t t l e d i n a c a lle d
H anqian,
now
so u th o f T ia n sh u l i n G a n s u .^
The
county was n o t m a in ta in e d a s an a d m in is tr a tiv e c e n tr e u n d er L a te r Han, but
th e c o l o n i s a t io n a p p e a rs t o have been q u i t e s u c c e s s f u l:
th e Qian
t r i b e a r e n o t m entioned a g a in , though th e Han t r i b e a p p e a rs b r i e f l y a s r e b e ls
in
uncommon,
th e
28
140s
and
it
AD.
27
d id
Such
a p o lic y o f r e s e ttle m e n t was n o t
re d u c e th e l i k e lih o o d o f c o n f l i c t a lo n g th e
f r o n t i e r ; how ever, i t l e f t th e X la n lia n group i n c o n tr o l o f th e b o rd e r te rrito ry ,
and
it
p ro v id e d an example w hich was to be fo llo w ed w ith
more d r a s t i c e f f e c t a t th e b e g in n in g o f L a te r Han.
Though d u rin g th e
rem a in in g
re b e llio n
from
d is tu r b a n c e s pow er. s e rie s trib a l
th e r e
was y e a rs
trib e s
co u ld
no doubt
be
29
endem ic r a id in g on a sm all s c a le
o f Former Han, and th e r e was o c c a s io n a l
w ith in d e a lt
C hinese w ith
by
te rrito ry ,
most
of
th e s e
l o c a l a u t h o r i t y and m i l i t a r y
In 42 and 41 BC th e c h i e f t a i n Shaodang of th e Yan t r i b e le d a of
r a id s on Longxl commandery:
g ro u p s ,
and i t
r e g u la r
army
u n d er a
Shaodang
h im s e lf
became
he was su p p o rte d by s i x o th e r
was n e c e s s a ry f u l l g e n e ra l
to
f o r th e
C hinese to c a l l i n a
deal
w ith h i s in c u r s io n s .
a h e ro o f h is p e o p le , and h is t r i b e changed
66 i t s name from Yan to Shaodang In h is h o n o u r. how ever, of
th e
th e ir
o u ts id e
Qlang were i n no p o s i t i o n t o
With t h i s one e x c e p tio n , c o n te s t C hinese o c c u p a tio n
form er low land t e r r i t o r y , and even th o se th e
fro n tie r
of
th e
who s t i l l rem ained
em pire g e n e r a lly su b m itte d to C hinese
a u th o rity .
At a c tin g
th e
as
b e g in n in g
reg en t
fo r
o f th e f i r s t c e n tu ry AD, when Wang Mang was th e
young
Emperor P in g , l a s t em peror o f th e
Former Han d y n a s ty , he s e n t envoys t o p e rsu a d e th e Qiang i n th e re g io n of
th e Koko Nor to s u rr e n d e r and o f f e r t r i b u t e to Han.
commandery, county
known
c itie s
fo rts
and
th e r e
as
-
camps
as
X ih a i,
which
in
-
was
form ed
30
In
some
r e s p e c ts
e x te n s io n
o f th e
d e sig n e d
p r e s tig e
and
a u t h o r i t y w ith in th e c a p i t a l , and i t i s n o t l i k e l y t h a t
th e
firs t
On th e o th e r hand, i n
months o f 7 AD, C hinese arm ies p u t down a r e b e l l i o n o f th e
e s ta b lis h e d
fro n tie rs
coup to enhance Wang Mang's
th e ground was v e ry fir m .
i n t h i s r e g io n , 31A and
trib e s had
on
p o litic a l
th is
was
c o n tr o l
a
C hinese c o n v ic ts were s e n t
fro n tie r
C hinese
as
i n t h i s re g io n , w ith f iv e
f a c t can have been no more th a n i s o l a t e d
and some th o u san d s o f
c o lo n is ts .
In 5 AD a new
th e r e seems
no q u e s tio n t h a t Wang Hang
some m easure o f m i l i t a r y a u th o r ity beyond th e form er
o f Han.
The o f f i c i a l h i s t o r y c o n ta in s no f u r t h e r r e f e r e n c e
to
th e
Qlang u n t i l th e o v erth ro w o f Wang Mang's governm ent i n 23 AD.
In
th e
p e r io d
o f r e b e l l i o n and c i v i l war t h a t fo llo w e d , th e C hinese
o u tp o s ts b e s id e th e Koko Nor were o v e rth ro w n , and th e y d isa p p e a re d f o r ev e r. w est
The o ld I m p e r ia l t e r r i t o r y i n th e X lnlng v a lle y and th e la n d s of
th e
Yellow
R iv er was now dom inated by th e tu r b u le n t Q iang.
67 When Liu X lu, Emperor Guangwu o f L a te r Han, came to tu r n h i s a t t e n t i o n to
th e
w e s t,
a l l th e work o f c o n q u e st and s e ttle m e n t had t o be done
a g a in .
F rontier p o lic y a t the beginning o f Later Han: 32 For of
te n y e a rs a f t e r th e d e a th o f Wang Mang and th e d e s tr u c tio n
c e n tra l
governm ent
In
C hina,
th e
m ajor
C hinese
power In th e
n o rth w e s t was h e ld by th e w a rlo rd Wèl Ào, based on p re s e n t-d a y e a s te r n Gansu,
betw een th e Yellow R iv e r and th e v a lle y o f th e Wei. A f te r some
cam paigns su ccess, trib e s
a g a in s t Wei
and
th e
Ao
Q lang,
was
used
In
c o n te n t
which
he
a ch iev ed
o n ly lim ite d
to form a lo o s e a l l i a n c e w ith v a rio u s
some o f t h e i r f i g h t i n g men a s a u x i l i a r y tr o o p s .
In
th e e a r l y 3 0 s, when Emperor Guangwu moved a g a in s t Wei Ao, he a p p o in te d a
P r o te c to r
of
th e
Qlang
to
seek s u p p o rt among th e trib e sm e n and
Induce them t o a t t a c k Wei Ao from th e w e s t. Xiu,
was
c a p tu re d by Wei Aovs
th e
same
However, h i s nom inee, Wen
fo llo w e rs and com m itted s u i c i d e .
33
At
tim e . Emperor Guangwu made an a l l i a n c e w ith th e w a rlo rd Dou
Rong o f Wuwel, who a tta c k e d th e Qlang I n Jln ch en g and th e n b ro u g h t h is arm ies
to th e l i n e o f th e Yellow R iv e r, on th e n o rth -w e s t o f Wei A o's
p o s itio n .
The f i r s t cam paign. In th e y e a r 30, was u n s u c c e s s f u l, but
two
y e a rs l a t e r Guangwu and Dou Rong a c h ie v e d a m ajor v i c t o r y .
Wei
Ao
d ie d ,
and
fo llo w in g y e a r . ^
h is
son
Wei
In 33
Chun s u rre n d e re d t o Guangwu In th e
68 Even
b e fo re
governm ent
i n Longxi and J in c h e n g .
of
th e
Wei
fam ily» th e new Han
In 33» L ai XI» a c o u sin o f Guangwu
one o f th e le a d in g m i l i t a r y commanders o f Han» had been a p p o in te d
Governor Wei
o f L ian g p ro v in c e w ith r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r o p e ra tio n s a g a in s t
Ao and th e Qiang in th e n o rth and w est and a ls o a g a in s t th e r i v a l
em peror
Gongsun
X ia n lia n
Qiang
in
o verthrow
had made some p r e p a r a tio n s f o r th e s e ttle m e n t o f th e Qiang
fro n tie rs and
th e
Jin ch en g
a rm ie s .
Shu t o th e s o u th i n p r e s e n t-d a y S ichuan.
In 34» th e
and a number o f o th e r t r i b e s ra id e d C hinese p o s itio n s
and
Longxicommanderies
A few
and
were d e f e a te d by
th e Han
months l a t e r , Lai Xi was k i l l e d on campaign a g a in s t
Gongsun Shu, b u t h i s a s s i s t a n t , Ma Yuan, Grand A d m in is tra to r of Longxi commandery,
c o n tin u e d
o p e r a tio n s
a g a in s t
th e Q iang.
35
In
35, th e
X ia n lia n t r i b e were a g a in d e f e a te d , f i r s t a t L in ta o i n Longxi and th e n alo n g
th e
cam paigns, c a ttle
X lning Ma
R iv er in Jin c h e n g commandery.
Yuan
c a p tu re d
In th e two s e p a r a te
more th a n t e n th o u san d head o f h o r s e s ,
and sh e e p , to g e th e r w ith c o n s id e ra b le s t o r e s o f g r a i n .
He was
wounded i n th e le g d u rin g one o f th e f i n a l engagem ents, and he d id n o t co m p le te ly v a lle y
d e s tr o y
la n d s
of
th e
enemy,
Jin c h e n g ,
but and
he d id d r iv e them away from th e he
was
rew arded
w ith
Im p e ria l
commendation and s e v e r a l th ousand o f th e an im als he had c a p tu re d .
Though Y uan's had
members o f th e Qiang had esc a p ed a c r o s s th e b o r d e r s .
v i c t o r i e s i n 35 had broken th e power
made
fro n tie rs . em phasised
possible In th e
h is
a
re s to ra tio n
of
C hinese
th e X ia n lia n t r i b e and p o s itio n s on th e o ld
d is c u s s io n o f L a te r Han p o lic y , B ie le n s te in h as
" d e fe a tis t
s p i r i t " o f Emperor Guangwu and h i s c o u r t,
69 and
c ite s
a s an exam ple th e a b o l i t i o n o f Jln ch en g commandery and i t s
co m b in atio n
w ith
Longxl
in
O
(L
36. u
In
fa c t,
however, th e
fin a l
p o s itio n s t h a t were e s t a b l i s h e d on th e f r o n t i e r a g a in s t th e Qiang were alm ost
e x a c tly
th e
same
as th o s e of Former Han. From t h i s p o in t o f
view , th e a b o l i t i o n o f Jin c h e n g commandery may b e s t be seen a s a g ra n t o f a u t h o r i t y t o Ma Yuan, s t i l l Grand A d m in is tra to r o f L ongxl, i n o rd e r th a t
he m ight e x e r c is e f u l l c o n tr o l o v er th e whole f r o n t i e r t e r r i t o r y
f a c in g th e Q iang. th a t
C hinese
w hich
would
R iv er
to
p o s it i o n s have
th e
As B ie le n s t e i n p o in ts o u t , i t was pro p o sed a t c o u rt w est
le ft
th e
o c c u p a tio n
o f Poqiang sh o u ld be abandoned; a move whole o f th e u p p er v a lle y o f th e X ining
of
th e
Q iang.
But Ma Yuan m em o rialised
a g a in s t t h i s p la n , and i t was n o t r a i s e d a g a in .
In h is m em orial. Ma Yuan w ro te : W estwards from Yuanya, 37 th e r e i s a w a lle d s e ttle m e n t ev ery few s c o re l i , and each o f them i s w e ll f o r t i f i e d . Under th e o ld sy stem , i n o rd e r to e s t a b l i s h th e f r o n t i e r we p la c e d o u r d e fe n c e s a lo n g th e d e f i l e s and narrow p a sse s o f th e h i l l s , w ith a g a r r is o n commander t o guard each pathw ay. 0 By t h i s m eans, th e b a r b a r ia n s were p re v e n te d from making any u n ex p ected moves a g a in s t u s. I f we now abandon e v e ry th in g to th e n o rth w e st o f Yuanya we would be g iv in g encouragem ent to th e b a r b a ria n s and weakening o u r own p o s i t i o n s : we m ust r a t h e r a c t q u ic k ly w ith m i l i t a r y f o r c e to d r iv e them away. The p r e f e c tu r e s o f Jin ch en g have r i c h and f e r t i l e f i e l d s , and th e i r r i g a t i o n system i s s t i l l i n p e rfe c t o rd e r. I t w i l l n o t be d i f f i c u l t to b rin g back th e o r i g i n a l s e t t l e r s to t h i s re g io n , and we sh o u ld c e r t a i n l y n o t abandon any t e r r i t o r y . ^
Ma
Y uan's
p o lic y
was
c le a rly
th e same a s t h a t o f Zhao Chongguo i n
th e p re v io u s c e n tu r y , and d u rin g h i s c o n tr o l o f Jin c h e n g , i n th e y e a rs 36
and
37,
he
u n d erto o k
an
e n e r g e tic
program
to
r e b u ild
th e
f o r t i f i c a t i o n s and i r r i g a t i o n works and to r e - e s t a b l i s h th e fa rm la n d s .
"4
O
Jishi Mountain
■ Comma ndery capitals • Former Han counties in Longxi and Jincheng maintained by Later Han V Former Han county abolished in Later Han A County established in Later Han
Map 1:
The QLang F r o n t i e r In th e F i r s t Century AD
71 It
Is
s p e c ific a lly
e m ig ra te d
from
Jin c h e n g
o rig in a l
te rrito ry .
fra c tio n
of
th e
d is tu r b a n c e s ,
re c o rd e d
th a t
thousand
p eo p le
who had
n o r th i n t o Wuwei were now re tu r n e d t o t h e i r
C e r ta in ly th e s e r e p r e s e n te d no more th a n a t i n y
p o p u la tio n
fo r
th r e e
most
S ich u an .
which
had
fle d
Jin ch en g
d u rin g
th e
re fu g e e s
would have gone southw ards tow ards
However,
s in c e Ma Yuan had a u th o r ity over a
p re s e n t
day
u n if ie d
commandery o f L o n g x l/Jin c h e n g , he co u ld a rra n g e m ig ra tio n and
r e s e ttle m e n t
w ith in
governm ent.
The
commandery
b o rd e rs
was
re c o rd e d
g re a t Qln
many Ling
Jin c h e n g .
th is
re g io n w ith o u t s p e c i a l p e rm issio n from th e
r e s e ttle m e n t from
of
th r e e
thousand
p eo p le
a c ro s s
Wuwei was a m a tte r f o r o f f i c i a l co n cern and
i n th e o f f i c i a l h i s t o r i e s , b u t i t i s v ery l i k e l y t h a t a more
p e o p le , who had n o t f l e d so f a r a s th e s o u th o f th e
ra n g e ,
were
now
b ro u g h t back to th e f r o n t i e r c o u n tie s o f
By th e end o f 37, Jin c h e n g commandery was r e - e s t a b l i s h e d .
In 37, w h ile Ma Yuan was s t i l l o ccu p ied w ith th e r e c o n s tr u c tio n of
Jin c h e n g ,
he a ls o le d a f i n a l cam paign a g a in s t th e Shenlang t r i b e
of
th e Qlang who had r e b e l l e d i n Wudu commandery, and he fo rc e d t h e i r
s u rre n d e r
near
Yuan
summoned
was
DLkdao i n Longxl from
commanderySoon
th e n o rth w e s t to ta k e command o f an army o f
e x p e d itio n i n th e s o u th tow ards p r e s e n t-d a y Vietnam . fro n tie r
upon
He l e f t beh in d a
w hich fo llo w e d th e same l i n e s a s t h a t o f Former Han, and h is
cam paigns la s t e d
a f te r w a r d s . Ma
a g a in s t
alm o st ra id e rs
o b ed ien ce
and
th e
tw enty and
Qlang had e s t a b l i s h e d a p e rio d o f peace w hich y e a rs.
re b e ls .
a c c e p ta n c e
Ma of
B esides th e d e f e a ts which he i n f l i c t e d Yuan Chinese
had
a ls o been co n cerned t o win
a u t h o r ity among th e Qlang who
72 liv e d
beyond
th e
Y angfeng,
he
rew arded
them
fro n tie r.
a rra n g e d w ith
With
th e
fo rm al
in s ig n ia
as
th e a id o f a c h i e f t a i n known a s su b m issio n
o f l o c a l le a d e r s and
k in g s , m arquises and l e s s e r fe u d a l
ra n k s . F or th e tim e b e in g , i n sem blance a t l e a s t , th e a u th o r ity o f Han in
t h i s re g io n o f th e n o rth w e st was
T here in
th e
of
L a te r
how ever,
n o rth w e s t Han.
su ffe re d
a
C hinese
betw een
marked
two
th e C hinese p o p u la tio n o f
d e c lin e . o v er
m ajor changes t h a t had ta k e n p la c e
th e end o f Former Han and th e r e s t o r a t i o n
F irs tly ,
a u th o rity
Longxi 140,
w ere,
r e s to r e d to i t s form er p o s i t i o n .
t h i s re g io n had
In 2 ÀD, j u s t b e fo re Wang Mang ex ten d ed
X lhai commandery, th e combined p o p u la tio n of
and Jln c h e n g commander!es was ab o u t 400,000.
At th e census of
th e n e x t d a te f o r w hich we have d e t a i l e d f i g u r e s , th e p o p u la tio n
of
th e
same r e g io n had been reduced to 5 0 ,0 0 0 , la r g e ly as th e r e s u l t
of
m ig ra tio n
s o u th
a c ro s s
th e
Qin
L in g .^*
Though
th e
f ig u r e s
f o r 140 were n a t u r a l l y a f f e c t e d by th e m assive d is tu r b a n c e s which took p la c e next of
i n th e e a r l y second c e n tu ry (and w hich w i l l be d is c u s s e d i n th e c h a p t e r ) , i t i s s t i l l v ery p ro b a b le t h a t th e combined p o p u la tio n
Longxi
d e c lin e d
and by
Jln c h e n g
as
much
had a lr e a d y , a t th e b e g in n in g o f L a te r Han,
as
a
h a l f ; and t h i s d e s p ite th e campaign f o r
r e s e ttle m e n t o rg a n is e d by Ma Yuan. C hinese
For th e tim e b e in g , th e numbers o f
s e t t l e d in th e f r o n t i e r re g io n were s u f f i c i e n t to s u p p o rt th e
towns
and
farm lan d s
alo n g
th e
X ining
p o s s ib le
th a t
d e p a rtu r e
of
th e Ma
which
R iver
e n su re d
and
s o u th
im p e ria l c o n tr o l o f th e v a lle y s of
th e Yellow R iv e r, and i t i s
s i t u a t i o n rem ained s t a b le f o r some tim e a f t e r th e Yuan.
But
th e r e were n a tu r a l in c e n tiv e s f o r th e
73 peo p le o f t h i s f r o n t i e r to lo o k so uthw ards to s e c u r i t y and o p p o rtu n ity In
c o l o n i s a t i o n beyond th e Qln L ing r a n g e s , and I n th e l a s t a n a l y s i s .
If
th e
governm ent
p o p u la tio n
In
o f Im p e ria l China co u ld n o t m a in ta in I t s c i v i l i a n
th e
la n d s o f th e n o rth w e s t, th e n no m i l i t a r y d e fe n c e s
co uld keep firm h o ld on th e f r o n t i e r s •
Throughout th e p e rio d o f L a te r
Han, th e C hinese p o p u la tio n of th e n o rth w e s t was a d w in d lin g a s s e t .
The
second
h i n te r l a n d
of
th e
g re a t
th e
change
fro n tie rs
th e
ra th e r
n o rth w e st
concerned
th e
th a n th e f r o n t i e r s th e m se lv e s.
In
a ll
of
th e Wei and I t s t r i b u t a r i e s , th e d e c lin e o f C hinese p o p u la tio n and
e m ig ra tio n
te rrito ry
In
to
commanderles Liang
th e so u th p a r a l l e l e d t h a t o f Longxi and Jln c h e n g .
The
o f T la n s h u l (renam ed Hanyang I n 7 4 ), Andlng and B e ld l In
p ro v in c e ,
Y oufufeng
e a s t o f th e Yellow R iv e r, In th e upper v a lle y
Xlhe
and
Shang
commanderles I n Bing p ro v in c e , and
I n S i l l n e a r th e Former Han c a p i t a l Changan, had a l l l o s t a
s ig n ific a n t p e r io d ,
number
th e
of
w eakness
th e ir of
C hinese
C hinese
In h a b ita n ts .
s e ttle m e n t
During th e same
was
re c o g n ise d
and
confirm ed by th e a b o l i t i o n o f Former Han c o u n tie s ; p a r t l y a s a m easure of
a d m in is tr a tiv e
few er th e
C hinese
economy,
p eo p le
p a rtly
to r e c e iv e
b ecau se th e r e w ere s i g n i f i c a n t l y s u p e r v is io n and
g o v e rn m e n t.^
In
r e g io n n o r th o f th e Wei R iv e r v a l l e y some s i x t y o r s e v e n ty county
a d m in is tr a tio n s
o f Former Han were e lim in a te d by Emperor Guangwu, and
C hinese o c c u p a tio n and c o n tr o l was s e r i o u s l y weakened.
The Y uan's
dangerous
p o lic y
of
s i t u a t i o n I n th e n o rth w e st was a g g ra v a te d by Ma r e s e ttle m e n t
fo r
b a r b a ria n s
c a p tu re d
on
th e
74 In
fro n tie rs Qiang
In
W estern
35,
th e
a fte r m a th
o f h i s campaign a g a in s t th e X la n lla n
I t I s re c o rd e d by th e a n n a ls and by th e Account o f th e
Qiang t h a t he com pelled h i s p r is o n e r s to s e t t l e th em selv es I n
T la n s h u l,
Y oufufeng
and
th e e a s t o f Longxl commander y :
th e up p er v a lle y o f th e W e i . ^ a
fro n tie r
trib e
In
th e
S ince th e
th a t I s , In
X la n lla n had fo rm e rly been
h i l l c o u n try o f Jln c h e n g commander y , t h i s
r e p re s e n te d a fo rc e d move o f some 400 k ilo m e tr e s , and p la c e d them w e ll I n s id e
C hinese
fa c t.
It
does
th o u san d
not
p e o p le ,
m ig ra te
from
d e sig n e d Y uan's
c o n tr o l
fro n tie r
weaken
s tra te g y
never
appear
h e a rd
th e
th a t
eye o f l o c a l a d m i n i s t r a t o r s . th e
In
move In v o lv e d more th a n a few
b u t I n l a t e r y e a r s more tr lb e s p e o p le were f o rc e d to
th e
to
u n d er
I n to
b a r b a r ia n
was
C hina, and t h i s p o lic y was c l e a r l y
p re ssu re
c e rta in ly
on th e b o rd e r d e fe n c e s .
s u c c e s s f u l:
th e X la n lla n
Ma
tr ib e a re
o f a g a in a s a t h r e a t t o th e w e s t, and th e Shaodang t r i b e
who to o k o v e r t h e i r p o s i t i o n were l a t e r d e a l t w ith I n th e same way.
On re q u ire d
th e
o th e r
th a t
th e
hand,
th e
o v e ra ll
s u c c e ss
of
such a p o lic y
fo rm er tro u b le m a k e rs who were r e s e t t l e d sh o u ld be
kept
u n d er p ro p e r c o n t r o l I n t h e i r new t e r r i t o r y , and a s tim e went by
th is
became
In
th e
Wei
s u p e rv is io n and
th e
p a s to ra l
v a lle y
and
n o r th
was a lr e a d y d e c lin in g , o f f i c i a l
betw een th e two g ro u p s , C hinese p e a s a n ts and se m i-
tr lb e s p e o p le
p o lic y
th e
As C hinese s e ttle m e n t
o f th e n o n-C hinese Im m igrants was c o rre s p o n d in g ly s l i g h t ,
te n s io n s
p o te n tia l th e
I n c r e a s in g ly d i f f i c u l t t o e n s u r e .
so u rc e of
of Ma
w ith
d iffe re n t
custom s
f r i c t i o n and a n x i e t y . Yuan
and
h is
and
la n g u a g e , was a
From t h i s p o in t o f view ,
s u c c e s s o rs
had
some
s u c c e ss I n
75 m a in ta in in g at
th e
th e
fo rw ard f r o n t i e r s o f th e e m p ire, b u t i t was ach ie v e d
ex pense o f g r e a t d an g er t o th e C hinese h in te r la n d which th o se
f r o n t i e r s were meant to d e f e n d . ^
In a l l t h i s movement o f p o p u la tio n , one f a c t o r rem ain s u n c le a r . The p r e s e n t c lim a te o f th e r e g io n i s c o m p a ra tiv e ly d ry and c o ld , w ith a
lim i t e d
grow ing
e x is te n c e th e
se a so n
and
some
need f o r i r r i g a t i o n .
o f Qiang s e ttle m e n t e a s t o f th e Yellow R iv er may im ply t h a t
b a la n c e
of
ad v an tag e
had
s h ifte d
from
a g r i c u l t u r e to n o n -C h in ese p a s t o r a l economy. may
be
The v ery
C h in e s e -s ty le p e a s a n t
F u rth e r e v id en ce o f t h i s
found i n th e f a c t t h a t Ma Yuan was rew arded f o r h i s v i c t o r i e s
i n 35 by a g r a n t o f th e c a p tu re d c a t t l e , sheep and h o r s e s , and t h a t he d is trib u te d h is
th e s e
e n e rg e tic
among h i s c l i e n t s and p e rs o n a l f o llo w e r s :
d e s p ite
e s ta b lis h m e n t o f i r r i g a t i o n and fa rm la n d s, i t i s c l e a r
t h a t Ma Yuan found g ra z in g an im a ls a p r a c t i c a l form o f w e a lth . th e
Qiang
who
were
moved
to
A gain,
th e e a s t o f th e Yellow R iv er d id n o t
a d j u s t th e m se lv e s r e a d i l y t o s e t t l e d a g r i c u l t u r e , and l a t e r r e f e r e n c e s in
th e
and
h i s t o r i e s r e f e r to t h e i r p o s s e s s io n n o t o n ly o f c a t t l e , sheep
h o rse s,
but
re s e ttle m e n t, a
a ls o
p o lic y which th e C hinese had a p p lie d
n o r th e r n
fro n tie r
but
b o rd e rs,
it
have
accept
must
lo c a l
su rro u n d ed them . not been th e ir
o f a s s e s , m ules and cam els.
a ls o
custom s
w ith in
been and
hoped
th e
In many c a se s o f n o t o n ly on th e
em pire and on th e so u th e rn
t h a t th e m ig ra n ts would come to
a s s im ila te
w ith
th e
p o p u la tio n
th a t
I f t h i s was th e p la n f o r th e Q iang, how ever, i t does
a p p e a r t o have su c c e e d e d , and one re a s o n f o r i t s f a i l u r e may have th a t
th e
te rrito ry
th e y
were
a llo tte d
was more s u i t a b l e to
o r i g i n a l s e m i- p a s to r a l l i f e th a n t o t h a t o f th e C hinese fa rm e rs
who had o ccu p ied th e la n d d u rin g Former Han.
C H APTER 3
THE QIANG TRIBES AND THE EMPIRE OF HAN: FRONTIER WARS AND THE GREAT REBELLIONS 50-150 AD
The Shaodang f r o n t i e r w ars 57-101 P r o t e c t o r a t e p o lic y and m i l i t a r y power in th e f i r s t c e n tu ry The G reat E a st Qiang R e b e llio n 107-118 R e c o n s tru c tio n and th e Second R e b e llio n 119-150
The
p re v io u s
China
d u rin g
and
th e
c e n tu ry 23,
h is
re s to ra tio n
in
th e f i r s t h a l f o f th e f i r s t
trib e s
g a in e d a m easure o f independence from C hinese
in
H a n g p ro v in c e ,
h i s g e n e ra l Ma Yuan r e s t o r e d th e
l i n e s o f Longxl and Jln c h e n g commanderies i n e s s e n t i a l l y th e
p o s itio n s
Guangwuvs
Han
d u rin g th e l a t e 3 0 s, a f t e r Emperor Guangwu had e s ta b lis h e d
a u th o rity
same
o f L a te r
In th e c i v i l war w hich fo llo w e d th e f a l l o f Wang Mang i n
Qiang
but
fro n tie r
d is c u s s e d th e Qiang p e o p le o f th e n o rth w e st o f
th e p e rio d o f Former Han, th e in te rre g n u m o f Wang Mang,
AD.
th e
ru le ,
c h a p te r
d e a th
as
th ey had
in
57
been
i n Former
Han.
By th e tim e o f
th e Han power i n t h i s re g io n ap p eared on th e
s u r f a c e much a s i t had b e f o r e .
T here
w ere,
how ever,
as
we
have o b se rv e d , some m ajor d i f f
e r e n c e s , most n o ta b ly in th e p a t t e r n o f C hinese and Qiang c o lo n is a tio n and
s e ttle m e n t.
th e
o ffic ia l
C hinese
had
On th e one hand, d e s p i t e th e e f f o r t s o f Ma Yuan and p o lic y
abandoned
o f th e
Im p e ria l
governm ent, g r e a t numbers o f
th e t e r r i t o r y o f th e n o rth w e s t and had so u g h t
s e c u r i t y by m ig ra tio n a c ro s s th e m ountain d iv id e s o f th e Qln Ling i n t o
77 th e
Sichuan
p o p u la tio n d e c lin e
b a s in In
from
and
Longxl th e
th e and
le v e ls
la n d s
of
Jln c h e n g of
th e
had
Y an g tse.
a lre a d y
The C hinese
s u f f e r e d a marked
th e Former Han p e r io d , and th e p ro c e s s
c o n tin u e d th ro u g h o u t L a te r Han,
On
th e
o th e r
hand,
w eakened,
th e
Qlang
had
e s ta b lis h
th e m se lv e s
Q lang,
so
a lo n g
th e
c a lle d
fro n tie r th is
C hinese
pow er,
ended.
h in te rla n d
e v e n tu a lly fo llo w e d , s o u th ,
and
e n te re d
th e
to
e n t e r th e b o rd e rs and
Im p e ria l t e r r i t o r y .
These E a s te rn
now
th e o re tic a lly
and
c e rta in ly
under
th e ir
th e c o n tr o l o f
h arassm en t of th e
The program , how ever, assumed t h a t th e Qlang in
would be outnum bered by t h e i r C hinese n eig h b o u rs and
in te g ra te d as
p e rm itte d
to d i s t i n g u i s h them from t h e i r fe llo w s o u ts id e and were
was
been
w ith in
fro n tie r,
e s ta b l i s h e d
a t th e same tim e a s C hinese c o lo n is a tio n
C hinese fu rth e r
in to
th e ir
m ig ra tio n g roups
c u ltu re : seeped
but
i n th e y e a rs which
a c ro s s th e m ountains to th e
o f Qlang w ere e i t h e r b ro u g h t by f o r c e o r
v o l u n t a r i l y I n to th e empty la n d , th e b a la n c e weighed l e s s and
l e s s in th e C h in ese fa v o u r.
By succeeded Gansu th ey
th e seco n d h a l f o f th e f i r s t c e n tu r y , th e n , th e C hinese had in
c o rrid o r had
done
m a in ta in in g t h e i r dominance o v er th e X inlng v a l l e y , th e and th e Yellow R iv e r e a s t o f p resen t-n iay Lanzhou, b u t so a t th e c o s t o f c o n s ta n t te n s io n alo n g th e f r o n t i e r
and a m easure o f i n s e c u r i t y b eh in d th e l i n e s . and y e a rs
Both th e s e d i f f i c u l t i e s
d a n g e rs were d e m o n stra te d i n f u l l m easure d u rin g th e n e x t hundred
78
The Shaodang fro n tie r wars 57-101: We
have
c h ie fta in of
n o te d
e a rlie r
in
th e y e a rs 42 and 41 BC, th e
Shaodang o f th e Yan t r i b e o f th e Qiang had b ro u g h t a s e r i e s
r a id s a g a i n s t Longxi commandery and had o b ta in e d a r e p u ta tio n as a
le a d e r trib e
among had
h is
p e o p l e .1
changed
v a rio u s
fro n tie r,
s m a ll but
In honour o f h i s
a c h ie v e m en ts, th e Yan
i t s name to Shaodang, b u t t h e i r p o s i t i o n d e c lin e d
a g a in a f t e r h i s d e a th . in
th a t
For th e n e x t few g e n e ra tio n s th e y were s e t t l e d
v a lle y s
n o rth o f th e Y ellow R iv er and o u ts id e th e
were
n o t numbered among th e m ajor t r i b e s o f th e
th e y
Qiang.
E a rly s e ttle m e n t
in
L a te r
Han, how ever, w ith in a few y e a rs of Ma Y uan's
o f th e b o r d e r s , th e Shaodang re g a in e d t h e i r s t r e n g t h .
The
X ia n lla n
trib e ,
been
weakened by t h e i r d e f e a ts a t th e hands o f th e C hinese and by
th e
so
fo rc e d m ig r a tio n i n t o im p e r ia l t e r r i t o r y , t h a t th e few p e o p le who
rem ained and
fo rm e rly th e m ost p o w erfu l o f th e W estern Q iang, had
o u ts id e th e f r o n t i e r were i n no p o s itio n to cope w ith r i v a l s
en em ies.
le a d e r s h ip
A ccording to th e C hinese r e c o r d s , around 40, u n d er th e
of
t h e i r c h i e f t a i n D ia n lia n g , th e Shaodang t r i b e a tta c k e d
th e
la n d s o f th e X ia n lla n and s e iz e d them f o r th e m se lv e s.
was
now i n th e G re a te r and L e sse r Yu v a l l e y s , on th e s o u th e rn bank o f
th e
Yellow
e s ta b l i s h e d
R iv e r,
and
a u th o rity
in
th e
c o u rse
I h e i r b ase
o f th e n e x t g e n e r a tio n th e y
and a p a t t e r n o f o c c a s io n a l a l l i a n c e among th e
o th e r t r i b e s o f th e f r o n t i e r .
The f i r s t s t i r o f tr o u b le i n th e tw en ty y e a rs s in c e Ma Yuan had
79 le ft
th e
n o rth w e s t came I n 56» when th e S henlang Qlang o f Wudu a g a in
a tta c k e d were
th e C hinese p o s i t i o n s I n Wudu and Longxl com m anderles•
s p e e d ily
d e f e a te d
by
lo c a l
They
tro o p s» b u t I n th e fo llo w in g y e a r
th e r e a p p eared a more s e r io u s t h r e a t , f u r t h e r to th e n o r th .
Through a
s e r i e s o f sm a ll r a i d s a g a i n s t C hinese f r o n t i e r p o s i t i o n s , th e Shaodang c h ie fta in
D lanyu,
w a rle a d e r
and
g a th e re d
son o f D la n lla n g , had
c o u n s e llo r
In
h is
own
o b ta in e d and
r e c o g n itio n a s a
o th e r t r i b e s .
In 57 he
h i s f o r c e s and lau n ch ed an a t t a c k e a stw a rd s a lo n g th e Yellow
R iv e r.
At f i r s t , t h i s may have been no more th a n a r a i d I n s t r e n g t h ,
but
a
In
C hinese
c o n fu sio n
fo r c e s
at
of Fuhan
s k irm is h e s and
and b a t t l e s , th e Qlang d e fe a te d
Y u a n jle , and th e n ac h ie v e d a s t r i k i n g
v ic to r y a t Yuanya, th e c a p i t a l o f Jln c h e n g commandery. su ccess,
se v e ra l
o th e r
trib e s
On s e e in g t h i s
o f th e Qlang ro s e In r e b e l l i o n and a
number o f l o c a l C hinese arm ies were d e fe a te d and d e s tro y e d .
In g e n e ra ls th e In
th e
I n command, was s e n t from th e Im p e ria l c a p i t a l , Luoyang, and
re b e llio n s k e e p in g
s u rre n d e r e d There but
fo llo w in g y e a r an army o f f o r t y th o u san d men, w ith two
w ith
were p u t down. th e
p o lic y
Dlanyu h im s e lf s u rre n d e re d In 59 and, of
Ma
Yuan, seven
thousand
of
th e
trib e s m e n w ere s e t t l e d I n th e commanderles ab o u t Changan.
was a g a in some form o f peace f o r a n o th e r f i f t e e n y e a rs o r m ore, o c c a s io n a l
from fo rc e s
r a i d s c o n tin u e d a lo n g th e f r o n t i e r s , and I t was c l e a r
th e e x p e rie n c e of th e f i r s t Shaodang war t h a t th e lo c a l m i l i t a r y of
Jln c h e n g
and
c o a l i t i o n o f th e t r i b e s
Longxl
were
to o weak to cope w ith a m ajor
80 D ia n y u 's e l d e s t so n and nom inal su c c e sso r» Dongyu, had a c c e p te d th e
su b m issio n
of
h is
fa th e r
t e r r i t o r y , b u t h i s younger h is
own
and
p a rtie s
g a in e d
a g a in s t
and
came
b r o th e r , Miyu,
q
to
liv e
w ith in
C hinese
now g a th e re d f o llo w e rs o f
r e p u t a t i o n and I n f lu e n c e a s a le a d e r o f r a id in g
th e C h in ese.
In 77, Miyu and h i s group a tte m p te d to
le a v e th e f r o n t i e r re g io n and move away to th e w e st; r e l u c t a n t to lo s e c o n tr o l Miyu
and s u p e r v is io n , th e Grand A d m in is tra to r o f Jin c h e n g fo llo w e d
w ith
h is
arm y,
but
th e Qlang tu rn e d and d e fe a te d him , ra id e d
Jin c h e n g and L ongxi, and c a l l e d a n o th e r g e n e r a l u p r is in g . th e
tr o u b le
next
te n
and
k ille d
y e a r,
wine
th e
P r o t e c t o r , Fu Yu, who commanded i t .
new
him at
p u t down, b u t i t c o n tin u e d on a low er l e v e l f o r th e
y e a r s , and i n 86 Miyu and h i s a l l i e s c u t o f f a C hinese army
th e
k ille d
was
Once a g a in ,
In th e fo llo w in g
P r o te c to r Zhang Yu In duced Miyu to s u r r e n d e r and th e n
and
s e v e r a l of h i s fe llo w s by tr e a c h e r y , p o iso n in g t h e i r
th e c e re m o n ia l b a n q u e t, and s e t t i n g h i s s o l d i e r s to m assacre
t h e i r f o llo w e r s .^
The
n u rd e r
of
Miyu was a s e r i o u s m is ta k e , f o r h i s son Mi ta n g
was
o ld
enough to ta k e command o f tro o p s f o r h im s e lf and he rem ained
fo r
th e
re st
re b e llio n
of
h is
life
an
i n v e t e r a t e enemy o f Han.
o f rev en g e was p u t down i n 87, and th e r e fo llo w ed an uneasy
t r u c e , p u n c tu a te d by o c c a s io n a l o u tb re a k s o f t r o u b le . M itang th e r e
had
His f i r s t
By 92, how ever,
a g a in form ed a s i g n i f i c a n t c o a l i t i o n o f Qlang t r i b e s , and
was c o n tin u a l w a rfa re f o r th e n e x t s i x y e a r s , w ith f u l l C hinese
arm ies
in
th e
f i e l d and r a id in g by th e b a r b a r ia n s from th e so u th o f
Longxi
commandery
to th e n o r th o f J in c h e n g .
In 93 an army u n d er th e
81 P r o te c to r
Guan You a tta c k e d th e home t e r r i t o r y o f th e Shaodang In th e
Yu v a l l e y s . Yellow
The C hin ese c o n s tr u c te d a g r e a t pontoon b rid g e a c r o s s th e
R iv e r,
g r a in .
s e iz e d th e s o u th e rn b ank, and c a p tu re d l a r g e s t o r e s o f
M ltang
took
re fu g e w ith h i s p e o p le f a r to th e w e s t, on th e
upper re a c h e s o f th e Yellow R iv e r. Guan The
You,
M ltang
em pire
In c lu d in g from
was
r e tu r n e d com pelled
s o ld ie rs
g a r r is o n s
a u x ilia r ie s .^
In 97, how ever, a f t e r th e d e a th o f
w ith a m ajor r a i d a g a in s t th e f r o n t i e r s . to
send
an army o f t h i r t y thousand men.
from th e N o rth e rn Army a t Luoyang, r e g u la r tro o p s ab o u t
In
a
Changan,
g re a t b a ttle
b o rd e r
le v ie s
n e a r L in ta o I n
and
b a r b a r ia n
s o u th e rn
Longxl,
M ltang was d e fe a te d and f l e d a c r o s s th e b o r d e r, b u t th e C hinese f o r c e s had been to o s e v e r e ly mauled t o p e rm it them t o p u rsu e him .
In been
th e
won
v ic to ry .
fo llo w in g
ra th e r
by
M ltang
means
th e n
e x p e lle d
and
o th e r
trib e s
were
a tte m p te d
one
fo llo w e r s
were
M ltang
of
s u rre n d e re d , b u t th e war had
a ttritio n
th a n
by d e c is iv e C hinese
h im s e lf was b ro u g h t to th e c o u rt to pay homage and
was
M ltang
y e a r,
beyond th e f r o n t i e r s , b u t numbers o f th e Shaodang
now
a g a in r e s e t t l e d w ith in th e b o r d e r s . la s t
a llia n c e
and
ra id ,
but
h is
In 101, form er
je a lo u s and s u s p ic io u s o f h i s le a d e r s h ip , he was
d e fe a te d w ith o u t g r e a t d i f f i c u l t y , and h i s d e a th a few y e a rs l a t e r was alm o st
u n n o tic e d .
Shaodang
p e o p le
In a f i n a l fo rc e d m ig ra tio n , s i x th ousand o f th e were
s h ifte d
to
Hanyang,
Longxl
and
Andlng
com m anderles.
W ith
th e
c lo s e
of
th e
Shaodang f r o n t i e r w a rs, th e im p e r ia l
82 governm ent was fa c e d w ith th e work o f r e c o n s tr u c tio n , and th e problem s w ere more s e r i o u s th a n b e f o r e . d is tu rb a n c e exposed
R iv e r,
th e s e
th e
th e and
C hinese
s e t t l e r s to e m ig ra te s o u th from th e
in
reoccupy
two commanderies must have ta k e n p la c e .
At th e
c o n q u e st o f th e Shaodang la n d s i n th e Yu v a lle y s had
im p e r ia l f r o n t i e r s f u r t h e r to th e w est a lo n g th e Yellow i t was g e n e r a lly a g re e d t h a t t h i s la n d sh o u ld be o ccu p ied
h e ld .
lis h e d
of
in
tim e ,
ex ten d ed
and
many
t e r r i t o r i e s o f Jin c h e n g and L ongxl, and a s i g n i f i c a n t l o s s o f
p o p u la tio n same
drove
There i s no q u e s tio n t h a t th e c o n s ta n t
As
a r e s u l t , m i l i t a r y a g r i c u l t u r a l c o lo n ie s were e s t a b
th e
r e g io n ,
la n d i n th e
and s o l d i e r s e t t l e r s w ere a ls o b ro u g h t i n to
v a lle y o f th e
X lning R iv e r.^
D e sp ite th e lo s s
p o p u la tio n and th e te n u o u s p o s i t i o n i n th e n o rth w e s t, th e Im p e ria l
governm ent fro n tie r
was
s till
a tte m p tin g to m a in ta in a forw ard p o lic y on th e
and t o en co u rag e C hinese s e ttle m e n t a lo n g th e b o r d e r s , w h ile
a t th e same tim e th e y hoped to keep t h e i r fo rm er enem ies r e s e t t l e d and p e a c e a b le s h ifte d
b eh in d
th e
d e c is iv e ly ,
lin e s . and
th e
The
b a la n c e o f
f o r c e s , how ever, had
g re a t
re b e llio n
o f th e E a s te rn Qlang
d em o n stra te d th e t r u e w eakness o f th e C hinese governm ent.
P rotectorate p o lic y and m ilita ry power in the f i r s t century: At fro n tie rs ,
th e
v ery
b eg in n in g
soon a f t e r th e d e a th s c h o la r
o ffic ia l
of
L a te r
Han co n cern w ith th e Qlang
o f th e n o rth w e s te rn w a rlo rd Wei Ao i n
33,
th e
BanB iao,
f a t h e r o f th e h i s t o r i a n Ban Gu
and
o f th e g r e a t g e n e r a l Ban Chao, who had se rv e d f o r some tim e u n der
Wei
Ao
b u t who now h e ld a p o s t i n th e c e n t r a l governm ent a t Luoyang,
83 8e n t l n a m em orial u r g in g th e of
th e
r e - e s ta b lls h m e n t o f a C o lo n el P r o te c to r
Qlang : 7
At th e p r e s e n t tim e , th e whole re g io n of L iang p ro v in c e c o n ta in s Qlang p e o p le who have s u b m itte d to our governm ent. The Qlang b a r b a r ia n s have unkempt h a i r and f a s t e n t h e i r c lo th e s on th e le ft» b u t th e y l i v e q u ite In te rm in g le d w ith th e C h in ese. T h eir custom s a r e d i f f e r e n t . They sp eak a t o t a l l y s tr a n g e language» and th e y a r e o f te n o p p re sse d and b u l l i e d by p e tty o f f i c i a l s and tric k s te rs . They b i t t e r l y r e s e n t t h i s tre a tm e n t» b u t th e y have no-one to tu r n to» and I n th e end th e y a re b ro u g h t t o r e b e l l i o n . I t I s j u s t th e same w ith a l l th e b a n d itr y and d is tu r b a n c e among th e b a r b a r ia n s o f th e so u th and w e s t. Under th e fo rm er system» commandants o f c a v a lry p ro v in c e had a C olo n el p ro v in c e had a C olonel c r e d e n t i a l s , and th ey were p e o p le and s o r t i n g o u t t h e i r
th e re g io n f o r th e I n ch arg e P r o te c to r r e s p o n s ib le g r ie v a n c e s .
o f Y1 p ro v in c e had c h ie f s o u th e rn b a r b a r ia n s » 9You o f th e Wu-huan, ü and Liang o f th e Q lang. A ll h e ld f o r lo o k in g a f t e r th e
At a p p r o p r ia te se a so n s d u rin g th e y e a r [th e s e o f f i c e r s ] would to u r o f I n s p e c tio n to a sk f o r c o m p la in ts o r any cause o f r e s e n t m ent, and th e y would sen d round a g e n ts and I n t e r p r e t e r s to keep c o n ta c t w ith th e p e o p le . They a ls o a rra n g e d f o r th e Qlang b a r b a r ia n s o u ts id e th e b o rd e rs to a c t a s th e ey es and e a r s o f th e governm ent, and In t h i s way th e p r o v in c ia l and commandery a u th o r i t i e s w ere w arned and p re p a re d I n advance a g a in s t any a t t a c k . We sh o u ld now r e s t o r e som ething o f th e o ld sy stem , to e s t a b l i s h a u t h o r i t y o f th e em pire on th e f r o n t i e r .
It
Is
a p p o in te d
a
how ever,
two
th a t
c e rta in
d ie d
c o n tin u e d . of
s a id
In
Nlu Han a s C o lo n el P r o te c to r o f th e Q lang.
th e
fo llo w in g
y e a r,
34,
and
th e
NLu
p o s t was n o t
W ith h i s m i l i t a r y f o r c e , and th e combined a d m in is tr a tio n
commander l e s ,
P r o te c t o r ,
Emperor Guangwu a c c e p te d t h i s p r o p o s a l, and
but th e
h is
tim e
of
w ith
h e a d q u a rte rs
Ma p o lic y
Yuan had f i l l e d some o f th e f u n c tio n s o f a had been more r e p r e s s iv e .
In 58, a t th e
f i r s t Shaodang w ar, th e p r o t e c t o r a t e was r e - e s t a b l i s h e d at
Dlkdao, th e c a p i t a l o f Longxl commandery.
Dou
84 Lin» th e
a
member o f th e g r e a t Dou c la n w hich had lo n g h e ld a u t h o r i t y I n
n o rth w est»
e x p e rie n c e d p o s itio n .
and
who
was h im s e lf
a
form er I n te r n u n c io (yezhe)»
In d e a lin g s w ith n o n -C h in ese people» was a p p o in te d t o th e In th e fo llo w in g
year» however» Dou L in
was d is m is s e d and
s e n t to p r is o n where he d ie d : h is d ip lo m a tic e n th u sia sm had le d him to o ffe r
b r ib e s
e ld e r
b r o th e r
s o .**
and
th e
D lanan,
His s u c c e s s o r
e ffe c tiv e
p a rt
t i t l e o f supreme c h ie f t o b o th Dlanyu and h i s and
he
so u g h t to d e c e iv e th e c o u r t In doing
Guo Xlang» a ls o a n In te rn u n c lo » c o u ld
f in d no
to p la y I n d e a lin g w ith th e Qlang and he re s ig n e d h i s
o f f i c e I n d is g r a c e .
In 59 th e p r o t e c t o r a t e was a b o lis h e d .
In 76» s h o r t l y b e fo re th e second Shaodang war» th e r e had been a ris in g
among
se v e ra l
trib e s
In
Jin c h e n g
and
Longxl commanderles
because a woman o f th e B elnan Qiang was s e iz e d by a ju n io r o f f i c i a l o f Anyl
p re fe c tu re .
woman's
husband
beyond Yan,
The and
C hinese th e
th e f r o n t i e r s .
o ffic ia l
was
th e n m urdered
by th e
Belnan g ro u p , i n f e a r o f r e t r i b u t i o n , f le d
They w ere p u rsu ed by th e p r e f e c t o f A nyl, Zong
b u t a tta c k e d h i s fo r c e and k i l l e d him , and th e y th e n a l l i e d w ith
o th e r t r i b e s i n r a id i n g a lo n g th e b o rd e rs o f Longxl commander y • W ithin a
sh o rt
tim e ,
from
th e
th is
in c id e n t
th e
r a i d e r s were d e fe a te d by a combined f o r c e r a is e d
two commanderles o f Longxl and J in c h e n g , b u t as a r e s u l t of th e
o ffic e
of
P r o te c to r
was
re v iv e d , and Wu Tang,
fo rm e rly G en eral Who C ro sse s th e L ia o , was a p p o in te d t o th e p o s t, w ith h e a d q u a rte rs a t A nyi. 12
T h is n ific a n t
in c i d e n t
o f 76, though m inor i n i t s e l f , and q u i t e i n s i g
compared to th e d e p re d a tio n s o f Miyu and M itang i n th e y e a rs
85 to
come, does d e m o n stra te some im p o rta n t a s p e c ts o f C hinese p o lic y i n
th is
re g io n .
a b d u c tio n c a te s
F i r s t l y i t i s v e ry l i k e l y t h a t th e i n c id e n t o f ra p e o r
and
th e
th e
su b se q u e n t rev en g e was n o t uncommon, and i t i n d i
p e t t y o p p re s s io n and th e s o u rc e s o f te n s io n w hich o p e ra te d
a g a in s t
p e a c e fu l
r e l a t i o n s betw een th e Qiang and t h e i r C hinese o v e r -
lo rd s .
S eco n d ly ,
th e r a p id e s c a l a t i o n o f th e in c id e n t was encouraged
to
a
c o n s id e r a b le
d eg ree
by
th e
C hinese
p u r s u it
o f th e an x io u s
tr ib e s p e o p l e ; and th e q u e s tio n o f th e l e g a l judgem ent f o r th e o r i g i n a l fa u lt
seems
to
have
been n e g le c te d i n th e C hinese d e te rm in a tio n to
p re v e n t any g roups o f th e Qiang from e s c a p in g a c r o s s th e f r o n t i e r .
From s p e c ific
t h i s p o in t o f view , th e ap p o in tm ent o f Wu Tang co n firm s a
developm ent o f Liao
C hinese
had
been
p o lic y .
The o f f i c e o f
e s ta b lis h e d
G eneral Who
C rosses
th e
i n 65 by th e governm ent of
Emperor
Ming, and Wu Tang was th e f i r s t t o h o ld th e new p o s i t i o n . The
c h ie f f u n c tio n of th e command was to p re v e n t th e S outhern Xiongnu, now s e ttle d
in
th e
e m p ire ,
from
any
Ordos
re g io n
in
fo rm al
a l l i a n c e w ith th e C hinese
c o n ta c t o r com nu n icatio n w ith t h e i r fe llo w nomads,
th e N o rth e rn X iongnu, who s t i l l rem ained beyond th e f r o n t i e r .
In
58
d ip lo m a tic
and
59,
e x p e rie n c e
p a rtic u la rly
th e n , as
s u c c e s s fu l.
13
th e c o u r t had ex p erim en ted w ith men o f
p ro te c to rs ,
and
th e r e s u l t s had n o t been
Wu T a n g 's ap p o in tm ent i n 76
was e v id e n tly
d e sig n e d t o co n firm th e p o lic y a lr e a d y e s t a b l i s h e d i n d e a lin g w ith th e Xiongnu,
to
s e p a r a te
fro n tie r
la r g e ly
by
and
c o n tr o l
m ilita ry
th e
means.
Qiang on e i t h e r s id e o f th e One
year
la te r,
when
th e
86 re b e llio n Qlang by
of
Mlyu broke o u t, a g a in a s a r e s u l t o f C hinese p u r s u i t o f
p eo p le
a c ro s s th e f r o n t i e r , Wu Tang was d ism isse d and r e p la c e d
th e
Grand
e s ta b l i s h e d next
te n
A d m in is tra to r
h is
h e a d q u a rte rs
y e a rs.
s u rre n d e re d
In
of at
A ccording
Wuwel
commandery,
in
campaign
of
of
who
Hou Han shu9 how ever, though
to
Mlyu
86, I t was Fu Yu who s t i r r e d up tr o u b le and u rg ed th e
b a ttle
A d m in is tra to r
Yu,
L ln q lan g and h e ld th e p o s t f o r th e
c o u rt to ap prove a f u r t h e r campaign a g a in s t th e Q lang. k ille d
Fu
in
87 ,
h is
L ongxl,
re v e n g e ,
s u c c e s s o r,
took
and
he
command was
of
Zhang th e
p e r s o n a lly
Yu,
When Fu Yu was form er Grand
C hinese re s p o n s ib le
army In a f o r th e
tre a c h e ro u s p a r le y t h a t b ro u g h t ab o u t th e d e a th o f Mlyu and caused th e renewed w a rfa re o f M ita n g .1^
W ith
th e ap p o in tm en t o f Deng Xun, who su cceeded Zhang Yu a f t e r
h is d is m is s a l I n 89, and who rem ained In o f f i c e u n t i l h is d e a th In 92, a
more l e n i e n t p o lic y was d e v e lo p e d , and th e cam paigns a g a in s t M ltang
were
c a rrie d
h im se lf o th e r L ittle
out
by
a
su cceeded
in
Is o la tin g
Qlang
trib e s
Y uezhl,
In
m ix tu re
of
diplom acy and f o r c e .
Deng Xun
MLtang by g a in in g th e a lle g ia n c e o f
th e e a r l y 9 0 s, and h i s good tre a tm e n t o f th e
in h a b i t i n g
a re a s
o f th e Q ilia n m o u n ta in s,
se c u re d
t h e i r l o y a l t y to Han and t h e i r re c r u itm e n t I n to a sem i-perm anent f o rc e known a s th e A u x ilia ry o f L oyal B a r b a r i a n s . ^
The p r o t e c t o r s ' r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s on th e f r o n t i e r s , how ever, and th e ir
g en e ra l
p re o c c u p a tio n
w ith
m i l i t a r y a f f a i r s and p a r t i c u l a r l y
w ith th e Shaodang w a rs, had p re v e n te d any s e r io u s p o lic y o f s u p e rv is e d s e ttle m e n t
and
c o n c ilia tio n
among
th e
tr lb e s p e o p le
who had been.
87 bro u g h t
by
second of
f o r c e and h e ld w ith in th e e m p ire . By th e b e g in n in g of th e
c e n tu ry » m oreover, I t a p p e a rs v e ry p ro b a b le t h a t la r g e numbers
th e
Q lang,
fro n tie rs
b e s id e s
th o s e
c a p tu re d
I n w ar, had come I n s id e th e
to th e e a s t of th e Yellow R iv e r.
As th e C hinese p o p u la tio n
I n th e n o rth w e s t c o n tin u e d to d e c l i n e , th e open la n d s were ta k e n up by th e
herdsm en o f th e Q lang, and th e s i g n i f i c a n c e of t h i s s te a d y occup
a tio n was e i t h e r u n n o tic e d o r Ig n o red by th e C hinese a u t h o r i t i e s .
In were
more g e n e r a l te rm s, m oreover, even w h ile th e n o r th e r n la n d s
I n c r e a s in g ly
C hinese
m ilita ry
o ccu p ied s tre n g th
by non -C h in ese Im m ig ran ts, th e n a tu re o f had
a ls o changed, c h ie f ly a s a r e s u l t o f
Emperor Guangwu's a b o l i t i o n o f com pulsory m i l i t a r y t r a i n i n g w ith in th e e m p ire . lo c a l
In tim e o f em ergency, men w ere c a l l e d up o r p re ss-g a n g e d I n to fo rc e s,
but
r e g u la r sy stem o f
From p o in ts
In
Guangwu
o n ly
th e
fro n tie r
com pulsory s e r v ic e and
commanderles was th e r e a
m i l i t i a t r a i n i n g . 1**
th e p o in t o f view o f Im p e ria l p o lic y , th e change had many I t s fa v o u r.
was
In
re d u c in g
Ih e I n i t i a l e d i c t s w ere Is s u e d a t a tim e when th e o f f i c i a l system o f a d m in is tr a tio n , b o th In
th e c a p i t a l and I n th e p r o v in c e s ; and th e r e were obvious d isa d v a n ta g e s fo r
th e I n t e r n a l s e c u r i t y o f th e em pire In h aving la r g e b o d ie s of I t s
c itiz e n s Wang LI b o th
Mang
tra in e d
In
m ilita ry
s k i l l s : an a b o r tiv e r e b e l l i o n a g a in s t
by Zhai Yi I n 7 AD and th e s u c c e s s f u l r i s i n g o f 22, by th e
and L iu c l a n s , I n w hich th e f u t u r e em peror h im s e lf had jo in e d , had been
plan n ed f o r th e
o c c a s io n o f th e
autumn r e v ie w .1^
On th e
f r o n t i e r s , th e d e fe n s iv e g a r r is o n s o f th e G reat W all and o th e r re g io n s
88 had lo n g been m a in ta in e d by r e c r u i t s , c o n s c r ip ts and e x ile d c r im in a ls , and
th e
m ilita ry
d u tie s
of
c i t i z e n s I n th e I n n e r commanderles had
g e n e r a lly
been commuted to pay f o r th e s e p r o f e s s io n a ls .
rem arked,
th e
Chao
h is son Ban Yong, found t h a t th e most e f f e c t i v e f o r c e s th e y
and
co u ld
As Loewe has
g r e a t g e n e r a ls o f th e W estern Region I n L a te r Han, Ban
command
were
a
m a jo rity
o f n o n -C hinese w ith a s t i f f e n i n g o f
C hinese o f f ic e r s .* ®
Both N o rthern
In
Xiongnu,
h e a v ily
upon
of
Q lang.
th e
Xiongnu
th e
W estern th e
Regions
e x p e d itio n a r y
and
on th e f r o n t i e r s w ith th e
arm ies
was
c a rrie d
out
by
G eneral
Xiongnu th e In
Who
of
C rosses th e L ia o ,
th e
re lie d
Q lang)
sh a re d
of
m ilitia horsem en
from
th e
b o rd er
from th e S outhern
One column, i n w hich
Wu Tang ( l a t e r to become C olonel command, c o n ta in e d e le v e n thousand
drawn e n t i r e l y from th e f o r c e s o f th e S o u thern Shanyu o f th e and th e
g re a t 89,
groups
of
Q lang, th e Wuhuan and th e X lan b i.
th e
w ith
fo rc e s
Xiongnu,
c a v a lr y ,
Han
In 73, f o r exam ple, a m ajor a t t a c k upon th e N o rth ern
to g e th e r
P r o te c to r
L a te r
non-C h in ese a l l i e s and a u x i l i a r i e s . In c lu d in g trib e sm e n
com m anderles,
th e
of
Qlang o f
Hedong, B e ld l and Xlhe com m anderles•
I Q
In
e x p e d itio n o f th e G eneral o f C h a rio ts and C avalry Dou Xian
th e r e
were
a g a in
m ajor c o n tin g e n ts o f th e Qlang and o f th e
Loyal A u x ilia r ie s r a i s e d by th e P r o te c to r Deng Xun, to g e th e r w ith more th a n
fo rty
The C h in ese,
th o u san d
system
of
r e m in is c e n t
S o u th ern
u s in g
Xiongnu.
20
non-C h in ese
p eo p le to f i g h t o th e r n o n -
o f th e r e c r u itm e n t p o lic y o f a u x i l i a r i e s In th e
89 contem porary Roman e m p ire , had worked w ith a good d e a l o f s u c c e s s . th e
By
end o f th e c e n tu r y , th e s i t u a t i o n a lo n g th e b o rd e rs o f th e em pire
and In c e n t r a l A sia p re s e n te d a broad p i c t u r e o f m i l i t a r y a ch iev em en t. The
power
o f th e N o rth e rn Xlongnu had been b ro k en , and th e cam paigns
o f Ban Chao had l a r g e l y r e - e s t a b l i s h e d th e dominance o f China o v er th e c i t y s t a t e s a lo n g th e S ilk Road.
B ehind
th is
em pire
had
re a l
ia rie s
and
a llie s
re fle c te d th e
w e ak n esses. had
of
ach iev em en t, how ever, th e C hinese
The v ery f a c t t h a t n o n -C hinese a u x i l
p lay ed
a m ajor p a r t I n th e v i c t o r i e s o f Han
th e
lo a d t h a t was p la c e d upon them , w h ile a t th e same tim e
tr e a tm e n t
o f th e s e b a r b a r ia n s a t th e hands o f Im p e ria l o f f i c i a l s
co n tin u e d
to
te s t
M oreover,
by
th e
w in te r
at
e v id e n tly an
a p p earan ce
th e
b e g in n in g
fo r
th e
th e of
r e ig n o f Emperor He, who d ie d I n th e 106, th e c o s t and s t r a i n o f em pire was
r e s o u rc e s
a v a i l a b le t o th e
c o u r t. 21
With
l o c a l C hinese r e s o u r c e s and a s tr o n g r e l i a n c e upon n o n -
s u p p o r t,
c o n tin u in g
of
em pire In th e n o r th and c e n t r a l A sia , based upon compar
weak
C hinese
p e o p le s
end
e x c e e d in g
ex ten d ed
a tiv e ly
th e p a tie n c e and th e l o y a l t y o f th e tr lb e s p e o p le .
se n se th e ir
a c t i v e l y d a n g e ro u s.
th e of
s itu a tio n h o s tility
o v e rlo rd s
was
p r e c a r io u s .
Add
to
th is a
and re se n tm e n t among th e non-C hinese and
g o v e rn o rs,
and th e s i t u a t i o n was
90
The Great East Qiang Rebellion 107-118: In
102, Ban Chao r e t i r e d from h i s p o s t a s P r o te c to r-G e n e ra l o f
th e
W estern
R eg io n s,
th e
eve
h is d e p a r tu r e we a r e t o l d t h a t he a d v is e d h i s s u c c e s s o r,
Ren
Shang, to d e a l c a u tio u s ly and i n p o l i t i c fa s h io n w ith th e v a rio u s
s ta te s
of
of
a d v ic e .
c e n tra l W hatever
ris in g
among
a
m a s te r s . 22 in
th e
regency im p e r ia l
and he d ie d a t Luoyang a few months l a t e r .
A sia ,
but
th a t
Ren
On
Shang th e n d is re g a rd e d th e
th e t r u t h o f t h a t s t o r y , by 106 th e r e
was a m ajor
number o f th e d ep en d en t c i t i e s a g a in s t t h e i r C hinese
Ren
Shang was r e p la c e d , b u t
th e tr o u b le c o n tin u e d , and
fo llo w in g
y e a r th e governm ent o f th e young Emperor An, whose
was
by th e Empress-Dowager nee Deng, re s o lv e d t h a t th e
h e ld
dominance
v a lu a b le .
a lo n g
th e
S ilk
Road
was
no
lo n g e r v ia b le o r
Hie o f f i c e o f P ro te c to r - G e n e ra l o f th e W estern Regions was
a b o lis h e d on 29 J u ly 107, and o r d e r s w ere is s u e d f o r th e g a r r is o n s and o th e r tro o p s to be w ithdraw n w ith in th e w e ste rn f r o n t i e r s o f th e G reat W all i n t o C hina P r o p e r . ^
Such
a
m assive
re b e llio n
among
th e
s id e ra b le
m ilita ry
re tre a t, form er
how ever,
v assal
p re s e n c e .
in
s ta te s ,
One
army,
th e s till
under
fa c e
o f grow ing
re q u ir e d a con th e g e n e r a l Liang
Q in, had been s e n t o u t when d is tu r b a n c e s b egan, and a second f o r c e , to be was
r a i s e d and commanded by th e C h ief Commandant o f C av alry Wang Hong, o rd e re d
th o u san d
men
commanderies Dunhuang,
to
h is
from of
th e
s u p p o r t. th e
Qiang
Gansu
Liang and
Qin
o th e r
C o rrid o r,
had a lr e a d y r a is e d f i v e n o n -C hinese p e o p le i n th e
Wuwei,
Zhangye,
Jiu q u an and
b u t Wang Hong c a l l e d up a n o th e r th o u san d men from th e Qiang
91 p eo p le
of
not
p a r t i c u l a r l y l a r g e o n e, and was In te n d e d f o r o n ly a s h o r t- te r m
a
Jln c h e n g ,
Longxi and
c o n s c r ip ts
e v id e n tly b e lie v e d t h a t th ey w ere b ein g e x ile d on m i l i t a r y
and
s c a tte re d .
c a rrie d
th e f o r c e was
th e
fo r e v e r.
was
A lthough
em ergency,
s e r v ic e
r e c ru itm e n t
H a n y a n g .^
o u t h a s t i l y , and th e Qlang
When th ey came to Jlu q u an commandery th e y m u tin ied The
lo c a l a u th o r itie s
a tte m p te d to f o r c e them back
I n to o r d e r , and In th e p ro c e ss th e y began a g e n e ra l p e r s e c u tio n o f th e n o n -C h in e se .
Rumours,
th e
Qlang
th e
fro n tie r,
took
up
hom elands, but
arms
a n x ie ty and f e a r o f r e p r i s a l s sp re a d back to th e Shaodang and o th e r t r i b e s f l e d w est a c ro s s
some g roups w hich had been lo n g e r I n th e e a s t now
a g a in s t
th e
Im p e ria l
governm ent
and
t h e i r C hinese
n e ig h b o u rs . 25
The In flu e n c e d s c h o la r
and
C hinese
re c o rd s
by
a c c o u n ts
th e
of
th e
Qlang
c o n ta in e d
In
re b e llio n th e
a re
s tr o n g ly
Qianfu lun by
th e
p h ilo s o p h e r Wang Fu, who came from Andlng commandery and
whose ap p ro x im ate d a te s a re 90-165 A.D.
Wang Fu was a contem porary of
th e r e b e l l i o n , and I t I s p o s s ib le t h a t he was an e y e w itn e s s . C e r ta in ly h is b o th
d e s c rip tio n s th e
a g a in s t
term s th e
of
s tr o n g ly draw n, and h is
s to r y
and
Hou Han shu has fo llo w ed
th e b i t t e r n e s s o f h i s c r i t i c i s m
a c tio n s o f o f f i c i a l s and th e governm ent.
t h a t Qianfu lun of
a re
I s th e b a s is f o r
our
Given th e f a c t
In fo rm a tio n on so many a s p e c ts
th e Qlang r e v o l t , one sh o u ld n o te S c o t t 's rem arks t h a t th e work I s
"e x tre m e ly h o s t i l e to th e governm ent, and m ust be re g a rd e d a s a h ig h ly p a rtis a n w h eth e r
ac c o u n t
of
what a c t u a l l y happened" and t h a t "one may doubt
such an e m o tio n a l a c c o u n t I s u t t e r l y tr u s tw o r th y , w h ile b ein g
26 g r a t e f u l f o r t h i s sudden to u ch o f l i f e " . °
Map 2:
The T e r r i t o r y o f th e Qiang R e b e llio n s in th e Second C entury AD
93 A ccording t o Wang Fu and re b e llio n ,
in
Hou Han shu> th e
f i r s t p e rio d o f th e
th e second h a l f o f 107, was one o f com plete c o n fu s io n .
I t i s s a i d t h a t th e Qiang i n th e e a s t had been so lo n g a t peace w ith in th e
b o rd e rs
th e y p o sse sse d no weapons o r arm our.
had
n o th in g
but
wooden
c a r r ie d
wooden
m irro rs
so
th a t
s h in in g
of
weapons
r e b e ls
w ere
unarmed
b o ard s
to
th e ir at
tu r n in g
s ta v e s
and
act
s p e a rs
Some o f th e r e b e ls
made from bamboo, some
as
s h i e l d s , and some b ro u g h t bronze
re fle c tio n
i n th e sun m ight a p p e a r l i k e th e
a d is ta n c e .
a g a in s t
27
In
many c a s e s ,
how ever, th e
C hinese n e ig h b o u rs a s i ll- e q u ip p e d and
as th e y were th e m se lv e s; and one i s rem inded o f th e fe ro c io u s
Muslim
re b e llio n
n in e te e n th o ffic e s
in
th e same re g io n , G ansu, i n th e s e v e n tie s o f th e
c e n tu r y .
were
p lu n d e re d ,
and
Throughout
d e s tro y e d , g re a t
th e n o rth w e st o f C hina, governm ent
o ffic ia ls
numbers
and
peo p le
were
m assacred and
d riv e n by f e a r , sp re a d in g rumours and
u n c e r t a i n t y a s th e y w en t, abandoned t h e i r homes to f l e e s o u th and e a s t as re fu g e e s.
In
th e e a r l i e s t s ta g e s o f th e r e v o l t , th e governm ent a tte m p te d
a m o d e ra te ly p e a c e fu l s e t t l e m e n t . a fte r
th e
An e d i c t o f am nesty was is s u e d soon
d is tu r b a n c e was r e p o r te d , and i n th e w in te r s p e c i a l o rd e rs
were Is s u e d to th e a d m in is tr a to r s o f th e n e ig h b o u rin g p ro v in c e s , B ing, J l,
and
th e ir a lre a d y
S ill,
hom es.
th a t In
d ev elo p ed
th e y sh o u ld en co u rag e th e re fu g e e s t o r e t u r n to th e s e f i r s t
m onths,
how ever, th e
emergency had
beyond th e s c a l e o f an army m utiny and a s e r i e s o f
lo c a l d i s o r d e r s : b e fo re th e C hinese had been a b le to c o - o r d in a te t h e i r e f f o r t s to r e g a in c o n t r o l , th e Qiang r e b e l s had found a le a d e r .
94 The d iv is io n fo rc e s
X la n lla n
c h ie fta in
o f th e t r i b e
D ia n lla n ,
le a d e r
w hich was s e t t l e d in
of
a
sm a ll
sub
w e ste rn Longxi,^® jo in e d
a t th e v e ry b e g in n in g o f th e d is tu r b a n c e s w ith th e Zhong t r i b e
of th e Qlang and le d an a t t a c k which c u t th e Long Road, th e c h ie f l i n e of
im p e r ia l
which
v ery
com m unication p ro b a b ly
w ith
in c lu d e d
th e th e
n o rth w e s t. s e iz u r e
of
W ith t h i s s u c c e s s , governm ent m i l i t a r y
eq u ipm en t, th e r e b e l s a c q u ire d im m ediate p r e s t i g e and th e n u c le u s o f a m ean in g fu l L iang
m ilita ry
fo rc e .
By th e end o f 107, alm o st th e whole o f
p ro v in c e was i n r e b e l l i o n and th e governm ent a t th e c a p i t a l was
r a i s i n g an army f o r in v a s io n and r e c o n q u e s t.
T hat e ld e s t was by
son
put
of
th e
G eneral
o f C h a rio ts and C a v a lry , Deng Z h i,
Deng Xun and b r o th e r o f th e Empress-Dowager nee Deng,
i n command o f o p e r a tio n s a g a i n s t th e Q lang.
Ren
fo rc e s
w in te r ,
Shang,
now
th e
He was a s s i s t e d
C olonel Who Subdues th e W est.
The im p e ria l
were in te n d e d to number f i f t y th o u san d men, w ith r e g u la r s from
th e N o rth ern Army, b u t w ith th e overw helm ing m a jo rity c o n s c rip te d from th e
n o r th e r n
commanderles
commanderl e s of
Runan,
of
T aiyuan
Ylngchuan
and
and
Shangdang,
th e
in n e r
Nanyang, and th e t e r r i t o r i e s
ab o u t Luoyang and Changan i n S i l l .
We tra d itio n a l Han,
w ith
have a lre a d y n o te d Ylng S h a o 's rem arks on th e change o f th e system
o f n a t i o n a l m i l i t a r y s e r v ic e from Former to L a te r
i t s a b o l i t i o n o f r e g u la r t r a i n i n g i n th e i n t e r i o r command-
e r le 8 and i t s r e l i a n c e on s p e c i a l summons f o r em e rg e n c ies. 8a id ,
" A la s ," he
" to 8end men i n t o b a t t l e w ith o u t h a v in g t r a i n e d them i s n o th in g
95 more
th a n
c e n tu ry about
th ro w in g them away.
o ffic ia l 221,
29
In s a d ly s im ila r f a s h io n , th e t h i r d
Wang Lang, I n a m em orial t o Cao P I, Emperor o f Wei,
soon
a fte r
th e
end
o f Han, d e s c rib e d th e p r o f e s s io n a l
tro o p s o f th e N o rth e rn Army I n e q u a lly d is c o u ra g in g term s: Some of them were vagabond f e llo w s from th e m erchant c l a s s , o th e rs w ere h o n e s t b u t sim p le p e o p le from th e c o u n try s id e . A lthough th e y were g e n e r a lly d i s c i p l i n e d , th e y were n o t ta u g h t b a ttle s k ills , th e y had no t r a i n i n g and th ey were la c k in g i n e x p e r ie n c e . T h e ir r e a l c a p a c ity d id n o t m atch t h e i r r e p u t a t i o n , and I t was d i f f i c u l t to u se them I n tim e o f em ergency. ü O ffic ia lly ,
th e
N o rth ern Army was th e e l i t e f o r c e o f th e e m p ire, and
i t i s a rg u a b le t h a t Wang Lang, a hundred y e a rs a f t e r th e QLang r e v o l t , was
c ritic is in g
when
th e
hand, th e
we
m ilita ry
o r g a n is a tio n a t th e end o f L a te r Han,
em pire had re ach ed th e end o f a lo n g d e c lin e . are
On th e o th e r
a ls o t o l d t h a t e a r l y i n th e r e ig n o f Emperor An, un d er
a e g is o f th e Empress-Dowager nee Deng and w ith th e o p t i m i s t i c and
id e a lis tic d is r e g a r d of
h u n tin g
In
th e s e
low
th e
p o in t
s u p p o rt
o f C o n f u c la n is ts a t c o u r t, th e r e was a d e l i b e r a t e
o f m i l i t a r y m a tte rs a t th e c o u r t , and th e a n n u a l cerem onies and m i l i t a r y rev iew and
m anoeuvres were
d is c o n tin u e d . 31
c irc u m s ta n c e s , th e r e g u la r im p e r ia l arn y was e v id e n tly a t a of
p re s tig e ,
t r a i n i n g and m o ra le , and th e y c e r t a i n l y d id
n o t f a r e w e ll a g a in s t th e Q iang.
It commandery 108,
was and
how ever,
in te n d e d
t h a t th e im p e r ia l f o r c e s sh o u ld h o ld Hanyang
move a g a in s t th e r e b e ls from t h e r e . b e fo re
th e
In th e s p rin g o f
f u l l m u ste r had been assem b led , th e Zhong
Qiang a tta c k e d Deng Zhl*s advance p o s itio n s i n th e w est o f J i , c a p i t a l
96 of
Hanyang,
fu rth e r
and
d e fe a te d
a c tiv ity
For
them ,
Che n e x t s e v e r a l m onths, no
seems to have ta k e n p la c e on t h a t f r o n t , b u t I n th e
w in te r
of
108
b a ttle
at
P ln g x lan g I n Hanyang, Ren Shang was d e f e a te d and l o s t more
th a n
e ig h t
th o u san d
d e f e n s iv e , save
Ren Shang was o rd e re d to a t t a c k D la n lla n .
Deng
Zhl
men. was
In a m ajor
The Im p e ria l arm ies were fo rc e d o n to th e r e c a l l e d t o th e c a p i t a l , p a r t l y p erh ap s to
him from f u r t h e r em b arrassm en t, and Ren Shang was l e f t behind to
h o ld th e l i n e i n th e Wei v a l l e y . ^
In
th e
m eantim e, two f u r t h e r d evelopm ents had s e t th e p a t t e r n
of
th e
re b e llio n .
in
108
D la n lla n
Lingzhou R iv er
in
Encouraged p ro claim ed
B eid l
by
th e s u c c e ss a t
h im se lf
commandery,
near
em peror,
w ith
P ln g x la n g , e a r l y h is c a p ita l a t
th e e a s te r n bank o f th e Yellow
and s o u th o f p r e s e n t- d a y Yinchuan I n N in g x ia.
The a u t h o r i t y he
had g ain e d from m i l i t a r y su c c e s s se c u re d him a fo llo w in g n o t o n ly from h is
o r i g i n a l a l l i e s o f th e Zhong and h i s own X ia n lla n p e o p le , many o f
whom
had now s e t t l e d i n Andlng and B eid l commander l e s , b u t a ls o among
th e
Shenlang o f Wudu and th e v a r io u s Qiang groups i n Shang commandery
and
X lhe.
th e
im p e r ia l
to
In
th e fo rc e s
re -e s ta b lis h
f a r n o rth w e s t, on th e o th e r
h and, Liang Qln and
b ro u g h t back from th e W estern R egions w ere a b le
m ilita ry
c o n tr o l
in
th e commanderles o f th e Gansu
c o r r i d o r , and t h i s r e g io n was n o t a f f e c t e d a g a in by th e d is tu r b a n c e .
Liang from th e
th e r e
Qln was th e n o rd e re d to camp i n Jin ch en g commandery, but he moved s o u th and e a s t , fo llo w in g th e Long Road, a g a in s t
Qi^ng who were a tta c k in g th e im p e r ia l f o r c e s ab o u t Changan.
In a
97 s e rie s
of
engagem ents
enemy and
re -o p e n e d
tra n s ito ry , th r e a te n e d
fo r and
near
Meiyang
i n Y oufufeng, he s c a t t e r e d th e
th e Long Road. com m unications
f r e q u e n tly
The s u c c e s s , how ever, was only w ith
d is r u p te d ,
th e
n o rth w e st
were
s till
and th e r e was a s e r io u s g r a in
s h o rta g e i n th e a r e a o f th e X ining v a l l e y . ^
By
th e
le a d e r s h ip
end
from
of
108,
D ia n lia n ,
t h e r e f o r e , th e Qiang r e b e l s , un d er some c o n tr o lle d
most o f th e a r e a from th e Wei
v a lle y and th e southw ard c o u rse o f th e Yellow R iv e r w est to th e re g io n of
p r e s e n t- d a y
southw ard s
Lanzhou.
from
A d m in is tra to r
Wudu
of
That
w in te r ,
th e
Shenlang Qiang ra id e d
in to th e u p p e r Han v a lle y and k i l l e d th e Grand
Hanzhong
commandery.
In 109, a new C hinese a t t a c k
w ith commandery l e v i e s u n d er th e C h ie f Commandant o f C a v a lry , Ren Ren, d e f e a te d
th e
Zhong Qiang d e s tro y e d L in ta o and c a p tu re d th e C h ief Commandant o f
th e
S o u th ern
L e jie
in
se v e ra l
D iv is io n
trib e s
of
engagem ents n e a r
of
Jin c h e n g
Changan.
33
was
Longxl commandery, w h ile th e D angjian and re b e lle d
c i t y o f Poqlang i n th e X ining v a l l e y .
in
th e ir
d is a rra y .
te rrito rie s
as
fa r
R aid in g to
tu r n
and sacked th e
36
At t h i s p o i n t , th e p o l i c i e s of th e im p e ria l com plete
In th e w e st,
p a rtie s
of
governm ent were in
th e QLang
were p lu n d e rin g
th e e a s t a s Zhao and Wei, beyond th e Taihang
M ountains on th e N orth China P la in .
To compound th e d i f f i c u l t i e s w ith
th e
Q iang, m oreover, i n th e w in te r o f 109
th e r e was a ls o a r e v o l t by
th e
Shanyu o f th e S outh ern Xlongnu, whose
h e a d q u a rte rs were a t M eijl
in
X lhe,
n o rth w e st
of
p re s e n t-d a y
P ianguan in S h an x i, and who was
99 a llie d make
to
th e
Wuhuan
t r i b e s o f th e n o r t h e a s t .
The Xiongnu d id n o t
any agreem ent w ith th e Q lang, and th e y w ere b ro u g h t to s u rre n d e r
in th e f o llo w in g y e a r , b u t th e o p e r a tio n s a g a in s t them re q u ire d tw enty th ousan d tr o o p s , commanded by L iang Qin and o th e r s e n io r g e n e r a ls , and th e
C hinese
F u rth e r
to
p o s itio n th e
a g a in s t th e Qlang was weakened in consequence.
e a s t,
on
th e s e a c o a s t, i n 109 and 110, th e p i r a t e
Zhang Bolu was s tr o n g enough to cau se tr o u b le i n n in e com m anderies, an it
was
n e c e s s a ry
to send o u t s e n io r o f f i c i a l s o f th e c e n s o ra te from
th e c a p i t a l to ta k e command o f th e l e v i e s from th r e e p ro v in c e s and c o o r d in a t e o p e r a tio n s a g a i n s t him .
th e r e th e
37
Even
i n th e t e r r i t o r i e s c o n t r o l l e d by th e im p e r ia l governm ent,
were
w id esp read
re p o rts
o f fam ine and even c a n n ib a lis m .
For
p re v io u s s e v e r a l y e a r s , t h e r e had been p o r te n ts and v e ry p ro b ab ly
s e r io u s
a c tu a l
damage from r a i n , h a l l
and f lo o d s .
Hou Han shu and
th e
T r e a t i s e o f th e F iv e E lem ents re c o rd m ajor flo o d s ev ery y e a r from
106
to
111,
te rrito rie s
a ffe c tin g a lo n g
s u ffic ie n tly of 112,
s e r io u s
A s s is t a n t
Ih e r e w ere
B iography
Im p e ria l
c a p ita l
a t Luoyang and o th e r
to r e q u ir e s p e c i a l m easures f o r th e a l l e v i a t i o n
g r a i n s h o r ta g e s . 0 th e
Im p e ria l
th e Yellow R iv e r and a c r o s s th e N orth C hina P la in ,
3 0
and
th e
C lerk
of and
Fan th e
s im ila r d is a s te r s Zhun,
each y e a r u n t i l
who was a t t h a t tim e P alace
head o f th e c e n s o r a te , re c o rd s a
m em orial t h a t he s e n t in u rg in g th e im m ediate and d r a s t i c re d u c tio n of im p e r ia l
expenses,
and a rg u in g t h a t th e econom ic problem i n th e e a s t
o f th e em pire was more c r i t i c a l th a n th e r e b e l l i o n o f th e Qlang i n th e 3Q
n o rth w e s t. *
100 Faced of
w ith th e s e d i s t r a c t i o n s , and w ith an a lm o st t o t a l r e c o rd
fa ilu re
began
to
v a lle y
a g a i n s t th e Q lang, th e m i l i t a r y p o lic y o f th e change.
was
In n e r
In
fa rm s.
tra in in g
or
who
app ear to
e x p e r ie n c e ,
In c o n firm a tio n t h a t
easy,
we
Ben Shang and th e
o rd e re d back to camp a t Changan.
com m anderles,
m ilita ry
110,
have
governm ent
main army o f th e Wei
The c o n s c r ip ts from th e g ain ed l i t t l e from e i t h e r
were s e n t home to t h e i r n e g le c te d
th e c o n f l i c t
would be n e i t h e r s w if t n o t
a r e t o l d t h a t th e governm ent e s t a b lis h e d a C hief Commandant
f o r Y oufufeng, w ith h e a d q u a r te rs a t Yong p r e f e c t u r e , and a T ig e r-T o o th C hief
Commandant
fo r
Jin g z h a o , w ith h e a d q u a rte rs a t Changan.
These
ap p o in tm en ts fo llo w e d th e o ld sy stem o f Former Han, and th e y e v id e n tly r e p r e s e n t n o t o n ly a m i l i t a r y c o n s o lid a tio n o f th e s e two com m anderles, now
on
th e
e ffe c tiv e
o r g a n is a tio n lo c a l
of
fro n tie r
of
th e
em p ire,
but
a ls o th e r e
a fo rm al p ro c e d u re f o r r e c ru itm e n t and t r a i n i n g o f a
m ilitia .^
The
new
arran g em en ts
la te r,
In
th e ir
c o n s ta n t
came
h a rd ly to o so o n , f o r a few months
th e autum n, th e l e v i e s commanded by Ren Ren, d e s p a ir in g a t d e f e a ts
by
th e Qlang, r e fu s e d t o obey o r d e r s .
The
tr o u b le was e v id e n tly p u t down q u ic k ly enough, b u t Ren Ren was b ro u g h t back h is
to th e c a p i t a l and d ie d I n p r i s o n . A t s e n io r
arm y 's su c c e ss o ffic e rs
commander
had
I t was c l e a r
be to fo r
a s c r ib e d work th e
b eg in n in g o f 111,
Ren Shang was a ls o d ism isse d on acco u n t of th e
f a i l u r e s a g a i n s t th e enemy. may
th e
to
In th e c irc u m s ta n c e s , th e la c k o f
th e poor q u a l i t y o f th e tro o p s th e two
w ith r a t h e r th a n t o t h e i r own w eak n esses, and tim e b ein g t h a t th e b e s t r e s u l t which co u ld be
hoped f o r a b o u t Changan was a d e fe n s iv e s ta le m a te .
101 D uring c o u rt w h eth er m ajor ex p o n en t
th is
tim e ,
th e r e was now c o n s id e ra b le q u e s tio n a t th e
Liang p ro v in c e sh o u ld n o t be abandoned a l t o g e t h e r . of
th is
p o lic y
One
was Pang Can, whose argum ents on th e
s u b je c t a r e quo ted i n h i s b io g ra p h y In r e c e n t y e a r s , th e r e g io n w est o f Long M ountain h as s u f f e r e d c o n s id e ra b ly from r a i d i n g by th e Q lang. There i s c o n s ta n tly in c r e a s in g p r e s s u r e from c o rv e e re q u ire m e n ts and t a x a t i o n , and th e o f f i c i a l d e f i c i t s and p r i v a t e d e b ts o f t h i s t e r r i t o r y amount to te n s o f th o u san d s o f m illio n s o f c a sh . And now we a r e a g a in c o n s c r ip tin g th e p eo p le and r e q u i s i t i o n i n g t h e i r g r a in and c l o t h , c a u sin g them t o s e l l t h e i r goods and p ro p e rty i n o rd e r to s a t i s f y th e re q u ire m e n ts o f th e o f f i c i a l s . O u ts id e , th e y may be harmed by th e r e b e l Q iang, b u t w ith in th e em pire th e y s u f f e r from th e demands o f th e governm ent. And th e n i t i s n e c e s s a ry f o r th e s u p p lie s to be tr a n s p o r te d a th o u san d l i , f a r away to Wudu and th e w e ste rn commanderies • The ro a d s a r e dangero u s and th e la b o u r i s m u ltip lie d a hundred f o ld ......... The t r a n s p o r t g r a in i s s c a t t e r e d a c ro s s th e w ild e r n e s s , w h ile th e c a t t l e and h o rs e s d ie among th e m ountains and th e m a rsh la n d s. At tim e s when th e l o c a l governm ent o f f i c e s a re s h o r t o f s u p p l i e s , th ey a re e x p e c te d to r e q u i s i t i o n from th e p e o p le . But now th e p eo p le o f t h i s r e g io n a r e i n u t t e r d i s t r e s s , and where a r e th e y to o b ta in r e l i e f ? We claim t h a t we a r e b rin g in g a id to Jin c h e n g , b u t i n r e a l i t y a l l t h a t we a r e doing i s c a u sin g s u f f e r in g to th e p e o p le ab o u t Changan .......... So a man who w ants th e b e s t f o r th e s t a t e w i l l g iv e h i s a t t e n t i o n to c a r in g f o r th e h e a r tla n d o f th e em p ire, and w i l l n o t s e a rc h f o r p r o f i t f a r away. We sh o u ld g iv e o u r a t t e n t i o n to making our own p eo p le p ro s p e ro u s , and sh o u ld n o t be greedy f o r mere ex p an se o f t e r r i t o r y . T here i s p le n ty o f space in th e h i l l s and p la in s ab o u t Changan, and th e p eo p le th e r e a r e c o m p a ra tiv e ly few . There a r e many fo rm er cou n ty c i t i e s and o t h e r empty towns w hich co u ld be re - o c c u p ie d .
102 What we sh o u ld do now I s to t r a n s f e r p e o p le from th e b o rd e r commanderl e s where th e y can no lo n g e r m a in ta in th e m se lv e s, back I n to th e re g io n o f th e Im p e ria l tom bs, where th e y can farm and p r o t e c t th o s e form er c o u n tie s . The p eo p le o f th e I s o l a t e d s e ttle m e n ts and th e commanderles w hich have been c u t o f f sh o u ld be r e p a t r i a t e d f o r th e p e rio d o f th e p r e s e n t em ergency. When t h i s p la n I s b e in g c a r r i e d o u t, In th e o u tly in g a r e a s where th e t r a n s p o r t I s to o d i f f i c u l t and to o e x p e n s iv e , th e p e o p le would be c o l l e c t e d and b ro u g h t back . In a r e a s w here th e la b o u r s e r v ic e has become to o o n e ro u s, I t can be re d u c e d , and th e p e o p le may be g iv e n r e l i e f . T his I s th e b e s t o f a l l p la n s .
Pang
C an 's
argum ents
G eneral In C h ie f,
to
fe e lin g s p re s e rv e
Im p e ria l
co n v in cin g
to
Deng
Z h l,
th e
b u t a c o u r t c o n fe re n c e on th e s u b je c t was r e l u c t a n t
to ado p t such a p o l i c y . th e
were
A j u n i o r c o u r t i e r , Yu Xu, e v id e n tly e x p re sse d
of th e m a jo r ity when he spoke o f th e s a c re d d u ty o f Han th e
tombs
te rrito rie s and
not
of
form er
expose
them
g e n e r a tio n s ,
to g u ard th e
on th e f r o n t i e r s , and t o keep
c o n tr o l o f th e w a rlik e p e o p le I n th e s e w e s te rn t e r r i t o r i e s . ^
The th e
governm ent,
n o rth w e s t,
a d ju s tm e n ts . by
th e
v a lle y
was had
how ever, a p p e a rs
governm ent.
c irc u m s ta n c e s
In th e s o u th , In
Qlang
A d m in is tra to r w e s t,
but
t h e r e f o r e , d id n o t a u th o r is e a f u l l r e t r e a t from
d riv e n
com pelled
m ajo r,
If
tem p o rary ,
Hanzhong commandery, a renewed a t t a c k
back;
though
been k i l l e d I n b a t t l e
only b e fo re
a f t e r a second Grand B a o z h o n g .^
In th e
a s a r e s u l t o f th e l o c a l r e b e l l i o n I n 109, th e X lnlng to
have
been
la rg e ly
abandoned
by
th e
C hinese
103 In moved of
110
th e
fo rm al
a d m in is tr a tio n o f Jin ch en g commandery was
to Xlangwu, i n th e e a s t e r n p a r t o f L ongxl, and th e h e a d q u a rte rs
th e P r o te c to r was w ithdraw n n o rth w ard s to Zhangye commandery.
Hou
Ba, th e new a p p o in te e t o t h i s p o s t , had h e ld th e o f f i c e b e fo re b u t was d ism isse d
soon
re p la c e d
by
a f t e r th e b e g in n in g o f th e r e v o l t i n 107 and had been
Duan XI, a fo rm er commander i n th e W estern R eg io n s. When
Duan Xi d ie d i n 110, Hou Ba was r e i n s t a t e d and was e v id e n tly e n tr u s te d w ith
k e e p in g th e peace am ongst th e Qiang and th e L i t t l e Yuezhi i n th e
a re a o f th e Shan betw een th e
X inlng v a lle y and th e
Gansu c o r r i d o r .
45
In th e t h i r d month o f th e fo llo w in g y e a r . 111, o th e r commandery c a p ita ls
were s h i f t e d i n th e same fa s h io n a s Jin c h e n g .
in -e x ile " at
were
Meiyang
c a p ita l
lun
In
and of
f o r A ndlng, B e ld i and Shang commanderles
Y oufufeng,
Chiyang
and
Ya
in Z u o p in g y l, w h ile th e
o f Longxl commandery was a l s o t r a n s f e r r e d e a s t from Dikdao to
Xlangwu. homes
in
e s ta b lis h e d
"G overnm ents-
many
are a s,
fa rm s, and
Wang Fu, t e l l s
th e p eo p le were com pelled to abandon t h e i r
Hou Han sh u , a g a in
in flu e n c e d
by
th e Q ianfu
how:
The common p eo p le were a tta c h e d t o t h e i r la n d and r e l u c t a n t to le a v e t h e i r homes. So [tro o p s were s e n t i n to ] b reak down t h e i r c r o p s , dem olish t h e i r h o u se s, ra z e t h e i r w a lls and p a l i s a d e s , and d e s tr o y t h e i r s u p p lie s and s t o r e s . And a ls o a t t h i s tim e th e r e were d ro u g h ts and lo c u s ts and fam ine and d e a rth . The p e o p le w ere d r iv e n away w ith k ic k s and b lo w s, th e y were lo o te d and ro b b ed . D ivided and s c a t t e r e d , th ey wandered away and d ie d on th e r o a d s . Some abandoned th e o ld and th e weak, some became b o n d -s e rv a n ts and s l a v e s . T w o -th ird s o f them were l o s t . 46
104 By
th is
d e lib e ra te
to
weaken
re fu g e e
th e
d e p o p u la tio n ,
r e b e ls w ith a s c o r c h e d - e a r th p o lic y and t o m a in ta in a
p o p u la tio n
re c ru ite d
and
th a t
p la n
th e
th e c e n t r a l governm ent m ight hope
on
th e
s u p p lie d was
b o rd e rs
fo r
from
which
s o ld ie rs
m ight be
l a t e r cam paigns.
I t i s c l e a r , how ever,
s h o r t- te r m and d e s p e r a te .
À g r e a t number o f th e
s e t t l e r s who were now fo rc e d to le a v e t h e i r homes f l e d f u r t h e r away to th e so u th and n e v e r r e tu r n e d .
Though had
made
Liang
few c i t i e s m ight h o ld o u t , and though th e governm ent
no fo rm al d e c is io n to abandon i t s c la im on th e s e re g io n s of
p ro v in c e ,
much
on
re b e l and
a
th e
th e p r a c t i c a l e f f e c t f o r th e C hinese p e o p le was very
lin e s
Qiang
now
of
Pang C an 's p ro p o s a l a s h o r t tim e b e f o r e . The
c o n tr o lle d a s t r e t c h o f t e r r i t o r y from th e Koko Nor
th e X ining v a lle y e a stw a rd s a c r o s s p re sen t-n iay s o u th e rn Gansu and
Shaanxi
as
n o r th ,
fa r
as
th e s o u th e rn c o u rs e o f th e Yellow R iv e r.
In th e
t h e i r t e r r i t o r y was bounded by th e in h o s p ita b le c o u n try of th e
O rdos, and a lo n g th e f a r n o r th e r n lo o p o f th e Yellow R iv e r th e C hinese o u tp o s t
commanderies
p o s itio n s
of
how ever, c a p ita l set
Shuofang,
p ro v in c e
were
Wuyuan s till
and
th e
m a in ta in e d .
o th e r n o r th e r n In th e s o u th ,
th e main f o r c e o f th e r e b e l l i o n was p r e s s in g a g a in s t th e o ld te rrito ry
a lo n g
trib u ta rie s alo n g
Bing
of
th e
m a in ta in in g
th e
ab o u t Changan. The im p e r ia l d e fe n c e p o s i t i o n s were
upp er
v a lle y s
of
th e J in g R iv er and o th e r n o rth e rn
o f th e Wei, w h ile Hanyang commandery, f u r t h e r t o th e w est h ig h e r a
re a c h e s
C hinese
of
lo c a l
th e
Wei,
was d is p u te d g ro und, s t i l l
governm ent, b u t f r e q u e n tly h a ra s s e d by
105 re b e l
a tta c k s .
m ountains
of
In th e
Wudu Qln
commander y , Ling»
so u th o f th e Wei v a lle y In th e
th e Shenlang Qiang made c o n s ta n t r a id s
southw ards I n to th e v a lle y o f th e Han.
The
y e a r 111 marked th e h ig h p o in t o f Qiang s u c c e s s .
Not only
d id th e y c o n firm c o n tr o l o f a l l t h e i r t e r r i t o r y i n Liang pro v in ce» b u t r a id in g day
p a r t i e s sp re a d i n f o r c e a c r o s s th e Yellow R iv e r I n to p r e s e n t -
Shanxi
and
im m ed iately a lo n g
th e
reach ed
th e
commanderles
of
Hedong
n o r th o f th e im p e r ia l c a p ita l» Luoyang.
and
H en ei,
The commanderies
Taihang M ountains» from Zhongshan southw ards» were o rd e re d
t o p re p a r e d e fe n c e s w ith more th a n s i x hundred f o r t s : a p ic k e t l i n e to guard same
e v e ry d e f i l e le a d in g down t o th e time»
Mengjln»
th e
a
N o rth ern
c ro s s in g
Army
was
N orth China b ro u g h t
back
p la in . ^
At th e
and s ta t i o n e d a t
of th e Yellow R iv er n o r th o f Luoyang» to d efend
th e c a p i t a l a g a i n s t d i r e c t a t t a c k .
Ren
Sheng»
th e fo rm er commander a t Changan» was g iv e n command
o f th e f o r c e s a t Mengjln» and he a tta c k e d a group o f th e Qiang r a i d e r s at lin e
S h e e p 's Head Mountain» n e a r Guyuan i n Shangdang commandery, on th e o f th e
J i n R iv er i n p re s e n t- d a y S h an xi.
He c a p tu re d o r
k ille d
some two hundred men» so th e in c i d e n t can h a rd ly be c o n s id e re d a m ajor v ic to ry »
but
th e
camp a t M engjln was d is e s ta b lis h e d » and i t a p p e a rs
th e im m ediate t h r e a t was th u s c o n s id e re d t o be a t an end.
E a rly su ccess»
in
in
112,
Hanyang
th e
im p e r ia l
commandery.
fo r c e s
a ch iev ed
a n o th e r l o c a l
T his t e r r i t o r y , which had been th e
106 s cene
of
ab out
Changan,
p o lic y
of
C hinese c ity
m ajor
fig h tin g had
th e
of
Du
Shanggul
commandery
a ls o
C hinese
le a d e r,
betw een su ffe re d
to
Q i,
a s s a s s in a te d
and
e n fe o ffm e n t
as
from th e s c o r c h e d - e a r th
In th e autumn o f 111, a l o c a l
jo in e d f o r c e s w ith th e Qlang and s e iz e d th e
c o u n ty ,
be
h e a v ily
governm ent.
near
a d m in is tr a tio n
p ro c la m a tio n
th e Qiang and th e Im p e ria l tro o p s
of
p r e s e n t- d a y T ia n sh u i I n Gansu. Hanyang,
how ever,
a rra n g e d
fo r
The a
made, p u t t i n g a p r i c e on Du Q i's head: Du Qi was
h is m urderer was rew arded w ith one m illio n cash and a m a rq u is.
The r e b e l f o r c e s w ere th e n a tta c k e d by an
im p e ria l army u n d er th e c e n s o ra te o f f i c i a l Tang XI and were co m p letely d e f e a te d .
Most
of
th e
le a d e r s
were
k i l l e d , a g r e a t q u a n tity o f
tr e a s u r e was r e c a p tu r e d , and Du Q i's b r o t h e r , Du J ig o n g , f l e d n o r th to j o i n D ia n lla n i n B eid i.* ®
In of
th e
112
came
Q iang,
th e
d ie d
tu r n in g p o in t o f th e w ar.
at
h is
h e a d q u a rte rs
in
D ia n lla n , le a d e r
L ingzhou.
His s o n ,
L ianch an g , to o young t o su c c e e d t o f u l l pow er, was guided by a r e g e n t, Langmo,
and
th e
tr i u m v i r a t e , L ingzhou. re sp e c t
ren eg ad e
w ith None
which
a
of
Du
s e p a r a te th e s e ,
D ia n lla n
Jig o n g h e ld a t h i r d p a r t o f th e r e b e l h e a d q u a rte rs
th e
C h ief
of
commandery, bank
of
th e
th e
and
Yellow
of
X inlng
th e y
c ity
near
had m a in ta in e d , and none o f them c o u ld m atch
m i l i t a r y and s t r a t e g i c s u c c e s s .
re c o n q u e s t
D lngxl
how ever, p o ss e sse d th e wide s u p p o rt and
h is
Commandant
at
C avalry
Ma
Xian began a cam paign f o r th e
v a l l e y , th e w e ste rn t e r r i t o r y o f Jln ch en g
d e fe a te d R iv er
In 113, th e P r o te c to r Hou Ba and
ln
detach m en ts of th e Qiang on th e e a s t A nding,
c a p tu rin g
more th a n tw enty
107 thousan d g iv e n
head
of
c a m e ls, h o r s e s , c a t t l e , and sh e e p .
T his b o o ty was
a s rew ards to th e b a r b a r ia n s t h a t came t o j o i n them , and by 114
Jin c h e n g commandery was a g a in I n C hinese h a n d s.
E ast d riv e n by
and
back
new
s o u th ,
ra id s
c o n tin u e d , b u t th e r e b e ls were
I n an a t t a c k on Yong county I n Y oufufeng, th e y were h e ld
C hinese
Hanzhong,
Qlang
d e fe n c e
lin e s
In
H enel, and a renewed In v a s io n o f
t h i s tim e le d by th e D angjlan and L e jle t r i b e s , was h e a v ily
d e f e a te d
by
C hinese
49 commander y . 7
lo c a l
tro o p s a id e d by th e Banshun p e o p le o f Ba
th e
In s p e c to r o f Liang p ro v in c e was d e fe a te d
Though
w ith
a l o s s o f e i g h t hundred men I n an a tte m p t to re c a p tu re L ln ta o In
114,
th e
The
C hinese
P r o te c to r
d e s p ite
Hou Ba d ie d I n t h a t y e a r , and h is s u c c e s s o r . Pang Can,
h i s form er p ro p o s a ls f o r C hinese w ith d ra w a l, a tte m p te d to r e
e s ta b lis h good
p o s i t i o n I n th e w est was c o n s id e ra b ly more s e c u re .
Im p e ria l a u t h o r i t y among th e Qlang w ith n e g o tia tio n s and by
fa ith .
In
115,
th e
c h ie f
of
th e
D angjlan t r i b e , Haoduo,
s u rre n d e r e d w ith sev en th o u san d fo llo w e r s and was g ra n te d th e t i t l e o f m a rq u is.
The h e a d q u a rte rs o f th e P r o te c to r a te was now moved e a stw a rd s
t o L la n ju .
E ncouraged o ffe n s iv e , Qlang w ith and
w ith
by
th e s e
Pang
Can
s u c c e s s e s , th e C hinese a tte m p te d a m ajor le a d in g
a
mixed fo rc e o f seven thousand
and l o c a l m i l i t i a from th e w e s t, and a co n so rtiu m o f commanders e ig h t B e ld l
how ever.
th ousand
lo c a l
a tta c k in g
from
Pang
Can
l e v i e s from Z u o p ln g y l, Y oufufeng, Andlng th e
e a s t.
B efore he co u ld j o i n f o r c e s ,
was d e fe a te d by Du Jlg o n g , and though th e e a s te r n
108 column
was
te rrito ry
su c c e ssfu l of
th e
In c a p tu r in g D lngxi c i t y and th e h e a d q u a rte rs
re b e ls ,
a
d isa g re e m e n t
betw een t h e i r commanders
r e s u lte d In a s u c c e s s f u l ambush by th e Qlang and a lo s s o f a lm o st h a lf th e ir Ma
army.
X ian,
Pang Can was d ism isse d and
and
b rie f
success
f o rc e s
ab o u t
Ren in
succeeded by h is a s s i s t a n t .
Shang, who had been d ism isse d once more a f t e r h is 111,
was
a g a in r e c a l l e d and g iv e n command o f th e
Changan, w ith th e t i t l e G eneral o f th e Gentlemen o f th e
H ousehold.
T his th e
fin a l
re c e n t
appointm ent phase
Ren Shang In 115 marked th e b e g in n in g o f
o f th e war a g a in s t th e Q lang.
o f f e n s iv e
s tra te g y :
of
encouraged
r e ly in g
in
th e
p a rt
upon
The f a i l u r e o f t h e i r
C hinese t o d ev elo p a more I n d i r e c t encouragem ents
to
th e
r e b e ls to
s u r r e n d e r ; I n p a r t upon a d e l i b e r a t e program o f a s s a s s i n a t i o n o f t h e i r le a d e r s ;
and
c a v a lry
which
could
move
q u e s tio n , ju n io r tim e
In
m ilita ry
cou ld
in
term s
on
th e
developm ent o f a fo r c e o f
compete w ith th e mounted Qlang f o r m o b ility and
c o u n te r - r a id s
a g a in s t t h e i r t e r r i t o r y .
On t h i s l a s t
i t i s s a id t h a t Ren Shang r e c e iv e d th e a d v ic e o f Yu Xu, th e
c o u r t i e r who had opposed w ith d raw al from Liang p ro v in c e a t th e of
th e
d e b a te
i n 110, and who had been made a c tin g P r e f e c t o f
Huai i n H e n e i:50 A ccording to th e p r i n c i p l e s o f w a rfa re , th e weak sh o u ld n o t a t t a c k th e s tr o n g , and [a n im a ls] w hich run do n o t ch ase a f t e r [ b ir d s ] on th e w ing. T h is i s sim ply a q u e s tio n o f common sen se.
109 Now th e enemy a r e a l l mounted and on h o rses» and th e y can t r a v e l hundreds o f l i i n a s i n g l e d ay. They descend l i k e th e wind and th e r a i n , and th e n th e y d is a p p e a r i n a s n a p , a s an arrow le a v e s th e bow. I f we a tte m p t to fo llo w them on f o o t , i t i s im p o s s ib le t o c a tc h them u p , and so e f f o r t i s w asted and no su c c e s s i s o b ta in e d . I f 1 may make th e s u g g e s tio n t o y o u , th e b e s t th in g t o do would be to d is m is s a l l th e commandery tr o o p s , and have each man commute h is s e r v ic e f o r a few th o u san d c a s h . With th e r e c e i p t s from tw enty men i t would be p o s s ib le to p u rch ase one w a r-h o rs e . In t h i s way, you can exchange your heavy-arm ed s o l d i e r s f o r a f o rc e o f l i g h t c a v a lr y . With a tro o p of te n th o u sa n d horsem en i t would be p o s s ib le t o p u rsu e an enemy group o f some th o u s a n d s , and you co u ld fo llo w d i r e c t l y on t h e i r t a i l and h a r a s s them . By th e s e m eans, th e enem y's s t y l e o f f i g h t i n g w i l l be c o m p le te ly c o u n te re d , and th e ad v an tag e w i l l tu r n to our d i r e c t i o n . T his w i l l b r in g a f i n a l s u c c e s s .
Ren a u th o rity
Shang
approved
th e
th e
im p e r ia l
governm ent.
from
id e a
and
o b ta in e d th e n e c e s s a ry As
a r e s u l t , th e
firs t
o f f e n s iv e o f h is command, tow ards th e end o f 115, was a sudden r a i d by lig h t-a r m e d th a n
horsem en
who
a tta c k e d
Du Jig o n g a t D in g x i, k i l l e d more
fo u r hundred o f th e enemy, and c a p tu re d s e v e r a l th ousand head o f
c a t t l e , h o rs e s and sh e e p .
In C hinese been
re s to re d
and
c o n s o lid a te d ,
and
Ren
e s ta b lis h e d
b o rd e r
Shang
The
th e commanderies o f p re s e n t-d a y Shanxi had now
by form er r a i d s was
n o rth e r n
under
in
y e a r, 116, th e s t r a te g y was c o n tin u e d .
a ffe c te d
Wei,
fu rth e r
fo llo w in g
p o s it i o n s
re g io n s th e
th e
th e
i r r i g a t i o n system i n th e
r e p a ir e d I n
th e
v a lle y o f
a l i n e o f f o r t i f i c a t i o n s a lo n g th e
o f Z u o p in g y i, to p r o t e c t h i s p o s itio n s w h ile he s e n t
r a id s a g a i n s t D in g x i, and i n th e summer th e S o u th ern Xiongnu, th e
command
of
th e G eneral Who C rosses th e L ia o , Deng Zun, a
no c o u sin
of
th e
n o r th ,
w ith
te n
L in g z h o u .^ a g a in s t w ife
Em press-Dowager,
made
a
s u c c e s s f u l a t t a c k from th e
th o u san d horsem en, on th e Qlang le a d e r L lanchang a t
In th e
w in te r ,
Ren
Shang
sent
a n o th e r
e x p e d itio n
L lanchang t h i s tim e th e y storm ed h i s h e a d q u a r te rs , k i l l e d h i s
and c h i l d r e n , s e iz e d h i s I n s i g n i a o f o f f i c e and th e s e a l s o f a l l
th e C hinese o f f i c i a l s whom he had c a p tu re d , and r e tu r n e d t o t h e i r b ase w ith tw enty thou san d head o f c a t t l e , h o rs e s and sh e e p .
In 117, Ren Shang a rra n g e d f o r tu r n c o a t Qlang t o a s s a s s i n a t e Du Jlg o n g
and
L lan ch an g ,
and
gave
n o b le
title s
to th e m u rd erers a s
"M arquis Who Smashes th e Qlang" and "King o f th e Q lang". In
a
That w in te r .
f i n a l g r e a t cam paign, Ren Shang le d commandery m i l i t i a and com
b in e d f o r c e s w ith th e P r o te c to r Ma X ian, who b ro u g h t a mixed C hinese
and
v iv in g
s u rre n d e re d
le a d e r
of
th e
QLang e a s t from Jln c h e n g . re b e ls ,
was
d e fe a te d
Langmo, th e s u r
a t Fuplng, th e form er
c a p i t a l o f B eld l commandery, n e a r Qlngyang In Gansu.
I t I s s a id
f iv e th o u san d trib e s m e n w ere k i l l e d , and th e C hinese s e iz e d a thousand
tro o p o f
head o f c a t t l e , h o r s e s , a s s e s and cam els.
th a t
hundred
A thousand s la v e s
of th e Q lang, presum ably c a p tu re d C h in e se , were re sc u e d and r e le a s e d .
With Qlang
was
th is
g re a t
e ffe c tiv e ly
v ic to r y at
at
F uplng,
th e
re b e llio n
o f th e
an en d , and t h e r e was l i t t l e more f o r th e
C hinese
to do th a n mop up th e rem nants o f th e enemy and re c e iv e t h e i r
renewed
su b m issio n .
C rosses
th e
fu g itiv e
Liao
TVo f i n a l e p is o d e s a r e re c o rd e d : th e G en eral Who Deng
Zun
a rra n g e d
fo r
th e a s s a s s i n a t i o n o f th e
Langmo, a g a in by a fe llo w Qlang who was made "M arquis o f th e
Ill QLang"
as
Wuyang
w ith
how ever, alm o st
a re w a rd ; and Deng Zun h im s e lf was e n fe o ffe d a s M arquis o f a
reven u e
th r e e
e a rlie r,
a c q u ir in g
h o u se h o ld s.
Ben Shang,
e x e c u tio n ,
s in c e th e o u tb re a k o f th e r e b e l l i o n more th a n te n
was
a
now
f o r tu n e
c o r r u p tio n .
He
was
and
h is
accu sed
of
te n
The
end
o f e x a g g e ra tin g h i s s u c c e s s and o f m illio n
cash
th ro u g h
b r ib e r y
s e n t f o r t r i a l I n a cage c a r t , s u f f e r e d la n d s ,
h is
c o n f is c a te d by th e governm ent.
of
thou san d
who had been I n command o f Im p e ria l a rm ies a g a in s t th e Qlang c o n tin u a lly
y e a rs
of
c h a tte ls
and
and
p u b lic
h is s la v e s were
a ll
CO
o f th e r e b e l l i o n o f th e E a s te r n Qlang b ro u g h t a peace
e x h a u s tio n
to
th e
p ro v in c e s o f th e n o rth w e s t, b u t n o th in g co u ld
re s to re
th e fo rm er p o s i t i o n o f th e Han C h in ese.
of
th e
new s i t u a t i o n t h a t th e f i n a l v i c t o r i e s had been won p r im a r ily
by
c a v a lr y
horsem en The an d ,
and
as
m a in ta in
Yu
ra id in g
p a rtie s ,
w ith
s p e c ia lly re c ru ite d
w ith c o n s id e r a b le s u p p o rt from non-C hinese a u x i l i a r i e s .
Xu
e m p ire ,
had
s e r v ic e
h o rs e s
b a ttle fie ld , and
and
s o l d i e r s r a i s e d by commandery l e v i e s had a c h ie v e d m inim al s u c c e s s
c o n s c rip ts '
th e
a c tio n
I t was an i n d i c a t i o n
at th e
rem arked, in to
a
i t was more e f f e c t i v e to commute th e
money
payment
so
t h a t th e army m ight
f o r a p r o f e s s io n a l c a v a lry f o r c e .
In t h i s re g io n o f
le a s t,
th e m a s te r o f th e
in fa n try
was
no
lo n g e r
power and m o b ility o f th e mounted man was d e c i s i v e ,
th e c i t i z e n l e v i e s among th e C hinese s u b je c ts o f th e em peror were
o f v ery q u e s tio n a b le v a lu e .
112 On
th e
o th e r
s i d e , th e s u c c e s s and c o n tin u a tio n o f th e Qlang
r e b e l l i o n f o r so many y e a rs had depended t o a rem ark ab le e x te n t on th e le a d e r s h ip
of
D la n lla n
and h i s s u c c e s s o r s .
D ia n lia n i n p a r t i c u l a r ,
s u f f i c i e n t l y s i n l c l s e d to ta k e th e C hinese im p e ria l t i t l e and p ro c la im h im s e lf
as
m a in ta in
"Son
of
a u th o rity
Heaven", o v er
was th e f i r s t man i n Qlang h i s t o r y to
a l l th e trib e sm e n o f h i s re g io n : w e s te rn e rs
such a s Miyu and M ltang had n e v e r c o n t r o l l e d more th a n a few gro u p s i n a
s h o rt-liv e d
resp ect was
a
war
d u rin g
band,
th e
d e c is iv e
and no l a t e r c h i e f t a i n ach ie v e d com parable
tim e o f Han.
blow
In t h i s way, th e d e a th o f D ia n lia n
to th e r e b e l c a u s e , and th e d e l i b e r a t e C hinese
p o lic y o f a s s a s s i n a t i o n showed how w e ll th e y u n d e rsto o d th e im p o rtan ce of
th e
i n d iv id u a l
s u c c e s s o rs th e
in
th e
same
tim e ,
D ia n lia n and
h is
L ianchang
In th e n o r th , though th e S o uthern XLongnu a tta c k e d th e 109
c o n tr ib u te d
were
At
a c h ie v e d o n ly lim i t e d s u c c e s s i n r e c r u i t i n g a l l i e s a g a in s t
C h in ese.
C hinese
le a d e r .
se v e ra l and
more
and
110,
Langmo.
a tta c k
were
com pelled
to subm it and th e y
tho u san d horsemen to th e l a t e r campaigns a g a in s t
co ncerned
c o n c e rte d
th e y
For w ith
th e m ost p a r t , th e Wuhuan and th e X ianbi riv a lry
amongst them selv es th a n w ith any
on th e C hinese n o r th e r n f r o n t i e r .
In th e re g io n o f
S ich u an ,
th e
Banshun p eo p le were le a d e r s a g a in s t th e Qlang in v a s io n .
Even
th e
w e st,
in
C hinese
where
s e ttle m e n ts
d e s tro y e d ,
in
th e r e v o l t had o r i g i n a l l y ta k e n p la c e and Jln c h e n g
commandery
had
been
c o m p letely
many Qlang c h i e f t a i n s w ere p e rsu ad ed to r e t u r n t o Im p e ria l
a lle g ia n c e ,
and
b a r b a r ia n s ,
took
th ey p a rt
to o , in
th e
w ith
th e
L ittle
Yuehzhi
and
o th e r
cam paigns a g a in s t th e E a s te rn Qlang.
113 In d eed , I t I s i n d i c a t i v e o f th e la c k o f u n i t y among th e Qlang t h a t th e C hinese
appear
to
have
found
it
c o m p a ra tiv e ly
ea sy
to
a rra n g e
a s s a s s i n a t i o n s o f r e b e l l e a d e r s a t th e hands o f t r a i t o r s .
There
may
be,
in d e e d , c o n s id e r a b le q u e s tio n a s to th e e x te n t
of
th e s u p p o rt w hich th e r e b e l s re c e iv e d from th e p e o p le o f th e Qlang
as
a
w h o le.
upon
I t was c e r t a i n l y a r a c i a l o r 'n a t i o n a l ' r i s i n g , based
th e h o s t i l i t y o f Qlang p e o p le f o r th e C hinese and t h e i r im p e r ia l
governm ent. th e
On th e o th e r h an d , many o f th e Qiang who ap p eared among
numbers of s u rre n d e re d r e b e l s were no doubt anxious to make peace
and had n e v e r any d e s i r e f o r a c t i v e armed r e b e l l i o n : to
su p p o rt
D la n lia n
Like th e u n f o rtu n a te p e a s a n ts and o th e r
o f Vietnam and s i m i l a r s t r u g g l e s i n A f r ic a , Am erica and th e
E a s t,
m id d le , game
cause by t h r e a t s from th e f i g h t i n g men who su p p o rte d
and h is a s s o c i a t e s .
c iv ilia n s M iddle
th e
th ey were fo rc e d
many o f th e Qiang p eo p le found th em selv es caught i n th e
o p p re sse d
betw een
by
th e
b o th
armed
s i d e s , and t r e a t e d a s pawns i n th e c r u e l
s t r e n g t h o f China and th e b rig an d ag e o f th e
h a r d -c o r e r e b e l s .
What
is
governm ent
of
a u th o rity
o v er
th e
numbers
o b v io u s, how ever, i s t h a t f o r more th a n te n y e a rs th e th e
of
em pire
had
fa ile d
to
m a in ta in
a g r e a t a r e a o f th e n o rth w e s t. 'r e b e l s '
s c rip ts
among
C hinese
governm ent
were
its
e ffe c tiv e
While i t i s t r u e t h a t
o f te n enhanced by th e r e l u c t a n t con
o th e rw is e p e a c e a b le Q iang, i t i s e q u a lly tr u e t h a t th e could
o ffe r
them
no su p p o rt o r s e c u rity .O n th e
114 c o n tr a r y , which
fa r
to o o f t e n , d u rin g th e g r e a t r e b e l l i o n and In th e y e a rs
fo llo w e d ,
n a tu r a l
i t a p p e a rs t h a t th e C hin ese lo o k ed upon a l l Qiang a s
e n em ies,
and
th e y
were
r a t h e r concerned to e x p l o i t and to
p u n ish them th a n t o e s t a b l i s h a p ro p e r governm ent to p r o t e c t them.
The
end
s e ttle m e n t.
of
For
armed r e b e l l i o n d id n o t b rin g perm anent peace and
th e
most
p a rt,
in
Anding,
B eid i
and
th e o th e r
com m anderies, th e s u rre n d e re d trib e sm e n rem ained i n th e la n d s th e y had o c c u p ie d , argum ent
and at
th e
C hinese
who
had f l e d d id n o t r e t u r n .
There was
c o u rt on th e need to r e s t o r e C hinese o c c u p a tio n i n H a n g
and Bing p r o v in c e s , b u t Wang Fu, who was h im se lf a man o f t h a t re g io n , w rite s b i t t e r l y o f th e c o r r u p tio n , c r u e l t y and Incom petence o f C hinese lo c a l
o ffic ia ls .
th e ir
em bezzlem ent o f g r a in and o th e r s u p p lie s , and th ey d eceiv ed th e
c o u rt
w ith
s h o r t- te r m
They
th e ir
fa ls e
s o lu tio n s ,
re c o n s tru c tio n .
and
caused fam ine and d e a th among th e peo p le by
r e p o r ts
of
success.
They th o u g h t o n ly o f
th ey had no p ro p er concern w ith lo n g -te rm
In th e en d , Hou Han shu s a y s ,
th e s o l d i e r s had grown e x h a u ste d in s u c c e s s iv e cam paigns w ith o u t any p e rio d o f r e s t . The e x p en ses o f th e army and o f th e t r a n s p o r t o f s u p p lie s had amounted to more th a n 24,000 m i l l i o n c a sh . The governm ent s to r e h o u s e s were empty even i n th e commanderl e s o f th e i n t e r i o r , and th e r e was no way to number th e p eo p le o f th e b o rd e r r e g io n s who had d ie d . So th e two p r o v in c e s , Bing and L ian g , came to d e s o la tio n . 4
115
Reconstruction and the Second Rebellion 119-150: In
th e
firs t
y e a rs
a fte r
th e
end
of
th e
E a s te rn
Qlang
r e b e l l i o n , th e w e ste rn f r o n t i e r was plag u ed by c o n tin u a l d is tu r b a n c e s . The In th e
P r o te c to r ,
Ma
X ian, was fa c e d by s c a t t e r e d r e b e l l i o n s and r a i d s
L ongxl,
Jln c h e n g , Wuwel and Zhangye, from v a rio u s co m b in atio n s of
Zhong,
L e j i e , D angjian and Shaodang t r i b e s o f th e w e ste rn Q lang,
to g e th e r
w ith th e C hendl, Q ianren and some renegade X la n lla n from th e
Ordos r e g io n I n th e e a s t . at
th e
end
though
of
W ith th e d e f e a t o f th e Shaodang le a d e r Manu
122, how ever, th e s i t u a t i o n was la r g e l y s e t t l e d , and
o c c a s io n a l
d is tu r b a n c e s
c o n tin u e d
u n til
126,
th e Im p e ria l
governm ent In th e w est had g ain ed te n y e a rs o f re a s o n a b le s e c u r i t y .
The been th e
a d m in is tr a tio n
r e s to r e d E a s te r n
to
Its
of
Dikdao
p re fe c tu re ,
in th is by firm
th e
Jln c h e n g
commandery
to have
form er c a p i t a l , Yuanya, soon a f t e r th e end o f
Manu,
th a t
highway
th e
h e a d q u a rte rs
o f Longxl were re tu rn e d to
and i t was o n ly In 125 t h a t th e Baoye Road, c h ie f to
th e so u th w e s t, which had been s e r io u s ly damaged
Qlang a t t a c k s on Hanzhong, was r e s t o r e d . 5^ In 129, however,
c a u tio u s
program o f p a c i f i c a t i o n and r e c o n s tr u c tio n was changed
th e i n t e r v e n t i o n o f Yu Xu.
Yu Xu had u rg ed th e governm ent to h o ld
i n 110, had a d v ise d Ren Shang on s t r a t e g y in 115, and had been a
s u c c e s s f u l Grand A d m in is tra to r o f Wudu commandery. of
a p p e a rs
Qlang r e b e l l i o n , b u t I t was n o t u n t i l 123, fo llo w in g th e
d e fe a t
im p e ria l
of
th e
M asters
s e c re ta ria t,
he
of
W ritin g ,
a
s e n io r
p o st
Now, a s S u p e rv iso r In
th e
im p e ria l
o b ta in e d th e e a r o f Emperor Shun and urged an a c tiv e
and fo rw ard p o lic y .
116 In
h is m em o rial, Yu Xu r e f e r r e d t o th e re s p e c t t h a t th e r u l e r s
of th e p r e s e n t tim e sh o u ld show to t h e i r p r e d e c e s s o r s , and he fo llo w ed th is
C o n fu c ia n is t
o f th e n o rth w e st
argum ent
of
a c c o rd in g to th e
p re c e d e n t w ith a glow ing d e s c r i p t i o n Yu gong
c h a p te r o f
Shu j i n g i ^
The la n d o f th e p ro v in c e o f Yong has lan d o f th e h ig h e s t q u a lity . F e r t i l e ground s t r e t c h e s f o r a th o u san d l i , w ith abundant and f l o u r i s h i n g c ro p s o f g r a in , and th e r e a r e a ls o th e s a l t ponds o f Q iuci which p ro v id e a so u rc e o f p r o f i t to th e p e o p le .^ W ith abundant w a te r and s p le n d id p a s tu r a g e , th e re g io n i s s u i t a b l e f o r th e b re e d in g of a n im a ls , w ith h e rd s o f c a t t l e and h o rs e s head to t a i l , and f lo c k s o f sheep so many t h a t th e y b lo c k th e r o a d s . In th e n o r th , t h i s t e r r i t o r y i s defended by th e m ountains and th e Yellow R iv e r, so we can u se th e s t r a t e g i c p o s i t i o n and h o ld th e im p o rta n t p o i n t s . 0 In t h a t re g io n , c a n a ls can p ro v id e f o r i r r i g a t i o n , w a te r power and t r a n s p o r t . For a c o m p a ra tiv e ly sm a ll e f f o r t , th e s u p p lie s of an army can be a d e q u a te ly m a in ta in e d . I t was f o r t h i s re a s o n t h a t Emperor Wu and h i s s u c c e s s o rs up to th e tim e o f Emperor Guangwu f o r t i f i e d Shuofang, opened up Xihe and e s t a b l i s h e d Shang com m andery.• .t o abandon r i c h s o i l and d e s tr o y n a t u r a l w e a lth cannot be c a lle d a p r o f i t a b l e p o lic y , and to g iv e up th e b a r r i e r of th e r i v e r and th e m ountains i n o rd e r to occupy la n d w ith o u t good d efen ce p o i n t s , t h a t c an n o t be c a l l e d a p la n f o r s e c u r i t y . 9 Yu
Xii
re fe rred
d is a s te r,
to
which
r e q u ire d
fu ll
th e
Qiang
re b e llio n
as a g r e a t and unex p ected
sh o u ld n o t be r e p e a te d , and th e p o lic y t h a t he u rg ed C hinese
re -o c c u p a tio n
of
th e form er im p e ria l t e r r i
to rie s .
In 129, a f t e r h i s p ro p o s a ls w ere p u t fo rw a rd , th e c a p i t a l s o f
A nding,
B eid i
te rrito rie s ,
and and
Shang re fu g e e s
commanderles were r e s to r e d to t h e i r form er were en couraged to r e t u r n to t h e i r form er
homes.
In th e fo llo w in g y e a r , i t was o rd e re d t h a t p r is o n e r s under th e
d e a th
se n te n c e i n th e j a i l s sh o u ld be s e n t to a s s i s t i n th e r e s e t t l e
m ent,
and
an
a m b itio u s
program
was
drawn up to b u ild p o s t- r o a d s ,
117 re p a ir
fo rtific a tio n s ,
m ilita ry
c o lo n ie s .
A d m in is tra to r
of
re c o n s tru c tio n . Jin c h e n g
T his
end
irrig a tio n
p ro je c ts ,
and e s t a b l i s h
The I n te r n u n c io Guo ä ia n g , l a t e r a p p o in te d Grand A ndlng, was s p e c i a l l y com m issioned to s u p e rv is e th e
I t was p la n n e d t h a t A nding, B e id l, Shang, Longxi and
commanderies
grain,and
have
re s to re
sh o u ld
be
p ro v id ed
w ith
m ajor
s to re s
t h a t s u b s id ie s sh o u ld be re d u c ed .
program ,
how ever,
though e x c e lle n t on p a p e r, a p p e a rs to
been l e s s welcome i n th e t e r r i t o r i e s d i r e c t l y co n cern ed . of
129
p re v io u s
Ma
a ls o
and
he
d ism isse d was
At th e
X ian, who had h e ld th e p o s itio n o f P r o te c to r f o r th e
te n y e a r s , was d is m is s e d from o f f i c e .
was
of
fo r
His s u c c e s s o r Han Hao
some o ffe n c e l e s s th a n tw elve months l a t e r ,
su cceeded by Ma Xu, a d esc e n d a n t o f th e g r e a t g e n e r a l Ma
Y uan.61
The
changeabout
u n c e r ta in ty set
up
Yellow
a
th e
s e ttle m e n t p la n n in g .
was
matched
by
some
Han Hao, d u rin g h i s s h o r t te rm ,
The
Q lang, how ever, became
n o ta b ly
re s tle s s at th is
o f new C hinese e x p a n sio n , and Ma Xii t r a n s f e r r e d th e c o lo n ie s X lning
c o lo n ie s th e
P r o te c to r s
number o f m i l i t a r y c o lo n ie s a lo n g th e u p p er re a c h e s o f th e
R iv e r.
e v id e n c e to
in
among
C hief
to
v a lle y .
e x te n d Commandant
In t h i s a r e a , by 132 th e r e were te n m i l i t a r y
Han c o n t r o l . of
F u r th e r s o u th , th e h e a d q u a rte rs o f
th e S outhern D iv isio n o f Longxi commandery
was r e - e s t a b l i s h e d a t L in ta o i n 133,
118 It of
th e
th e re
could
appear
p e rio d began
u n c e r ta in ty
of
w hich
m ilita ry
base
r a id e d
b e fo re th e g r e a t r e b e l l i o n , b u t In th e fo llo w in g y e a r
th e
p re ssu re
f i r s t o f a s e r i e s o f r e v o l t s w hich d e m o n stra te d th e th e
C hinese
th ey at
Longxi
t h a t th e s i t u a t i o n had been r e s t o r e d t o t h a t
p o s itio n .
Perhaps a s a
r e s u l t o f th e
fe lt
from th e r e - e s ta b lis h m e n t o f th e im p e ria l
L in ta o ,
th e Zhong t r i b e o f th e Qiang r e b e lle d and
and
Hanyang.
Though th e P r o te c to r Ma Xu g a in e d some
lim ite d s u c c e s s , h is p re d e c e s s o r Ma Xian was r e c a l l e d and a p p o in te d to th e
command
thousand sh e e p ,
fo rc e s
a g a in s t th e r e b e l s .
He k i l l e d more th a n two
o f them , c a p tu re d f i f t y th o u san d head o f h o r s e s , c a t t l e , and and
com pelled
tr a n s f e r r e d became
of
t h e i r le a d e r s to s u r r e n d e r .
In 136, Ma Xu was
to become G en eral Who C ro sses th e L ia o , and Ma Xian a g a in
P r o te c to r .
He
was f i r s t engaged i n th e
p a c i f i c a t i o n o f th e
White Horse Qiang o f Wudu commandery, and a f t e r th e y had been d e fe a te d and
s e ttle d
N a ll, in
in 137, he had t o tu r n and d e a l w ith th e Shaodang le a d e r
who was r a id in g and p lu n d e rin g i n Jln ch an g commandery.
In 139,
a m ajor a t t a c k w ith a l l i e s from th e L oyal A u x ilia ry and o t h e r n o n -
C hinese
fo rc e s.
Ma
Xian d e fe a te d N all and k i l l e d him , c a p tu rin g one
hundred th o u san d head o f h o r s e s , m ules and sh e e p .
In one
c o n s id e rin g
may
o b serv e
re b e llio n s . th e a
Zhong hundred
behaved
Ma
th e X ian,
trib e
fie rc e
o ffic ia l
r e a c tio n
to
in p a r tic u la r , f i r s t k illin g
th e
r e p o rte d
two th o usand o f
and s e i z i n g f i f t y thousand a n im a ls, and th e n ta k in g
tho u san d w ith
th e p a t t e r n o f th e s e d is tu r b a n c e s of th e 130s,
head
ru th le s s n e s s
from and
th e Shaodang p e o p le , a p p e a rs to have c o n s id e r a b le
g re e d .
It
may
be
119 q u e s tio n e d and
w h eth er
th e a c tu a l d is tu r b a n c e s r e q u ire d such a r e s p o n s e ,
it
is
d iffic u lt
numbers
of
an im als
a ffe c tio n th e
fo r
to
im agine how th e c o n f is c a tio n o f such g r e a t
would do a n y th in g to encourage th e Qiang to f e e l
th e governm ent. In d eed , one m ight s u s p e c t t h a t some o f
d is tu r b a n c e s
were l e s s s e r io u s th a n th e y have been r e p o r te d , and
t h a t Ma X ian may even have been g la d t o ta k e them a s an excuse t o g a in m i l i t a r y g lo ry f o r h im s e lf and p lu n d e re d p r o p e rty f o r h i s f o llo w e r s .
Soon rew arded o ffic e
a fte r
w ith of
P r o te c to r
a rra n g e m e n t, in
in v o lv e d r a id s
Xian
and
was
p a rtly summer
trib e s
on
N a ll, he was r e c a l l e d and
sh a re d betw een th e I n s p e c to r s o f L iang and
and
th ro u g h of
th e
in c u r s io n s
re fo rtlfle d ,
d e fe a te d
P a r t l y , p e rh a p s , th ro u g h m isu n d e rsta n d in g due to t h i s
th e
and
had
th e p o s t o f Grand A d m in is tra to r o f Hongnong, w h ile th e
Bing p r o v in c e s .
Q iang,
Ma
140
h a rs h th e r e
Jin c h e n g
approached
C hinese
p o lic y tow ards th e
was a w id esp read r e v o l t which
f r o n t i e r and s p re a d r a p id ly u n t i l Changan.
Though th e Long Road was
s p e c i a l camps were s e t up i n Hanyang and Y oufufeng,
th e
Judong and o th e r t r i b e s o f th e Qiang ra id e d th e Wei v a l l e y , b u rn t
th e
fo rtre s s
p re s e n t- d a y p a s tu r e s re b e llio n
at
Shaanxi
among
th e
th e
Shang
commandery th e
s h ifte d
Gansu,
and
p lu n d ered
fo rc e d
tra n s fe rre d
im p e ria l h o rse to th e
n o r th , a
th e C hinese on to th e d e fe n s iv e
loop o f th e Yellow R iv e r.
was
th e
At th e same tim e , f u r t h e r
Xlongnu
n o r th e r n
Z u o p in g y i;
q u a r te r s
and
Hanyang. ft 2
in
a lo n g
in
th e Long P a s s , below Long M ountain on th e b o rd e r o f
so u th w ard s,
The a d m in is tr a tio n o f t h i s tim e to Xlayang
f a r n o r th e r n commandery o f Shuofang had i t s head to n e ig h b o u rin g Wuyuan, and th e c a p i t a l o f Xihe was
120 moved s o u th e a s t, a c ro s s th e Yellow R iv er though s t i l l In th e t e r r i t o r y of
th e commander y , to L is h l p r e f e c t u r e .
in c lu d e d
not
The army o f th e r e b e l Shanyu
o n ly h is f e llo w Xlongnu, b u t a ls o Wiihuan trib e sm e n from
th e n o r t h e a s t , and some g roups o f th e Q iang.
In a p p o in te d
re sp o n se
to
G en eral
Who
hundred
th ousand
r e g u la r
tro o p s
h is been th e
nom inal of
emergency i n th e Wei v a l l e y . Ma Xian was
Subdues
men,
th e
West and was g iv e n command o f a
m ainly p r o v in c ia l l e v ie s w ith a c o n tin g e n t o f
from th e N o rth e rn Army and th e p a la c e g u a rd s .
Ihough
command was so l a r g e , few o f th e s o l d i e r s ap p ear to have
g r e a t v a lu e , f o r i n th e f i r s t month o f 141, when he moved on
o f f e n s iv e
horsem en.
he
In by
by
su ccess,
opponents
th e
in
was
accom panied
by
o n ly
f iv e
or
s i x th o u san d
a m ajor d i s a s t e r f o r th e C h in ese, Ma Xian was h e a v ily
d e fe a te d th is
th e
63
th e
Judong Qlang i n B eid l and d ie d in b a t t l e . re b e l
r a id in g
re g io n
In s p ir e d
p a r t i e s a tta c k e d t h e i r d e m o ra lise d
o f Changan i t s e l f , and th e y b u rn t th e tomb
b u ild in g s o f th e em perors o f Former Han t o th e n o r th o f th e c i t y .
T his w id esp re a d in itia tiv e d is tu rb a n c e
d e fe a t
of
ris in g sh a re d
th e
a c ro ss by
ex ten d ed
th e
Chinese a ll
th e
G ongtang,
from th e
f o r c e s was
th e
s ig n a l
QLang t e r r i t o r i e s , Han
w ith
were
th e
and Shaodang g ro u p s.
The
Wei v a lle y and Longxl commandery to
Wuwei, n o r th o f th e Yellow R iv e r, and th e re g io n o f th e O rdos. and
fo r a
Anding
B e id i com m anderies pro v ed a lm o st i n d e f e n s ib le , and t h e i r c a p i t a l s moved
Y o u f u f e n g .^
once
more
to
th e co m p arativ e
s a f e ty o f
Z uopingyi and
121 However» governm ent on and
th is
p lu n d e re d ,
Zhao an
but
th e
th e
ra id in g
was
s e rio u s »
and
th e
c iv il
o f th e r e g io n was c o m p le te ly d is ru p te d » th e v a rio u s t r i b e s o c c a sio n
fo rc e s, and
though
a
a c te d
and
th e y
m ajor
w ith o u t c o n c e rte d le a d e r s h ip . in flic te d
heavy
They rav ag ed
d e f e a ts on l o c a l C hinese
im p e r ia l army was s t a tio n e d to d efend Changan,
c a p i t a l d i s t r i c t was n o t s e r i o u s l y th re a te n e d a g a in .
Chong, a tta c k
who of
had
In 141
been Grand A d m in is tra to r o f Wuwei and d e fe a te d
th e Gongtang Q lang, was o rd e re d to b rin g s o l d i e r s from
th e commanderie8 o f th e Gansu c o r r i d o r to a s s i s t i n o p e r a tio n s a g a in s t th e
Q l a n g .^
In th e fo llo w in g to
su b m it,
h e a v ily
d e fe a te d
He
th e
(p ro b a b ly
a b ran ch o f th e Shaodang t r i b e ) and a lth o u g h he h im s e lf was
in
Qlang
ap p o in te d P r o te c to r .
p e rsu a d e d
k ille d
Han
y e a r he was
th e Shaohe
a f i n a l s k ir m is h i n 144, th e rem ain in g r e b e ls w ere b ro u g h t
to s u r r e n d e r .
T h is as
th e
second
firs t,
r e b e l l i o n o f th e Q lang, though n e v e r so o rg a n is e d
had
co st
th e governm ent an e s tim a te d e ig h t th o u san d
m illio n c a s h , and f r e q u e n t a l l e g a t i o n s o f c o r r u p tio n , em bezzlem ent and Incom petence
were added to th e im m ediate r e a l i t i e s o f m i l i t a r y d e f e a t
and
The
fam in e.
g re a t
g e n e ra l
tibangfu
Gdi,
tfio
se rv e d
in t h i s
campaign
as
a young man i n a j u n i o r p o s t i n A nding, s e n t i n a b i t t e r
m em orial
i n 141, c r i t i c i s i n g Ma Xian and th e o th e r commanders f o r th e
weakness o f t h e i r s t r a t e g y and t h e i r n e g le c t o f th e s o l d i e r s ' w e lf a r e , and
blam ing th e c o r r u p tio n and c r u e l t y o f th e c i v i l o f f i c i a l s f o r th e
r e s t l e s s n e s s o f th e Qlang:
122 The funds a r e ta k e n from th e common p e o p le , b u t th e n go I n to th e p o c k e ts o f c o r r u p t o f f i c i a l s ......... The c h i e f t a i n s o f th e t r i b e s , d e s p e r a te i n t h e i r d i s t r e s s and f e a r , s t i r up r e b e l l i o n . As a r e s u l t , th e r e i s no lo n g -te rm p e a c e , and i f o u r f o r c e s a re d e f e a te d , th e e f f e c t s p e r s i s t .
Though c o n c e rte d of
th e
r e b e ls
of
th is
p e rio d
had
not
p ro v id ed
o p p o s itio n as t h e i r p re d e c e s s o rs u n d er D ia n lia n , th e r e s u l t
th e war was to co n firm th e im p e ria l g o v e rn m en t's lo s s
c o n tr o l i n th e t e r r i t o r i e s now in h a b ite d c itie s
s till
governm ent o th e r
rem ain ed ,
of
Han,
but
and
th e
by th e
a fte r
a tte m p t
at
th e
of e ffe c tiv e
Qiang. Some C hinese
t r i b e s now moved unm olested by th e
th e a d m in is tr a tio n o f A nding, B e id l and th e
commanderies n e v e r r e tu r n e d a g a in to th e n o rth w e s t.
p e rio d
such
firs t
r e b e l l i o n , t h i s tim e
re c o n s tru c tio n ,
U nlike th e
th e r e was no
fu rth e r
and f o r th e n e x t f i f t e e n o r tw enty y e a rs
th e r e w ere only m inor d is tu r b a n c e s i n th e n o r t h w e s t . ^
The d e s tro y e d th e
e v e n ts th e
Wei
p o s itio n
c a p ita ls
C hinese
Yellow
th e
firs t
h a lf
o f th e second c e n tu ry AD had
o f th e Han governm ent i n th e r e g io n n o r th o f
and w ith in th e lo o p o f th e Yellow R iv e r.
commandery th a t
of
o f Shuofang, X ihe, Shang, B eid i and Anding m eant
c o n tr o l
R iv er
and
The rem oval o f th e
th e
was
re s tric te d
whole
th e s e ttle m e n ts a lo n g th e
Ordos r e g io n was abandoned to th e n o n -
C h in ese .
T his
re lu c ta n t
r e t r e a t , d u rin g w hich th e C hinese had a tte m p te d to m a in ta in
c o n tr o l
and
developm ent
to
c o lo n is a tio n
form o f s e t t l e d a g r i c u l t u r e .
came
as
th e
end o f a lo n g
p ro c e s s of
i n a re g io n in c r e a s in g ly u n s u lte d to t h e i r
123 As
an
and
B e ld l
th e
cen su s
ex ten d ed
commanderl e s . was
to
d ic tio n
At th e end o f th e Former Han d y n a s ty , when
com plied I n 2 AD, th e t e r r i t o r y o f b o th commanderies
th e
over a
tw e n ty -fo u r two
exam ple o f th e p r o c e s s , t h e r e a r e th e changes In Andlng
Yellow R iver below p r e s e n t-d a y Lanzhou, w ith j u r i s t o t a l o f f o r t y c o u n tie s .
of
th e
D uring
L a te r Han, how ever,
f o r t y c o u n tie s were a b o lis h e d , and th e rem ain in g
Y ellow R iv er c o u n tie s o f Andlng w ere t r a n s f e r r e d t o th e j u r i s d i c CQ
tlo n
of
B eld l
Wuwel commander y ,
commandery
D ia n lla n
s e t h is
c o n tr o l re g io n
s till
based on th e Gansu c o r r i d o r . had c o u n tie s in th e r e g io n
c a p i t a l a t Llngzhou in 108, he
of
th is
te rrito ry ,
was
o n ly
confirm ed
and by
th e th e ir
A lthough o f Y inchuan, when
was
rem oving im p e ria l
C hinese w eakness i n th e w hole w ith d raw al
o f th e commandery
c a p ita ls .
A f te r occu p ied is
stil l
140.
th e
d e fe a t
of
th e
firs t
re b e llio n ,
th e C hinese r e -
th e l i n e o f th e Yellow R iv e r w est of th e O rdos, and Llngzhou lis te d
a s a county u n d er B eld l commandery i n th e cen su s o f
In th e fo llo w in g y e a r , how ever, w ith th e w ith d raw al o f Shuofang
to th e n o r t h , i t i s c l e a r t h a t th e C hinese p o s i t i o n a lo n g th e f r o n t i e r had
been
e n tly
b ro k e n .
m a in ta in e d
The d e fe n c e l i n e a lo n g th e Yellow R iv er was e v id I n te rm itte n tly , i f a t
69
a ll.
In
p a rtic u la r, i t is
re c o rd e d t h a t th e Chendl t r i b e o f th e Q lang, who a re s a id to have come from Shang commandery, r a id e d w estw ards on v a rio u s o c c a s io n s a s f a r a s Zhangye. p e o p le ,
They fo r
ap p ear th e
to
have
been a f u l l y nomad and h ig h ly m obile
d i r e c t d is ta n c e from th e Ordos re g io n t o Zhangye i s
124 some
750
k ilo m e tr e s a c ro s s th e Tengger d e s e r t , b u t th e f a c t t h a t th e
e x p e d itio n was p o s s ib le r e f l e c t s s m a ll c r e d i t on th e C h in ese.
In betw een th e of
c o n c lu s io n , th e
p o lic y -m a k e rs
n o rth e a s t. th e
one
may
n o tic e
some
d if f e r e n c e s o f o p in io n
a t th e c a p i t a l and th e men on th e s p o t i n
The m em orial o f Yu Xu i n 129, w ith i t s ro sy
fe rtility
p ic tu r e
and v a lu e o f L iang p r o v in c e , and i t s i n s i s t e n c e on
th e cla im s o f t r a d i t i o n to m a in ta in C hinese power i n t h a t r e g io n , does not
seem
suspect
to
fit
th a t
w e ll w ith th e r e a l i t i e s o f th e tim e .
much
of
th e
One may even
d i f f i c u l t y and f a i l u r e o f th e C hinese i n
th e n o rth w e s t came from th e gap betw een th e e x a g g e ra te d e x p e c ta tio n o f th e
a d v is o r s
and com m entators a t c o u rt and th e r e a l p o s s i b i l i t i e s of
p ra c tic a l
p o lic ie s
fo r
s te a d ily
d e c lin in g
s o ld ie rs
C hinese
and
p o p u la tio n
a d m in is tr a to r s and
in s is te n t
faced
w ith a
u rg in g
fo r
im p e r ia l e x p a n sio n i n t o u n te n a b le t e r r i t o r y .
There same
tim e ,
lis h e d end
and
of
is , and
of
t h a t i s th e L a te r Han em pire i n c e n t r a l A s ia . E sta b
th e f i r s t c e n tu r y , i t proved im p o s s ib le t o m a in ta in a f t e r h is
d e f e a te d .
In Ban
th e
th e
tim e
1 2 0 's ,
when th e f i r s t Qiang r e b e l l i o n had been
C hao's son Ban Yong a g a in r e s to r e d C hinese pow er, w ith
sm all arm ies h e a v ily
by
a p a r a l l e l s i t u a t i o n , o p e r a tin g a t th e
s u p e rv is e d a lm o st s in g le -h a n d e d ly by Ban Chao tow ards th e
d e p a r tu r e .
sh o rt
c o u rs e ,
r e in f o r c e d by
n o n-C hinese a u x i l i a r i e s . ^
For a
th e Han r e tu r n e d t o th e fo rm er p o s i t i o n o f in f lu e n c e , b u t
m iddle
of
th e
c e n tu r y ,
w ith th e renewed tr o u b le s i n Liang
125 p ro v in c e ,
th e
f o r c e s were w ithdraw n and th e Im p e ria l a d v e n tu re a lo n g
th e S i l k Road was ended.
In have th e
th e
w r itin g s
of C hinese h i s t o r i a n s , Ban Chao and Ban Yong
been p r a is e d f o r t h e i r a c h ie v e m e n ts , and th e g e n e r a ls who fo u g h t Qlang
have
a r g u a b le ,
been
how ever,
o f te n n e g le c te d and f r e q u e n tly r e v i l e d .
th a t
It Is
th e p i c t u r e sh o u ld be viewed I n a d i f f e r e n t
way: t h a t th e s o l d i e r s I n c e n t r a l A sia would have been b e t t e r employed d e fe n d in g
th e
im p e ria lis m
t e r r i t o r y o f China p r o p e r , and t h a t th e o v e r-a m b itio u s
w hich
th ey
re fle c te d ,
and
w hich
was s u p p o rte d by th e
c r i t i c s a t c o u r t , w e ll beh in d th e l i n e s , s t r a i n e d th e re s o u rc e s o f th e Han
governm ent
w ith
th e
were
c ritic is e d
a tte m p tin g Illu s o ry to
th e ir
and
Q lang.
th e
b ro u g h t a f a t a l w eakness i n th e C hinese d e a lin g s
The c o r r u p t g e n e r a ls and Incom petent o f f i c i a l s , who by
so
many
Im p o ssib le
ta s k
f r o n t i e r s o f th e p a s t . own
s c h o la r s of
of
th e
m a in ta in in g
tim e , were a c t u a l l y C hinese r u le a lo n g
T h e ir f a i l u r e s were p e rh a p s due l e s s
m isdeeds th a n to th e demands which were made upon them
and th e weak m a t e r i a l w ith w hich th e y had t o w ork.
C H APTER 4
THE QIANG TRIBES AND THE EMPIRE OF HAN: MAKE A DESERT AND CALL IT PEACE 150-220 AD
The d e v a s ta tio n o f Duan Jio n g The end o f Han governm ent I n th e n o rth w e st The s t a t e o f Wèi and th e n o rth w e s te rn f r o n t i e r E p ilo g u e : s h i f t i n g b a r b a r ia n s
The devastation o f Duan Jiong: The
c lo s e
of
th e
Second
QLang
R e b e llio n In th e m id d le 140s
marked th e b e g in n in g o f a p e rio d o f co m p arativ e q u ie t In th e t e r r i t o r y of
Liang
p ro v in c e .
commander y , by
th e
han d led
th ro u g h o u t th e t e r r i t o r y , though some groups o f th e Qlang
by
In flu e n c e
lo c a l of
p e rs o n a l
th e
a u th o rity
re s tiv e , tr o o p s . P r o te c to r and
o f r e a l p e a c e .*
h is
th e r e From Dlwu
was 155
no tr o u b le t h a t co u ld n o t be to
Fang,
159,
In f a c t , under
At
b ro u g h t th e
th e
tim e
trib e s
of
th e
who was c e le b r a te d f o r h i s
g e n tle a d m i n is tr a tio n , th e r e was even a
In 159, how ever,
Dlwu Fang
d ie d , and he was
succeeded by Duan J io n g , a man o f q u ite d i f f e r e n t tem peram ent.
b o rd e r
Ghanghan
l o c a l C h in ese f o r c e s o f Y1 p ro v in c e and t h e i r Banshun a l l i e s .
o c c a s io n a lly
p e rio d
148, th e W hite H orse Qlang r a id e d
I n th e h i l l c o u n try so u th o f Wudu, b u t th e y were d e f e a te d
T h e r e a f te r , were
In
o
Duan J i o n g 's a p p o in tm e n t. I t a p p e a rs t h a t th e
were a lr e a d y s t i r r i n g , and th e f i f t e e n q u ie t y e a rs had
a new g e n e r a tio n o f e n e r g e t i c and a m b itio u s t r i b a l le a d e r s to
fo re .
Duan J io n g h im s e lf was w e ll p re p a re d f o r d e a lin g w ith any
127 tim e
of
tro u b le .
e s ta b lis h e d X lanbi
a
O r ig in a lly
re p u ta tio n
w h ile
he
was
a
in
man
d e a lin g
C hief
c a u s in g
Wuwel
commandery,
he had
w ith r a id in g p a r t i e s from th e
Commandant
L iaodong, on th e n o r t h e a s t e r n f r o n t i e r . a p p o in te d
of
of
th e
Dependent S ta te o f
In 156, he had been s p e c i a l l y
to d e a l w ith th e r e b e l s o f T aish an and Langye, who had been m ajor
tr o u b le
in
th e
Yellow P la in .
He d e f e a te d them w ith
s l a u g h t e r , and he was rew arded w ith e n fe o ffm e n t a s a m a rq u is, a d i r e c t g ra n t
of
h a lf
a
sons
fo r
th u s
known t o th e c o u r t a s a tough-m inded man, and h i s ap p o in tm en t a s
P r o te c to r
e n tr y
m il l i o n c a s h , and th e r i g h t to nom inate one o f h is a s a c a n d id a te f o r th e Im p e ria l b u re a u c ra c y .
marked
a
c le a r
change
He was
from th e l e n i e n t p o l i c i e s o f Diwu
Fang.
W ith in
a
firs t
c h a lle n g e
c la n s
of
and
v ery and
s h o r t tim e o f h i s a r r i v a l , Duan J io n g fa c e d h i s d e m o n stra te d h i s d e te r m in a tio n .
th e Q lang, n o ta b ly in c lu d in g th e Shaodang, Shaohe, D angjlan
L e j l e , r a id e d th e t e r r i t o r y o f Longxl and Jln ch en g
n o r th
and s o u th o f th e Yellow R iv e r.
c a v a lry ,
E ig h t f r o n t i e r
C hinese
tr o o p e r s
combined
com m anderies,
W ith a f o r c e o f tw elv e th o u san d w ith
horsem en
of
th e
Loyal
A u x ilia r y , Duan J io n g moved s o u th from th e X ining v a lle y t o a t t a c k th e enemy. bank
As th e y r e t i r e d , he p u rsu ed them e a stw a rd s a lo n g th e s o u th e rn of
o ffic e rs fig h t. Jio n g
th e Yellow R iv e r, and th e n s e n t a sm a ll detachm ent u n d er h i s H an
Yan and Xia Yu a s a b a i t to encourage them to tu r n and
In a b a t t l e a t L u o tin g ,
a fro n tie r
p o s t o f th e
em p ire, IXian
co m p le te ly d e f e a te d th e Q iang, k i l l e d two th ousand and c a p tu re d
a n o th e r t e n th o u sa n d .
The re m a in d e r f l e d a c r o s s th e b o rd e r.
128 In
th e
s p r in g
o f th e fo llo w in g y e a r , 160, a n o th e r co m b in atio n
of
trib e s m e n , a g a in le d by th e Shaohe c l a n , came a c ro s s th e m ountains
to
ra id
sm all
Zhangye
fo rtre s s
commandery and
In th e Gansu c o r r i d o r .
p lu n d e re d
They c a p tu re d a
th e C hinese p o s itio n s In t h a t r e g io n .
Emboldened by su ch s u c c e s s , th o u san d s o f th e Qlang r o s e t o s u p p o rt and j o i n th e r e b e l l i o n , and one m orning th e r a i d e r s lau nched a dawn a t t a c k a g a in s t
Duan
J lo n g .
Though
h e a v ily
outnum bered, IXian Jio n g
fa c e d
them from a d e fe n s iv e p o s i t i o n on f o o t , and by m idday, a f t e r d e s p e r a te f i g h t i n g , th e Qlang w ith d rew .
Duan With
h is
th e
re a r,
They
th e
th e ir
th o u san d
Qlang of
r id g e s
southw ards
m ountainous
k ille d
two
a llie d
number o f tro o p s h a r a s s in g th e r e t r e a t i n g enemy from
he fo llo w e d th e Qlang I n c o n tin u o u s c o n ta c t f o r s i x w eeks.
th e
men
a fte r
peak
sm a ll
c ro s s e d
e n te re d th e
J lo n g , how ever, now embarked upon a m ajor f e a t o f p u r s u i t .
to
th e
Amne
re g io n o f I t s
one th o u san d
at
J ls h l
Machln
The g r e a t e r p a r t o f th e
march
or
at
th e
u p per c o u rs e .
shock
k ilo m e tr e s , th e y
M ountain,
Range
35°N.
fle d
th e Yellow R iv e r, and th e n On th e m arch,
h o rs e s f o r food and m elted snow to d r in k , and
li,
bay
to
In
Id e n tifie d
modern
b ro u g h t th e as
Q ln g h al, ab o u t
r e b e l s must have
th e main 100°E,
s c a t t e r e d d u rin g th e
o f b a t t l e , b u t Duan Jlo n g and h i s men
k i l l e d more th a n f i v e th o u sa n d , and he s e n t a detachm ent on a p u n itiv e e x p e d itio n a g a i n s t th e n e ig h b o u rin g Shicheng Q lang.
T his Qlang
w ith
rem ark ab le th e
e x p e d itio n
sh o u ld
s u r e ly
have im p ressed th e
t e n a c i t y o f Duan J io n g and th e lo n g re a c h o f C hinese
129 arm s, b u t I t d id n o t h a l t th e d is tu r b a n c e s i n L iang p ro v in c e . Jio n g
r e tu r n e d from beyond th e f r o n t i e r , he was c a lle d to a t t a c k some
gro u p s of
of
th e Qiang n e a r W hite M ountain, e a s t o f D ikdao, th e c a p i t a l
L ongxi,
b e s ie g e d J io n g ,
and
but
Lianyu
in
Y u a n jie ,
s e ttle rs
it
As Duan
th e fo llo w in g
w in te r th e L e jie and
c a p i t a l o f J in c h e n g .
o
th e L ianyuJ
They were d r iv e n o f f by Duan
n o t b e fo re th e y had k i l l e d o r p lu n d ered th e l o c a l C hinese
and
th e ir
o ffic ia ls .
In th e summer o f 161, m oreover, th e
and th e X ia n lla n Qiang combined i n a r a i d a g a in s t Changan, and
may
appear
from
t h i s t h a t th e whole re g io n where th e Qiang were
s e t t l e d was l i a b l e to d is tu r b a n c e a t any tim e and i n any p la c e .
At Qiang had
th is
of
Shang
been
Rian
I n s p e c to r
fo rc e s of
le d
The Chendl
commandery and o th e r groups o f th e QLang from Longxi
engaged
Jio n g
c e rn in g
p o i n t , Duan Jio n g was removed from o f f i c e .
i n r a i d i n g i n th e re g io n e a s t o f th e Yellow R iv e r. th e
Loyal
A u x ilia ry tro o p s to a t t a c k them , b u t th e
o f L iang p ro v in c e , Guo Hong, w anted c r e d i t f o r h im s e lf con o p e r a tio n s
on
s e rv ic e
te rrito ry
in
t h e i r m arch.
th is
a r e a , and he d elay ed Duan Jio n g and h i s
The a u x i l i a r i e s w ere angry t h a t t h e i r p e rio d
was e x te n d e d , and th e y r e s e n te d b ein g drawn away i n t o th e e a s t o f th e Yellow R iv e r.
They m u tin ie d and r e tu r n e d home.
Guo
Hong p u t th e blame f o r t h i s d e b a c le on Duan J io n g , and Duan Jio n g
was
found g u i l t y and b ro u g h t back to Luoyang f o r s e r v ic e as a c o n v ic t
la b o u re r•
Duan Hong,
but
J i o n g 's he
p o s itio n
proved
q u ite
as
P r o te c to r was ta k e n by a c e r t a i n Hu
in c a p a b le
of
k eep in g
o rd e r among th e
130 trib e s m e n , th e to
and
th e
d is o r d e r sp re a d th ro u g h o u t Liang p ro v in c e .
With
X Lanlian c la n ta k in g th e le a d , th e t r i b a l g ro u p s form ed a l l i a n c e s p lu n d e r
th e C hinese and a t t a c k t h e i r a d m in is tr a tiv e h e a d q u a r te rs .
The Long Road t o th e v e s t was b lo ck ed and g ro u p s o f r a i d e r s th r e a te n e d Changan.
The g reat
co u rt
was
re b e llio n ,
la te ly
and
su c c e ssfu l
sen t
as
o v er
a l l m ilita ry
one
a
v ic to r y
th e ir
s e r io u s ly co n cern ed a t th e p o s s i b i l i t y o f a new th e
In
G en eral
s c h o la r^ o ffic la l
d e a lin g
Huangfu
GUI o f E nding,
w ith renewed b a n d itr y I n T a ish a n , was
o f th e Gentlemen o f th e H ousehold w ith a u t h o r i t y o p e r a tio n s
a g a in s t
th e
In th e w e s t.
L ianyu,
he
4
In a few m onths, a f t e r
was a b le to p ersu ad e them and
X ia n lla n a l l i e s to r e t u r n t o s u b m issio n .
E a rly I n 162, Huangfu
Gul
le d a combined f o rc e o f C hinese tro o p s and Qlang horsem en a g a in s t
th e
r e b e ls
su ffe re d
to
th e
s e v e r e ly
w est from
of
Long
M ountain,
and a lth o u g h h i s army
s ic k n e s s he was a b le to open th e ro ad to th e
w est and f o r c e h i s opp o n en ts t o s u r r e n d e r .
As
a
fro n tie r
fa ilu re s
of
tr o u b le s
among
th e
Q lang,
th o u g h t
C hinese
he
commander,
a d m in is tr a tio n
th e
b a r b a r ia n s .
had
rem arked
which
Gul was concerned w ith th e produced
re se n tm e n t and
In v o lu n te e r in g f o r s e r v ic e a g a in s t
in
a m em orial t h a t to o many o f f i c i a l s
o n ly o f governm ent by f e a r and s t r e n g th and p a id no a t t e n t i o n
to h o n e sty and q u i e t com petence. he
Huangfu
re p o r te d
s u rre n d e re d
to
th e
QLang,
c a p ita l and
th a t
Now, a s he r e s e t t l e d L iang p ro v in c e , th a t o th e r s
some l o c a l commanders had k i l l e d were
to o
o ld
and
no lo n g e r
131 com petent
fo r th e ir d u tie s .
some
of
good
fa ith ,
and
them were e x e c u te d f o r t h e i r c rim e s .
it
v e ry
in te n tio n s
As ev id en ce o f C hinese
t h i s purg e o f o f f i c i a l s in d u ced more Qiang t o s u r r e n d e r ,
is
Chendi
They w ere a l l d ism isse d from o f f i c e , and
lik e ly
w ith
Qiang d e se rt
success,
and
Huangfu
Qui
some w e ll- p la c e d b r i b e r y .
of
Tengger
th a t
Shang
commander y ,
encouraged
th e ir
good
A f i n a l r a i d by th e nomad
who
s tr u c k w estw ard a c ro s s th e
a g a i n s t Zhangye and Jiu q u a n com m anderies, had lim ite d th e
trib e s m e n
th e n
a c c e p te d
Huangfu G u i's o f f e r s o f
p eace.
W ith
th e
im m ediate
Huangfu
Gui
went
D e sp ite
h is
su c c e ss
p o litic a l and
th e
enem ies f r ie n d s
t h r e a t o f f u l l - s c a l e i n s u r r e c t i o n removed,
back to r e tir e m e n t i n h i s home commandery, A ndlng. in
th e
fie ld ,
how ever,
he was c r i t i c i s e d by
among th e eunuch f a c t i o n th e n do m in atin g th e c o u rt of
th e
fro n tie r
o f f i c i a l s t h a t he had im peached.
Emperor Huan was p e rsu ad ed t h a t Huangfu Gui d eserv ed c r i t i c i s m f o r h is w eakness and
and
rew ard
h is
w illin g n e s s to b r ib e th e Q iang, r a t h e r th a n p r a i s e
f o r h i s ach iev em en t in rem oving danger i n th e w e st.
s p irite d
m em orial,
summoned
to
fo r
s e r v ic e s to th e s t a t e , b u t when th e eunuchs so u g h t b r ib e s in
h is
o rd e r
th a t
re fu se d
them
Huangfu
c iv il
ju s tifie d
h is
p o lic ie s .
He was
c o u r t , and i t was d e b a te d w hether he sh o u ld be e n fe o ffe d
th e y so
m ight
put
h is
case more e f f e c t i v e l y , Huangfu Gui
a b r u p tly t h a t he was f i r s t demoted i n ran k and th e n
se n te n c e d to c o n v ic t s e r v i c e . h ig h
Ghi
In a
o ffic ia ls
and
There were p e t i t i o n s i n h i s fa v o u r from from
groups
o f s tu d e n ts a t th e Im p e ria l
U n iv e r s ity i n Luoyang, and i n 163, as th e r e s u l t o f a g e n e ra l am nesty,
132 Huangfu Gui was r e le a s e d and r e tu r n e d once more I n to r e tir e m e n t.
I t was a n o ta b le f e a t u r e o f Han f r o n t i e r h i s t o r y t h a t even th e most
com petent
m i l i t a r y commanders co u ld s u f f e r from c o u rt I n tr ig u e »
f a c t i o n and c o r r u p tio n . Gul
and
Duan
c o n s id e ra b le Impeached Guo
was
th e
In
a c tu a l
p o lic y .
Among th e l o c a l o f f i c i a l s
In s p e c to r
of
L iang
P ro v in c e ,
and
w ith Guo H ong's
Duan J lo n g was j u s t i f i e d and f r e e d from c o n v ic t s e r v i c e .
th e n
Liang
change
a lm o st m irro r Images o f one a n o th e r , b ro u g h t a
f o r incom petence by Huangfu Gul had been Duan Jlo n g vs enemy
Hong,
d is g ra c e
J lo n g ,
At t h i s p e r io d , how ever, th e f a t e s o f Huangfu
sent
He
to be I n s p e c to r of Bing p ro v in c e , b u t th e tr o u b le s i n
c o n tin u e d ,
and
at
th e
end o f 163 he was r e - a p p o in te d to th e
of
Huangfu G u l's rew ard o r punishm ent was
P r o t e c t o r 's o f f i c e .
W hile b ein g
th e
q u e s tio n
d is c u s s e d
enem ies
had
in
been
th e
c a p ita l
a f t e r h i s su c c e s s e s i n 162, h i s
a b le t o p o in t o u t t h a t th e tr o u b le s w ith th e Qiang
were s t i l l c o n tin u in g : though ä ia n g fu Gul co uld c la im to have d e fe a te d th e
most
th r e a te n in g
endem ic.
r a id
by
some
c o n tr o l.
re a p p o in te d
f iv e
or
s ix
th o u san d
o f Wuwei, Zhangye and J lu q u a n .
In c re a se d ,
C hinese
and
d is o r d e r
Longxi and Hanyang, and i n th e w in te r o f 162/163
commanderies had
r a id in g
were a lm o st
In th e summer o f 162 th e a n n a ls re c o rd e d a m ajor a t t a c k on
Jin c h e n g , a
u p ris in g ,
Qiang
th e r e was
a g a in s t th e w e ste rn
By 163, th e d is tu r b a n c e s
and i t was s a id t h a t L iang p ro v in c e was alm o st o u t o f Then th e P r o te c to r Hu Hong d ie d and Duan Jlo n g was
133 It
d id
not
m ilita ry
a u th o rity .
le a d e r s
of
prove d i f f i c u l t W ithin
th e
a lto g e th e r, and
L e jie
Jin c h e n g
s till
summer,
d e fe a te d
th e
e x h a u s tio n . th e
th r e e
p eo p le
caused t r o u b l e ,
a fte r
Jio n g t o r e - e s t a b l i s h
to
thousand
sm a ll
groups
su b m it, and a lth o u g h th e
t r i b e s i n th e f r o n t i e r t e r r i t o r i e s o f Longxl and
c o n s id e r a b le s u c c e s s . th e
th e ir
Duan
few months o f h is a r r i v a l , some 350
Q lang, c o n t r o l l i n g
had b ro u g h t
D an g jian
a
fo r
Duan
Jio n g
a tta c k e d
them
In th e s p r in g o f 165 th e L e jie s u rre n d e re d . a
w ith In
f i e r c e b a t t l e i n th e X lning v a l l e y , Duan Jio n g
D an g jian
and
th e n
a g a in p u rsu ed them to th e p o in t o f
By th e autum n, th e D angjian had been d riv e n to re fu g e i n
m ountainous c o u n try o f th e Q ilia n Shan, betw een th e X lning V alley
and th e Gansu c o r r i d o r .
A ccording a ll
th e
b io g rap h y o f
Duan Jio n g
i n Hou Han shu9 i n
h i s f i g h t i n g w ith th e Qlang up to t h i s tim e he had c u t o f f 23,000
heads,
c a p tu re d s e v e r a l te n s o f th o u san d s o f p eo p le a l i v e , s e iz e d th e
in c r e d i b l e b ro u g h t 165
to
number
th e
of
e ig h t
su rre n d e r
m illio n
o f more
th a n
h o rse s,
c a t t l e and sh e e p , and
te n th o u san d
lu o g ro u p s .^
In
he was e n fe o ffe d a s a m a rq u is, w ith p e n sio n from th e ta x rev en u es
of f iv e hundred f a m ilie s .* ’
On
th e
acknowledgem ent s o lv e d .
In
Duan
J i o n g f8
when
th e
o th e r
hand,
d e s p ite
th is
re c o rd
o f su c c e s s and i t s
a t c o u r t , th e problem o f th e Qlang had s t i l l n o t been 166,
th e r e
c o n tr o l
as
was
a y e a r o f peace on th e f r o n t i e r u n d er
P r o t e c t o r , b u t i n th e autumn o f t h a t y e a r ,
X ianbi and Wuhuan made r a i d s a g a in s t th e n o r th e r n f r o n t i e r ,
134 th e y
were
su p p o rte d
X la n lia n
of
Zhangye. to
by
Anding
a
re b e llio n
commander y ,
of
th e
Chendi Qian g and th e
who r a id e d a s f a r w est a s Wuwei and
The f r o n t i e r commander Zhang Huan was s e n t from th e c a p i t a l
deal
w ith
them ,
h o ld in g m i n i s t e r i a l ran k and m i l i t a r y a u t h o r i t y
o v er th e whole n o r th e r n f r o n t i e r . ^
The r e b e ls soon
s u r re n d e re d , b u t
in 167 th e X ia n lia n ro s e a g a in , and t h i s tim e th e y a tta c k e d th e re g io n ab o u t
Changan,
Z u o pln g y i.
o v e r-ru n n in g
The
a tta c k s
th e
d e fe n c e s o f Duoxu
Q
and Yunyang i n
began in th e s p r in g , c o n tin u e d th ro u g h th e
summer, and w ere n o t d e f e a te d u n t i l th e w in te r .
A lso exchange Wuwei
in
167,
w ith
th e
on
D an g jian t r i b e , who had g a th e re d fo r c e s t o a t t a c k
commande r y .
co u n try
th e w e ste rn f r o n t i e r , Duan Jio n g had a f i n a l
He
cau g h t
of L uanjue c o u n ty ,
Q
and
them
and
d e fe a te d them i n th e open
w ith t h i s
v ic to r y th e W estern, t h a t
i s th e f r o n t i e r , Qiang were s e t t l e d .
It
was
Duan
J i o n g *8
peace
among
su c c e ssfu l achievem ent men
were
at
t h i s tim e t h a t th e governm ent o f Emperor Huan asked
a d v ic e
on
a
p o lic y t h a t m ight r e - e s t a b l i s h perm anent
th e E a s te rn Qiang o f L iang p ro v in c e . commander,
and
a lth o u g h
h is
He was o b v io u sly a
re c o rd
of
s e r v ic e
and
was m atched by th o s e o f Huangfu Gul and Zhang Huan, th e s e le s s
p o p u la r
w ith
th e eunuchs a t c o u r t.
We have a lr e a d y
observ ed t h a t Huangfu Gui was r e f u s e d a m a rq u isa te a f t e r h i s v i c t o r i e s a th e
few
y e a rs e a r l i e r , and Zhang R ian , d e s p ite h is r e c e n t s u c c e s s e s i n
n o r th ,
J io n g ,
on
was th e
fo r o th e r
p o litic a l h an d ,
re a so n s
a ls o d e n ie d a rew ard .
Duan
had a c o n s i s t e n t re c o rd o f s u c c e s s , had
135 a ttra c te d
a d m ira tio n
Im prisonm ent a lo o f
from
a fte r th e
fo r
th e
d ig n i t y w ith which he s u f f e r e d u n ju s t
th e s la n d e r s o f Quo Hong, and had k e p t co m p letely
a n ti-e u n u c h
p ro te s ts
and
p o l i t i c a l a c t i v i t y w hich
dom inated th e s e y e a r s o f th e governm ent o f Emperor Huan. is
c e rta in
M oreover, i t
t h a t th e governm ent knew what he would s a y , and th e y were
lo o k in g o n ly f o r j u s t i f i c a t i o n t o s e t t h e i r i n t e n t i o n s i n t o p r a c t i c e .
The
e d ic t
of
Emperor
Huan
set
out
th e
problem
q u ite
s p e c i f i c a l l y : ***
The X la n lia n and th e o th e r t r i b e s o f th e E a s te rn Qiang a r e w icked and re b e llio u s . Huangfu Gul and Zhang Huan have b o th h e ld command o f p ow erful f o r c e s , b u t th e y have n o t been a b le to s e t t l e them f o r any re a s o n a b le le n g th of tim e . 1 am th in k in g of g iv in g you o r d e r s to ta k e tro o p s and a t t a c k th e E a s te rn Q iang, b u t I am n o t c e r t a i n t h a t t h i s i s th e b e s t id e a . May I have your o p in io n ? In
h is
embark
re p ly , upon
a
Duan
J io n g c laim ed t h a t Zhang Huan was f r ig h te n e d to
r e a l cam paign, and t h a t h i s p o lic y of le n ie n c y was no
more th a n a s ig n o f w eakness. He sen d s r e p e a te d i n v i t a t i o n s to them to su b m it, and he hopes to c o n tr o l a s tr o n g enemy w ith o u t any f u r t h e r e f f o r t . I t i s my p e rs o n a l o p in io n t h a t w o lf-c u b s have a savage n a tu r e , and i t i s d i f f i c u l t to win them o v er by k in d n e s s . When t h e i r s tr e n g th i s e x h a u s te d th ey w i l l su b m it, b u t th e y r i s e a g a in as soon a s our s o l d i e r s have d e p a r t e d .•• From Yunzhong and Wuyuan [commanderies i n th e n o r t h ] , alo n g th e w e s te rn [ f r o n t i e r ] a s f a r a s Hanyang, more th a n two th o u san d l i , th e Xlongnu and th e v a rio u s t r i b e s o f th e Qiang occupy our t e r r i t o r y . T his i s a h id d en s o r e , a p o iso n in o u r f la n k . I f we do n o t c u t i t away i t w i l l become v e ry much more s e v e r e . I f I have f i v e th o u san d c a v a lry and te n th o u san d f o o t s o l d i e r s , w ith th r e e th o u san d c a r t s f o r baggage, th e n i n th r e e w in te r s and two summers I can b re a k th e s e p eo p le and s e t t l e them . There i s no need to worry t h a t th e c o s t w i l l be any more
136 th a n 3,400 m i l l i o n cash* I f we do t h i s , th e n th e Qlang w i l l be c o m p le te ly d e f e a te d , th e Xiongnu w i l l rem ain In su b m issio n , and th e commanderl e s and p r e f e c t u r e s w hich have been s h i f t e d w i l l be a b le to r e t u r n to t h e i r form er t e r r i t o r i e s *
Duan low er th e
J io n g
th a n
th e
Qlang*
s tra in
t h a t th e c o s t o f h i s p la n was s i g n i f i c a n t l y
e x p e n d itu re
Though
upon
X ia n lia n
argued
th e
trib e
th e
m i l i t a r y o p e r a tio n would cause a
fin a n c e s would
i n th e p re v io u s p e rio d s o f tr o u b le w ith
of
e n su re
th e
governm ent,
a l a s t i n g peace*
tem porary
th e c ru sh in g of th e Emperor Huan a g re e d ,
and Duan Jio n g began h is campaign i n th e w in te r o f 167*
In
th e
command
and
m arched
from
fo rc e
of
firs t
months
fifte e n
days
of
168, w ith te n th o u san d men u n d er h i s
s u p p lie s i n h i s baggage t r a i n , Duan Jio n g
Pengyang i n Anding t o Gaoping, and he a tta c k e d th e main
th e X ia n lia n a t Fengyi M ountain, n e a r Guyuan i n p re s e n t-d a y
Ningxla*
The
enemy
a fra id .
Then
p r o te c te d
by
crossbow s
w ith
were Duan
th r e e
Put
forw ard fo rth
num bers,
and IXian J i o n g 's men were
s e t th e men w ith j a v e l i n s i n th e c e n t r e ,
ran k s
of spearm en and swordsmen, a l l fla n k e d by c a v a lry
on
th e
"We a r e s e v e r a l th o u san d l i
e v e ry th in g
is
won*
wings*
He s a id to h i s
from o u r homes*
If we
I f we run away, we s h a l l be k ille d *
your s t r e n g t h to g e th e r , and we can a l l s h a re i n a g lo r io u s
name!"
Then
w a r-c ry
and
on
f la n k
th e
g re a t
Jio n g
lig h t-a rm e d
o f f i c e r s and men: go
in
he
gave a g r e a t s h o u t,
and h is s o l d i e r s jo in e d in th e
fo llo w e d him to th e charge*
His horsem en to o k th e enemy
and broke t h e i r l i n e s , th e Qlang were in com plete d i s
o r d e r , and more th a n e i g h t th o u san d o f them were k ille d *
137 W ith
th is
su ccess,
Duan
Jio n g
a ls o c a p tu re d 280,000 head o f
c a t t l e , h o rs e s and s h e e p , and he was rew arded f o r h is achievem ent w ith a g r a n t o f g o ld and ap p o in tm en t a s G en eral Who Routs th e Q iang.
In
th e
he
m arched
of
th e
When le a rn t
th a t a and
tw e n ty -fo u r Luochuan,
in
S h aan x i,
and
to
p a r ty so
of
he
th e
sen t
sen t
X ia n lia n
were
a detachm ent by
to a t t a c k them a t dawn.
e v id e n tly and
Jio n g
o f Q in, s o u th o f p re s e n t-d a y Y ulin i n S haan x i.
Running H orse R iv e r, j u s t o u ts id e th e o ld w a ll, he
h o u rs ,
to
e ith e r
w a ll
came
M arshes,
th e
th e r e h is
camped n e a r th e Sheyan fo rc e d m arch,
12
f l e d so u th
h ead w aters o f th e p r e s e n t-d a y Luo R iv er
formed camps to
d efend
th e m s e lv e s . J
fle d .
Duan
Jio n g
p u rsu ed
them e a stw a rd s a c r o s s th e s o u th e rn
o f th e Ordos s te p p e , d e f e a te d them i n a b r i e f engagem ent o v e r
tow ard s
p o s itio n s le d
in
Lingzhou
c o u n ty .
There
th e
Llngwu v a l l e y , 1'* b u t Duan Jio n g
th e a t t a c k
and th e QLang l i n e s
and p re s s e d Qiang
them e a s t
s e t up d e fe n c e
h im se lf p u t on armour
once more were b ro k e n . This
tim e th e y f l e d s o u th , w ith Duan Jio n g i n c lo s e p u r s u i t , f o r th r e e and
Then
o f f i c e r s T ian Yan and Xia Yu to a t t a c k them on
th e f r e s h w a te r su p p ly o f th e L in g x la n R i v e r ^
and
The eneny
200 l i i n
s i d e , and a f t e r a s h o r t s k irm is h w ith Tian Yan th e Qiang broke
f r in g e s
a g a in
T his tim e
n o r th , and e n te r e d th e Ordos re g io n th ro u g h th e Qiao Gate
a n c ie n t
he
Duan
summer, IXian J io n g embarked on a new a t t a c k .
th r e e
army
had
came
to
th o u san d
days
n i g h t s , u n t i l , so i t i s s a i d , th e s o l d i e r s o f Duan J io n g 's d o u b le
b lis te rs
th e d i s t r i c t groups
of
on th e s o l e s o f t h e i r f e e t . Jin g y an g
ln
At l a s t th ey
Anding and th e rem nant fo u r
o f th e Qiang to o k re fu g e i n th e h i l l c o u n try o f Han
yang commandery, n o r th o f th e v a lle y o f th e W ei.1**
138
Map 4:
The Campaigns o f IXian Jio n g 168-169
139 As th e a
in
Che
D a n g jia n , c a p a c ity
p ro c e ss, been
fo r
w ith
w in te r
had
was
d em o n strated
p u rs u it
frig h te n in g ,
fo r
a g a in s t
rem ark ab le
en erg y and
a d e f e a te d enemy.
The
f o r where i n th e p a s t th e r e had
th e a t t a c k on th e grounds t h a t th e enemy had
d e s tro y e d th e p e a c e , h i s campaign a g a in s t th e X ia n lia n had
im m ediate
in itia tiv e
Jio n g
re le n tle s s
ju s tific a tio n
peace
th e
Duan
how ever,
th em selv es no
cam paigns o f 160 a g a in s t th e Shaohe and 165 a g a in s t
re a s o n . th e
The Qiang whom he a tta c k e d w ere c u r r e n tly a t
C h in ese, and th e f i g h t i n g to o k p la c e e n t i r e l y a t th e
o f Duan J io n g and h i s im p e r ia l m a s te rs .
In th e autumn and
o f 168, a f t e r t h i s second campaign had h a r r ie d th e rem nants o f
X ia n lia n
trib e
i n t o th e h i l l s and v a l le y s o f Hanyang, th e r e was
an a p p e a l to th e c o u rt by Zhang Huan t h a t th e s la u g h te r sh o u ld c e a s e .
Emperor
Rian
had
d ie d
i n J a n u a ry , 168, and th e governm ent o f
th e em pire was now i n th e hands o f th e Empress-Dowager nee Dou, re g e n t fo r
th e
th e
Grand
boy Emperor L in g , a id e d and a d v is e d by h e r f a t h e r Dou Wu and T utor
rew arded
Duan
copy
Zhang
of
comments.
Chen
Jio n g
Fan. fo r
It
was
th e new governm ent which had
h i s f i r s t s u c c e s s a g a in s t th e Q iang, b u t a
R ia n 's m em orial was s e n t to him a t t h i s p o in t f o r h is
He r e p l i e d w ith a s e n s e o f r ig h te o u s i n d i g n a t i o n : ^
Now th e C hinese p o p u la tio n o f th e f r o n t i e r commanderles i s s m a ll, and o u r p e o p le have f r e q u e n tly been I n ju r e d by th e Q iang. Yet [Zhang Huan] p ro p o ses t h a t we sh o u ld l e t th e b a r b a r ia n s s u r r e n d e r and allo w them to l i v e am ongst our own p e o p le . This i s l i k e p la n tin g weeds and bram bles i n a good f i e l d , o r r e a r in g venomous snakes w ith in a h o u se. I t i s f o r t h i s re a so n t h a t I have d is p la y e d th e m ajesty o f G reat Han, and have p re p a re d lo n g -te rm p la n s . I w ish to c u t th e problem away a t th e r o o t , so i t w i l l n e v e r r e t u r n .
140 O r i g i n a l l y , 1 e s tim a te d t h a t th e p r o j e c t would ta k e th r e e y e a rs and c o s t 5,400 m illio n cash* But now, a f t e r j u s t one y e a r , and w ith l e s s th a n h a lf th e b u d g et expended, th e rem nants o f th e enemy a r e reduced to a sh e s and th e y a re on th e p o in t o f t o t a l d e s tr u c tio n * I r e q u e s t t h a t you p u t a s to p to t h i s d e b a te and g iv e me f u l l a u t h o r i t y to d e a l w ith m a tte r s on th e s p o t .........
Duan th e
Jlo n g
was
c o u rt
Qlang
confirm ed I n h i s command*
In th e m eantim e, how ever,
d id send th e I n te rn u n c io Feng Shan to I n v i t e th e s c a t t e r e d
of
Hanyang
to s u r r e n d e r .
Four th o u san d to o k ad v an tag e o f th e
o f f e r , b u t th e rem ain d er g a th e re d I n a d e fe n s iv e encampment a t F a n tln g M ountain n e a r th e b o rd e r o f Andlng and Hanyang*
In T lan
th e
Yan
summer
of
169,
Duan
J lo n g s e n t h i s two l i e u t e n a n t s ,
and Xla Yu, to occupy th e h e ig h ts above th e Qlang p o s itio n *
The Qlang a tta c k e d them , b u t th e C hinese h e ld t h e i r own, and th e Qlang were
fo rc e d
g a th e re d th e ir
to abandon t h e i r d e fe n c e s and f l e e s o u th and e a s t*
They
a g a in
fo r
a l a s t s ta n d a t S h o o t-T ig e r V a lle y , and th e y s e t
fig h tin g
men
to
h o ld
th e
gorge
at
th e
e n tra n c e
to t h i s
v a lle y .* ®
Duan
J lo n g ,
p re v e n t
th e
a b a tis ,
fo rty
fo r
Qlang li
h is
p a rt,
to
occupy
QLang
a tt a c k e d ,
p r e p a r a tio n s w ith care*
To
e s c a p in g f u r t h e r , he p re p a re d a g r e a t p a lis a d e o r lo n g ,
to
b lo ck
m ountain c o u n try o f th e Qln Ling* march
made
th e ir lin e of
r e t r e a t I n to
th e
Then he s e n t d etach m en ts I n a n ig h t
p o s i t i o n s on th e f la n k s o v e rlo o k in g th e v a l l e y . The b u t th e y were d riv e n b a c k , and th e C hinese
advanced
141 on
e ith e r s id e .
of
th e ir
In
th e narrow d e f i l e .
J i o n g 's from
d e fe n c e s ,
s o ld ie rs ,
th e
b o o ty and
own
The Qiang were fo rc e d down th e v a lle y o n to th e and
th e r e
th e y
were
th e
sh e e p ,
and tra p p e d
No q u a r t e r was g iv e n , and I t I s s a id t h a t Duan
on
t h i s one d a y , k i l l e d n in e te e n th o u san d p e o p le ,
m i l i t a r y le a d e r s t o th e c h i l d r e n .
of
cau g h t
back
Among th e d e b r is and th e
b a t t l e , t h e r e w ere n o t o n ly Innum erable c a t t l e , h o rs e s
a s s e s and m u les, b u t a ls o t e n t s and y u r ts o f f e l t and f u r
and o t h e r d o m e stic ite m s .
The
fo u r
th o u san d
p eo p le
th a t
Feng
Shan
had
p ersu ad ed to
s u rre n d e r were r e s e t t l e d i n sm a ll g roups i n A ndlng, Hanyang and Longxl com m anderies.
Duan
J io n g
s p rin g o f th e fo llo w in g y e a r . th o u san d
horsem en
a u x ilia rie s ,
a
and
h im s e lf
r e tu r n e d
to
th e c a p i t a l i n th e
His triu m p h a l p ro c e s s io n in c lu d e d f i f t y
fo o ts o ld le rs
of
th e
fro n tie r
fo rc e s
and
number o f th e famous b lo o d -sw e a tin g h o rs e s o f c e n t r a l
A sia , w hich had e v id e n tly been e i t h e r b red i n th e n o rth w e st o r p e rh a p s im ported f o r th e o c c a s io n , and some te n th o u sand o r more p r is o n e r s who had
been
V alley o rd e re d
p e rm itte d
and th e
were
to
su rre n d e r
a v a ila b le
Grand
H e ra ld ,
to
a f t e r th e m assacre a t S h o o t-T ig e r
ad o rn
b e a rin g
h is t r a i n . th e
An im p e ria l e d i c t
c r e d e n tia ls
of
im p e r ia l
a u t h o r i t y , to g r e e t Duan Jio n g a t Hao, w est o f Changan, and e s c o r t him to
Luoyang.
He
was
g ra n te d
th e
h ig h
c o u rt
p o s itio n o f P a la c e
A tte n d a n t and th e n made B earer o f th e Golden Mace, c h ie f o f th e p a la c e p o lic e , and l a t e r P r e f e c t o f Luoyang.
142 In
many
commander. s h a re d
re s p e c ts ,
We
th e ir
Duan
Jlo n g
was
on
o ffic e rs
o c c a s io n a lly
r e p u ta t i o n
fo r
tended
s id e
to
C o lo n el th e made
m ilita ry
cam paign, and t h a t he would p e r s o n a lly
v i s i t and te n d t o th e s i c k o r th e wounded.
b ein g
ad m ira b le
a r e t o l d t h a t he to o k g r e a t c a re o f h i s men, t h a t he
d is c o m fo rts
d is tin g u is h e d
an
as
Zhang Huan a r e named by th e h i s t o r i a n s a s
p re p a re d
e x c e p tio n a l w ith
D ir e c to r
M oreover, though even such
to
accept
h o n e s ty .
b rib e s , In
Duan
Jlo n g
had a
l a t e r l i f e , a t c o u r t, he
th e a u t h o r i t y o f th e eunuch governm ent, and a s
o f R e ta in e r s i n 172 he p u t down s tu d e n t p r o t e s t s a t
Im p e ria l U n iv e r s ity w ith an i r o n h an d , b u t h i s s tr o n g p e r s o n a l i t y him
a
most e f f e c t i v e o f f i c e r , and h i s s o l d i e r s were d ev o ted t o
him .
A ccording t o
Duan J l o n g 's b io g ra p h y i n
Hou Han shu9 i n th e two
y e a rs o f t h i s f i n a l s e r i e s o f cam paigns he had fo u g h t 180 engagem ents, had
k ille d
427,500 th a n
head
fo u r
cash.
more
th a n
of
38,000
liv e s to c k .
hundred
men,
and
of
th e
enemy, and had c a p tu re d o v er
C hinese lo s s e s amounted to l i t t l e more th e e x p e n d itu re had been 4 ,4 0 0 m illio n
The whole program had been c a r r i e d o u t one y e a r ahead o f tim e
and a th o u san d m il l i o n c a s h below b u d g e t.
And c e r t a i n l y , f o r th e tim e
b e in g , th e X la n lla n Qiang were s e t t l e d : dead men make few r i s i n g s .
F or s e r io u s fro n tie r
th e tr o u b le sent
next in
f i f t e e n y e a r s , in d e e d , th e r e i s no r e c o rd o f any th e n o rth w e s t.
m essen g ers
who
In 170 th e Shaodang Qiang o f th e
w ere re c e iv e d a t th e c o u r t o f Emperor
143 Ling w ith t r i b u t e and subm ission» and th e A ccount o f th e W estern Qlang c o n ta in s no f u r t h e r e n tr y u n t i l th e y e a r 184.
On
th e
o th e r
hand,
t h i s p e rio d o f a p p a re n t peace may a ls o be
ta k e n a s a s ig n o f I n a c t i v i t y by th e C h in ese.
I t does n o t a p p e a r t h a t
th e I m p e r ia l a u t h o r i t i e s w ere a b le t o p e rsu a d e o r compel many s e t t l e r s to
re tu rn
to
o c c u p a tio n
and
commanderles s till
th e
c o n s ta n t
p ro v in ce»
u se
which
140
ated»
Liang
of
th e
n o r co u ld th e y m a in ta in an e f f e c t i v e
te rrito ry .
The
a d m in is tr a tio n
had s h i f t e d t h e i r c a p i t a l s d u rin g th e tr o u b le s o f
rem ained I n th e more s e c u re r e g io n s f u r t h e r s o u th .
th e
Though
d is tu r b a n c e and tr o u b le w ith th e Qlang had been e lim in
s la u g h te r e d
s e ttle rs :
o f th e
In
so
fa r
t r lb e s p e o p le as
were
not
r e p la c e d
by C hinese
th e y were re p la c e d » I t was by n e ig h b o u rin g
herdsm en moving i n t o th e d e s e r te d g ra z in g g ro u n d s.
It
was t h i s
dem ographic w eakness o f th e
C hinese em pire i n th e
n o rth w e s t t h a t u l t i m a t e l y made n o n sen se o f a l l R ian J l o n g 's b r u t a l i t y . In th e
h i s own m em orial o f 168» he rem arked how few C hinese th e r e were i n re g io n
re m a rk a b le . of
Former
B eidl»
t h a t he so u g h t t o defend» and th e d e c lin e I s In deed q u i t e At Han»
th e tim e o f th e cen su s o f 2 AD, d u rin g th e l a s t y e a rs th e r e g i s t e r e d p o p u la tio n o f th e commanderles Shang»
Anding» T la n sh u i and Longxi» th e a r e a betw een th e Yellow R iver
on th e e a s t and th e west» th e Ordos re g io n on th e n o rth » and th e up p er Wei
v a lle y
325»000 of
and th e Qln Ling d iv id e on th e south» was a t o t a l o f some
h o u seh o ld s
and 1.5 m i l l i o n I n d i v i d u a ls .
In 140» a t th e tim e
th e cen su s re c o rd e d I n th e T r e a tis e o f A d m in is tra tiv e Geography o f
144
Hou Han shu9 Che same f i v e commander l e s 9 r e s p o n s ib le f o r e s s e n t i a l l y th e
same
a re a ,
in d iv id u a ls * Han
was
c o n ta in e d In
o n ly
ab o u t 47 ,500 h o u seh o ld s and 236,000
t h i s t e r r i t o r y , th e r e g i s t e r e d p o p u la tio n i n L a te r
only o n e - s ix th t h a t o f Former Han*
The t a b l e o p p o s ite g iv e s
th e d e t a i l s , though i t must be re c o g n is e d t h a t some c o u n tie s had moved from
one
commandery
to
a n o th e r ,
and
th e
c o rre la tio n s
are
th u s
d is to r t e d * ^
It
is
t r u e , o f c o u rs e , t h a t th e f i g u r e s o f 140 were ta k e n a t a
tim e o f m ajor d i s o r g a n i s a t i o n due to th e second g r e a t Ql&ng r e b e l l i o n , and
it
sh o u ld
commandery,
a ls o be o b se rv e d t h a t th e rem ark ab le d e c lin e i n Shang
which
was a d m i n i s t r a t i v e l y und er th e s u p e r v is io n of Bing
p ro v in c e , owed a good d e a l t o th e e a r l i e r and c o n tin u in g problem s w ith th e Xiongnu and th e d e fe n c e s o f th e n o r t h . th a t
d e s p ite
re g io n
of
th e
th e
p o p u la tio n ,
w ishes
n o rth w e st
The f a c t re m a in s, how ever,
and hopes o f th e im p e ria l governm ent, t h i s had
lo s t
th e g r e a t e r p a r t o f i t s C hinese
and th e r e was no way in w hich th e lo s s could be re s to re d *
More
th a n a c e n tu ry o f i n s e c u r i t y , on a m a rg in al f r o n t i e r o f fa rm in g ,
w ith
b a r b a r ia n r a i d s and im p e r ia l cam paigns a s e q u a l d isc o u ra g e m e n ts,
had
d riv e n
th e
in to
th e
Sichuan
C hinese
farm ers
b a s in
away,
a c ro s s
th e Qln L in g , s o u th
o r s o u th e a s t down th e v a lle y o f th e Han, to
more s u i t a b l e , l e s s an x io u s t e r r i t o r i e s *
From
th a t
e x te rm in a tio n
p o in t
produced
of a
view ,
Duan
J i o n g 's
m ost h ollow v ic to ry *
g re a t
cam paigns o f
The Chendl t r i b e s o f
145
Table 1:
C hinese P o p u la tio n Changes i n th e Nèar N orthw est 2-140 AD 236,824 I n d iv id u a ls 29,637
L ongxl:
Former Han L a te r Han
53,964 h o u seh o lds 5,628
T ia n 8 h u l: Hanyang:
Former Han L a te r Han
60,370 27,423
261,348 130,138
Anding:
Former Han L a te r Han
42,725 6,094
143,294 29,060
B e ld l:
Former Han L a te r Han
64,461 3,122
210,688 18,637
Shang:
Former Han 103,683 L a te r Han 5,169
606,658 28,599
146 Shang
commandery
a ffe c te d no
by
m ajor
o th e r
s m a lle r
Qlang groups were n o t d i r e c t l y
th e m assacre o f th e X la n lia n , and though th e y now caused
tr o u b le
im p e r ia l
la n d .
c o u n try ,
and
nomad
and
to
th e
The
e m p ire ,
C hinese
th e y
s e ttle rs
were d id
s t i l l a b le to occupy
n o t r e t u r n t o th e open
th e econom ic and dem ographic p r o c e s s , w hich s u b s t i t u t e d
herdsm en
f o r C hin ese p e a s a n ts , c o n tin u e d t o o p e r a te r e g a r d le s s
o f th e men o f war and th e o p t i m i s t i c p o l i t i c i a n s a t c o u r t.
The end o f Han government in the northwest: It
was
c o n tr o l
of
th e
d is tu rb a n c e th e
th e
H angzhou p ro v in c e
broke
fin a l
out
v ic to rie s
re b e llio n
from
of
184 t h a t f i n a l l y removed
th e Im p e r ia l governm ent o f Han.
The
i n th e w in te r o f 184/185, j u s t a t th e tim e o f o f im p e r ia l f o r c e s a g a in s t th e r e b e l l i o n o f th e
Yellow Türbans in th e e a s t o f th e e m p ire , and a lth o u g h i t has re c e iv e d co m p a ra tiv e ly comf1rming
l i t t l e a t t e n t i o n from h i s t o r i a n s , i t was i n f l u e n t i a l i n
th e end o f C hinese power i n th e n o rth w e st and i n p re p a rin g
t h a t t e r r i t o r y f o r dom inance by In d e p e n d e n t, n o n -C hinese s t a t e s i n th e c e n tu r ie s t h a t fo llo w e d .
The of
B eld l
re b e llio n and
20
began
Anding
w ith
i n s u r r e c t i o n among th e Qlang p eo p le
com m anderles,
In c lu d in g some rem nant X la n lia n
p e o p le , e v id e n tly th o s e who had been s e t t l e d i n s m a ll g roups a f t e r th e wars
of
enough fro n tie r and
Duan J lo n g , and who now found th em selv es once a g a in p o w erfu l to
re s is t p eo p le
Heguan
C hinese of
c o u n tie s ,
th e
o p p r e s s io n s .
At ab o u t th e same tim e , th e
u p p er re a c h e s o f th e Yellow R iv e r, a t Fuhan
a ls o cau sed t r o u b l e .
I t i s v ery p o s s ib le t h a t
147 th e
two
o u tb re a k s
re s p o n s e s
to
th e
m ilita ry
power
by
re a c h e d ,
how ever,
and It
jo in e d was
th e
at
to g e th e r ,
were
not
c o n n e c te d , b u t r e p r e s e n te d in d ep en d en t
a p p a re n t e v e n ts when
w eakness in
th e
d is tra c tio n
th e e a s t ,^ * tro o p s
in s u r g e n t s ,
and
of
The c r i t i c a l
C hinese p o in t was
o f th e Loyal A u x ilia ry m u tin ie d
k illin g
th e
P r o te c to r
Ling
Zheng,
22
t h i s tim e t h a t th e g ro u p s o f r e b e ls a p p e a r t o have jo in e d and
th e ir
firs t
le a d e r s were Belgong Boyu and Li Wenhou,
b o th o f whom had been s o l d i e r s o f th e A u x ilia r y ,
Haloun p la c e
at
has
th e
Han Shu 72 m u tin y , and
2 'î
th e
su g g e ste d
in d ic a te s
m utiny
c le a rly
th a t
o f th e A u x ilia ry to o k
Wuwei commandery,
th e
and i t seems m ost l i k e l y t h a t
re b e llio n s
th e m utiny o f
b u t Hou
preced ed
th e
th e A u x ilia ry
o f th e P r o te c to r to o k p la c e when th e men were b ein g
a g a in s t
formed
th e
m i l i t a r y b a se o f L ia n ju i n
k illin g
marched
th a t
th e
re b e ls .
The
A u x ilia r y , a s we have se e n , was
o r i g i n a l l y from v o lu n te e r s o f th e L i t t l e Yuezhi p e o p le , b u t i t
a ls o c o n ta in e d numbers o f Q iang, and i t i s n o t c e r t a i n w h eth er Belgong Boyu
and
r e b e ls
Li
and
te rrito ry Lanzhou, th e
and
camp to
th e
w ith
Yuezhi
however, Yellow
or
Qiang
im m ediately
R iv er
in
th e
The
co m b in atio n o f
c o n tr o lle d
a
band o f
neighbourhood o f modern
th ey had e v id e n tly g a in e d c o n tr o l o f a t l e a s t a p a r t o f
Road,
commandery.
were
m u tin e e rs , alo n g
Long
su ccess
Wenhou
W ithin th e
They
a few w eeks, th e y g ain ed a f u r t h e r n o ta b le
c a p tu re e n tic e d
of
Yuanya,
th e
c a p ita l
th e Grand A d m in is tra to r
of
Jln ch en g
Chen Y1 to t h e i r
and
th e n k i l l e d him , and th e y r e c r u i t e d a s a d v is e r s and le a d e r s
th e ir
cau se two ren eg ad e C h in ese, Blan Zhang, a form er P r e f e c t of
Xlnan
i n Hongnong, and Han S u i, A tte n d a n t O f f i c i a l of L iang p ro v in c e .
•P*
00
Map 5:
The R e b e llio n In Liang P ro v in ce 184-189
149 Xinan
I n Hongnong, and Han S u l, A tte n d a n t O f f i c i a l o f L iang p ro v in c e .
Both
were
men
e v id e n tly
of
some
p ersu ad ed
re p u ta tio n
to
throw
In
I n th e n o rth w e s t, and th e y were t h e i r l o t w ith th e r e b e ls and add 2S
t h e i r l o c a l in f lu e n c e to g a in w id er s u p p o r t. J
At p layed had
th is an
th e
In e ffe c tiv e
em bezzled
could
be
ro le ,
at
if
C la s s ic
fo rc e s
o f L iang p ro v in c e i t s e l f
p a r t l y becau se th e I n s p e c to r Zuo Chang
th e funds f o r th e l o c a l arm y.
J1 P r e f e c tu r e i n Hanyang.
s u c c e s s o r , Song N ie,
saved
m ilita ry
2fi
No
e ffe c tiv e
re lie f
s e n t to Jln c h e n g , and th e p r o v in c ia l f o r c e s were th em selv es
b e se ig e d h is
tim e ,
only of
o ffic ia ls ,
27
was convinced
th e p e o p le w ere
F ilia l he
When Zuo Chang was d is m is s e d , t h a t th e p ro v in c e co u ld be
ta u g h t th e X iao ji n g 9 th e
P iety.D espite
th e
ad v ic e
of
C onfucian h is
ju n io r
recommended t h i s program t o th e c o u r t, and th e c e n t r a l
governm ent th e n removed him .
Sung th e
lo c a l
fo rm er
Nie
was re p la c e d a s I n s p e c to r by a c e r t a i n Yang Yong, b u t
s itu a tio n
d id
not
im prove. The new P r o te c to r , Xla Yu,
a s s i s t a n t t o R ian J io n g , was b e s ie g e d i n th e H erding O ffic e o f
Hanyang commandery,
29
and a r e l i e f fo r c e s e n t under th e command o f th e
j u n i o r o f f i c i a l He Xun was c o m p le te ly d e f e a te d . h is
e s c a p e , and He Xun, though c a p tu r e d , was
fo r
h is
courage
A d m in is tra to r In c lu d e d
of
little
th a t
th ey l e t him go.
Hanyang,
but
th e
Xla Yu e v id e n tly made
so adm ired by th e r e b e ls
He was prom oted t o be Grand
command
th a t
he h e ld can have
more th a n th e c i t y o f J i , i f t h a t , and th e r e was new
no e f f e c t i v e Im p e ria l a u t h o r i t y i n th e e a s t e r n p a r t o f Liang p ro v in c e .
150 In
th e
th o usan d s
s tr o n g ,
Changan. nephew
s p r in g
In of
of
185
th e
re b e l
moved
east
to
a tta c k
th e
th e
th ird
a rq y ,
now s e v e r a l te n s o f
and p lu n d e r th e re g io n o f
month, th e c o u r t a p p o in te d Huangfu Song, a
e a r l i e r commander Huangfu G ui, who had a lr e a d y g ain ed
g r e a t s u c c e s s e s a g a i n s t th e Yellow IXirbans, a s G en eral o f C h a rio ts and C avalry
on
c a p ita l.
th e
30
d ism isse d campaign
In
ch arg e
He a c h ie v e d ,
of
how ever, no
th e
d efen ce
was
e n tr u s te d post
and
of
to
Zhang
M in is te r
C a v a lry ,
w ith
of
Wen,
th e
form er
In th e e ig h th month th e
who
Works
a d d itio n a l
of
Im m ediate v i c t o r y , and he was
from command I n th e se v e n th m onth.
b u r e a u c r a tic C h a rio ts
L e ft
r e lin q u is h e d
th e h ig h
to become f u l l G eneral of f o rc e s
In c lu d in g b a r b a r ia n
a u x i l i a r i e s from o th e r t r i b e s o f th e n o rth e r n f r o n t i e r s .
In th e
th e
e le v e n th month o f 185, Zhang Wen su cceeded I n d e f e a tin g
In v a d e rs
In
a b a t t l e a t Melyang cou n ty I n Y oufufeng, o n ly a few
k ilo m e tr e s from th e tombs o f th e em perors o f Former Han.
A ccording to
th e B iography o f Dong Zhuo, who a t t h a t tim e h e ld th e t i t l e o f G eneral Who been
Smashes
th e
C a itiffs
I n d e c is iv e
und er th e command o f Zhang Wen, th e r e had
engagem ents
w ith
th e
r e b e ls n e a r Melyang f o r some
tim e ,
u n t i l one n ig h t a s h o o tin g s t a r a p p e a red t o f a l l o n to th e enemy
camp.
Ihe
Dong
Zhuo
p re s s
a
su ccess,
r e b e l s were d isc o u ra g e d and th o u g h t o f r e tu r n in g home, and and
some
sudden but
th e
g re a t d if f ic u lty .
o th e r s to o k th e ad v an tag e o f t h e i r c o n fu sio n to
a tta c k . r e b e ls
C e r ta in ly a p p ear
th e
Im p e ria l
army r e g i s t e r e d a
to have made t h e i r r e t r e a t w ith o u t
151 Though d e s tro y e d ,
m ain
th e y
Jln c h e n g , fo r c e s
th e
d id
near
In
fo rc e w ithdraw
p re s e n t- d a y
p u rs u it.
th o u san d
men
to
thousan d
fo llo w e d
a c h ie v e d
any
of
th e
enemy
was n e i t h e r broken n o r
w estw ards t o th e re g io n of Yuzhong In
Lanzhou.
Zhang
Wen a tte m p te d t o send
The g e n e r a l Zhou Shen was d e sp a tc h e d w ith t h i r t y
a t t a c k Yuzhong, w h ile Dong Zhuo w ith a n o th e r t h i r t y th e
X la n lla n
success.
Q iang.
N e ith e r
fo rc e ,
how ever,
On th e c o n tr a r y , Zhou Shen had h i s l i n e s of
com m unications
c u t by a detachm ent o f th e enemy, and was com pelled to
make
r e t r e a t , le a v in g h i s baggage I n t h e i r h an d s. Dong Zhuo
a
h a s ty
found h im s e lf b e s ie g e d by th e Qiang a t Wangyuan In Hanyang, on th e Wei R iv e r,
and
p re s e rv e d
b a r e ly th e
made
Im p e ria l
a d m in is tr a tiv e
c o n tr o l
h is e s c a p e . p o s itio n o v er
Q1
The v ic to r y
a t Mel yang had
I n th e re g io n o f Changan, and some
Longxl
and
Hanyang,
but
th e
r e b e ls
r e ta in e d t h e i r power I n th e neighbourhood o f th e Yellow R iv e r, and th e u p p er Wei v a lle y was d is p u te d ground.
At w hether
th is th e
s ta g e , whole
th e r e was a d e b a te a t th e c o u r t o f Emperor Ling of
Liang
G en tle m a n -C o n su lta n t
Fu
commander y ,
se rv e d
T u rb an s,
who
made
had an
p ro v in c e sh o u ld n o t be abandoned.
X le,
from
w ith
Llngzhou
d is tin c tio n
In
n o rth e rn
a g a in s t
th e
The B eld l
Yellow
Im passio n ed sp e e c h , on t r a d i t i o n a l l i n e s , p r a is in g
th e achievem ent o f Emperor Wu In co n q u erin g th e t e r r i t o r y , and w arning of th e
th e
d an g er to th e em pire I f th e la n d s w ere p e rm itte d t o rem ain In
hands
Commandant
of
b a r b a r ia n s
o f Hanyang,
Fu
Xle
and I n e a r ly 187
was
th e n
a p p o in te d
Grand
a new I n s p e c to r , Geng B i, J
c o lle c t e d l o c a l l e v i e s and le d an a t t a c k on th e r e b e ls
152 D uring lo s s e s . a re
Bian
not
k ille d
186,
th e r e b e l l e a d e r s h ip a p p e a rs t o have s u f f e r e d some
Zhang d ie d o f i l l n e s s , and Belgong Boyu and Li Vfenhou
h e a rd o f a g a in : v e ry p ro b a b ly , a s Haloun s u g g e s ts , th e y were in
some
In s u rg e n ts
and
in te r n e c i n e m u tin e e rs ,
fe u d s C hinese
betw een
th e d i f f e r e n t groups o f
and trib e s m e n , who made up t h e i r
h etero g e n e o u s
fo rc e .
c o n fu s io n
th e enem y's r a n k s , t h a t Geng Bi p ro p o sed t o a tte m p t th e
in
r e - e s ta b lis h m e n t
of
I t was presum ably f o r t h i s re a s o n , th e a p p a re n t
C hinese
power w ith o u t m ajor m i l i t a r y a s s i s t a n c e
from o th e r p a r t s o f th e e m p ire.
It a rg u in g
is
s a id
th a t
th a t
he
sh o u ld
Fu
Xie
seek
warned to
him a g a in s t th e e n t e r p r i s e ,
e s ta b lis h
a u th o r ity
by good and
e ffe c tiv e
governm ent
cam paign.
N e v e r th e le s s , Geng Bl advanced to D ikdao, c a p i t a l o f Longxl
commandery.
One
on a s m a ll s c a l e r a t h e r th a n ta k e th e r i s k of a
o f Geng B l 's c h ie f p e rs o n a l a s s i s t a n t s , how ever, a
man
c a lle d Cheng Q iu, was n o to r io u s f o r h i s c o r r u p tio n and e x t o r t i o n ,
and
th e r e
was a m utiny among th e tro o p s a t Dikdao w hich k i l l e d f i r s t
Cheng Qiu and th e n Geng B i.
The Grand A d m in is tra to r o f Longxl h im s e lf
changed
s id e s ,
and
th e m u tin e e rs combined w ith th e r e b e ls t o a t t a c k
Fu
i n Hanyang.
Fu Xie d ie d i n th e f i g h t i n g , b u t a n o th e r o f Geng
Xie
B i 's th e
fo rm er
e n e m y A
lik e ly and
o ffic e rs ,
he
d is tric t
a ls o le d
th e M ajor Ma Teng, b ro u g h t h i s tro o p s to j o i n
c e rta in
Wang
Guo,
c e rta in ly a
C hinese and v ery
a fo rm er o f f i c e r o f Geng B i, o b ta in e d th e c h ie f command, th e
r e b e ls
in
g e n e r a lis e d
r a id s
a g a in s t th e c a p i t a l
153 With
th is
p o s s ib l e , in
ra th e r
185«
187,
of
d e fe a ts ,
th e
Im p e ria l p o s i t i o n w as, i f
worse th a n i t had been b e fo re th e b a t t l e a t Melyang
When news o f th e d i s a s t e r reach ed Luoyang in th e summer of
Zhang
success
s e rie s
Wen,
who
had
been a p p o in te d Grand Commandant a f t e r h is
a t t h a t tim e , re s ig n e d h is o f f i c e i n acknowledgem ent t h a t th e
d is o r d e r
was
e ig h te e n
s till
m onths
p r o v in c e s , 35
out of
of
c o n tro l.
s k irm is h in g
By th e end o f 188, a f t e r some on
th e
fro n tie r
Wang Guo b ro u g h t a m ajor fo r c e
of
th e
two
e a stw a rd s down th e Long
Road and l a i d s ie g e to Chencang i n Y oufufeng.
For its
th e
hopes
of
commanderies is o la te d or
tim e b e in g , th e c o u r t a p p e a rs to have In deed abandoned r e c o v e rin g w est
of
th e
Liang
p ro v in c e ,
Yellow
R iv e r,
and
it
seems
t h a t th e
a lo n g th e Gansu c o r r i d o r ,
from
th e r e s t o f th e e m p ire , e i t h e r jo in e d th e r e b e l f o r c e s
m a in ta in e d
a d e fe n s iv e p o s i t i o n in th e fa c e of a wave o f r e v o l t s .
The
a tta c k
on
Chencang,
how ever,
p re s e n te d
a c le a r t h r e a t to th e
h e a r tla n d o f th e s t a t e , and th e governm ent once more a p p o in te d Huangfu Song,
th is
tim e
as
G en eral
o f th e L e f t, w ith tw enty th o u san d men,
to d e a l w ith Wang G uo's a t t a c k .
A ccording 189
was
th e
Van,
a
a s s is ta n t,
to
H iangfu
S o ng's
b io g ra p h y ,
triu m p h o f th o u g h tf u l s t r a t e g y . a ls o
commanding
and
Wang
GUo's
th a t
Chencang
he
army was
tw enty
th ousand
h is campaign i n 188-
Dong Zhuo, a s G eneral o f men,
was
named a s h is
u rg ed Huangfu Song to make an im m ediate a t t a c k on o u ts id e s tr o n g
Chencang. enough
Ifciangfu Song, how ever, rem arked to
h o ld
out
w ith o u t r e l i e f f o r
154 se v e ra l h is
m onths,
and
I t was s t i l l to o e a r l y to engage th e enemy w ith
newly g a th e r e d f o r c e s .
th r e e
m onths;
army
abandoned
gave
th e
a rg u in g
and th e
o rd e r th a t
as
In s te a d , he d e la y e d o p e r a tio n s f o r a lm o st
he f o r e t o l d , i n th e s p r in g o f 189, Wang G uo's
s ie g e
fo r
and r e t i r e d .
advance.
s in c e
th e
enemy
At t h i s p o in t, Huangfu Song
Dong Zhuo a g a in p r o t e s t e d , t h i s tim e had
dangerous to p r e s s them to o c l o s e l y .
s u f f e r e d no d e f e a t , i t would be Huangfu Song r e p l i e d :
No. At f i r s t , 1 re f u s e d t o a t t a c k them b ecau se I w ished to av o id t h e i r i n i t i a l s t r e n g t h . Now, I am a tta c k in g to ta k e a d v an tag e o f t h e i r w eakness. I t i s a d isc o u ra g e d f o e , n o t a r e t r e a t i n g arm y, t h a t I am a t t a c k i n g . Wang G uo's men a r e ru n n in g away, and th e y have no i n t e n t i o n o f f i g h t i n g : so we s h a l l be s t r i k i n g an enemy in c o n fu sio n w ith a fo r c e t h a t i s t r a i n e d and d i s c i p l i n e d . There i s no q u e s tio n h e re o f d e s p e r a te b a n d its cau g h t i n a t r a p [who would f i g h t l i k e c o rn e re d r a t s ] . Huangfu
Song
th e n
o rd e re d Dong Zhuo t o rem ain b eh in d a s r e a r
guard w h ile he went fo rw ard to th e f i g h t . engagem ent
a fte r
a n o th e r ,
He d e fe a te d Wang Guo in one
and c u t o f f more th a n te n th ousand h e a d s.
36 Dong Zhuo was em b arrassed and a n g ry . °
The Wang
v ic to r y
Guo.
a llia n c e ,
Wang Guo and
commandery , to
of
Yan
Yi
ftian g fu
Song
ended th e Im m ediate t h r e a t from
h im s e lf was deposed from command o f th e r e b e l
Zhong,
p ro v in c e ,
accept th e ir le a d e rs h ip .
a
fo rm er
P re fe c t
of
Xlndu i n Guanghan
who was a n a tiv e o f Hanyang, was com pelled Yan Zhong, how ever, a p p a re n tly d ie d soon
a f te r w a r d s , and th e r e b e ls a g a in q u a r r e l l e d among th e m se lv e s. n ex t
tw enty
For th e
y e a r s , no s i n g l e le a d e r was a b le t o fo rg e a c o a l i t i o n i n
Liang p ro v in c e .
37
155 At In to
u tte r
month th e
th e
of
same
tim e ,
d is a rra y . th e
how ever, th e Han d y n a sty I t s e l f had f a l l e n
Emperor Ling d ie d i n th e summer, i n th e f o u r th
C hinese y e a r , on th e day e q u iv a le n t t o 13 May 189«
In
autum n, on 22 S eptem ber, th e r e was f u l l - s c a l e f i g h t i n g i n Luoyang
a f t e r th e a s s a s s i n a t i o n o f th e G en eral i n C h ief He J i n , th e b r o th e r o f th e Zhuo
re g e n t had
Em press-Dowager, b ro u g h t
d ic ta to r.
By
and
w ith in a few days th e g e n e r a l Dong
h i s army t o th e c a p i t a l and e s t a b l i s h e d h im s e lf a s
th e
end
of
th e y e a r , c i v i l i n s u r r e c t i o n had sp read
a c r o s s th e em p ire , and though th e boy L iu X ie, whom Dong Zhuo p u t upon th e
th ro n e
re ig n e d
and who i s known by th e posthumous t i t l e o f Emperor X ian,
w ith
th e
title
of
em peror f o r more th a n t h i r t y y e a r s , th e
power o f h i s d y n a sty was en ded.
The an
re b e llio n
o u tly in g
i n L iang p ro v in c e , th e n , was f i n a l l y subsumed a s
d is tu r b a n c e i n th e c o n f la g r a tio n which sp re a d a c ro s s th e
whole o f C hina, b u t th e d e t a i l s o f i t s f i r s t y e a rs a r e o f c o n s id e ra b le Im portance
to
th e
h is to ry
of
th e
n o rth w e s t,
p a rtic u la r
p o in ts
of
In te re s t
re c o rd s
of
th e
im p e r ia l cam paigns o f 185 and 188-189 a r e
co n fu sed
by
th e
p re se n c e o f Dong Zhuo, f u tu r e u s u rp e r and
which
and
th e r e a r e some
may now be c o n s id e re d i n more
d e ta il.
The somewhat d ic ta to r.
The h i s t o r i a n s were r e l u c t a n t to g ra n t him c r e d i t f o r good
work, and o n ly to o an x io u s to show him as a r r o g a n t, b r u t a l and p erh ap s in c o m p e te n t. betw een
Huangfu
C o n sid ered Song
and
in
th is
Dong
l i g h t , th e a cco u n t o f th e d e b a te
Zhuo
at
th e
tim e o f th e Chencang
156 campaign p r a is e and
ln
188-189
a p p e a rs
r a t h e r a s a s p e c ia l a n e c d o te to bestow
upon Huangfu Song» alw ays re g a rd e d a s a l o y a l o f f i c i a l o f Han»
h u m ilia tio n
upon
Dong Zhuo.
There may be some t r u t h In I t» b u t
th e t a l e a s a w hole I s v ery d o u b tf u l.
T here
Is
a somewhat s i m i l a r I n s ta n c e o f c r i t i c i s m o f Dong Zhuo
a t th e tim e o f th e Melyang campaign u n d er Zhang Wen In 185. Zhang Wen» a g a in . th a t
Is
re g a rd e d a s a f i n e m i n i s t e r o f th e e m p ire, b u t we a r e t o l d
Dong
Zhang
Zhuo
Wen
Zhuov8
was
showed urg ed
h im s e lf to
have
in s u b o r d in a te him e x e c u te d .
and d is o b e d ie n t, and The argum ent f o r Dong
punishm ent was p u t fo rw ard by th e ju n io r o f f i c e r Sun J l a n , who
a c h ie v e d a g a in s t
d is tin c tio n Dong
Zhuo,
a few y e a rs l a t e r a s a g e n e r a l I n th e c i v i l war and
who
was f a t h e r of th e f i r s t em peror o f th e
s o u th e rn s t a t e o f Wu o f th e T hree Kingdoms, Sun Quan.
The I n c id e n t I s
QQ
a s i g n i f i c a n t p a r t o f h is e a r l y b io g ra p h y . °
A ccording Wen
th a t c a u sin g
th a t
Zhang
m isp la c e d
Sun J l a n
arg u ed p r i v a t e l y to Zhang
u n r e s t i n th e army when i t was i n fa c e o f th e enemy, and Wen co u ld and sh o u ld ta k e th e a u th o r ity to summon him and
him
how ever,
Sanguo z h i ,
Dong Zhuo had f a i l e d to g a in any m i l i t a r y s u c c e s s , th a t he
was
e x e c u te
to
a c c o rd in g
was
re lu c ta n t
sense
tra d itio n a l
m ilita ry
law .
Zhang
Wen,
to do t h i s , p a r t l y , i t i s im p lie d , th ro u g h a
le n ie n c y ,
b u t a l s o , a s he rem ark s, b ecau se Dong
Zhuo,
who
lo c a l
p eo p le o f th e n o rth w e s t, and th e army c o u ld n o t p ro ceed w ith o u t
him .
came
of
to
from L in ta o i n L ongxi, had g r e a t I n flu e n c e among th e
157 In
fa c t»
Zhang
rem ark ab le
Wen was v e ry l i k e l y c o r r e c t In t h i s judgem ent»
but
th e
put
fo rw ard a t a tim e when Dong Zhuo was Zhang Wen's m ost e x p e rie n c e d
and
com petent
a s s is ta n t m issed
th in g a b o u t Sun J l a n 's a c c u s a tio n I s t h a t I t was
o ffic e r.
to
Huangfu
from
A few months e a r l i e r he had been named a s Song,
and a lth o u g h Huangfu Song had been d i s
command s h o r t l y a f te r w a r d s , on acco u n t o f h is f a i l u r e to
c u rb
th e r e b e l s , Dong Zhuo was r e t a i n e d .
Dong
Zhuov8
and
M oreover, I t was a p p a re n tly
a t t a c k t h a t g a in e d th e v ic to r y a t th e b a t t l e o f M elyang,
a lth o u g h
It
Is
d i f f i c u l t to d a te th e tim e o f Sun J l a n 's a c c u s
a t i o n , I t I s p o s s ib le t h a t I t was p re s e n te d a f t e r t h a t s u c c e s s .
While
th e sp e e c h o f Sun J l a n (w hich was a p p a r e n tly w h isp ered t o Zhang Wen In open and
c o u n c il) I s a f i n e p ie c e o f Im a g in a tiv e l i t e r a r y r e c o n s tr u c tio n , though
such
a d v ic e
may
In d eed have been te n d e re d a t some tim e
d u rin g th e cam paign, th e a n e c d o te I s o th e rw is e an e x c e lle n t example o f th e m is in fo rm a tio n w hich may som etim es be found I n s p e c i a l b io g ra p h ie s n o t d i r e c t l y r e l a t e d to th e s u b je c t a t han d .
In
th e
commentary
com piled by P e l Songzhl to th e b io g rap h y o f
Sanguo z h i, how ever,
Sun
J la n I n
th e
Shanyang gong z a i j i , " P a r a l l e l A nnals o f th e
which th e th a t
c o n ta in s h is to ria n th is
Is
an Uu
acco u n t Ai
at
a u th e n tic ,
of
th e r e I s p re s e rv e d a frag m en t from
d e b a te on s t r a t e g y a t t h a t tim e .
Shanyang",
a c o n v e rs a tio n betw een Dong Zhuo and
Changan and
Duke o f
ab o u t
191.
I t I s v ery p ro b a b le
I t p r e s e n ts a r a t i o n a l a cco u n t o f th e
158 A ccording Zhang
Wen
to
th is
p roposed
te x t,
to
a fte r
th e
v ic to r y a t M elyang, when
advance a g a in s t th e r e b e l s , Dong Zhuo arg u ed
t h a t w h ile Zhou Shen and h i s f o r c e s sh o u ld be s e n t fo rw a rd , he h im se lf sh o u ld to
rem ain In re s e rv e * In such a c a s e , th e enemy would be h e s i t a n t
move
a t ta c k
a g a in s t
th e
advance body f o r f e a r th e r e s e r v e tr o o p s would
them a f t e r th e y were com m itted to b a ttle *
Zhang Wen, how ever,
would n o t a g r e e , and so Zhou Shen and Dong Zhuo w ere b o th s e n t fo rw ard on t h e i r s e p a r a t e , and u l t i m a t e l y u n s u c c e s s f u l, e x p e d itio n s *
In o ffic e r
th e In
same
te x t,
Dong
Zhuo
rem arks
th a t
Sun J l a n , a s an
Zhou S h e n 's command, p u t fo rw ard a s im ila r p ro p o s a l: t h a t
he sh o u ld be g iv e n command o f a detachmment t o c u t o f f s u p p lie s to th e enemy of th is But
In th e c i t y o f Yuzhong, w h ile Zhou Shen h e ld back th e main body
h is
tro o p s
way, Zhou
th e
a s a t h r e a t t o p re v e n t them from making a s o r tie * r e b e ls
In
In
Yuzhong c i t y would have been s ta r v e d out*
Shen a l s o r e j e c t e d t h i s a d v ic e , th e enemy th em selv es made a
s o r t i e to c u t h i s su p p ly l i n e s , and he was d efe a te d *
A gain, s tra te g y
fo r
Dong
Zhuo
h is
own
claim ed advance
th a t a g a in s t
he
h im se lf th e
had
Qlang*
used such a He
se n t h is
l i e u t e n a n t L iu J ln g t o occupy a d e ta c h e d camp w ith a few th ousand men, and
when
he
was
In d i f f i c u l t i e s a g a in s t th e r e b e l s , th e y f a i l e d to
p re s s t h e i r a t t a c k s b ecau se th e y w ere u n c e r ta in o f th e s t r e n g t h o f L iu J l n g v8 r e s e r v e , which m ight f a l l upon them a t any tim e*
159 In 185»
view
of
th e s e
comments by Dong Zhuo ab o u t th e cam paign o f
th e in c id e n t w ith Huangfu Song i n 188-189 a p p e a rs In a d i f f e r e n t
lig h t.
We a r e t o l d t h a t Dong Zhuo was o rd e re d t o rem ain beh in d a s a
re a rg u a rd
w h ile
im p lic a tio n
Huangfu
is
th a t
Song
th is
went
was
a
forw ard
in
p u r s u it»
mark o f d i s r e s p e c t .
and
th e
However» th e
s t r a t e g y o f s e t t i n g up a r e s e r v e guard to f i x th e enemy w ith a d i s t a n t th re a t one
and th e n u s in g a m o b ile s t r i k i n g f o r c e i n im m ediate combat was
w hich
b e fo re . p ro b a b le
Dong
Zhuo
Though
th e
th a t
h im s e lf two
had ad v o cated and ad o p ted a few y e a rs
men w ere e v id e n tly r iv a ls » and i t i s v ery
th e y q u a r r e l l e d ab o u t th e conduct o f th e campaign» th e
s t r a t e g y was c o h e re n t and t h e i r c o - o p e r a tio n e f f e c t i v e .
By low er The
189, how ever,
Wei
is
d e s c r ib e in
th e im p e r ia l
fo rc e s s t i l l h e ld
th e
v a lle y n e a r Changan, L iang p ro v in c e i t s e l f was i n tu r m o il.
c o n fu s io n which
cam paigns
though
th e
s till
we
have
w orse
seen
a tte n d
th e re c o rd s o f im p e ria l
confounded when th e h i s t o r i a n s a tte m p t to
le a d e r s h ip and fo rm a tio n of th e r e b e l s .
Many c i t a t i o n s
th e t e x t s d e s c r ib e th e l e a d e r s o f th e r e b e l l i o n a s "B ian Zhang and
Han
S u l" ,
Han
Sul d id n o t come t o a p o s i t i o n o f r e a l le a d e r s h ip u n t i l a f t e r
d e fe a t
of
b u t Haloun h as p o in te d o u t t h a t Bian Zhang d ie d i n 186 and
Wang
Guo and
th e d e a th o f
Yan Zhong i n 1 8 9 .^°
th e
I t seems
l i k e l y , how ever, t h a t th e s e men r e p r e s e n te d a l o c a l C hinese in f lu e n c e , based
upon Jln c h e n g , which combined w ith th e Qlang b a r b a r ia n s and th e
v a rio u s re b e llio n
gro u p s
of
m u tin e e rs
to
form
th e
e ffe c tiv e
c o a litio n of
160 It
is
p o s s ib le ,
as
Haloun s u g g e s ts , t h a t Belgong Boyu and Li
Wenhou, th e le a d e r s o f th e m u tin e e rs among th e A u x ilia ry i n 184, Y uezhi,
though
Li
Wenhou i s c e r t a i n l y a more C h in e se-so u n d in g name.
L a te r in t h a t y e a r , when th e P r o te c to r Xia Yu was a tta c k e d and He was d e f e a te d , th e r e b e l s w ere Q iang, u n d er th e command o f a Dlanyu
of
th e
fic a n t
c o n tin g e n t
sen t
to
th is
s ta g e
renegade in
G oujiu t r i b e . ^
a tta c k
were
of
th e
At th e
enemy
Xun
c h ie fta in
b a t t l e o f M elyang, a s i g n i
were a l s o Q iang, f o r Dong Zhuo was
them l n Anding and Hanyang, and i t i s l i k e l y t h a t a t
th e
reb el
fo rc e s
were i n two com ponents, m u tin e e rs and
C hinese i n th e a r e a o f Jin c h e n g commandery, w ith r e b e l Qiang
Anding, B e ld i and Hanyang.
D uring was
k ille d
lo c a l
th e by
d e b a c le o f 187, hcw ever, when th e In s p e c to r Geng Bi m u tin e e rs , we a r e t o l d t h a t h is o f f i c i a l Cheng Q lu, a
a p p o in te e ,
was
p e r s o n a lly
fo r
h i s o p p re s s io n and
c o r r u p tio n ,
and
governm ent.
I n t e r e s t i n g l y , though Li X ian g ru , th e Grand A d m in is tra to r
of
L ongxi,
i s s a id to have
in
any
s ie g e
p o s itio n of
fo rm e rly In v ite th is
th e
u n p o p u lar
th e Grand
Fu tim e
Xie by
C hinese th em selv es th e r e f o r e tu rn e d a g a in s t th e
of
jo in e d th e r e b e l s , ^
Im portance
c a p ita l
of
Commandant
in t h e i r c o u n c ils , w h ile d u rin g th e
Hanyang a c e r t a i n Huang Yan, d e s c rib e d a s of
to s u r r e n d e r . Wang
he does n o t ap p ear
Jlu q u a n ,
was
s e n t a s a m essenger to
The r e b e l s , how ever, were commanded a t
Gdo, p o s s ib ly a m u tin e e r from th e l a t e Geng B l 's
arm y, w h ile th e y a ls o c o n ta in e d a
number o f b a r b a r ia n s from
B e ld i.
43
161 A f te r th e d e f e a t and d e p o s itio n o f Wang Guo i n 189» th e d i v i s i o n o f th e r e b e l s l e f t two m ajor g ro u p s , one u n der th e command o f Han S u l, based On
i n J in c h e n g , and th e o t h e r u n d e r
th e
w e ste rn
h im se lf
in
fro n tie r,
how ever,
Ma Teng i n th e
th e r e b e l Song J ia n e s ta b lis h e d
th e p r e f e c t u r e s o f Fuhan and Heguan, and to o k f o r h im s e lf
th e t i t l e o f King o f th e Sources o f th e R iv er N orth
Wei v a l l e y . ^
Who W ill
P a c ify H a n .^
o f th e Wei v a l l e y , i n B e id i and Andlng com m anderies, t h e r e w ere
a number o f p e t t y le a d e r s o f b a n d it g ro u p s, b u t none o f them proved to be o f any l a s t i n g im p o rta n c e . n o t,
th e s e
m utual of
were
sm all
For th e m ost p a r t , w h eth er 'b a n d i t s ' o r
com m unities
o f p eo p le g a th e re d to g e th e r f o r
p r o t e c t i o n and s e l f - d e f e n c e , i n th e hope o f a v o id in g th e r a id s
t h e i r n eig h b o u rs and th e d is tu r b a n c e s o f more a m b itio u s le a d e r s i n
th e e m p ire .
Ma p o s itio n
Teng
and
Han
S u i,
how ever,
m a in ta in e d
a
c o n s id e ra b le
f o r more th a n tw enty y e a rs and p lay ed some r o l e i n th e w id er
a ffa irs
o f th e em p ire .
in
l o c a l a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , Han Sui a s an A tte n d a n t O f f i c i a l and Ma
Teng
th e as
n o rm ally to ld
a
Major
th e
p r o v in c ia l governm ent. Such p o s ts were
by
members o f p e t t y g e n try f a m i l i e s , and we have been
s p e c ific a lly
t h a t Han S ul was i n v i t e d to j o i n th e r e b e ls i n 184
because
h e ld
u nder
Both men, a s we have se e n , had h e ld p o s itio n s
of
h is
lo c a l
f o llo w in g .
Ma
Teng,
b e s id e s h is m i l i t a r y
e x p e rie n c e , had e v id e n tly some s u p p o rt among th e Q iang, f o r h is m other had been a woman o f t h a t p eo p le
162 In removed
th is lo c a l
b e g in n in g th e
lo c a l th e
lo c a l
C hinese
In d eed ,
th e
n o rth w e s t,
th e n , th e r e b e l l i o n w hich
a b a r b a r ia n u p r i s i n g , b u t g a in e d i t s m ajor im p etu s from of
s ig n ific a n t
of
power from th e hands o f th e c e n t r a l governm ent had i t s
in
m utiny
lo c a l
re g io n
g a rris o n s ,
le a d e rs .
ro le ,
Though
and came l a r g e ly i n t o th e hands o f th e
Qiang and th e Yuezhl p la y e d a
th e y were n o t th e m ajor fo rc e behind th e c o n f l i c t .
a s th e power o f th e em pire p a sse d from th e s c e n e , re p la c e d by w a rlo rd s
Qiang
w ith o u t
such a s Ma Teng, Han Sul and t h e i r l e s s e r c o lle a g u e s ,
w ere
c lo s e
e v id e n tly
a b le
t o w ithdraw and m a in ta in th e m se lv e s
i n t e r f e r e n c e from any C hinese pow er, w h ile i t does n o t
a p p e a r t h a t th e Y uezhl p la y e d any f u r t h e r r o l e o f n o te .
The s ta te o f Wei and the northwestern fro n tie r: In 190, a f t e r h i s s e i z u r e o f power i n Luoyang, Dong Zhuo removed th e an
young Emperor Xian and h i s c a p i t a l to Changan, and he e s t a b l i s h e d a llia n c e
fa c e d Zhuo
w ith
from was
lo y a lis t
Teng
Li Jue and Guo S i.
In te r v e n e
a fte r
Han Sui a g a in s t th e r i s i n g w hich he
o f f i c i a l s i n th e N orth China P la in .
in
A fte r Dong
th r e e
Ma Teng and Han Sul a tte m p te d b r i e f l y
th e p o l i t i c s a t c o u r t , ^
r e c r u i t e d Qiang and o th e r but
and
a s s a s s i n a t e d i n 192, th e em peror f e l l i n to th e hands o f h is
lie u t e n a n t s to
Ma
y e a rs
b a r b a r ia n s a s
and Li Ju e i n
p a rtic u la r
a u x i l i a r i e s to h i s f o r c e s ,
o f fe u d in g , c o n fu s io n , m urder and o c c a s io n a l
o u tb re a k s
of
in
In 196 he was r e c e iv e d i n t o th e c a re o f Cao Cao, from whose
195.
f u l l - s c a l e w a r, th e em peror made h is escap e to th e e a s t
tu t e l a g e and p r o t e c t i o n he n e v e r e scap ed a g a in .
163 The n o rth w e s t th u s r e v e r te d t o a b ack w ater I n th e a f f a i r s o f th e em p ire , w ith
though
Ma
Teng and Han Sul d id e s t a b l i s h a form o f a l l i a n c e
Gao Cao, w hich e n su re d t h e i r b e n e v o le n t n e u t r a l i t y w h ile Cao Cao
was most h e a v ily engaged i n h i s cam paigns a c ro s s th e N orth China P la in Aq and s o u th tow ards th e Y an g tse. 7 However, a f t e r h i s d e f e a t i n 208 by
th e f o r c e s o f Sun Quan and U u Bel a t th e b a t t l e o f th e Bed C l i f f s
on
th e
About
Y angtse, th e
betw een
same
th e ir
Cao Cao p a id in c r e a s in g a t t e n t i o n t o th e n o rth w e s t. tim e ,
Ma Teng and Han Sul became in v o lv e d i n a feu d
f o llo w e r s .
Hanyang i n t o Y o u f u f e n g .^ p e rsu a d e d
Ma
Teng
was
d e fe a te d and came e a s t from
In th e fo llo w in g y e a r
Ma Teng h im s e lf was
to a t t e n d th e c a p i t a l , where he rem ained a v i r t u a l p r is o n e r
w h ile h i s 8on Ma Chao su cceeded t o h i s command.
In 211, how ever, when Cao C ao 's commander Zhong Yao a tte m p te d to move of
i n t o th e Wei v a l l e y , th e in c u r s io n produced a d e fe n s iv e a l l i a n c e a ll
th e
le a d e r s
i n th e n o rth w e s t, and an army o f te n d i v i s i o n s ,
headed by Ma Chao and Han S u l, came to oppose Cao C ao 's f o r c e s p a ss
of
Cao
Cao
Tongguan, h im s e lf
p r e s s in g in
a
g r e a t bend o f
th e Yellow
came to ta k e command o f th e o p e r a tio n s .
R iv e r. ^ In s te a d o f
d i r e c t a t t a c k a g a i n s t th e w e s t, he m a in ta in e d h i s
d e fe n c e
e s ta b lis h
so u th o f th e
lin e s
at
Tongguan
a b rid g e h e a d a c r o s s th e
a t th e
f o rc e s
w h ile a d etachm ent was s e n t n o r th to Yellow R iv e r a t
CO
A lban. J
Then he
to o k h i s main army t o fo llo w them , c ro s s e d th e Yellow R iv er n o r th i n t o modern and
S h a n x i,^
marched
s o u th
c ro s s e d i t a g a in a t Puban w est i n t o w ith th e r i v e r g u a rd in g h i s f la n k .
modern Shaanxi Having tu rn e d
th e l i n e o f th e enem y's m ajor d e fe n s iv e p o s i t i o n , he c ro s s e d th e mouth
Map 6:
Gao C a o 's ap p ro ach to th e B a ttle o f Huayin: autumn 211
165 o f th e Wei and d e f e a te d th e a l l i e d army i n p itc h e d b a t t l e n e a r H uayln, on
th e
were
p l a i n so u th o f th e r i v e r S e v e r a l o f th e p e tty c h i e f t a i n s
k ille d ,
and Cao C a o 's f o r c e s o ccu p ied th e re g io n o f Changan and
Andlng commander y . ^
A f te r
th is
cam paign,
th e
c o n q u est o f th e rem ain in g r e b e ls i n
th e n o rth w e s t was o n ly a m a tte r o f tim e . was of
e n tru s te d Jln g z h a o ,
Xiahou
of
Q lang,
at
in
of
f i r s t a s In te n d a n t CO
Yong
p ro v in c e , ° w h ile CQ o p e r a t i o n s . B e s i d e th e
Xiahou Yuan had a ls o to d e a l w ith r i s i n g s among
groups from
a llia n c e
d riv e n
In s p e c to r
command o f m i l i t a r y
fo rc e s, some
as
Zhang J i , ^
o f th e Xlongnu from th e n o r th , and a number
th e
Di
w ith
p eo p le Ma
Chao.
of
Wudu and s o u th e rn Longxl,
By 214, how ever, Ma Chao was
to e x i l e i n S ich u an , and in th e same y e a r Han Sul and
a l l i e s , who in c lu d e d th e Shaodang Q lang, were d e c is iv e ly d e fe a te d th e C hangll R iv er i n Hanyang, i d e n t i f i e d w ith th e p r e s e n t-d a y Hulu
R iv e r, th a t
in
d is tu r b a n c e s
fin a lly
la te r
was
reb el
som etim es
h is
and
Yuan
m ajor th e
to th e c i v i l o f f i c i a l
R e s to ra tio n and r e s e ttle m e n t
n o r th o f T ia n s h u i. success
c a p ita l
w ith
In th e w in te r o f 214, Xiahou Yuan fo llo w e d
a campaign a g a in s t Song J i a n . Song J la n d ie d , h is
a t Fuhan was c a p tu re d , and a l l h i s o f f i c i a l s
were
k ille d .^
With t h i s v i c t o r y , th e whole t e r r i t o r y e a s t o f th e Yellow R iv er was in th e c o n t r o l o f Cao Cao.
In
215,
Han Sul d ie d i n h i s h e a d q u a rte rs i n th e X lnlng v a l l e y ,
and
h i s f o llo w e rs s e n t h i s head
Cao
Cao
at
th is
to Cao Cao a s s ig n o f
s u b m is s io n .***
tim e was engaged i n a campaign a g a in s t Zhang Lu i n
166 Hanzhong,
and a lth o u g h he r e c e iv e d Zhang L u 's s u r r e n d e r a t th e end o f
215,
r i v a l L iu B e l, who had e s t a b l i s h e d th e In d ep en d en t s t a t e o f
Shu
h is
I n S ich u an , d e f e a te d th e arn y o f Wei I n 219, k i l l e d th e commander
Xlahou
Yuan,
fig h tin g
and s e iz e d Hanzhong f o r h im s e lf .
In
th e
D uring th e s e y e a rs o f
s o u th , th e r e was n e i t h e r tim e n o r r e s o u rc e s t o d e a l
e f f e c t i v e l y w ith th e re g io n o f th e Gansu c o r r i d o r .
In power
220, a f t e r th e d e a th o f Cao Cao, h is son Cao PI e x te n d e d h i s
o v er
c o n te s te d
th e by
fa r
n o r th w e s t,
63
governm ent
Gansu
though
h is a u th o rity
was
s till
o c c a s io n a l l o c a l r e b e l l i o n s , n o ta b ly from th e Qu fa m ily
o f X lplng commander y , In th e u p p er th e
62
of
c o rrid o r,
th e
and
X lnlng v a l l e y . 6^
By 222, however
Wei s t a t e c o n t r o l l e d th e commanderles o f th e
th e
tr a d e w ith C e n tra l A sia was o f f i c i a l l y r e
e s ta b lis h e d .6 ^
D e sp ite
th e s e
successes,
how ever, th e a u t h o r i t y o f Wei I n th e
n o rth w e st n e v e r m atched t h a t o f th e form er em pire o f Han.
The c e n t r a l
power b a se o f th e Cao fa m ily la y I n th e N orth C hina P la in , and th e Wei R iv er
was
c o n tr o l l e d a tte m p t alo n g
to th e
v e ry th e
c lo s e upp er
to
th e
v a lle y
fro n tie r o f th e Han.
o f th e s t a t e o f Shu, w hich M oreover, th e Wei made no
r e - e s t a b l i s h governm ent o v e r th e c o u n try f u r t h e r n o r th o r Yellow
R iv e r.
Though th e commandery names o f Andlng and
B eld l were p r e s e r v e d , and o th e r commandery u n i t s were e s t a b l i s h e d , th e C h in e s e - c o n tr o lle d th e
v a lle y
of
th e
te rrito ry J ln g .
of
t h i s r e g io n d id n o t e x te n d n o r th o f
S im ila r ly , though th e Tao R iver v a lle y o f
167 Longxi
commandery
fu rth e r
was
s till
m a in ta in e d
i n o c c u p a tio n , th e c o u n try
w est was abandoned: a f t e r Song J i a n was k i l l e d i n h i s c a p i t a l
a t Fuhan, t h a t county a d m in is tr a tio n was n o t r e s t o r e d .
W ith in p o p u la tio n m em orial 220
in
th is w as,
by
narrow
s trip
p re d ic ta b ly ,
th e
In s p e c to r
of
te r r ito r y ,
even
s m a lle r
th e s e t t l e d C hinese
th a n
in
th e
p a s t.
A
o f Yong p ro v in c e Zhang J l , w r i t t e n a b o u t
p r a i s e o f th e work o f th e Grand A d m in is tra to r o f J ln c h e n g , Su
Ze, d e s c r ib e s how th e c a p i t a l o f t h a t commandery had c o n ta in e d no more th a n
fiv e
u n d er had
hundred h o u seh o ld s a t th e tim e o f th e Wei ta k e o v e r i n 215;
Su Z e 's a d m in is tr a tio n o v e r th e l a s t f i v e y e a r s , th e p o p u la tio n ris e n
to
governm ent was
more
d id
c le a rly
pay
little
th a n
a th o u san d
h o u s e h o l d s T h o u g h th e Wei
a t t e n t i o n t o th e q u e s tio n o f r e s e ttle m e n t, th e r e th e y co u ld do to r e s t o r e th e lo s s e s o f p o p u la tio n
in th is f r o n tie r te r r ito r y .
In d e e d , a g r e a t number o f th e I n h a b ita n ts o f th e Wei v a lle y w ere now
p eo p le
fo rc ib ly In
of
or
th e
Di
v o lu n ta rily
trib e s
of
th e s o u th e rn m o u n ta in s, who were
b ro u g h t back from th e war zone a g a i n s t Shu.
216, f o r example we a re t o l d t h a t o v er f i f t y thousand groups o f Di
from
Wudu
w ith
th e
were
s e ttle d
fo rc e s
i n th e Wei v a lle y l e s t th e y a l l y th em selv es
o f L iu B e i . ^
While
th e Di and th e
Qlang p eo p le
th e
m ountains
p lay ed some p a r t on e i t h e r s id e i n th e c o n f l i c t a c ro s s
th e
Qln
ra n g es,
Ling
o c c a s io n s , recommending
and th e
by
th e
p o lic y
of
r e s e ttle m e n t was fo llo w e d on
th e m id d le o f th e c e n tu ry th e g e n e ra l Deng Ai was g r a in
grown
by
th e
Qlang
peo p le o f Longxi a s a
168 8o u rce
of
su p p ly f o r th e a rm ies o f Wei.
had r e p la c e d th e fo rm er C hin ese p e a s a n ts .
Epilogue:
of
th e of
p e rio d
b a rb a ria n s
69
p e o p le
f a t e s D u r i n g th e
QLang
th e y
were
of
d i v i s i o n t h a t accom panied and fo llo w e d th e
J i n i n th e t h i r d and f o u r th c e n tu rie s » th e v a rio u s groups
n o n -C h in ese
C h in ese.
C le a rly » th e
sh iftin g barbarians:
In d y n asty
68
in
in
th e
n o rth w e st
t h i s tim e» th e r e i s no
e n c o u n te re d
d iffe re n t
r e f e r e n c e to any
trib e s of
th e r e g io n o f th e Ordos» and i t seems most l i k e l y t h a t
e ith e r West
ab so rb ed
of
th e
by
Yellow
th e
Xlongnu o r moved so u th l i k e th e
River»
i n th e Gansu c o r r id o r and th e
X lnlng v a lle y » th e W estern Qiang came under th e dominance of» and were to
a
c o n s id e r a b le
X ia n b i,^ 1 which th e
L ittle
e x te n t
ab so rb ed
cu lm in a te d
Yuezhl
by»
th e expanding power o f th e
i n th e d y n a s tie s o f th e Tuoba Wei» w h ile
s im ila rly
d is a p p e a re d a s an i d e n t i f i a b l e p e o p le .
F u rth e r south» th e r e was a slow m ig ra tio n o f Qiang i n t o th e o f th e Tao River»
and t r i b e s o f Qiang c o n tin u e t o be re c o rd e d among f o o t h i l l s of
th e T ib e ta n m assif» th e f r o n t i e r c o u n try o f S ich u an .
In had
th e
v a lle y o f th e Wei, however» th e Qiang and th e Di p eo p le
e s ta b lis h e d
th e ir
s e ttle m e n ts »
and
though
th e y
m a in ta in e d a
s e p a r a te i d e n t i t y f o r many g e n e r a tio n s th e y w ere u ltim a te ly i n te g r a te d w ith
th e p e a s a n t c i v i l i s a t i o n o f C hina.
however» p eople
th e r e
was
fre q u e n t
o f th e Wei v a lle y and
a u th o rity
of
C hinese
or
For much o f th e J i n dynasty»
r e b e l l i o n and d is tu r b a n c e among th e Di th e u p p er Han R iver»
72
w h ile th e l o c a l
b a r b a r ia n le a d e r s was a c o n s ta n t so u rc e o f
169 s u s p ic io n and co n c e rn t o th e weak im p e r ia l governm ents. h a lf
of
In th e second
th e f o u r th c e n tu r y , th e t e r r i t o r y o f th e n o rth w e st was f o r a
tim e dom inated by th e e m p ires o f Former Q in, u n der th e D1 C h ie f ta in Fu J ia n ,^ but
and th e n by
b o th
arm y,
Yao C h a n g ,^
o rig in s
th e y c o n t r o l l e d a medley o f s u b je c t- p e o p le s , and th e of t h e i r l e a d e r s i n d ic a te d no p a r t i c u l a r r u l i n g c l a s s
n o r any e s t a b l i s h e d s t r u c t u r e o f p o w e r .^ a m b itio n s , rem ained th e
Qlang le a d e r
th e s e s t a t e s w ere founded on th e s h o r t - l i v e d suprem acy o f a
m ercenary trib a l
L a te r Q ln, under th e
re b e llio n s , th e
riv e r
argum ents
and
A fte r a l l th e w a rs,
th e
c o n flic ts ,
e s s e n tia l p a tte rn
sam e, w ith p e a s a n t s e ttle m e n t i n th e farm in g co u n try o f
v a lle y s
and
nomad p a s t o r a l l s t s i n th e d r i e r la n d s o f th e
s te p p e .
F in a lly , a d v ic e
on
how ever,
we
may o b serv e one rem ark ab le c o n s ta n t: th e
r e s e ttle m e n t
of
th e
c o u r t8 o f th e em perors o f C hina. th e
b a r b a r ia n s t h a t was te n d e re d a t th e In 259, Deng Ai had recommended t h a t
Qiang sh o u ld be g r a d u a lly t r a n s f e r r e d beyond th e b o rd e rs and t h a t
C hinese th e
s o il
sh o u ld be o c c u p ie d
p r o p o s a l,
p e a s a n ts Wei,
fo r
a v a ila b le
th e to
e v id e n t
only by C h in ese. ^ re a s o n s
N othing came o f
t h a t th e re were no C hinese
ta k e th e p la c e o f th e Q iang, t h a t th e arnjy o f
fa c e d w ith th e t h r e a t from Shu i n th e s o u th , co u ld h a rd ly a f f o r d
t o c r e a t e so many new enem ies by a fo rc e d ex o d u s, and Deng A1 h im s e lf , as
we
Qiang army
have of
seen ,
Nanan
and
re c o g n is e d th e v a lu e o f th e g r a in produced by th e Longxl
as an e s s e n t i a l so u rce o f su p p ly to th e
170 In China
280,
under
a fte r th e
th e
co n q u e st
of
Wu
and th e r e u n i f i c a t i o n o f
J i n , a s i m i l a r p ro p o s a l was r a i s e d by th e c e n s o r ia l
o f f i c i a l Guo Q ln, a rg u in g f o r th e e x p u ls io n i n th e nomad b a r b a r ia n s o f th e
n o r th
c o u n try
from
of
how ever,
commanderies
p r e s e n t- d a y
th e
o p e r a tio n ,
th e
S h a a n x i,77
d y n a sty
was
th e
problem
and
of
to o
th e Ordos re g io n and th e h i l l D e sp ite i t s
u n s e ttle d
of
C hinese
and
re c e n t
v ic to rie s ,
In s e c u re f o r such an
r e c o lo n is a tio n rem ained a s
I n t r a c t a b l e a s f o r g e n e r a tio n s i n th e p a s t .
Guo
Q in 's
a p p lic a t i o n re b e l th e
Q1 J in
p ro p o s a l,
i n any e v e n t, would have been o f lim ite d
to th e Q lang, b u t in 299, j u s t a f t e r th e d e f e a t o f th e Di Wannian,
s ta te
ju n i o r
o ffic ia l
"Essay
on
and
o n ly
its e lf
few y e a rs b e fo re th e d e s t r u c t i o n of
th ro u g h c i v i l war and b a rb a ria n in v a s io n , th e
J ia n g
S h if tin g
a
Tong
th e
p re s e n te d
W estern
h is
rem ark ab le
B a r b a r ia n s " .
Xi rong lun
In e r u d i t e l i t e r a r y
s t y l e , he tr a c e d th e h i s t o r y o f th e a n c ie n t r u l e r s i n d e a lin g w ith th e non-C hinese p e o p le s , c o n tr a s te d th e p o l i c i e s o f more r e c e n t tim e s , and argued
fo rc e fu lly
s e c tio n
d e a lin g
fo r most
a
r e tu r n to t r a d i t i o n .
I t r a n s l a t e h e re th e
p a r t i c u l a r l y w ith th e Qlang and Di o f th e Land
78 w ith in th e P a sse s d u rin g L a te r Han and W e i : #° In th e Jianw u p e rio d o f Han [25-55] Ma Yuan was g iv en command a s Grand A d m in is tra to r of L ongxl. He a tta c k e d th e r e b e l Qlang and s h i f t e d th e s u rv iv o rs to th e lan d w ith in th e p a s s e s , where th e y o ccu p ied th e empty c o u n try in [Z u o ]p ln g y i and Hedong, and liv e d m ingled w ith th e C h in ese. A fte r s e v e r a l y e a r s , th e s e p eo p le were in c r e a s in g ly num erous, and th e y had b u i l t up s e lf - c o n f id e n c e because o f t h e i r p r o s p e r i t y and s t r e n g t h . At th e same tim e , how ever, th ey w ere s u f f e r i n g from th e o p p re s s io n o f th e C h in ese.
171
Àt th e b e g in n in g o f th e Yongchu p e r io d [1 0 7 ], when th e C h ief Commandant o f C av alry Wang Hong was s e n t to th e W estern R e g io n s, he c a l l e d up Qlang and D1 to s e rv e a s e s c o r t s . At t h i s , a l l th e Qlang f l e d In t e r r o r , s t i r r i n g one a n o th e r u p , and th e b a r b a r ia n s o f two p ro v in c e s a l l r e b e l l e d to g e th e r . They o v erth rew and d estro w ed m i l i t a r y and c i v i l i a n commanders, and th e y c a p tu re d towns and s la u g h te r e d th e I n h a b i t a n t s . • • • • • For a p e rio d o f te n y e a rs, b a r b a r ia n s and C hinese wrought c a ta s tr o p h e upon one a n o th e r , u n t i l Ren Shang and Ma Xian managed to d e f e a t th e enemy. Even a f t e r t h a t , th e embers o f r e v o l t were n o t f u l l y e x tin g u is h e d . At th e s l i g h t e s t o p p o r tu n ity , a r i s i n g would b re a k o u t a g a in . Ma Xian was o b s t i n a t e and e x tr a v a g a n t, and In th e end he was d e f e a te d and o v erth ro w n . Duan J lo n g met w ith d i f f i c u l t y In ev ery d i r e c t i o n . * Hie b a r b a r ia n s o f Yong p ro v in c e were a c o n tin u a l harm to th e s t a t e , and o f a l l th e tr o u b le s o f th o s e m iddle a g e s , t h i s was th e w o rs t. In th e d is o r d e r s a t th e end o f Han, th e Land w ith in th e P asses f e l l I n to r u i n . When Wei f i r s t a r o s e , I t d iv id e d t h i s t e r r i t o r y w ith Shu, and th e b a r b a r ia n s o f t h a t f r o n t i e r re g io n jo in e d one s id e o r th e o t h e r . E m p e r o r Wu o f Wei [Cao Cao] moved th e D1 p eo p le o f Wudu I n to Q lnchuan° , b ecause he w anted t o weaken th e enemy and s tr e n g th e n h is own s t a t e f o r d e fen ce a g a in s t Shu. This was c l e a r l y a p la n o f o p p o r tu n ity , f o r one p a r t i c u l a r o c c a s io n ; i t was n o t In te n d e d to s e rv e a s a p o lic y o f perm anent v a lu e . We a r e now f a c in g th e h arm fu l r e s u l t s of t h a t d e c is io n . Now th e Land W ithin th e P a sse s i s w e ll-w a te re d , and a l l th in g s grow i n abundance. Hie a r a b le f i e l d s a r e o f th e h ig h e s t g r a d e . • • • I t I s I n t h i s re g io n t h a t em perors and k in g s have s e t t h e i r c a p i t a l s , and 1 have n e v e r h eard i t s a id t h a t th e w e ste rn o r n o rth e r n b a r b a r ia n s sh o u ld p o s s e s s t h i s t e r r i t o r y . They a r e no p eo p le of our r a c e , and t h e i r h e a r ts a r e s u r e ly a l i e n to u s. J The b a r b a r ia n s have f i e r c e a m b itio n s , n o th in g In common w ith th e C h in ese. Yet when th e y were i n a tim e o f w eakness and d i s o r d e r , we b ro u g h t them I n to th e Inm ost t e r r i t o r y o f our n a tio n . The g e n try and common p e o p le o f China p a id them no r e s p e c t , b u t d e s p is e d them as u n im p o rta n t and weak. T his caused th e s p i r i t o f a n g e r to r i s e In them , u n t i l I t sp re a d I t s p o iso n I n to th e very marrow o f t h e i r b o n e s. When th e y became s tr o n g e r and more num erous, i t was o nly n a t u r a l t h a t th e y sh o u ld w ish to r e v o l t . W ith a n a tu r e t h a t i s g reed y and c r u e l , and a s p i r i t f i e r c e and q u ic k to a n g e r, th e y w a ite d f o r t h e i r chance and th e n took th e o p p o r tu n ity to cau se tr o u b le and r e b e l l i o n . Now th e y occupy th e la n d s w ith in th e b o rd e rs of our s t a t e , so we have no f r o n t i e r d e fe n c e a g a in s t them . Hiey make sudden a tta c k s on any p la c e t h a t i s u n p rep ared and s e iz e any p ro p e rty l e f t o u t i n th e open f i e l d s . In t h i s way, th e m is fo rtu n e re a c h e s ev ery w h ere, and th e c r u e l damage t h a t th e y b r in g I s im m easureable. T his I s a n a tu ra l d ev elo p m en t, and I s w e ll known from p r a c t i c a l e x p e rie n c e .
172 What we sh o u ld do now i s to ta k e ad v an tag e o f t h i s tim e , when our m i l i t a r y a u t h o r i t y i s a t i t s h e ig h t and a l l o th e r a f f a i r s a r e s t i l l i n a s t a t e o f f l u x . We sh o u ld c o l l e c t a l l th e Qlang in [Z u o jp ln g y i, B e id i, X inping8* and Anding, and s h i f t them to th e t e r r i t o r y o f th e X ia n lia n , ^ th e Han and Q ia n ,88 and th e X iz h i.8^ We sh o u ld ta k e th e Di p eo p le o f [Y o u]fufeng, S h ip ln g 88 and J in g z h a o , and send them back to th e w est o f Long M ountain, to in h a b i t th e la n d s o f Y inping89 and Wudu. We can su p p ly them w ith p r o v is io n s f o r th e jo u r n e y , so t h a t th e y have enough to m a in ta in th e m s e lv e s , and l e t each one r e j o i n h i s own t r i b e and r e t u r n to h i s a n c ie n t la n d . Then we can s e t up d ependent s t a t e s and com m issioners to keep them i n peace and good o r d e r . When th e w e ste rn b a r b a r ia n s and th e men of China a r e no lo n g e r mixed t o g e t h e r , and when each h as o b ta in e d h is own p ro p e r p la c e , th e n on th e one hand t h i s w i l l a c c o rd w ith th e p a t t e r n o f su b m issio n from a n c ie n t tim e s , and a t th e same tim e i t w i l l e s t a b l i s h th e r u l e f o r lo n g te rm p r o s p e r ity o f o u r d y n a a sty i n th e f u t u r e . Even i f th e b a r b a r ia n s sh o u ld ta k e i t i n mind to harm th e C h in ese, o r i f th e r e i s some sudden d is tu r b a n c e , th ey w i l l th e n be f a r away from our c o u n try , s e p a ra te d by m ountains and r i v e r s , a lth o u g h th e y may s t i l l make r a i d s , th e damage th ey can do w i l l n o t be so g r e a t .
W ith p ro p e r y e a rs
th is
u to p ia n
hom elands, b e fo re
c e n tu r y ,
c o n s e rv a tiv e
C hinese
from
Xiongnyu,
th ro u g h
Canute
a d v ic e
was
to th e im p e r ia l c o u rt o f J in j u s t a few
g r e a t in v a s io n s from th e n o r th i n th e e a r ly f o u r th
s c h o la r
argum ent,
such
p re s e n te d
th e
th e
dream o f r e t u r n i n g th e b a r b a r ia n s to t h e i r
th e
J ia n g
Tong
s ta te s m a n , c o u n s e llo r s
and
e x p re s se d he
th e
in h e rite d
hopes a
of
ev ery
lo n g l i n e o f
o f Emperor Guangwu d e a lin g w ith th e
th e m a ssa c rin g g e n e r a l Duan J io n g .
U n fo rtu n a te ly ,
much th e same v a lu e a s t h a t w hich was g iv en to King
CHA PTER 5
THE XIONGNU, THE FORMER HAN DYNASTY, AND THE GOVERNMENT OF WANG MANG
The e a r l y h i s t o r y and th e n a tu re o f th e Xlongnu s t a t e The Xlongnu s t a t e a t th e end o f form er Han The p o l i c i e s of Wang Mang
The early h isto ry and the nature o f the Xiongnu s ta te : For
s tu d e n ts
betw een
th e
Xiongnu
is
would at
of
C hinese
governm ent re a s o n a b ly
of w e ll
h i s t o r y , th e account of th e c o n f l i c t
Former known.
Han and th e ste p p e em pire o f th e À sim p le o u t l i n e o f th e p e rio d
r e f e r to th e fo u n d in g o f th e Xiongnu em pire by th e Shanyu Modun
th e
end
cam paigns
of
th e
th ird
c e n tu ry
BC,
to th e g r e a t and e x p e n siv e
o f th e r e ig n o f Emperor Wu (141 to 87 BC), and to th e peace
o f e x h a u s tio n i n th e l a t e r p a r t o f Former H an .*
In is
c o n s id e r in g
n e v e r th e le s s
which
th e h i s t o r y o f th e s e n o rth e rn r i v a l s o f Han, i t
a p p r o p r ia te
to
re c o g n is e t h a t th e in fo rm a tio n upon
we must b ase our i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s comes alm o st e n t i r e l y from th e
re c o rd s
of
them .
U n lik e , f o r exam ple, th e Mongols and th e Manchus, th e Xiongnu
have
le ft
p e rio d s and
th e
Han
-
th e
no
-
C hinese
c o u r t and th e l a t e r h i s t o r i a n s who c o l l a t e d
ac c o u n t o f t h e i r own h i s t o r y , and t h e r e a r e o n ly a few
a s , f o r exam ple, th e e r a o f peace a t th e end o f Former Han tim e o f th e s u r r e n d e r o f th e S o u th ern Xiongnu e a r ly i n L a te r
when
we
may
f e e l t h a t th e C hinese had d i r e c t and c o n tin u in g
174 c o n ta c t
w ith
s te p p e .
th e
As a
c le a r,
th e r e
in te rn a l re s u lt,
is
p o l i t i c a l s i t u a t i o n o f th e r u l e r s o f th e
though
th e p a t t e r n of e v e n ts i s re a so n a b ly
c o n s id e r a b le
room
fo r
in te rp re ta tio n
and
fo r
s p e c u la tio n .
The
o r ig in s
q u e s tio n th e
of
th e
Xiongnu
o f long s c h o la r ly d e b a te .
name
of
people
th em selves
have
been a
I t i s now g e n e r a lly a c c e p te d t h a t
th e Huns who fo u g h t th e Roman Empire i n th e West in th e
fifth
c e n tu ry
th e r e
i s good e v id e n c e f o r s tr o n g a f f i n i t y betw een th e custom s of th e
Xiongnu The
and
e x te n t
such
a
AD i s d i r e c t l y r e l a t e d to th e name o f th e Xiongnu; and
th o se of
re c o rd e d
tim e
E a s te rn
E urope.
2
and d i s t a n c e , how ever, make th e s ig n if ic a n c e o f
re la tio n s h ip
im p o rta n t
f o r th e S c y th ia n s o f
u n c e rta in ;
and w h ile i t may be i n t e r e s t i n g and
to h i s t o r i a n s and e th n o g ra p h e rs o f th e West to c o n s id e r th e
o r ig in s
of
w o rld ,
th e
th e
c e n tra l
s c h o la r s
of
A slan
h o rd es
who a tta c k e d t h e i r c i v i l i s e d
China a r e more a p p r o p r ia te ly con cern ed w ith
th e problem s posed by th e enem ies a lo n g th e im m ediate f r o n t i e r .
In
th is
e x p re s s io n m eaning. g ro u p , tim e ,
Xiongnu On
of in
c o n te x t,
th e
in one
it te x ts
seems
s e n s ib le
to
o f th e Han p e rio d
hand, Xiongnu
re c o g n ise p o ssesses a
re fe rre d to a
m eaning,
Xiongnu
double
s p e c ific t r i b a l
s p e c i f i c e th n ic o r i g i n , lan g u ag e and c u l t u r e . ex ten d ed
t h a t th e
At th e same
r e f e r s to th e p o l i t i c a l e n t i t y
which was e s t a b l i s h e d u nder th e dominance of t h a t t r i b e .
175 In
th e
C hinggis
same
Khan
f a s h io n , one may o b se rv e t h a t th e w o rld -em p ire o f
and
h is
s u c c e s s o rs was known a s "Mongol" because th e
Mongols u n d e r C h in g g is Khan form ed th e c o re group w hich dom inated t h a t nomad
s ta te :
th e s u b je c t p e o p le s and even th e arm ies o f th e em pire
were n o t th e m se lv e s of Mongol r a c e , lan g u ag e o r c u l t u r e .
L ik e w ise , Manchu
though
co n q u e st
of
s ta te m e n t
sh o u ld
le a d e r s h ip
and
it
is
custom ary and c o r r e c t to r e f e r to th e
China
in
th e
not its
o
be
s e v e n te e n th c e n tu ry , th e g e n e ra l
allo w ed
c o re
to
p o litic a l
h id e th e f a c t t h a t th e Manchu group was su p p o rte d by m i l i t a r y
fo rc e s o f Mongols and C h in ese.
From
th e
ev id en c e
of
Xiongnu
s ta te
under
th e
composed
th e
th e was
of
th e s e
w ell-know n
m odels,
and from th e
contem porary C hinese t e x t s , i t seems c le a r t h a t th e an em pire of th e s te p p e , dom inated by and u n if ie d
le a d e r s h ip of th e c o re group o f Xiongnu, but in g r e a t p a r t of
trib u ta ry For
example
non-X iongnu
re la tio n s h ip m a jo r ity
of
p eo p le w ith
th e
th e p eo p le
who
were a s s o c ia te d i n a fe u d a l o r
c e n t r a l a u th o r ity of
th e
o f th e Shanyu.^
s te p p e , th e term Xiongnu
d e s c rib e d p o l i t i c a l a l l e g i a n c e , n o t r a c i a l o r i g i n .
Such an I n t e r p r e t a t i o n , o f c o u rs e , makes i t rem arkably d i f f i c u l t to
comment
th e m se lv e s .
upon
th e
ra c ia l
o r ig i n s
and a f f i n i t i e s o f th e Xiongnu
M aenchen-U elfen h a s come to th e c o n c lu sio n :
In th e e a r l y and th e b e g in n in g o f th e l a t e r Han p e rio d a g r e a t p a r t o f th e H slung-nu c o n fe d e ra c y , p erh ap s we may say i t s n u c le u s , c o n s is te d o f M ongoloids o f th e B a ik a l ty p e .
176 P u lle y b a n k , on th e o th e r h an d , has argued t h a t , c o n tr a r y to what h a s o f te n been b e lie v e d , th e r e I s no e v id e n c e t h a t th e H siung-nu were e i t h e r T ù rk ish o r M ongolian i n t h e i r l i n g u i s t i c and e t h n i c a f f i n i t i e s . Indeed th e r e a r e co g en t l i n g u i s t i c argum ents a g a in s t t h e i r hav in g spoken a n A lta ic lan g u ag e o f any k in d .
H is
t e n t a t i v e s u g g e s tio n i s t h a t th e Xiongnu lan g u ag e belo n g ed t o th e
P a le o - S ib e r ia n
fa m ily ,
O sty ak .
He
s u p p o rts t h i s argum ent by r e f e r e n c e t o th e f a c t t h a t a t
th e
of
th e
tim e
e ig h te e n th who
R ussian
a r r i v a l i n S ib e r ia i n th e s e v e n te e n th and
c e n tu r ie s th e r e w ere a number o f h o r s e - r id in g nomad groups
spoke lan g u ag es r e l a t e d to K e tt i s h , and t h a t th e r e a re rem arkable
s im ila ritie s in
now r e p r e s e n te d o n ly by K e ttis h , o r Y e n is s e i-
e a rly
betw een
C hinese
th e
te x ts
few and
item s
o f Xiongnu v o c a b u la ry re c o rd e d
th o s e p re s e rv e d i n K e ttis h and r e l a t e d
lan g u ag es now e x t i n c t .
The th e te n d s co re
s tru c tu re
o f th e Xiongnu s t a t e , a s d e s c rib e d in
C hinese t e x t s and a n a ly s e d i n some d e t a i l by P r lts a k and by M ori, to of
lo r d s h ip th e
p o litic a l
co n firm e th n ic over
th e
co n c e p t o f th e p o l i t y a s co m p risin g a c e n t r a l
Xiongnu,
e ffe c tiv e ly
th e " ro y a l t r i b e " , e x e r c is in g
a number o f d i f f e r e n t g ro u p s o f non-Xiongnu s to c k .
tw e n ty -fo u r
da chen, o r m i n i s t e r s ,
th e le a d in g f o u r ,
Of
a f t e r th e
Shanyu h im s e lf and i n o r d e r o f p re c e d e n c e , were th e Worthy King o f th e Left, L u ll ju e whole
th e L u ll King o f th e L e f t , th e Worthy King o f th e R ight and th e King o f th e R ig h t.^ ( p o s s ib ly s ta te
th e and
Four each
These f o u r , H orns),®
known a s th e
sh a re d in th e
Four C orners s i
governm ent
o f th e
h e ld a u t h o r i t y o v e r one f o u r th o f th e em p ire.
177 They
were
re ig n in g
chosen
from
Shanyu.
amongst
th e so n s o r younger b r o th e r s o f th e
The h ig h e s t In ra n k , th e Worthy King o f th e L e f t,
was h e i r - a p p a r e n t t o th e th r o n e .
Below
th e s e
firs t
th e
"S ix
C o rn e rs",
th e
L e ft
and
th e
R ig h t, a n d
R ig h t. ** title s
of
As
d e s c rib e d I n th e R ig h t,^
fo r
were
fo u r n o b le ra n k s th e r e was a n o th e r group o f
th e W enyutl Kings o f th e
th e
Z h an jlan g
th e
firs t
re s e r v e d
fo r
Hou Han shu a s th e Rlzhu Kings o f
Kings
g ro u p , sons
of
th e
L e ft
we a r e t o l d and
younger
L e ft and o f and
o f th e
t h a t th e s e r o y a l b r o th e r s
of
th e
S h a n y u .^
B esid e th e r e
were
and
lin e a g e .
c la n I t s e l f ,
n o b le
w hich
f a m ilie s
f r e q u e n tly
whose surname was w hich
were
I n te r m a r r ie d
X u lia n ti,
a s s o c ia te d w ith
th e
13
In th e Shanyuvs
In th e Former Han p e r io d , th e two c h ie f exogamous f a m ilie s
th e
Riyan and th e Lan, j o in e d I n th e e a r ly second c e n tu ry BC by A ccording t o Hou Han shu9 In th e e a r ly f i r s t c e n tu ry
th e Xubu c l a n . AD a
ro y al
le a d in g
governm ent
w ere
th e
f o u r th nob le house was added to t h i s lim ite d g ro u p , th e Q lu lln ,
a ls o w ith r i g h t s o f governm ent and I n te r m a r r ia g e .
A f te r C o rn e rs,
th e
th e n .
te n
to p
p o s itio n s
o f th e Four C o rners and th e S ix
I t a p p e a rs t h a t th e rem ain der o f th e tw e n ty -fo u r h ig h
m i n i s t e r i a l p o s i t i o n s w ere h e ld by members o f th e g r e a t r e l a t e d c la n s . Of th e
th e s e
p o s ts ,
" o u te r"
we a r e t o l d t h a t th e Gudu M arq u ises, most s e n io r o f
ran k s,
a s s i s t e d th e Shanyu I n th e a d m in is tr a tio n o f th e
178 s t a t e ; below them w ere Shlzhu Gudu M arquises» presum ably t h e i r nom inal a s s o c ia te s
or
a s s i s t a n t s » and I t would a p p ear t h a t th e s e two s e t s o f
n o b le s w ere c lo s e ly co n n e c te d t o th e c o u r t . ^ d e ta ils
of
th e
title s
or
f u n c tio n s
Hou Han shu rem arks»
h e lr a r c h y . p r im a r ily
upon
th e
number
of
There a r e th e
low er
however» t h a t
no s p e c i f i c ra n k s o f t h i s
s t a t u s depended
and s t r e n g t h o f th e fo llo w e rs u n d er each
l e a d e r 18 command.
This» sy stem ,
of
w ith
r u lin g
course» th e
is
h ig h e s t
what
we
m ight e x p e c t o f a lo o s e fe u d a l
p o s itio n s re s e rv e d f o r th e members o f th e
fam ily» and th e p o s ts Im m ediately below t h a t f o r th e c h ie f s o f
th e le a d in g c la n s to which th e y were r e l a t e d by m a rria g e . by
Shi j i and
ov er
a
Han shu t h a t each o f th e
m ajor
horsemen"»
We a r e t o l d
high m in is te r s had
command
f o rc e o f c a v a lry » n o m in a lly d e s c rib e d a s " te n th o usand
and a g r e a t p a r t o f a l e a d e r 's a u t h o r i t y would depend upon
h is m i l i t a r y fo r c e and p e rs o n a l p r e s t i g e . F o rm ally , a g a in , each o f th e m in is t e r s one
of
th e
im p e r ia l c la n was e n t r u s te d w ith th e governm ent o f
p a r t o f th e e m p ire , and th e y g a th e re d f o r th e S hanyu's c o u n c il i n
th e f i r s t , f i f t h and n i n t h m onths o f ea c h y e a r , a t th e o c c a s io n o f th e seaso n al s a c r i f i c e s . ^
So cern ed Xlongnu em pire th e ir
fa r, o n ly
how ever, th e
p e o p le . was own
th e
ru lin g As
system o f governm ent d e s c rib e d h a s con
fa m ily
and
th e o th e r le a d in g c la n s o f th e
B a r f ie ld h a s o b se rv e d , th e b u lk o f th e Xlongnu
composed o f d i f f e r e n t nomad t r i b e s and p e o p le s , each w ith in d ig e n o u s
le a d e rs ,
b u t owing s u z e r e lg n ty t o th e c e n t r a l
179 governm ent and o f f i c i a l l y s u p e rv is e d and c o n tr o lle d by th e tw e n ty -fo u r h ig h
m in is te rs .
D e sp ite t h e i r fo rm al s u b o r d in a tio n , th e le a d e r s of
th e l a r g e r non-X iongnu g ro u p s i n e v i t a b l y p o s se sse d some I n flu e n c e upon th e p o l i c i e s o f th e c e n t r a l governm ent and some freedom o f m anoeuvre. No p o l i t i c a l s t r u c t u r e i s e v e r co m p le te ly m o n o lith ic , and th e Xlongnu em pire was lo o s e r th a n m o st.
In
c o n tra s t
c o n s id e r s te p p e own
th e
s o c ie tie s
one
many
fo rm a l
h e lr a r c h y
o f governm ent, one may
l e v e l s o f s o c ie ty and a d m in is tr a tio n .
la n d , and i t moved w ith i t s f lo c k s and h e rd s
a n o th e r w ith in t h i s t e r r i t o r y .
t r a d i t i o n a l s o c i a l u n i t s o f th e k ü r i y ä n , o f " te n t s " and
and
o th e r
n o r th e r n
V la d im irts o ff has
a y il,
f a m ilie s .
o f th e r e f e r e n c e s i n C hinese t e x t s t o
Xlongnu
As i n th e
o f r e c e n t tim e s , e ach f a m ily , c la n o r t r i b e had i t s
to
th e l a r g e r
th a t th e
th e
th e
g ra z in g
a re a
d e s c rib e d and
low er
d e s ig n a te d
from
to
o r " c a m p fire " ,
I t seems p o s s ib le lu o
and
yi
among
p e o p le s a r e r e l a t e d t o th e s e b a s ic
u n i t s o f nomad s o c i e t y . ^
T h is of
u n d e rly in g
c ritic a l
econom ic and s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e o f th e nomads i s
im p o rtan ce
to
th e
s tru c tu re
of
th e
Xlongnu
s ta te .
C o n tra ry t o B a r f i e l d 's s u g g e s tio n , th e c i t i z e n s o f a nomad em pire have ra th e r
lim ite d
m o b ility ,
and th e y can n o t " l i t e r a l l y w alk away" from
t a x a t i o n , o p p re s s io n o r pu n ish m en t. do
so,
it
n e ig h b o u rs , fe ro c ity
of
would and a
soon th e
f in d
w ra th
n eig h b o u r
Should any nomad group a tte m p t to
i t s e l f on th e g ra z in g t e r r i t o r y of i t s o f th e Shanyu would be p r e f e r a b le to th e
who
saw
h is la n d s ravaged by o th e r m en's
180 b e a sts* at
Even though nomad herdsm en do n o t b u ild fen ces» and may move
In te rv a ls
from
p la c e
to p l a c e , th e e x te n t o f t h e i r t e r r i t o r y I s
known and guarded» and t h e i r movements a r e c l e a r l y r e s t r i c t e d . ^
In
s im ila r
s tra te g y has
of
an
o v e r s im p lif ie d
fo r
a
argum ent
th a t
th e
Xiongnu
th e
nomads'
problem .
I t i s c e rta in ly
c a v a lry f i e l d fo r c e to w ithdraw b e fo re th e a t t a c k o f
enemy, p a r t i c u l a r l y when th e in v a d e r i s encumbered by f o o t s o l d l e r s
and baggage c a r t s : of
B a r f i e l d 's
r e t r e a t b e fo re C hinese a t t a c k s was in e v i t a b l y s u c c e s s f u l
somewhat
p o s s ib le
fa sh io n »
i t i s n o t alw ays so e a sy to a rra n g e th e w ith d raw al
flo c k s and h e r d s , w hich move f a r more slo w ly th a n mounted men, and
which a r e v u ln e r a b le to a sudden r a i d i n advance o f th e in v a d e r 's main f o r c e . A n d by th e same argum ent a s b e f o r e , th e t r a n s i t an im als
a c ro s s
v i c to r i o u s
o th e r
w ar,
p e o p le 's
p a s tu re s ,
even
in
of
th e
g ra z in g cause
of
can be an im m ediate s o u rc e o f d is r u p tio n and a n x ie ty
to a l l c o n c e rn e d .
On of
th e
th e
th e
o th e r
Xiongnu em pire a s b e in g based l a r g e l y upon m i l i t a r y power and
e x p lo ita tio n
fro n tie r. draws
In
" b a r b a r i a n 's " and
v e ile d and
of
to
ap p ro ach
tr a d in g
th re a t
b o th
th e
s e ttle d
C hinese
so u th
o f th e G reat W all
h i s a n a ly s is o f Xiongnu p o lic y tow ards th e C hinese he
a tte n tio n
c o u rt
hand, B a r f ie ld i s s u r e ly c o r r e c t i n h i s a n a ly s is
s id e s
th e to
s tr o n g th e
p riv ile g e s
elem ent
e m p ire : fo r
of
b la c k m a il
in
th e
s u b s id ie s f o r th e S hanyu's
h i s p e o p le were e x tr a c te d by th e
and o c c a s io n a l r e a l i t y o f b o rd e r r a id in g and in v a s io n , re c o g n is e d t h a t th e c o s t t o th e Han c o u r t o f a m ajor
181 m ilita ry
campaign
was f a r
g r e a t e r th a n th e an n u al payment o f g r a in ,
w in e, s i l k and g o ld .
TWo firs t
p o in ts ,
is
p o in te d
how ever,
econom ic: out
sh o u ld
a n c ie n t
be
and
g iv en f u r t h e r em p h asis.
The
modern w r ite r s and s c h o la r s have
t h a t th e s te p p e econony I s a p o o r one, and t h a t a lth o u g h
i t was p o s s ib le f o r a nomad to m a in ta in h im s e lf and h i s fa m ily w ith o u t su p p lem en tary
goods
from
C hina, he would do so a t a v ery low l e v e l .
I t has been f a i r l y arg u ed by S echin J a g c h ld t h a t one c o n tin u in g m otive fo r by
s te p p e fa ir
means
produced o n ab le
a g g re s s io n or
by e x t o r t i o n , th e a t t r a c t i v e and u s e f u l m a te r ia ls
by th e s e t t l e d to
a tta c k ,
suggest
th e
a g a in s t th e C hin ese was th e d e s i r e t o o b ta in ,
19
c iv ilis a tio n .w
I t i s n o t e n t i r e l y u n re a s
t h a t w h ile th e nomads th re a te n e d China w ith armed
C hinese w ere e q u a lly c o n s i s t e n tly engaged i n a tr a d e war
and b lo c k a d e a g a in s t t h e i r n o r th e r n n e ig h b o u rs.
The fro n tie r
second p o in t fo llo w s from th e o b s e rv a tio n t h a t th e n o r th e r n of
China
was
e s s e n tia lly
th e
r e s u l t o f C hinese im p e r ia l
p o lic y r a t h e r th a n o f non-C h in ese a c t i v i t y .
L a ttim o ré has p o in te d o u t
t h a t th e c h ie f co n cern o f Emperor Gao in h is campaigns in th e n o r th a t th e
b e g in n in g
under
c o n tro l,
o f Han was to b r in g h i s f r o n t i e r , "m archer" commanders ra th e r
th a n
to d e s tr o y th e
s t a t e o f Modun.
20
The
c h ie f co n c e rn o f th e Han governm ent, a s o f th e Qln and o f o th e r s t a t e s b e fo re c o n tro l,
it,
was
even
p o s s ib ility
to at
e n su re th e
edges
th e of
e ffe c tiv e th e
e s ta b lis h m e n t o f c e n t r a l
em p ire,
and
to
p re v e n t th e
o f any developm ent o f s p l i n t e r s t a t e s a lo n g th e f r o n t i e r .
182 which
m ight
a g a in s t
th e
d is u n ity , th e
p la y
o ff
th e
p o s s ib ility
of
a l l i a n c e w ith th e nomad
power of th e c o u r t and th e c a p i t a l .
In tim e s o f C hinese
such f r o n t i e r s t a t e s were common, i n tim es o f c e n t r a l power
im p e r ia l
governm ent
would
do
its
u tm ost
to e lim in a te such a
th re a t.
Looked may
be
W all
o b se rv e d .
was
as
to
by
th e
s ta te
C hinese and
a d m in is te re d as much to keep th e C hinese i n
c e n tra l
com m ercial,
i t was a C hinese l i n e , a d m in is te re d
governm ent,
w hich d isc o u ra g e d a l l c o n ta c t,
w ith th e o u te r w orld to th e n o r t h .
At th e
i n a second o b s e r v a tio n , i t may a p p e a r t h a t th e c o u r t and
o f th e Shanyu a ls o o b serv ed th e p u rp o ses o f th e c e n t r a l C hinese
governm ent.
to
and
keep th e non -C h in ese o u t:
tim e ,
and
The f i r s t i s th e w ell-know n adage t h a t th e G reat
d ev elo p ed
m ilita ry same
a t i n th e s e te rm s , two f u r t h e r a s p e c ts of C hinese p o lic y
W hile
i t i s h a rd ly a p p r o p r ia te to d e s c rib e such an enemy
r i v a l a s a "puppet" o f C hina, i t sh o u ld be re c o g n ise d t h a t i t was th e
ad v an tag e
of
th e
C hinese em pire to have a s i n g l e p o l i t i c a l
a u th o r i t y to d e a l w ith i n th e s te p p e , and t h a t th e Shanyuvs power o v er h i s own p e o p le a t l e a s t e n su re d some m easure o f c o n tr o l o v e r o th e rw is e endem ic b o rd e r d is tu r b a n c e .
From th e
nomad
th e
trib e ,
o v er
th e
peace
of
th e
d is c u s s io n e a r l i e r , i t may be se e n t h a t th e n a tu r e o f
economy and s o c i e t y , c e n tr e d upon th e fa m ily , th e c la n and allo w ed p o p u la tio n
f o r l i t t l e more th a n a lo o s e s e m i-fe u d a l c o n tr o l o f th e Xlongnu s t a t e .
C o n tin u in g d an g er to th e
th e C hinese n o r th e r n f r o n t i e r came a s much from th e w ild c a t
183 ra id s th e
o f a p e t t y c h i e f t a i n and h i s h o th ead ed fo llo w e rs a s i t d id from more s t a b l e t h r e a t o f th e S h anyu's c h ie f l e v i e s .
e x te n t,
it
was t o th e ad v a n ta g e o f th e C h inese governm ent t o s u p p o rt
th e S h an y u 's a u t h o r i t y o v e r h i s f e u d a t o r i e s . th a t
th e
enhance s ta te .
Shanyu h is
21
to
th e
ru le
was a b le t o u se th e C h in ese s u b s id ie s a s a means to
own
p o s itio n
th e
c o m p lic a te d of
B a r f ie ld has p o in te d o u t
as
p a tro n
and le a d e r w ith in th e XLongnu
He i s q u ite c o r r e c t , b u t th e s i t u a t i o n
o p e ra te
To a v e ry g r e a t
d is a d v a n ta g e
o f th e C h in ese.
d id n o t n e c e s s a r ily There w as, i n f a c t , a
r e l a t i o n s h i p betw een th e C hinese governm ent and th e r u l e r
b a r b a r ia n s , such t h a t th e C hinese co u ld a f f o r d to s u p p o rt th e
of
b e tte r
t h e i r c h i e f "enemy" on th e b a s is t h a t a s i n g l e a u th o r ity was th a n
a
m u ltitu d e
of
sm a ll b u t a m b itio u s and e n e r g e tic w a r-
le a d e r s .
In
th is
lig h t,
th e cam paigns of Emperor Wu o f Han may be seen
as
a tw o -fo ld i n i t i a t i v e o f th e C hinese governm ent.
of
c o u rs e ,
of
th e
th ey
e m p ire ,
On th e one hand,
d id o b ta in a c o n s id e r a b le In c r e a s e o f th e t e r r i t o r y b o th
Ordos
lo o p .
At
th e
p e rio d
of
a g g r e s s iv e
i n th e W estern R egions and in th e n o rth o f th e same war
tim e , i t can be su g g e ste d t h a t th e lo n g e s t a b l i s h e d a dominance and an i n i t i a t i v e
i n C hin ese hands a g a i n s t t h e i r n o r th e r n n e ig h b o u rs.
C e r ta in ly , saw of
b o th
th e
it
i s g e n e r a lly arg u ed t h a t th e r e ig n o f Emperor Wu
c u lm in a tio n o f Han p r o s p e r i t y and a ls o th e developm ent
e x tr a v a g a n t p o l i c i e s
th e d y n a s ty .
which
were to produce th e
u ltim a te r u in o f
Such a judgem ent i s im p lie d by Sima Qian and Ban Gu,
184 e x p re s s e d q u i t e fir m ly i n th e D ebates on S a l t and I ro n ( Y a n t l e lun) i n th e
decade
a fte r
th e
e m p e ro r's
d eath »
22
and f r e q u e n tly echoed by
modern h i s t o r i a n s .
It r a id in g
h as and
o f te n c o n q u est
lim ite d s u c c e s s . th e
been p o in te d o u t t h a t th e s e r i e s o f cam paigns o f
Xiongnu
a g a in s t
Xiongnu
from
th e
n o r th o f China p ro p e r and e s t a b l i s h e d C hinese
in C e n tra l A s ia .
o n slau g h t»
and
among
Xiongnu»
peace
The Xiongnu s t a te » however» s u rv iv e d th e
was
n o t e s t a b l i s h e d u n t i l a tim e o f c i v i l war
which
cu lm in a te d i n th e su c c e s s o f th e Huhanxie
Shanyu»
a p ro te g e o f Han» i n th e 50s BC.
on
fro n tie r
th e
were u ltim a te ly o f o n ly
Àt immense c o s t i n b lo o d and tre a s u r e » th e Han drove
d o m in atio n
th e
th e
at
The s a t i s f a c t o r y s e ttle m e n t
t h a t tim e» th e re fo re » owed more to th e i n t e r n a l
d iv is io n s among th e Xiongnu th a n to th e e x p e n siv e w ars o f Emperor Wu.
It
seems
Im p o rta n t
to
t h a t th o s e g r e a t
e s ta b lis h e d
In
o f th e co n c e p t e x p re s s e d by th e C hinese c h a r a c te r w e i
(a u th o rity ),
th e
r e p u ta tio n
how ever,
campaigns term s
th e
re c o g n is e ,
a rm ies o f Emperor Wu had im p ressed th e Xiongnu w ith
th e e m p ir e 's c a p a c ity f o r e x e r c is in g and
even
th e
and p o s i t i o n o f C hinese arm s.
o c c a s io n a l
m ilita ry fo rc e
d is a s te rs
21
a t a d i s ta n c e , J
such a s t h a t o f th e u n f o r tu n a te
G eneral L i Ling i n 99 BC co u ld n o t remove th e f u l l se n se o f i n i t i a t i v e which th e Han tro o p s had g a i n e d . ^
In
th is
d em o n stra te d
sense, th e ir
it
may
a b ility ,
be
and
arg u ed t h a t th e arm ies o f Han had w ith
th e
su p p o rt
o f th e d efen ce
185 complex a lo n g th e
r e p r e s e n te d th e
s te p p e s
em pire
m ilita ry A sia
were
w hich
put
had
u nder
g a in e d
not
been
I n te n s e
C e r ta in ly , th e r e s o u rc e s o f
s tra in
by Emperor Wu, b u t th e
a l e v e l o f p o l i t i c a l a u t h o r i t y I n e a s te r n se e n
In
th e
past
and w hich l a s t e d f o r
I n to
th e
fu tu re .
of
th e
Han
cam paigns
fo u n d a tio n s
fo r
th e m ost s a t i s f a c t o r y s e ttle m e n t w ith th e
e f f e c ti v e n e s s th e
th e G reat W all, th e y could overawe th e enemy
and I n c e n t r a l A sia .
e x e r tio n s
g e n e r a tio n s
la id
by
And I t may even be su g g e ste d t h a t th e In
th e e a r ly f i r s t c e n tu ry BC
weakened Xlongnu u n d er th e Huhanxle Shanyu.
To sum u p , one may p r e s e n t h e re th e a p p a re n t m ajor f a c t o r s w hich In flu e n c e d
th e
re la tio n s h ip
fo rm a tio n and th e n a tu r e o f th e Xlongnu s t a t e and I t s
to C hina.
I t was e s s e n t i a l l y a c o n f e d e ra tio n o f h e rd in g
p e o p le s , whose p rim ary s o c i a l o r g a n is a tio n was th e t r i b e and th e c la n , and
th e
governm ent
c o m p a ra tiv e ly
sm all
re la tio n s h ip . com m unities
of group
th e
many
re p re s e n te d
th e
r u le
of
a
c o n t r o l l i n g o th e r s th ro u g h a fe u d a l s t y l e
E co n o m ically , fo r
Shanyu
th e
Xlongnu
looked
to
more s e t t l e d
Item s o f u se and v a lu e , and In m i l i t a r y te rm s ,
though th e nomad norsem en made rem ark ab ly e f f e c t i v e f i g h t i n g men, th ey could
be
h e ld
o ff,
a t a c o s t , by th e f o r c e s o f th e u n if ie d C hinese
e m p ire .
F or h i s s u b j e c t s , one o f th e m ain f u n c tio n s o f th e Shanyu was to m a in ta in a m i l i t a r y and p o l i t i c a l p r e s s u r e a g a in s t China s u f f i c i e n t to o b ta in C hinese
re a s o n a b le governm ent,
d e a lin g and a c c e s s t o t r a d e o r t o p lu n d e r; f o r th e th e
S hanyu's
command
of
th e
s te p p e
had th e
186 ad v an tag e n o rth e rn was
of
m a in ta in in g
fro n tie r.
b e tte r
a
m easure
of
c o n tr o l a lo n g th e ex ten d ed
Once th e b o rd e rs had been s e t t l e d , m oreover, i t
p o lic y
to
m a in ta in peace by form al a l l i a n c e and su b sid y
th a n to r i s k th e c o s ts and l o s s e s o f p u n itiv e w ar.
The Xiongnu s ta te at the end o f Former Han: In th e y e a r s a f t e r th e d e a th o f Emperor Wu i n 87 BC, th e w a rfa re betw een e v en t 71
China of
th e
and
th e Xiongnu had d ie d down, and th e m ajor m i l i t a r y
su c c e e d in g
decad es
was
th e d e f e a t o f th e Xiongnu i n
BC, a t th e hands o f th e Wusun p eo p le o f c e n t r a l A sia .
As a r e s u l t
o f t h i s cam paign, i n w hich th e f o r c e s o f Han play ed only a m inor r o l e , th e
Wusun p eo p le g ain ed t h e i r in d ep en d en ce, and th e Xiongnu were th e n
a tta c k e d n o r th .
by
2S
th ro u g h The
th e
Wuhuan
from
th e
east
T h e ir problem s were compounded th e
C hinese
and
th e D in g lln g from th e
by dro u g h t and fam in e,
60s BC t h e r e was a lm o st c o n s ta n t w a rfa re
and
on th e s te p p e .
had l i t t l e to do but ta k e ad v an tag e from th e r e s p i t e and
th e p re o c c u p a tio n s o f t h e i r en em ies.
In sh o u ld
60 have
BC
th e
been
Xuluquanqu Shanyu d ie d .
We a r e t o l d t h a t th e r e
a c o n fe re n c e o f n o b le s to d e te rm in e th e s u c c e s s o r ,
b u t b e fo re i t co u ld meet th e c o n s o r t o f th e l a t e Shanyu, who had ta k e n th e
Worthy King o f th e R ight a s h e r l o v e r , had i n s t a l l e d him upon th e
t h r o n e .26
W hatever behind
th e
tru th
of
th a t
s t o r y , and th e p o l i t i c a l r e a l i t y
i t , th e a c c e s s io n o f th e W uyanjutl Shanyu marked th e b eg in n in g
187 of
a
p e r io d
of in te r n a l fa c tio n fig h tin g .
d e f e a te d and son By
of
k ille d
The W uyanjutl Shanyu was
h im s e lf I n 58 BC, and h i s c h ie f r iv a l» Jlhousan»
th e Xuluquanqu Shanyu»
to o k th e t i t l e of
Ifcihanxle Shanyu.
th e fo llo w in g year» however» th e r e w ere fo u r o th e r c la im a n ts .
Huhanxle
Shanyu
emerged
27
The
v i c t o r i o u s from t h i s p re lim in a ry c i v i l war»
b u t he was im m ed iately fa c e d w ith f u r t h e r o p p o sitio n » n o ta b ly from h i s e ld e r
h a lf-b ro th e r
Shanyu and th e
to o k
th e t i t l e o f Z h lzh l gutuhou
s e iz e d power I n th e e a s t o f th e Xiongnu em p ire.
In 54 BC,
was d e f e a te d . A f te r a n x io u s d e b a te , th e Huhanxle Shanyu tu rn e d
th e
Han
governm ent o f Emperor Xuan f o r s u p p o rt, and he came w ith
h i s fo llo w e r s son
who
Z h lz h l Shanyu came to f i g h t th e Huhanxle Shanyu, and th e Huhanxle
Shanyu to
H utuw usl,
to ta k e re fu g e n e a r th e G reat W all.
In 53 BC he s e n t a
as ho8ta g e to th e C hinese c o u r t , w h ile In 51 BC and 49 BC he came
28 I n p e rso n t o pay h i s r e s p e c t s . °
F or
th e
p ro fita b le . g o ld
Xiongnu He
l e a d e r , th e t r i b u t e r e l a t i o n s h i p was Immensely
was g ra n te d honours and I n s ig n ia and m assive g i f t s o f
and c a s h and s i l k . H is Im m ediate f o llo w e rs sh a re d I n th e w e a lth ,
and when h i s p eo p le were s h o r t o f food th e y were s u p p lie d w ith C hinese g r a in .
P o litic a lly ,
th e
em barrassm ent o f fo rm al a tte n d a n c e a t th e
c o u rt o f Han, w ith a l l I t s im p lic a tio n s o f su b m issio n , was b ala n c e d by th e
s e c u r i t y o f C hin ese m i l i t a r y su p p o rt a t hand, and by th e s u r v iv a l
o f h is th r e a te n e d re g im e .
From were
th e
C hinese
c o n s id e r a b le ,
and
29
s id e , th e r e
th e was
b e n e f i t s o f p r e s t i g e and s e c u r i t y no
c a ll
f o r Im m ediate o r m ajor
188 m ilita ry
e x p e n d itu r e .
For a tim e» th e r e was th e p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t th e
Z h lz h l Shanyu would a ls o e s t a b l i s h some f r i e n d l y r e l a t i o n s h i p w ith th e Han
government»
k ille d
by
th e
b u t i n 44 BC th e envoy who went to d is c u s s term s was r u l e r h im s e lf i n a f i t o f rage» and from t h a t tim e on
th e r e was no p o s s i b i l i t y o f r e c o n c i l i a t i o n .
In
th e
command a rm ies w est
p re v io u s
y ears»
r e c o g n is in g t h a t th e f o r c e s u n d er h i s
were no m atch f o r th e a l l i a n c e o f th e Huhanxie Shanyu and th e o f Han» th e Z h lz h l Shanyu had w ithdraw n a c r o s s M ongolia t o th e
and
e s ta b lis h e d
p eo p le
in
k ille d
th e
th e
T u rfan
envoy
th e
ftih a n x ie
h is
re tu rn
h is
c a p ita l
b a s in .
near
th e f r o n t i e r s o f th e Wusun
From th e tim e t h a t th e Z h lz h l Shanyu
Ou J i i n 44 BC» i t was c l e a r to a l l t h a t h i s r i v a l
Shanyu» u n d e r Han p ro te c tio n » was s tr o n g enough to make to
th e
tra d itio n a l
te rrito rie s
s te p p e c o u n try away from th e G re a t W all.
o f th e Xlongnu» i n th e
In 43 BÖ, however» b e fo re he
d id so» he was p ersu ad ed to make a cov en an t o f peace and a l l i a n c e w ith Han»
and
th e
s a c rific e , th e
in c lu d in g
c e le b r a te d
b e fo re
agreem ent
cup
was co n firm ed on th e Xlongnu s id e by solemn
o a th s
to Heaven and a c erem o n ial d rin k in g from
w hich had been c r e a te d a hundred and f i f t y y e a rs
from th e s k u l l o f th e King o f th e Yuezhl d e fe a te d by th e g r e a t
Modun.
On th e Xlongnu s i d e , th e n , th e co v en an t was f ix e d , and th e peace p o lic y m ent. th e
rem ained
an
e s s e n t i a l t e n e t o f th e Ifcihanxle Shanyu9s g o v ern
On th e C hin ese s i d e , th e s i t u a t i o n was l e s s c e r t a i n , f o r when two e n t e r p r i s i n g en v o y s, Han Chang and Zhang Meng, re p o r te d t h e i r
189 n e g o tia tio n s agreem ent fo r
th e im p e r ia l c o u rt» th e r e were s tro n g moves t h a t th e
sh o u ld
th e ir
ru le rs
to
be
r e j e c t e d and t h a t th e envoys sh o u ld be p u n ish ed
g ro s s im p ie ty i n p u r p o r tin g to b ind th e p o l i c i e s o f f u tu r e
of
th e e m p ire .
I t i s sa id » however» t h a t Emperor Yuan to o k a
l e s s s e r io u s view o f th e whole a f f a i r » and th e im p e ria l e d i c t p ro v id ed o n ly
th a t
Han
Chang
and
Zhang
Meng
sh o u ld pay a fin e » w h ile th e
covenan t i t s e l f was n o t fo rm a lly r e p u d ia te d .
In
36
BC»
th e
30
Z h lz h i Shanyu was d e fe a te d and k i l l e d d u rin g a
campaign i n Sogdiana by th e f r o n t i e r o f f i c i a l Chen Tang and a f o rc e of lo c a l
a u x ilia rie s
c e n t r a l A sia . th a t
th e
backed by C h in ese tr o o p s from m i l i t a r y c o lo n ie s i n
This» a s i t happens» was th e one s i g n i f i c a n t e n t e r p r i s e
C hinese
had u n d e rta k e n a g a in s t th e enemy Shanyu» and th e r e
had been no r e a l f i g h t i n g in d i r e c t su p p o rt o f t h e i r p r o te g e .
I t was»
however» a most im p re ssiv e achievem ent» and th e Huhanxie Shanyu was a t once d e lig h te d w ith th e d e s t r u c t i o n o f h is r i v a l and an x io u s ab o u t h i s own he
p o s i t i o n w ith an a l l y o f such e x te n s iv e m i l i t a r y pow er. came
once
g e n e r o s ity
as
more
to
befo re»
In 33 BC
Changan» where he was re c e iv e d w ith th e same and
was g iv e n a woman o f th e im p e r ia l harem»
th e Lady Wang Zhaojun» to ta k e a s h i s w if e .
The
R ih an x ie
Shanyu
p o litic a l
le g a c ie s
to
h is
d ie d
31
i n 31 BC» and he l e f t two im p o rta n t
su c c e sso rs.
F ir s tly » th e r e was a s tro n g
committm ent t o m a in ta in in g p eace w ith th e Han» and t h e r e a r e in d e e d no r e f e r e n c e s i n th e h i s t o r i e s o f f i g h t i n g a lo n g th e b o rd e rs f o r th e n e x t th irty
y e a r s . Secondly» he made s p e c i a l p r o v is io n f o r th e s u c c e s s io n :
190 th a t
th e
p o s i t i o n of Shanyu sh o u ld be ta k e n f i r s t by h is e l d e s t so n ,
b u t sh o u ld th e n p a ss to th e younger s o n s .
Since p o s itio n
th e of
o c c a s io n a lly end
of
fo u n d a tio n of th e Xlongnu em pire» I n h e r ita n c e of th e
Shanyu from
had
ten d ed
to
go
from
e l d e r to younger b r o t h e r .
fa th e r
to
son
and
On one o ccasio n » a t th e
th e second c e n tu ry BC» d u rin g th e w ars w ith Emperor Wu o f Han
and a t a tim e when th e p re v io u s Shanyu had d ie d young» th e I n h e r ita n c e was
a c tu a lly
Shanyu
and
m ately» th a t who
th e
fo r
th e
b ro u g h t
back
d ire c t
would
s e c u rity
p o s itio n
of
e n a b le
lin e a g e
and
Im p o rta n t,
him h is
but
of
was th e
Shanyu
to an u n c le o f th e l a s t
perm anently p assed o v e r. U l t i Xlongnu em pire» I t was n e c e s s a ry
sh o u ld
go
to
th e
ro y a l
clansm an
a u t h o r i t y and a c c e p ta n c e among th e p e o p le which to
m a in ta in
endorsem ent h is
g e n e r a tio n
lin e a g e
th e
had th e p e rs o n a l
one
by
a c c e p ta n c e
to u c h s to n e f o r e v e ry th in g e l s e .
th e th e by
s ta te .
H is
p re v io u s th e
men
p o s itio n I n th e
Shanyu of
were
power
b o th
was th e
32
From t h i s p o in t o f v ie w , th e p la n f o r th e s u c c e s s io n l e f t by th e Huhanxle
Shanyu
r e p r e s e n te d an a c c e p ta b le compromise betw een h i s own
p re fe re n c e s and th e re q u ire m e n ts o f an o r d e r ly t r a n s i t i o n I n an em pire which
was
Huhanxle at
th e
o n ly
now
re c o v e rin g from th e ra v a g e s o f a c i v i l w ar. The
Shanyu had some f i f t e e n m ale c h i l d r e n , b u t th e c h ie f co n cern tim e o f h is d e a th was w ith th e s i x sons born o f h i s two c h ie f
w ives
from
th e
Ifciyan
c la n , t r a d i t i o n a l l y one o f th e n o b le lin e a g e s
which
I n te r m a r r ie d w ith th e r o y a l house o f th e Xlongnu.
The e ld e r o f
191 th e Huyan s i s t e r s had g iv en b i r t h to two sons» Jumoju and N a n g z h ly a sl, and th e younger t o fo u r sons» Dlaotaomogao» Jumlxu » Xian and Luo* o rd e r
of
fo llo w e d
b ir th » by
however»
Jumoju
and
Dlaotaomogao N angzhlyasl»
In
and Jumlxu were th e e ld e s t» w ith
Xian and Luo as th e two
youngest*
The Jumoju»
and
how ever, g ain ed
Shanyu
h im s e lf
In te n d e d
p o in te d w ide
out
a p p a r e n tly
p re fe rred
h is th ir d - b o r n son»
to g r a n t him th e su c c e ssio n * th a t
her
Jum ojufs mother»
son was s t i l l young and had n o t y e t
a c c e p ta n c e among th e p e o p le ; she fo resaw th e p o s s i b i l i t y
of
a n o th e r s u c c e s s io n d is p u te and a c i v i l w ar I f th e Shanyu a tte m p te d
to
d is r e g a r d
a c c e p te d ,
th e
and
D laotaom ogao, In
21
BC
c la im s th e
of th e e l d e r h a l f - b r o t h e r s . Her a d v ic e was
title
of
who re ig n e d a s
he
was
Shanyu
was
duly
p a sse d
F u z h u le l ru o d l Shanyu*
qq
firs t
to
On h i s d e a th
succeed ed by h i s b r o th e r Jum lxu, th e Souxle ru o d l
Shanyu, and when he d ie d I n 12 BC th e I n h e r ita n c e duly came to Jum oju, a s Juya r u o d l Shanyu*
Jum oju,
how ever,
N an g zh ly asl
d ie d
su cceeded
o n ly
him In
8
fo u r y e a rs l a t e r , and h i s b r o th e r BC a s
W uzhullu
ru o d l
Shanyu*
N an g zh ly asl r u le d f o r more th a n tw en ty y e a r s , u n t i l h i s d e a th I n 13 AD.
For em pire C hinese I m p e ria l
a lm o st
and
th e
p o in t c o u rt,
h a lf
a
Xlongnu of
view , and
c e n tu r y ,
th e r e l a t i o n s h i p betw een th e Han
had rem ained s t a b l e and p eacefu l* th e
From th e
o c c a s io n a l v i s i t s o f th e Shanyu to th e
th e r e g u l a r p re se n c e of a c lo s e r e l a t i v e o f th e
192 Shanyu
as
fo rm al
h o sta g e
In
re s id e n c e
at
Changan, co nfirm ed th e
su b m issio n
o f th e nomads, w h ile th e c e s s a tio n o f r a i d s and w a rfa re on
th e
W all
G reat
f r o n t i e r e n a b le d th e n o r th e r n p ro v in c e s t o d ev elo p a
p e a c e fu l
p ro s p e rity .
Huhanxie
Shanyu
th e
h ig h e s t
s ta tu s
a
The governm ent o f Emperor Xuan had g ra n te d th e s e a l o f o f f i c e , and a lth o u g h th e Shanyu was g iv en
p reced en ce
at
c o u r t,
i t was p o s s ib le to lo o k upon h i s
a s b e in g n o t v ery d i f f e r e n t from a v a s s a l k in g o r c h i e f t a i n o f
any o th e r b o rd e r t r i b u t a r y .
F or
th e ir
a rra n g e m e n t.
p a rt,
how ever,
th e
Xiongnu a ls o d id w e ll from th e
The r e l a t i o n s h i p d e s c rib e d i n th e covenant o f 43 BC was
e s s e n t i a l l y one o f f r i e n d l y e q u a l i t y , th e p eace a lo n g th e f r o n t i e r was m atched
by
im p e r ia l
a
s te a d y
co u rt
tra d e ,
p ro v id e d
and
th e
th e
o c c a s io n
v is its fo r
o f th e Shanyu to th e
c o lle c tin g
an
immense
t r e a s u r e from th e C hinese governm ent.
B le le n s te in China
and
Yü
have
o f th e g i f t s g ra n te d to th e Shanyu and h i s s u p p o rte rs when th e y
v i s i t e d th e im p e r ia l c o u r t . ^ 33,
25
and
in c r e a s e d , y e a rs
as
cu rre n c y to a th e
each d is c u s s e d th e s c a le and c o s t to
1
BC
and
th e
On ea c h o c c a s io n i n th e y e a rs
v a lu e
51, 49,
o f th e p r e s e n ts , i n s i l k and b ro c a d e ,
B le l e n s t e i n h a s e s tim a te d th e t o t a l paym ents i n th o s e
b ein g
v a lu e d
o f th e 1960s.
at
more
th a n
$ 2 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0
i n U n ited S ta te s
As he rem ark s, th e amount i s n o t la r g e enough
i n d i c a t e a s e r io u s s t r a i n on th e C hinese budget n o r to d e m o n stra te su c c e ssfu l exchange
p o lic y o f e x t o r t i o n on th e p a r t o f th e Xiongnu: was
c e rta in ly
of
g re a t
v alu e
though
to th e Shanyu and h is
193 f o llo w e r s . C h in ese.
It On
was th e
n o t th e e q u iv a le n t o f e x to r t i o n money p a id by th e o th e r
hand, when N an g zh lyasl p ro posed h i s v i s i t of
1 BC, I t was a g re e d In c o u r t t h a t th e s u g g e s tio n sh o u ld be tu rn e d down b ecau se
of
e lo q u e n t fu
at
argued
o f g i f t s , and a p p ro v a l was g iv e n only a f t e r an
by
th a t
Yang
Xiong, l a t e r c e le b r a te d a s a composer o f
tim e a j u n i o r
o f f i c i a l I n th e
p a la c e .
Yang Xiong
t h a t th e c o s t o f war w hich m ight r e s u l t from a b re a c h w ith th e
Xlongnu
was
handed
fa r
o v er,
m ista k e n
had
cost
m em orial
but
b rin g
th e
g re a te r
th a n th e v a lu e o f th e g i f t s w hich would be
and th e r e f u s a l o f th e S h an y u 's v i s i t was n o th in g b u t a
economy*
oS
In
th e e v e n t, th e Shanyu
asked p e rm issio n to
a th o u san d ra n k in g a tte n d a n ts r a t h e r th an th e f iv e hundred th a t accom panied h i s p re d e c e s s o r s : th e Han c o u r t a g re e d , and th e g i f t s
a s a r e s u l t were f i f t y p e r c e n t h ig h e r th a n e v e r b e f o r e .
A f te r g re a t
th a t,
success.
Shanyu have
a ll
was
not
The
I t s t i l l d oes n o t a p p e a r t h a t th e v i s i t was a a n n a ls
of
Emperor
A1
re c o rd o n ly t h a t "th e
and two I n c id e n ts I n p a r t i c u l a r a p p e a r to Of. c o n tr ib u te d to t h i s d i s c o n t e n t . '10 F i r s t l y , In th e p r e lim in a ry
d is c u s s io n s
at
p le a s e d " ,
Changan, I t was o b serv ed t h a t th e v i s i t s In 49 and 33
BC had been fo llo w e d c lo s e ly by th e d e a th o f th e C hinese em perors Xuan and
Yuan;
geom antic was
It
was
I n flu e n c e
th e r e f o r e
S h an g lln
arg u ed t h a t t h i s co u ld be due t o th e In a u s p ic io u s
lodged
P a rk ,
u n fa v o u ra b le
o f th e Shanyu coming from th e n o r th .
so
fo rc e s
o u ts id e
th a t which
th e
The Shanyu
th e c i t y , a t a d e ta c h e d p a la c e I n th e In f lu e n c e o f J u p i t e r m ight c o u n te r th e
he b ro u g h t w ith him .
I t was e x p la in e d to
194 th e
Shanyu
th a t
th e
r e s id e n c e
had
been
s e le c te d
fo r h is b e tte r
p e rs o n a l p r o t e c t i o n , b u t he knew th e t r u e re a s o n .
S eco n d ly , and
honour
X ian, th e
we a r e t o l d t h a t th e Shanyu was s u r p r is e d a t th e ran k
w hich
had
been
g ra n te d
t o Emperor A l's f a v o u r ite Dong
and
even commented I n open c o u r t on th e a p p a re n t Im m a tu rity o f
Grand
M a rsh a l. Emperor A1 e x p la in e d t h a t th e tw e n ty -tw o -y e a r-o ld
Dong
Xian
Shanyu s k ill
was
made
a
a
p e rso n o f e x tr a o r d in a r y wisdom and v i r t u e , and th e
c o u rte o u s
r e p l y , c o n g r a tu la tin g th e Han r u l e r on h i s
In f in d in g m i n i s t e r s o f such w o rth .
how ever,
th a t
I t I s n o t v e ry s u r p r i s i n g ,
th e nomad r u l e r . In th e prim e o f l i f e , was unim pressed
w ith th e y o u th f u l, s ic k l y and hom osexual Emperor A i.
In f a c t . Emperor Ai d ie d I n th e same y e a r a s th e Shanyuvs v i s i t , and power i n th e em pire r e tu r n e d t o th e Wang f a m ily , who had dom inated th e
co u rt
of
Emperor
Cheng,
and who had been b r i e f l y removed from
In flu e n c e by th e e f f o r t s o f h i s s u c c e s s o r . th e
r e ig n
sh o rt 9
p e r io d
AD,
Mang.
of
th e It
th e
c h ild
Emperor Ping from 1 to 6 AD, fo llo w e d by a
o f regency u n t i l h i s ta k in g o f th e im p e r ia l t i t l e In h ig h e s t
Is
From t h i s tim e o n , th ro u g h
power I n th e governm ent o f Han was h e ld by Wang
th ro u g h
h is
p o lic ie s
t h a t we may o b serv e th e combin
a tio n o f s ln o - c e n tr l8 m and one form o f th e C o n fu d a n t r a d i t i o n .
The p o lic ie s o f Wang Mang: At th e r e
had
th e tim e o f th e a c c e s s io n o f N an g zh ly asi a s Shanyu, I n 8 BC, o c c u rre d
a
m inor
in c id e n t
which
seemed to co n firm th e
e s t a b l i s h e d r e l a t i o n s h i p betw een th e Xiongnu and th e Han.
195 On
th e
w e s te rn
fro n tie r
near
Zhangye commandery t h e r e was a
t r a c t o f h i l l c o u n try which had t r a d i t i o n a l l y belonged to th e Xlongnu, but
w hich
formed
c e le b r a te d
fo r
Wang
and a t
Mang
c o n sen t who
had
make
a
to
of
a
s a lie n t
Its
woods, th a t
I n to
C hinese t e r r i t o r y .
The a r e a was
and th e Grand M arshal Wang Gen, u n c le o f tim e
th e c h ie f o f th e governm ent, w ith th e
Emperor Cheng a rra n g e d t h a t th e Chinese envoy Xlahou Fan,
been s e n t w ith com plim ents f o r th e new Xlongnu r u l e r , sh o u ld r e q u e s t t h a t th e la n d be t r a n s f e r r e d to Han.
I t was s t r e s s e d
Xlahou Fan t h a t he sh o u ld work I n f o r m a lly , and n o t In v o lv e th e Han
c o u rt I n a d i r e c t r e q u e s t.
Xlahou w ith
Fan
d id
s u rp ris e : a t
r a i s e th e m a tte r , b u t th e new Shanyu responded
th e
tim e when em perors Xuan and Yuan gave t h e i r
s u p p o rt t o th e Huhanxle Shanyu, I t was a g re e d t h a t e v e ry th in g n o r th o f th e
G reat
re p o rt
Wall
back
c la rific a tio n .
b elonged
to
th e
to
th e Xlongnu.
Han c o u r t
fo r
He asked t h a t Xlahou Fan fu rth e r
In s tru c tio n s
and
Some tim e l a t e r , Xlahou Fan came on a second em bassy,
and re p e a te d th e r e q u e s t.
N an g zh ly asl was now q u i t e annoyed:
In th e tim e o f my f a t h e r and my th r e e e ld e r b r o th e r s , th e Han n e v e r asked f o r t e r r i t o r y . Now t h a t I have ta k e n th e th ro n e , su d d en ly th e r e I s t h i s r e q u e s t. Why do you make I t o f me? 1 have made e n q u i r i e s . •• and th e c h i e f t a i n s o f th e w est p la c e g r e a t Im po rtan ce on th e u se o f th e wood from th e s e h i l l s f o r th e fram es o f t h e i r y u r t s and f o r t h e i r c a r t s . M oreover, t h i s I s t e r r i t o r y w hich b elonged to my l a t e f a t h e r . 1 am n o t p re p a re d to g iv e I t up . 7
196 The le tte r
C hinese
to
th e
had
Han
c le a rly
c o u rt
to
gone to o f a r , and N an g zh iy asi s e n t a a sk f o r an e x p la n a tio n .
The Im p e ria l
governm ent r e p l i e d t h a t Xlahou Fan had exceeded h i s I n s tr u c tio n s » t h a t he
was d e s e rv in g o f s e v e re punishm ent» b u t t h a t two g e n e ra l a m n e stie s
had ta k e n p la c e s in c e he com m itted th e e rro r» and I t was n o t th e r e f o r e a p p r o p r ia te In
a
to
p u n ish him .
He was» however» now a p p o in te d to a p o s t
commandery w ith in China» and he would n e v e r a g a in be a llo w ed t o
have any d e a lin g s w ith th e Xlongnu.
The C h in e se , o f course» had been o v e r - a m b itio u s , and th e y sh o u ld n o t have been s u r p r is e d a t th e r e b u f f th e y r e c e iv e d . p o in t
of
v iew ,
r e q u e s t, F a n 's
prompt
p ro p o s a l
betw een and
th e
th e
th a t
how ever,
confirm ed
th e
p resu m p tio n t h a t th e f r o n t i e r
em p ires In d eed fo llo w e d th e l i n e o f th e G reat W all,
n e ith e r
I n f lu e n c e .
from th e s p e c i f i c I r r i t a t i o n o f th e
C hinese d e n ia l o f any o f f i c i a l n a tu re t o Xlahou
ra th e r
two
a p a rt
From th e Xlongnu
s id e
would
In te rfe re
w ith th e o t h e r 's sp h e re o f
I t was a s e n s i b l e , p r a c t i c a l p o l i t i c a l s i t u a t i o n , and th e
Xlongnu w ere q u i t e c o n te n t w ith I t .
From was
q u ite
th e
C hinese
s a tis fa c to ry
p o in t In
o f v ie w , how ever, though th e p o s i t i o n
p ra c tic e .
I t was I n t o l e r a b l e In th e o r y .
A ccording
to
th e c o n c e p ts o f t r a d i t i o n a l C hinese c i v i l i s a t i o n , th e r e
can
be
one supreme r u l e r I n th e w o rld , and t h a t I s th e C hinese
o n ly
em peror.
A ll o th e r r u l e r s a r e s u b o r d in a te and t r i b u t a r y to him , and
he has th e u ltim a te a u t h o r i t y o v er t h e i r t e r r i t o r i e s .
197 T h is
p o litic a l
d ip lo m a tic
w o rld -v iew
problem s
in
th e
of
p a s t,
C hinese and
governm ents has caused
i t has a c te d v a r io u s ly a s a
so u rc e o f m inor em barrassm ent o r a s a s e r i o u s l i a b i l i t y a t any tim e i n C hinese
h is to ry
e ffe c tiv e s id e r
when
m ilita ry
th e
an
or
In a d e q u a te
im p e r ia l
c o u rt
p o litic a l riv a l. d ip lo m a tic
has
had
to d e a l w ith an
In p a r t i c u l a r , one may con
re sp o n se
of
th e
Qlng d y n asty i n
d e a lin g w ith th e B r i t i s h i n th e e a r l y n in e te e n th c e n tu r y , and th e r e i s c o n s id e r a b le upon
th e
lite ra tu re
Song
d y n a sty
ab o u t when
th e p h ilo s o p h ic a l c o n v o lu tio n s fo rc e d it
was
com pelled
to
re c o g n is e
th e
n e ig h b o u rin g powers o f Liao and J i n .
In come no
52
BC,
a t th e tim e when th e H uhanxie Shanyu f i r s t ask ed to
to c o u r t , i t was s e r i o u s l y pro p o sed t h a t he sh o u ld be t r e a t e d as more
th a n
a n o th e r f o r e ig n k i n g l e t , and t h a t he sh o u ld be g ra n te d
p reced e n ce
even
c a d e ts
th e im p e r ia l f a m ily .
th is th e
of
below
th e
vassal
k in g s w ith in th e C hinese e m p ire ,
F o r tu n a te ly , a s B le le n s te ln rem ark s,
a r r o g a n t argum ent was r e j e c t e d by Emperor Xiuan, on th e a d v ic e o f m in is te r
c e re m o n ie s •
Xiao W angzhl, and th e Shanyu was sp a re d any h u m ilia tin g
qo
Xiao Wangzhl, d e s c r ib e d by Loewe a s one o f th e le a d in g r e f o r m is t sta te sm e n
of
h is
tim e ,
was
p r im a r ily
concerned to e s t a b l i s h good
r e l a t i o n s w ith th e Xiongnu and t o end th e c y c le o f w ars and a g g re s s io n which
th e M odernist p o l i c i e s o f p re v io u s g e n e ra tio n s had b ro u g h t upon on
th e e m p i r e . I n l a t e r g e n e r a tio n s , how ever, h i s p o lic y and
th a t
of
o th e r p r a c t i c a l men began to a p p e a r to o much l i k e t h a t o f appeasem ent.
198 and
th e
em pire
co n cep t
of
Independence
was l e s s a c c e p ta b le .
re a so n s
fo r
C hinese
b ecau se h is
w o rld ;
th e o rie s
th e Xiongnu from th e C hinese
When Wang Mang came t o power, he had two
an a c t i v e inv o lv em en t beyond th e f r o n t i e r s : f i r s t l y , and
im m e d ia te ly , d em o n stra te
fo r
of
own
success m oral
se c o n d ly ,
in
e x te n d in g th e power o f C hina would
a u th o rity and
fa r
as
more
a
s u i t a b l e r u l e r f o r th e
d a n g e ro u sly ,
becau se
th e
th e s i n o - c e n t r i c w orld view r e q u ir e d t h a t th e em peror o f
C hina m ust dom inate a s t r i b u t a r i e s a l l th e la n d s around him.
About re g e n t th e
fo r
AD, th e
d e m a rc a tio n
governm ent. out
2
w ith
Xiongnu. envoys
soon
a fte r
Wang
M ang's
a c c e s s io n
to
power a s
c h ild Emperor P in g , a n o th e r in c id e n t a ro s e In v o lv in g of
a u th o rity
betw een
th e
Shanyu
and th e C hinese
Ttoo m inor k in g s from th e W estern R eg io n s, who had f a l l e n th e C hinese P r o te c to r - G e n e r a l, f l e d to ta k e re fu g e w ith th e The
Shanyu
was
p re p a re d
to g r a n t them asylum , and when
came from th e Han c o u r t to r e q u e s t t h e i r s u r r e n d e r , he r e p l i e d
a g a in , on th e same l i n e s as in th e in c i d e n t o f 8 BC: When Emperor Xuan and Emperor Yuan showed t h e i r com passion f o r my f a t h e r , th e Huhanxle Shanyu, t h e r e was a t r e a t y made w h erea l l t h a t i s s o u th o f th e G reat W all i s c o n tr o lle d by th e Son o f Heaven, b u t a l l t h a t i s n o r th o f th e G reat W all i s c o n tr o lle d by th e Shanyu.
It
was
a g re e d ,
he
s a id ,
t h a t re n e g a d e s from one s id e o r th e o th e r
sh o u ld be r e tu r n e d to t h e i r p ro p e r m a s te r s , b u t th e p eo p le i n q u e s tio n a t t h i s tim e w ere f o r e i g n e r s , and he was th e r e f o r e u n d er no o b l ig a tio n to r e tu r n them to China,
199 The w hich be
envoys o f Han, how ever, rem in d in g th e Shanyu o f th e fa v o u rs
h i s house had re c e iv e d i n th e p a s t , p ersu ad ed him t h a t i t would
w ise t o a cced e t o t h e i r r e q u e s t , and th e u n f o r tu n a te men w ere du ly
d e sp a tc h e d :
The ab o u t
th e
were
d e b a te
th e
Mang
th e y
on
beheaded a s an example to o th e r r u l e r s i n th e
th is
m a tte r , how ever, had shown some c o n fu sio n
a r e a s o f in f lu e n c e betw een China and th e XLongnu, and Wang
now s e n t a f u r t h e r em bassy t o s t r a i g h t e n th in g s o u t. e m b a rra ssmment
of
th e
p e rsu a d e d
him
to
accept
d e te rm in e
th e
p o s itio n
c o v e n a n t,
which
had
Shanyu a
new
abo u t
over
th e
agreem ent
ren eg ad es
B ely in g on
r e c e n t i n c i d e n t , th ey which would c l a r i f y and
and
re fu g e e s.
The
o ld
been solem nly sworn t o by th e Xiongnu i n 43 BC,
but n e v e r fo rm a lly ad o p ted by Han, was w ithdraw n and re p la c e d by a new T re a ty to
of
Four A r t i c l e s .
T h is p ro v id e d t h a t th e Shanyu would r e f u s e
r e c e iv e re fu g e e s o r ren eg ad es i n th e fo llo w in g c a te g o r ie s : C hinese
s u b je c ts ; Regions
Wusun
p e o p le ;
c itiz e n s
of
th o s e
s ta te s
i n th e W estern
whose r u l e r s had a c c e p te d C hinese s e a l s o f o f f i c e ; and Wuhuan
p e o p le .
B e sid e s fo r
th e
th e
s in g le
t h i s , Wang Mang a l s o a rra n g e d a fo rm al d ip lo m a tic coup,
Shanyu
was p ersu a d e d to change h i s name from N angzhlyasl to
C hinese
c h a r a c te r / sound
Z h i.
Ban Gu rem ark s, u n k in d ly ,
t h a t th e Shanyu was h e a v ily b r ib e d , and i t i s i n f a c t most l i k e l y t h a t b o th
th e
new
tre a ty
and
th e
change
of
name
were th e r e s u l t of
c o n s id e r a b le g i f t s and in d u c e m e n ts, a s w e ll a s f r ie n d ly p e r s u a s io n . In
200 any
c a s e , i t r e p r e s e n te d a c o n s id e r a b le ach ievem ent f o r Wang Mang, I t
enhanced th e p r e s t i g e o f h i s a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , and I t shows a rem ark ab le to le r a n c e and p l i a b i l i t y by th e Shanyu.
To and
what
e x te n t
fo llo w e d i n s i d e th e Xiongnu t e r r i t o r y i s a d o u b tfu l q u e s tio n ; th e
Shanyu
was
presum ably known n o rm ally by h i s t i t l e r a t h e r th a n by h is
p e rs o n a l
name,
and
fo llo w e d
s u it,
it
conven ien ce in
th e change o f name o f th e r u l e r was re c o g n is e d
is
o th e r members o f th e c la n a p p e a r t o have
p ro b a b le t h a t th e change was more a m a tte r o f
f o r C hinese s c r i b e s th a n a s ig n o f s i g n i f i c a n t a l t e r a t i o n
d a y -to -d a y
a r is to c r a c y .^ d iffe re n t
though
c o n v e r s a tio n s The
m a tte r ,
T re a ty
though
among
members
of
th e
o f Four A r t i c l e s , how ever, was it
took
a
little
w h ile
fo r
Xiongnu a th e
v ery fu ll
im p lic a tio n s to be re c o g n is e d a t th e c o u r t o f th e Shanyu.
among
The
b e g in n in g s
th e
Wuhuan
fro n tie r. b ro u g h t th is
trib u ta ry
conquered trib u te
th e
th e
p eo p le
D uring se v e ra l
of
th e
d i f f i c u l t y began somewhat i n d i r e c t l y ,
trib u ta ry 70s
BC,
to th e Xiongnu on t h e i r e a s te r n
e x p e d itio n s
by C hinese a rm ies had
groups o f th e Wuhuan u n d er th e a u th o r ity o f Han, b u t re la tio n s h ip Wuhuan
in
was
s h a re d
w ith
th e Xiongnu, who had
th e tim e o f Modun, and who s t i l l e x tr a c te d
from th o s e who w ere t h e i r n e ig h b o u rs and w ere n o t s u b o rd in a te
to C hina.
W ith arg u e
th a t
th e
T re a ty
of
Four A r t i c l e s , how ever, th e C hinese c o u ld
th e Xiongnu had r e lin q u is h e d t h e i r cla im s as o v e rlo rd s o f
201 th e
Wuhuan,
and
pay
trib u te
to
an n u a l
le v y ,
s k in s ,
th e
se v e ra l
l o c a l o f f i c i a l s now a d v is e d th e Wuhuan t o r e f u s e to th e X longnu.
and
a ls o
Wuhuan
Xlongnu
to
When Xlongnu a g e n ts came t o g a th e r th e o rg a n is e
re fu s e d
were
to
th e r e g u la r m arket i n f u r s and
d e a l w ith them .
k ille d ,
F ig h tin g broke o u t,
and th e Wuhuan s e iz e d t h e i r women and
t h e i r a n im a ls .
Then th e
th e
Worthy
Shanyu
s e n t an e x p e d itio n a g a in s t th e Wuhuan, le d by
King o f th e L e f t, and th e Wuhuan were s c a t t e r e d and f l e d .
The Xlongnu s e iz e d a b o u t a th o u sa n d women, o ld p eo p le and c h ild r e n and demanded a ransom from th e Wuhuan; when th e goods and th e an im als were p a id ,
how ever,
th e y
took
them
but
s till
re fu s e d t o r e t u r n t h e i r
p r is o n e r 8.
Soon
a fte r
th is ,
in
9
AD,
Wang Mang fo rm a lly acceded to th e
th ro n e and p ro claim ed h is new d y n a sty o f Xln. th e
F ive
Wang Ju n , a s G eneral of
M a je s tic P r i n c i p l e s , le d an em bassy to th e Shanyu to a d v is e
him of th e new d is p e n s a tio n and to exchange th e s e a l which he had h e ld from
th e
Han
d y n a sty
w ith a new one from th e Xin.
s e a l , how ever, had been c o n s id e ra b ly changed. th e
R ih an x le
X longnu",
th e
Shanyu
had
re a d
" Im p e ria l
The t e x t o f th e
Where th e s e a l g iv e n to S e a l o f th e Shanyu o f th e
s e a l o f f e r e d by Wang Mang was in s c r ib e d " O f f i c i a l S eal
o f th e Shanyu o f th e Xlongnu u n d er th e Xin D ynasty".
th e
When
th e embassy came to th e c o u r t o f th e Xlongnu, th e y o f f e r e d
usu al
g en ero u s g i f t s , and th e Shanyu r e a d ily exchanged th e s e a l .
202 One o f h i s a t t e n d a n t s u rg e d him s tr o n g ly to check th e I n s c r i p t i o n , b u t In a rem ark ab le d is p la y o f t r u s t , th e Shanyu r e p l i e d : "Why sh o u ld th e y have was
made any change?" and he p u t I t on w ith o u t lo o k in g a t I t . a
banq u et
There
l a t e I n to th e n i g h t , and I t was n o t u n t i l th e m orning
t h a t th e Shanyu, h a v in g d is c o v e re d th e change i n th e I n s c r i p t i o n , s e n t a
m essenger
and
ask ed
how ever, re p lie d
fo r th e
8im ply
to
th e
o ld
s e a l b a c k . In a n t i c i p a t i o n o f t h i s r e q u e s t,
C hinese had a lr e a d y d e s tro y e d th e fo rm er s e a l , and th e y
w ith to
P r e d ic ta b ly , own
p r o t e s t a t th e l e s s e r s t a t u s t h a t had been g iv e n him
firm ly t h a t th e change had been made by th e new governm ent i n
acco rd an ce was
to
th e accept
th e
prom oted
to
His
and
th is
Shanyu
Changan
in s c rip tio n .
w i l l o f Heaven, and t h a t th e du ty o f th e Shanyu
a sk
req u est
e n f e o ffe d
d e c is io n
and t o obey th e House o f Xln.
was annoyed, and he s e n t an e m issa ry o f h i s fo r was th e
a n o th e r not envoy
seal
w ith a l e s s p e r j o r a t l v e
g r a n te d , Chen
Rao,
and Wang Mang a c t u a l l y who
had
ta k e n
th e
seal
have
been
i n i t i a t i v e in th e d e s t r u c t i o n of th e fo rm er s e a l . ^
Though defended C hinese
by
Wang
M ang's
B le le n s te ln ,
o ffic ia ls
rem ark ab ly
a rra n g e m en ts
ab o u t
th e
a s a p o p u la r move among th e t r a d i t i o n a l i s t
a t c o u r t , th e r e seems s m a ll q u e s tio n t h a t i t was a
b l a t a n t and clumsy p ie c e o f d ip lo m a tic m anoeuvring, and i t
i n d ic a t e d
q u ite
suprem acy
over
c l e a r l y t h a t th e new C hinese governm ent was c la im in g th e
Xlongnu
lik e
any
vassal s ta te .
The p o l i t i c a l
im p lic a tio n s o f t h i s fo rm a l chan g e, how ever, w ere made r e a l and u rg e n t by C hinese i n t e r v e n t i o n i n th e Wuhuan p roblem .
203 As
th e
te rrito ry » and
seal
embassy was on I t s r e t u r n jo u rn e y th ro u g h Xlongnu
we a r e t o l d th e y p a sse d th ro u g h a re g io n where th e h o sta g e
c a p tu re d
s i tu a ti o n »
Wuhuan
th e
had
C hinese
been
s e ttle d .
In s is te d
th a t
When th e
th ey
h e a rd o f th e
T re a ty o f Four A r tic le s
r e q u ir e d th e Wuhuan sh o u ld be r e tu r n e d t o t h e i r form er p la c e .
The th e ir nor
Xlongnu»
own
n a t u r a l l y enough» had assumed t h a t a q u a r r e l w ith
Im m ediate
a ffe c te d
In
t r i b u t a r i e s c o u ld be no con cern o f th e Chinese»
any way by th e T re a ty o f Four A r t i c l e s .
The Shanyu
was p re p a re d t o a g re e t h a t I f any o f th e Wuhuan s u b je c t t o th e C hinese had
been
taken»
th e y
sh o u ld be re tu rn e d » b u t he ask ed f o r s p e c i f i c
c l a r i f i c a t i o n : I s I t r e q u ir e d t h a t we sh o u ld r e t u r n Wuhuan p eo p le from our
s id e
C hinese
of
th e f r o n t i e r » a s w e ll a s th o s e who may come from w ith in
b o rd e rs?
An Im p e r ia l d e c re e o f Wang Mang s t a t e d t h a t a l l th e
Wuhuan must be r e tu r n e d .
In
th is
d e a r.
way» Wang M ang's governm ent had made I t s p o s i t i o n very
The new s e a l showed t h a t th e Shanyu was fo rm a lly s u b o rd in a te
t o th e C h in ese c o u rt» and th e I n s t r u c t i o n s c o n c e rn in g th e Wuhuan meant th a t
Wang
betw een
Mang
two
c e r ta in ly » when under
It
Shanyu
m entioned
th e
c la im in g th e a u t h o r i t y to I n te rv e n e In d is p u te s
n o n -C h in ese th e
r e lin q u i s h e d Mang's
was
p e o p le s
o u ts id e
th e
G reat
W all.
Almost
had assumed t h a t th e T re a ty o f Four A r tic le s »
th e
Wuhuan»
was r e f e r r i n g o n ly to th o s e a lre a d y
d i r e c t p r o t e c t i o n o f C hina; now I t was claim ed t h a t he had t r i b u t e a u t h o r i t y o v e r a l l o f them.
I n s tr u c tio n s »
he
was
p u ttin g
th e
I f he a c c e p te d Wang
Xlongnu em pire u n der th e
204 c o n tr o l
of
th e
c ity -s ta te
of
C hinese em pire I n much th e same f a s h io n a s any p e tty th e
W estern R egions had i t s f o r e ig n p o lic y d eterm in ed
and r e s t r a i n e d by C hinese r e s i d e n t s and th e P r o te c to r - G e n e ra l.
At t h i s p o i n t , th e h i t h e r t o a g r e e a b le and c o m p la isa n t Shanyu Zhl re fu s e d him . in
to
f u r t h e r alo n g th e p a th t h a t Wang Mang had s e t o u t f o r
Extrem ely a n g ry , he g a th e re d te n th o u san d horsem en and s e n t them a
m i l i t a r y d e m o n s tra tio n a g a in s t th e f r o n t i e r s a t Shuofang.
claim ed to
go
t h a t th e y so u g h t o n ly t o p r o t e c t th e Wuhuan on t h e i r way back
th e ir
fo rc e
They
hom elands,
on
th e
b u t th e p re s e n c e of such a s i g n i f i c a n t m i l i t a r y
b o rd e rs
of
China
was in te n d e d as a w a rn in g , and th e
a u t h o r i t i e s a t Shuofang d u ly r e p o r te d i t to th e c a p i t a l .
Wang
Mang' s
fro n tie rs , Xlongnu p a rty . b u t,
and
a ls o It
as
concerned
th e s ta te s
is
of
Yan
Shigu to th e Account of th e
t h a t th e horsem en came t o Shuofang a s a r a id in g
c e r t a i n l y p o s s ib le t h a t some d is tu r b a n c e s to o k p la c e has
little
b ro k en ,
s t a t e s t h a t th e Xlongnu now rav ag ed th e
commentary
B i e le n s te in
co m p a ra tiv e ly lig h tly
b io g rap h y
damage.
and
c h ie fly
rem arked,
it
to
is
make
th e
Such v ery
Xlongnu
at
a lo n g p e rio d o f peace was n o t
p ro b a b le
t h a t th e Shanyu Zhi was
some show o f h is power and enco u rag e th e
o b s t i n a t e r u l e r o f China t o r e l a x some o f h i s demands.
In We
a re
th e to ld
t h i s tim e d id
44
fo llo w in g
y e a r , 10 AD, a f u r t h e r o p p o rtu n ity a p p e a re d .
th a t
trib u ta ry
th e
s t a t e s o f th e W estern R egions had
become somewhat r e s t l e s s w ith th e change o f d y n asty i n C hina, and w ith
205 th e as
new he
o f f i c i a l s e a l s t h a t Wang Mang issu e d » much on th e same term s had
China
and
d e a lt th e
w ith
th e Xiongnu.
Shanyu
g ain ed
As rum ours o f th e r i f t betw een
c irc u la tio n »
i t a p p e a rs t h a t s e v e r a l
C hinese o f f i c i a l s became a n x io u s ab o u t th e p o s s i b i l i t y o f Xiongnu r a i d and
ta k e - o v e r .
Liang
and
Under
th e
le a d e r s h ip o f th e ju n io r o f f i c i a l s Chen
Zhong Dai» th e r e was a m utiny in th e camp o f th e Wu and J i
C olonel
at
C o lo n el
Diao Hu was k ille d » th e m u tin e e rs d e c la re d th e m se lv e s f o r th e
Han
N èarer
Ju sh i»
i n th e r e g io n o f p re s e n t-d a y T u rfa n .
The
dynasty» and th e y i n v i t e d th e Xiongnu to s u p p o rt them . The m utiny
its e lf w est
was
not
rem ained
Zhong
Dai
o f m ajor im portance» and th e C hinese p o s i t i o n i n th e l a r g e l y i n t a c t » b u t th e Shanyu d id ta k e Chen L iang and
u n d er
h is
p ro te c tio n
and
gave
them
r e s id e n c e
a t h is
c o u r t • 45
When In
th e
th is
w in te r
was r e p o r te d t o Wang Mang» he to o k extrem e m easu res. at
th e
end
of
10 AD» an im p e ria l p ro c la m a tio n was
issu ed » r e f e r r i n g t o Zhi n o t a s Shanyu o f th e Xiongnu b u t a s Subm itted C a i t i f f (fuyu)
o f th e
to
and
e x e c u tio n ,
fifte e n
p a rts ,
each
S u rre n d e re d
S la v e s (xiangnu), s e n te n c in g
him
announcing th e d i v i s i o n o f th e Xiongnu s t a t e i n t o r u le d by one o f th e d e sc e n d a n ts o f th e ttih an x ie
S h a n y u .^
news
An
e m issa ry was s e n t to th e n o r th e r n f r o n t i e r , t o announce t h i s
to
th e X iongnu, c a l l i n g upon th e new c a n d id a te s f o r th e f i f t e e n
p o s i t i o n s a s Shanyu t o come fo rw a rd , and p ro m isin g pardon t o th o s e who had
h ith e rto
m ista k e n ly
s e rv e d
th e
re b e l
Z h i.
At th e same tim e ,
206 o rd e rs
were s e n t f o r th e r a i s i n g by le v y o f an army w ith 300»000 men»
encamped u n d er tw elv e d i v i s i o n s from Zhangye commandery I n th e w est to Yuyang
In
th e e a s t» w hich sh o u ld advance and conquer th e Xlongnu and
e s t a b l i s h th e new o r d e r .
In
th e
persu ad ed
th e
su rre n d e r
w ith
rew ards» named but
and
fo llo w in g
year»
Xlongnu
le a d e r
h is
two
so n s
11
AD»
Wang M ang's envoys e v id e n tly
Xian» younger h a l f - b r o t h e r o f Zhl» to Deng
and Zhu.
They w ere a l l g ra n te d
Xian was g iv e n th e t i t l e o f F i l i a l Shanyu w h ile Zhu was
O bedient
Shanyu.
Deng and Zhu w ere e s c o r te d back to Changan,
Xian rem ained In Xlongnu t e r r i t o r y to t r y h i s lu c k a s a s u p p o r te r
o f th e C h in e se . ^
T h is be
th e
fa m ily of
p a rtic u la r
la s t
co m b in atio n o f t h r e a t and s u b v e rsio n proved to
s tra w f o r th e Shanyu Z h l.
Indeed h e ld an o b l i g a t i o n t o th e Han d y n a sty f o r t h e i r s u p p o rt
th e
Huhananxle
Shanyu,
b u t China was no lo n g e r ru le d by th e Liu
c la n , and th e r e was no o b l i g a t i o n now. ra id
He rem arked In fu ry t h a t h i s
of
Yunzhong,
th e It
commanderles
At h i s o r d e r s , th e f i r s t g r e a t
Xlongnu was d i r e c t e d a g a in s t th e G reat Wall f r o n t i e r a t was of
fo llo w e d Shuofang
by c o n tin u a l a t t a c k s on th e n e ig h b o u rin g and Yanmen, and th e peace on th e f r o n t i e r ,
w hich had l a s t e d a lm o st f o r t y y e a r s , was d e c is iv e ly bro k en .
As th e
B le le n s te in
h as p o in te d o u t , th e r e was a lr e a d y a te n s io n I n
Xlongnu s t a t e and a r e a l p o s s i b i l i t y o f f a c tio n a lis m betw een p r o -
C hinese
and
a n ti- C h in e s e
p a r tie s .^ 8
B le le n s te in
has d em o n strated
207 th e
Im p o rtan ce
C hinese one
o f th e Lady Wang Zhaojun I n th e developm ent o f a p r o -
In f lu e n c e : f i r s t m a rrie d t o th e H uhanxie Shanyu, sh e b o re him
so n ,
co u p le
Y itu z h iy a s i.
of
custom ,
y e a rs
AO
On
th e
d e a th o f th e Huhanxie
Shanyu a
l a t e r , sh e was ta k e n i n m a rria g e , fo llo w in g Xiongnu
by h i s e l d e s t son and s u c c e s s o r , D laotaom ogao.
Two d a u g h te rs
w ere b o rn o f t h i s second m a rria g e , o f whom th e e l d e r , whose g iv e n name was
Yun,
Xiongnu tim e
m a rrie d c la n s
at
Xubu
Dang,
who
was a member o f one o f th e g r e a t
and Gudu M arquis o f th e R ig h t.
th e
C hinese
c o u rt
from
2
Yun h e r s e l f s p e n t some
AD onw ards,
and
we a r e t o l d
s p e c ific a lly
th a t
w ith
She was e v id e n tly a woman o f c o n s id e ra b le I n f lu e n c e , and
C h in a.
Z h i's
h a lf-b ro th e r
she and h e r husband fa v o u re d a c o n tin u in g a l l i a n c e
Xian
was
a s s o c ia te d
w ith
her
p a rty
and
was
sy m p a th e tic to th e C hinese p o s i t i o n .
In Mang
th e s e
c irc u m s ta n c e s ,
how ever, i t i s h a rd t o f e e l t h a t Wang
made th e b e s t u se o f h i s p o l i t i c a l s u p p o rte rs w ith in th e Xiongnu
c o u r t.
H is p ro c la m a tio n t o d is m is s th e Shanyu and d iv id e th e n a tio n
i n t o f i f t e e n p a r t s d id n o th in g to a s s i s t a rap p ro ch em en t, and a lth o u g h i t i s p o s s i b l e , a s B ie l e n s t e l n a r g u e s , t h a t Xian and h i s so n s a c c e p te d th e ir
new
m ight
be a b le t o g a in s u p p o rt from th e p eace p a r ty among th e X iongnu,
it
a p p e a rs
title s
from
th e
C hinese w ith some e x p e c ta tio n t h a t th e y
t h a t Xian v ery soon found he had been m ista k e n .
W ithin a
c o m p a ra tiv e ly s h o r t tim e , he had been co m pelled t o make peace w ith th e Shanyu g iv e n of
th e
Z h l,
and
a lth o u g h
he
was n o t s e v e r e ly p u n ish e d , he was now
o nly a low ly ra n k a t c o u r t. Huhanxie
The agreem ent betw een th e c h ild r e n
Shanyu s t i l l m a in ta in e d Xian a s th e n e x t i n l i n e to
208 th e
th r o n e ,
but
th e p ro -C h in e se p a r ty f o r th e tim e b ein g had s u r e ly
l o s t p r e 8 tig e *
On th e C hin ese s i d e , Wang M ang's re s p o n se t o th e tr o u b le s on h i s n o rth e r n b o rd e r a p p e a rs a lm o st e q u a lly i n a p p r o p r ia te . p o in te d
out
compared
to
hand,
th a t th e
an
army
g re a t
B ie le n s te in h as
o f 300,000 men was o f o n ly m oderate s i z e
h o s ts c a l l e d up by Emperor Wu.
On th e o th e r
B i e l e n s t e i n h as a l s o d e m o n stra te d th e s ig n if ic a n c e o f th e g r e a t
flo o d s
a s s o c ia te d
ab o u t
th is
tim e ,
u ltim a t e l y M ang's
and
proved
g re a t
young
w ith
men,
be
has
fa ta l
le v y , to
th e change o f c o u rse o f th e Yellow R iv er a t shown
how
th e d is tu r b a n c e s th e y caused
to Wang M ang's re g im e.
B ie l e n s t e i n
a rg u e s
In s u p p o rt o f Wang
t h a t th e rem oval o f 300,000
s h e l t e r e d , fe d and c lo th e d i n camps i n th e n o r th ,
co u ld be re g a rd e d a s a form o f f lo o d r e l i e f : i t would s u r e ly have been more
u s e fu l,
been
tu rn e d
were
b r in g in g
re so u rc e s
how ever,
if
th e e n e r g ie s o f th e s e a b le -b o d ie d men had
to th e r e p a i r o f dykes and c a n a ls w here th e f lo o d -w a te rs
on
d is a s te r an
- th e v a s t e x p e n d itu re o f human and m a te r ia l
army i n th e n o r th seems an u n s a t i s f a c t o r y method of
s o lv in g w a te r - c o n tr o l d i f f i c u l t i e s a lo n g th e Yellow R iv er
The
a rm ie s ,
i n f a c t , n e v e r s e t o u t.
A ssu re d ly , as B ie le n s te in
o b s e rv e s , th e p re se n c e o f such a m assiv e g a r r is o n alo n g th e G reat W all kept
th e
Xlongnu
r a id s
to a
minimum
of
damage, and Wang Mang's
p r e s t i g e may have been enhanced by th e d e f e a t i n 12 AD o f G ao g o u ll, i n M anchuria, On
th e
by tro o p s o f th e e a s t e r n d i v i s i o n commanded by Zhuang You.
o th e r h an d , a s Zhuang You h im s e lf rem arked i n a m em orial, th e
209 c o s t o f m a in ta in in g such a g r e a t army was o u t o f a l l p ro p o r tio n t o i t s l i k e lih o o d and
th e
of
su c c e s s on a cam paign o f c o n q u est a g a in s t th e X longnu,
enemy
s k ilfu l
would
ra id s ,
to
p ro b a b ly
keep
them
be
b e t t e r c o n tr o lle d by I n d iv id u a l,
o f f b a l a n c e . W a n g Mang,
however,
m a in ta in e d
th e
army
and
are
r e f e r e n c e s i n th e h i s t o r i e s t o d is tu r b a n c e s among th e
th e r e
s o ld ie rs
and
th e
alo n g th e f r o n t i e r s f o r th e n e x t s e v e r a l y e a r s ,
p e o p le ,
w ith
th e
o c c a s io n a l d is p a tc h o f s p e c ia l
i n v e s t i g a t o r s t o r e s t o r e o r d e r . 52
F or
th e tim e b e in g , how ever, t h e r e was no m ajor f i g h t i n g .
Wang
Mang's tro o p s h e ld th e b o r d e r , th e Shanyu Zhi c o n tin u e d h is governm ent as
i f th e p ro c la m a tio n d is m is s in g him had n e v e r been made, and a t th e
same
tim e ,
rem ark ab ly
enough,
th e Shanyu p r e te n d e rs a t th e C hinese
c o u r t w ere e lim in a te d .
Of
th e two sons o f X ian, Zhu had been named O bedient Shanyu and
b ro u g h t back to Changan w ith h i s b r o th e r Deng. th e n
p ro c la im e d a s O bedient Shanyu.
Zhu d ie d , and Deng was
In th e summer o f 12 AD, how ever,
i t was re p o r te d from c a p tu re d Xlongnu t h a t many o f th e r a id in g p a r t i e s a g a in s t
China had been commanded by J u e , a n o th e r son o f X ian.
In h i s
a n g e r, and s e e k in g to make an exam ple to th e enemy, Wang Mang had Deng e x e c u te d .
53
It ru le rs a
is
p o s s ib le
to
a rg u e , a s B ie le n s t e i n h as done, t h a t o th e r
o f China had e x e c u te d t h e i r h o s ta g e s , and t h a t th e p re se n c e o f
h o s ta g e
was
in f a c t r a t h e r a f o r m a lity th a n any g u a ra n te e o f r e a l
210 co n cern o r f u t u r e p o l i c y . Deng
was
not
a
The p o in t i s , how ever, t h a t th e u n f o r tu n a te
h o s ta g e :
he was Wang Mang'b p e rs o n a l p u p p e t.
His
e x e c u tio n
may have ap p e a re d t o Wang Mang l i k e some form o f m ean in g fu l
vengeance
and w arning a g a i n s t Xian and h i s o th e r s o n s , b u t i t a p p e a rs
from
h is to ry
th e
e x e c u tio n
th a t
Xian
d id
not
a c tu a lly
f in d o u t ab o u t th e
u n t i l some y e a rs l a t e r , and a l l t h a t Wang Mang succeeded i n
d o in g was to d e m o n stra te th e com p lete f u t i l i t y o f h i s p o lic y i n e s ta b l i s h i n g r i v a l shan y u .
In th e
fa c t,
by a c o n s id e r a b le t u r n o f good f o r tu n e f o r Wang Mang,
enemy Shanyu Zhl d ie d i n 13 AD, and h i s b r o th e r X ian, Wang Mang's
nom inee, su cceed ed him w ith th e t i t l e W ulel ru o d i Shanyu.
The a
fu ll
of
th e
s u c c e s s io n was n o t e n t i r e l y s tr a i g h tf o r w a r d .
g e n e r a tio n a f t e r th e d e a th o f H uhanxie Shanyu, th e a c c e p ta n c e p rin c ip le
w eakening. th e
The
of
b r o th e r s
s u c c e e d in g one a n o th e r was e v id e n tly
Shanyu Zhl h im s e lf a p p e a rs t o have had some p la n t h a t
in h e r i t a n c e m ight be v e s te d i n h i s own s o n s , and he had g iv en h i s
e ld e s t
s u r v iv in g
tim e ,
if
c o n tin u e , a n o th e r Luo,
By t h i s tim e ,
th e
c o u rs e ,
son
th e second p o s i t i o n i n th e s t a t e .
At th e same
th e d e s c e n t by o rd e r o f s e n i o r i t y among th e b r o th e r s sh o u ld it w ife
a p p e a rs of
Huhanxie
rem ain in g was
in
th a t
a
sons
th e
n e x t c a n d id a te was Yu, th e c h ild o f
Shanyu, who was o ld e r th a n e i t h e r Xian o r of
th e Huyan m a rria g e s .
c o m p a ra tiv e ly
weak
p o s itio n
Xian h im s e lf , o f a f t e r h i s a b o r tiv e
ap p o in tm en t by Wang Mang a s a r i v a l Shanyu and h i s su b se q u e n t d is g r a c e a t th e Xlongnu c o u r t .
211 In
th e
la rg e ly As
to
Gudu
e v e n t, th e
how ever,
e ffo rts
It
a p p e a rs t h a t Xian owed h i s th ro n e
o f th e Lady Yun and h e r h u sband, Xubu Dang.
M arquis o f th e R ig h t, Xubu Dang was one o f th e s e n io r admin
is tra to rs
at
c o u r t , and i t was by h is In f lu e n c e t h a t Z h i's sons were
ig n o re d ,
Yu
was
p a sse d
fa ilu re s
of
Wang
o b ta in e d
c o n tr o l
o v e r,
Mang's of
and
past
Xian
p o lic y ,
e s ta b lis h e d . th e
th e Xlongnu governm ent.
D e sp ite th e
p ro -C h in ese
group had
In th e fo llo w in g y e a r ,
14 AD, Xubu Dang and th e Lady Yun s e n t an embassy to a rra n g e peace and a llia n c e .
The n e g o t i a t i o n s , how ever, w ere i n no way h e lp e d by th e p re v io u s e x e c u tio n o f X ia n 's son Deng. sm ooth ly :
th e
At f i r s t , th e s i t u a t i o n developed q u ite
new Shanyu re c e iv e d l a r g e g i f t s , o rd e rs were g iv e n f o r
th e g r e a t arm ies on th e f r o n t i e r t o be d isb an d ed and th e ren eg ad es and m u tin e e rs Chen L iang and Zhong D al, w ith many o f t h e i r f o llo w e r s , were sen t
i n cage c a r t s to Changan where Wang Mang a rra n g e d f o r them to be
burned a l i v e .
At t h a t p o i n t , how ever, Xian found o u t th e t r u t h o f h is
s o n 's
and
d e a th ,
claim ed and
th a t
b a n d its .
e s c o rtin g g ifts ,
Shanyu
began
once a g a in . O f f i c i a l l y , th e Shanyu
th e tro u b le m a k e rs were o u t of h i s c o n tr o l, b e in g r e b e ls At
la s t,
in
15
AD,
a f u r t h e r embassy from C hina,
th e body of Deng and b rin g in g a ls o a n o th e r lo a d o f v a lu a b le
e a se d
te rrito rie s . changed
r a id in g
to to
h is He
mind
encouraged
a c c e p te d a new
Gongnu
F or
th e
h is
c o n tr o l
s e a l , w ith th e
" R e s p e c tfu l S la v e s"
" E x c e lle n t" .
g e n e r a lly a t peace
and
next
o f th e b o rd er
c h a r a c te r s Xlongnu
and th e c h a r a c te r few
shan i n
y e a r s , th e b o rd e r was
212 In Xian
18 AD, how ever, a f t e r a r e ig n o f o n ly f i v e y e a r s , th e Shanyu
d ie d , and h is h a l f - b r o t h e r Yu came t o th e th r o n e , w ith th e t i t l e
H uduershlgaodao r u o d i Shanyu.
By to
th is
have
had
tim e ,
become
th e s i t u a t i o n a t th e c o u r t o f th e Xiongnu seems
b o th c o m p lic a te d and t e n s e .
The b r i e f r e ig n o f Xian
n o t been lo n g enough to c o n firm h i s fa m ily i n power, and i t seems
lik e ly
th a t
h is b r o th e r Luo had d ie d b e fo re him .
We a re n o t t o l d o f
any
e ffe c tiv e
o p p o s itio n t o th e a c c e s s io n o f Yu, b u t we do know t h a t
Y u's
younger
h a l f - b r o t h e r Y itu z h iy a s i, son o f th e Huhanxle Shanyu by
th e Lady
Wang
Z haojun,
was
a liv e
and i n h i s l a t e f o r t i e s .
In th e
d e sc e n t by b r o t h e r s , th e t i t l e o f Shanyu would e v e n tu a lly come to him , and
th is
would
C hinese p a r t y . th ro u g h
th e
s u r e ly
b rin g
once
a g a in th e supremacy o f th e p r o -
Yu h im s e lf , h a v in g been p a ssed o v er f i v e y e a rs e a r l i e r in te rv e n tio n
o f Xubu Dang i n fa v o u r o f X ian, can h a rd ly
have re g a rd e d t h a t group w ith p a r t i c u l a r f a v o u r. On th e o th e r han d , we a re
t o l d by th e h i s t o r y t h a t he began h i s r e ig n w ith some I n t e r e s t i n
c o n tin u in g
th e
p ro fita b le
r e l a t i o n s h i p w ith C hina, and i n th e f i r s t
months
of
h is
a c c e s s io n
D ang's
son She, to g e th e r w ith h i s c o u sin o f th e Dangyu c la n , a nephew
he
s e n t an em bassy to Changan le d by Xubu
o f th e Lady Y un.5 ^
A ccording a
m eetin g
o th e r s p a r ty
at
was
to th e h i s t o r y , th e n e x t th in g t h a t happened was t h a t a rra n g e d w ith Xubu Dang and h i s w ife th e Lady Yun and
th e f r o n t i e r , and t h a t C h in ese tro o p s t h e r e to o k th e w hole
p r is o n e r
and
b ro u g h t
them back to Changan.
T here, i n 19 AD,
213 Xubu
Dang
was
p ro claim ed a s th e Xubu Shanyu, and a l l m i l i t a r y p la n s
were
once more p u t i n t r a i n f o r th e c o n q u e st o f th e Xiongnu t e r r i t o r y
which sh o u ld s e t him upon th e th ro n e
Some
p r e p a r a tio n s had e v id e n tly been made even b e fo re t h i s i l l -
f a te d
embassy»
made
h o s tilitie s
com petent th is
but
th e
q u ite
p ro c la m a tio n o f Xubu Dang a s a r i v a l Shanyu c e rta in .
Wang M ang's g e n e ra l Zhuang You» a
and ex p e rie n c ed » though c o n s e rv a tiv e » o f f ic e r » p r o te s te d a t
p a rtic u la r
manoeuvre»
on
th e
grounds t h a t Xubu Dang was more
v a lu e to th e C hinese a s an a l l y and in fo rm a n t w ith in th e Xiongnu c o u rt th a n he was a s a f ig u r e - h e a d k e p t i n lo d g in g s a t th e im p e r ia l c a p i t a l . Wang of
Mang» however» r e j e c t e d t h i s ad v ice» and Zhuang You was made one th e
Shanyu
two
commanding g e n e r a ls f o r th e g r e a t e x p e d itio n a g a in s t th e
Yu.
p ro p o sa l» w ith in
Zhuang and
th e
Xiongnu.
argued
em pire He
was
c o n tin u e d a s b e f o r e .
The
You th a t
were
th e
tr o u b le s
o f b a n d itr y and r e b e l l i o n
now f a r more u rg e n t th a n th e problem o f th e
d is m is s e d
and
d isg ra c ed »
and
of
Xubu
Dang a s Shanyu m ust have been f a i r l y
f o r i t was u n lik e ly t h a t th e Xiongnu p eo p le would a c c e p t a
r u l e r from o u ts id e th e h e r e d i t a r y I m p e r ia l f a m ily . it
seems
th e p r e p a r a tio n s
58
ap p o in tm en t
p o in tle s s ,
a g a in p r o t e s t e d a t th e e x tra v a g a n c e of th e
p o s s ib le
th a t
Wang
Mang
On th e o th e r hand,
and h i s s u p p o rte rs were i n some
d i f f i c u l t y , and i t i s n o t im p o s s ib le t h a t th e Xubu group had ask ed f o r asylum . of
Y u's
Q u ite p ro b a b ly , th e u n c e r ta in p o l i t i c a l s i t u a t i o n a t th e tim e a c c e s s io n
had
d ev elo p ed f u r t h e r i n th e f i r s t months o f h i s
214 re ig n , Xubu
and Wang Mang was a d v ise d d u rin g th e v i s i t o f th e em bassy t h a t Dang and th e Lady Yun and th e r e s t o f th e p ro -C h in ese p a r ty were
now in f e a r of t h e i r l i v e s .
We
a re
p u ta tiv e have
t o ld
h e ir
been
th is
at
d e sig n e d
to
th e
Y itu z h iy a s l
at
a b d u c tio n
th a t
tim e
Shanyu Yu had had h is h a l f - b r o t h e r and
k ille d of
d u rin g h is r e ig n , and i t may w e ll
c o n s o lid a tio n f o r h i s governm ent.
th e f r o n t i e r , th e n , was p e rh a p s a p ie c e o f p l a y - a c t i n g , get
th e
a ll
Shanyu
no more th a n a g r a c e - n o te t o th e i n t r i g u e .
in
th e
p re v io u s
th e ir
p r i n c i p a l C h in ese s u p p o r te r s t o s a f e t y w ith o u t
im p lic a tin g was
a s s o c ia te s ,
o c c a s io n ,
th e
and th e p ro c la m a tio n o f th e Xubu
e s ta b lis h m e n t
C e r ta in ly , a s
o f a r i v a l Shanyu a t
Changan l e f t th e incum bent r u l e r q u i t e u n tro u b le d on th e s te p p e .
Xubu d ie d .
His
The
Dang,
59
i n f a c t , was o n ly a s h o r t tim e i n Changan b e fo re he
son She was m a rrie d to one o f Wang M ang's d a u g h te rs by a
co n c u b in e , b u t Wang Mang e v id e n tly made no a tte m p t to e s t a b l i s h She i n s u c c e s s io n t o h i s f a t h e r a s a p r e te n d e r Xubu Shanyu.
She and th e Lady
Yun rem ained a t th e Im p e ria l c a p i t a l u n t i l i t s c a p tu re i n 23 AD by th e r e b e ls
of
th e
form er im p e r ia l L iu fa m ily .
Both o f them p e ris h e d i n
th e m assacre w hich fo llo w e d .
L ike th e g r e a t arnjy w hich had g a th e re d t o a t t a c k th e Shanyu Z h l, th e e x p e d itio n a r y f o r c e w hich was to o v erth ro w th e Shanyu Yu n e v e r, o f c o u rs e ,
s e t o u t.
I t was m a in ta in e d a lo n g th e f r o n t i e r s , how ever, and
as l a t e a s 21 AD, though Wang Mang was c r i t i c i s e d f o r h is a t t e n t i o n to
215 th e
X iongnu,
from
th e
was warned t h a t th e r e a l danger to th e em pire came
tr o u b le s
c o n tin u e d year
and
h is
th a t
b ro u g h t
ab o u t
p o l i c y I t
by
fam ine w ith in th e b o r d e r s , he
was e v id e n tly n o t
u n t i l th e fo llo w in g
r e g u la r m i l i t a r y f o r c e s w ere d i r e c t e d a g a in s t th e tr o u b le d
p ro v in c e s
i n th e e a s t o f th e e m p ire ; and th o s e u n s u c c e s s fu l cam paigns
b ro u g h t th e f a l l o f th e house o f Xin.
As
B le le n s te in
a d e q u a te ly
d e fe n d e d ,
h is to ria n s
when
d e v a s ta te d lin e th e
re m a rk s,
and
and
th e y
th e
it
is
claim
d e s e rte d *
n o r th e rn f r o n t i e r s o f C hina were la rg e ly
th a t
th e
an
e x a g g e ra tio n
fro n tie r
by
te rrito rie s
th e were
Wang Mang h e ld e f f e c t i v e c o n tr o l a lo n g th e
o f th e G reat W all, in c lu d in g th e Gansu c o r r id o r and E d sin Gol i n n o r th w e s t, and had a d e q u a te
a u t h o r i t y i n th e
W estern Regions*^*
From t h i s p o in t o f v iew , h i s p o lic y was s u c c e s s fu l*
On th e o th e r hand, such a c la im on Wang Mang's b e h a lf p r e s e n ts a fa irly
lim ite d
m a in ta in e d show in th a t
of
p ic tu r e *
The s t a b i l i t y on th e n o rth e rn f r o n t i e r was
o n ly by th e deploym ent o f a la r g e m i l i t a r y f o r c e , and t h i s s t r e n g t h was re q u ir e d p r im a r ily b ecau se Wang M ang's p o l i c i e s
d e a lin g th e y
w ith
th e
Xiongnu had been so i n s e n s i t i v e and In a d e q u a te
had tu rn e d f r i e n d s h i p i n t o h o s t i l i t y *
m ilita ry
g a r r is o n s
was
d iv e r te d
a tte n tio n
and r e s o u r c e s away from th e grow ing d an g er o f th e
b a n d itr y
in
B l e le n s t e i n Xiongnu
were
th e h as
e a s te rn
not
p ro v in c e s*
r e - a f f ir m e d ,
le s s
in c o n s id e r a b le ;
And th e c o s t o f th e
th a t
It Wang
a t th e v e ry l e a s t th e y
is Mang's
p e rfe c tly problem s
tru e ,
as
w ith th e
th a n th e t h r e a t from th e h e a r tla n d o f h is em pire*
216 It
is
such
a
sad m easure o f Wang Mangvs s e n se o f p r i o r i t i e s t h a t he p a id
e x c e s s iv e
n o rth e r n b eh in d of
a t t e n t i o n t o th e i n e s s e n t i a l .
E v e n tu a lly , though th e
f r o n t i e r s rem ained I n t a c t , th e em pire o f Wang Mang c o lla p s e d them .
Han,
d e fe n c e
His co n q u e ro rs o f th e L iu f a m ily , r e s t o r i n g th e d y n a sty
were
fa c e d
lin e s
w ith
a
le g a c y
o f h o s t i l i t y i n th e n o r t h , and
w hich had been weakened and broken i n th e r u i n o f Wang
Mang's power.
In
h is
p h ilo so p h y Loewe
m ost h e lp f u l a n a l y s i s o f th e r i v a l s tr a n d s o f p o l i t i c a l
d u rin g
th e
Former Han p e r io d and th e r e ig n o f Wang Mang,
i d e n t i f i e s two a p p ro a c h e s to im p e r ia l governm ent which he names
R efo rm ist and
M o d e rn ist.
62
By M o d e rn ist, he I n d ic a te s th e sc h o o l o f
th o u g h t
which was c h i e f l y co n cern ed w ith th e power o f th e c e n t r a l i s e d
im p e ria l
governm ent, and w ith th e en ric h m e n t and s tr e n g th e n in g o f th e
u n ifie d
C hinese
em p ire.
Such an ap p ro ach su p p o rte d th e e x p a n s io n is t
and a g g r e s s iv e p o l i c i e s o f Emperor Wu, w ith param ount Im portance g iv e n to
th e
a u t h o r i t y and sp le n d o u r o f th e s t a t e and w ith th e r o l e o f th e
p eo p le t h a t o f awed o b e d ie n c e .
The
R e fo rm ist s c h o o l,
on
th e
o th e r
hand, lo oked back to th e
le g e n d a ry p a s t o f th e e a r l y r u l e r s o f Zhou, who commanded o b ed ien ce by th e
fo rc e
of
th e
s ta te
upon i t s s u b je c ts a s a
C o n f lic t
in
p h ilo so p h y th ro u g h
its
t h e i r m oral s u a s io n , and who m a in ta in e d th e demands o f
Han in
Han
China, from
minimum.
Loewe h a s tr a c e d th e th e
In h i s w ork, C r i s i s and h is to ry of
p o litic a l
I n te n s e M odernist p o lic y o f Emperor Wu
re p la c e m en t by th e R e fo rm ist sc h o o l d u rin g th e r e ig n s o f
217 h is su c c e sso rs. Mang
at
how
Wang
th e tim e o f h i s a c c e s s io n to th e th ro n e i n 9 AD, he o b se rv e s Mang
c la s s ic a l In d eed , th e
In th e f i n a l c h a p te r , d is c u s s in g th e su p p o rt f o r Wang
age
so u g h t to j u s t i f y h i s new d y n a sty by r e f e r e n c e t o th e of
Zhou
and
to
th e p h ra s e s o f R efo rm ist arg u m en ts.
many o f Wang M ang's changes o f th e governm ent s t r u c t u r e , from
naming
of
o f f i c e s to th e a l t e r a t i o n o f th e c o in a g e , were a p p a r
e n tly b a se d r a t h e r upon th e f o r m a l i t i e s o f a n c ie n t t e x t s th a n th e r e a l needs o f h i s e m p ire .
On
th e
o th e r
im p r a c t i c a l , C o n fuclan
hand, though Wang M ang's new program s were o f te n
th e y
g e n e r a lly
tra d itio n .
p u rp o rte d
to
fo llo w
th e
R efo rm ist
Only i n f o r e ig n a f f a i r s , a s Loewe p o in ts o u t,
d id h i 8 program ap p e a r more i n th e t r a d i t i o n o f an a c tiv e ex p an sio n ism th a n
th e
p e a c e fu l
I n f lu e n c e by v i r t u e f o r w hich th e e a r ly r u l e r s o f
Chou were c e le b r a te d
It Xiongnu
i s a r g u a b le , how ever, t h a t Wang M ang's b eh av io u r tow ards th e and
M o d ern ist
th e
o th e r
p ra c tic e s
p h ilo s o p h ic a l
of
fo u n d a tio n :
p e o p le s
o f th e n o r th was based n o t upon th e
Emperor
Wu, b u t upon a s t i l l more dangerous
th a t
of
th e
a rr o g a n t I d e a l i s t concerned
e s s e n t i a l l y w ith w hat oug h t to be r a t h e r th a n what i s .
th e
The
h is to ry
re c o rd
of
ju s tific a tio n ,
a but
o f Wang M ang's d e a lin g s w ith th e Xiongnu i s r e a l l y s e rie s
o f a c t i o n s , ta k e n each w ith a p p a re n t m oral
co n n ected n o t a t a l l w ith a c o h e re n t p o lic y . Wang
Mang, in f a c t , a p p e a rs t o have had no s e n s i b le p o lic y ; w hat he had was
218 an
a ttitu d e
b o th
m oral
of and
mind - t h a t he» a s emperor» r u le d a l l th e w orld w ith a c tu a l
a u th o rity .
In ac co rd an ce w ith t h i s view o f
th in g s»
he ju d g e d e ach in c i d e n t n o t i n term s o f what would come next»
but
th e
on
tim e . w ith o u t
b a s is o f th e c o r r e c t id e o l o g i c a l a t t i t u d e a t th e p r e s e n t
By h is th e
in s is te n c e
on
supreme
a u th o r i t y o v e r th e Xiongnu»
m i l i t a r y power to back i t , and by h is b lin k e re d re sp o n se
t o even th e m ild e s t o f p r o t e s t s and p o s s ib le p ro v o catio n » he drove th e Xiongnu em p ire.
in to
h o s tility
Seldom
own p ro p ag an d a.
and b ro u g h t th e u ltim a te d o w n fa ll o f h i s own
can a man have been so consummately d e c e iv e d by h i s
C H APTER 6
DIVISION AND CONQUEST: XIONGNU AND HAN IN THE FIRST CENTURY AD
The The The The
w eakness o f China 23-45 d i v i s i o n o f th e Xlongnu 46-50 n o r th e r n peace 51-85 d e s t r u c t i o n o f th e N o rth e rn Shanyu 87-93
The weakness o f China 23-45: In
th e
Em peror, th e
t i t u l a r head o f th e r e s t o r e d Han d y n a sty , s e n t an embassy to
days
of
Xiubu
Dang
o f f e r i n g an Im p e r ia l s e a l o f th e same f a s h io n a s i n th e
Former
tu rn e d
Han,
and r e tu r n in g a ls o th e s u rv iv in g d ep en d en ts o f
and th e Lady Yun.
th a t
Huhanxle
pay
w in te r o f 24, th e second y e a r o f h i s reig n » th e Gengshl
X longnu,
envoys
2
c irc u m sta n c e s
Shanyu, fo r
had
s u p p o rt
c o u r te s y
The Shanyu Yu, how ever, o b serv ed to th e had
su ffe re d
now
changed.
tr o u b le
in
When h is f a t h e r , th e h is own c o u n try and had
to C hina, i t was r i g h t and p ro p e r t h a t he sh o u ld
a s a s u b j e c t t o th e Han c o u r t.
In th e r e c e n t p e rio d o f
d is o r d e r w ith in C hina, how ever, when Wang Mang had u su rp ed th e th r o n e , th e
Xlongnu
had
fa c e d
him
w ith
th e ir
arm y, and had th u s made i t
p o s s ib le f o r th e r e b e l l i o n o f th e Liu c la n to a r i s e w ith in th e e m p ire. S in ce
th e
Emperors
Shanyu Xuan
and
had Yuan
now
a s s is te d
th e Han i n th e same f a s h io n a s
had a s s i s t e d h i s f a t h e r , i t was s u r e ly more
a p p r o p r ia te t h a t th e new em peror sh o u ld pay him r e s p e c t.
3
220 The m onths,
envoys but
argued
th e
th is
q u e s tio n
w ith
th e
Shanyu
f o r some
r e a l i t i e s o f th e s i t u a t i o n were a g a in s t them .
r e tu r n e d
to
China
d e fe a te d
by
th e Red Eyebrows i n th e autumn and was k i l l e d by them i n
w in te r .
China r e v e r te d to a s t a t e o f com plete d is o r d e r , and n o -
th e
in
th e
summer
of
25,
They
th e G engshi Emperor was
one s ought to tr o u b le th e Xiongnu i n th e n o r th .
The
y e a rs
o f c i v i l war w hich fo llo w e d have been w e ll d e s c rib e d
by B ie le n s te in i n th e
of
second volume o f h i s work upon
the Han D ynasty, and i n th e t h i r d volume
in te r v e n t i o n s
The Restoration
he a n a ly s e s th e
Xiongnu
i n China and t h e i r l a t e r e x p a n sio n a g a in s t th e power o f
th e new Emperor Guangwu.^
For th ro u g h
most o f th e 20s and 3 0 s, th e Shanyu e x e r c is e d h i s in f lu e n c e th e
s u p p o rt
of
C hinese w a r lo r d s ; a t f i r s t , and b r i e f l y , i n
a s s o c ia tio n
w ith th e r e b e l Grand A d m in is tra to r o f Yuyang, Peng Chong,
who
a g a in s t
tu rn e d
m a rria g e
a llia n c e
how ever,
a
Chong, fie ld
in
28
a
form er
w ith
Xiongnu
a fte r
h is
th e
army
b rie f
le a d e r
Shanyu
in
Guangwu 27.
i n 26 and form ed a
In th e fo llo w in g y e a r ,
was d e f e a te d by Guangwuvs tr o o p s , and Peng
p e rio d
o f l o c a l s u c c e s s , was d e f e a te d i n th e
and k i l l e d by h i s own h o u seh o ld s la v e s i n 29; Guangwu's
f o r c e s s p e e d ily re g a in e d c o n t r o l o f Yuyang.^
Yuyang on
th e f r i n g e s o f i n t e r e s t f o r th e Xiongnu.
c o n cern and
commandery, how ever, i n th e n o r th e a s t o f th e em p ire , was
th e
in
There was more im m ediate
th e t e r r i t o r y ab o u t th e n o r th e r n lo o p o f th e Yellow R iv er
n o r th e r n
p a rt
o f . p re s e n t- d a y
Shanxi
w est o f th e T alhang
221 M ountain s. had
H ere, th e l o c a l C h in ese l e a d e r Lu Fang, a man from A ndlng,
e s ta b lis h e d
h im s e lf
In
th e la n d s so u th o f th e Ordos d u rin g th e
tr o u b l e s a t th e end o f th e r e ig n o f Wang Mang.^ was re c o g n is e d by th e Gengshi Emperor In 24, y e a rs
th e
Xlongnu.
Wenbo.
The Shanyu e v id e n tly a f f e c t e d to
he
a u th o r ity
th e n e x t two
tr lb e s p e o p le
He c la im e d , q u i t e w ith o u t
be a d e sc e n d a n t o f Emperor Wu o f Han, and
lo c a l
and d u rin g
he g a in e d s u p p o rt from th e l o c a l Qlang
from
ms
and
ad eq u ate e v id e n c e ,
th e n to
ad o p ted th e name o f Liu
b e lie v e
h is c la im , re c e iv e d
him a t c o u r t , and p ro c la im e d him a s Emperor o f Han.
In
29,
h im se lf th e
at
n o r th e r n
o f th e Shanyu, Lu Fang I n s t a l l e d
th e C hinese g e n try le a d e r s I n Shuofang, Yunzhong,
of
alo n g
p a tro n a g e
c h ie f co u n ty o f Wuyuan commandery, and re c e iv e d
Yanmen.
p a rt
p r e s e n t- d a y F a n g 's
of
and
e a stw a rd s
th e
Jiu y u a n ,
su b m issio n
D ingxiang
H is
te rrito ry
th e r e f o r e ex te n d e d o v e r th e
th e Ordos r e g io n and th e loop o f th e Yellow R iv e r, th e
J ln ln g
v a lle y in
In n e r
of
th e
Dahel
M ongolia.
R iver
to th e r e g io n o f
In th e fo llo w in g y e a r . Lu
g e n e r a l J l a Lan Invad ed Dal commandery, k i l l e d Guangwu's Grand
A d m in is tra to r S h an x i, a
u nder
in
b a ttle
o u ts id e
G ao llu n e a r p re s e n t-d a y Yanggao i n
and took p o s s e s s io n o f th e commandery f o r Lu Fang.
re s u lt
Shuofang
In 31, a s
of
i n t e r n a l tr o u b le s among Lu F a n g 's a l l i e s , th e c h ie f s o f
and
Yunzhong r e b e l l e d a g a i n s t him and d e c la re d f o r Quangwu,
b u t Lu Fang and h i s Xlongnu a l l i e s s t i l l dom inated th e n o r th .
As
B ie le n s te in
depend en t Shanyu
had
of
th e
p o in ts o u t , Lu Fang was e s s e n t i a l l y a c l i e n t and Xlongnu,
o b ta in e d
and
th ro u g h
h i s nom inal governm ent th e
c o n tr o l o f th e n o r th e r n
b o rd e r
com m anderles• ^
222 In
30,
Emperor Qiangwu, now m a s te r o f th e g r e a t e r p a r t o f C hina, had
exchanged came
to
m inim al
em b assies n o th in g , e ffe c t
d u rin g
w ith and
upon
th e
a
Shanyu Yu, but n e g o tia tio n s f o r peace
s e rie s
of
th e s i t u a t i o n .
cam paigns i n th e e a r ly 30s had In a b a t t l e a t Fanzhi i n Yanmen
33, th e im p e r ia l a rm ie s w ere d e f e a te d by Lu F a n g 's commanders,
s tr o n g ly su p p o rte d by th e Xiongnu, and i n th e fo llo w in g y e a r th e r e was an
in d e c is iv e
Shuofang
campaign
commanderies
n o r th
o f G a o liu .
In 35, b o th D ingxlang and
were o f f i c i a l l y renounced by Guangwu's g o v ern
m ent.
In
37,
how ever,
Lu
Fang was h e a v ily d e fe a te d i n an a tte m p t to
re g a in Yunzhong commandery, and h i s Grand A d m in is tra to r o f Wuyuan, Sul Yu, tu rn e d a g a i n s t him . im p e ria l Grand Fang
fo rc e s
r e -o c c u p ie d Dal and Yanmen, and Sul Yu was a p p o in te d
A d m in is tra to r h im s e lf ,
b rie f
how ever,
o f Wuyuan i n th e s e r v i c e o f Emperor Guangwu.
lu
w ith th e e x c e p tio n o f a p e rio d i n 40-41 when he made a
su rre n d e r
fu rth e r
Lu Fang f l e d t o re fu g e w ith th e Xiongnu w h ile
to
C hina,
In d ep en d en t
ro le
rem ained in
w ith th e Xiongnu and p la y e d no
a ffa irs .
For
th e n e x t s e v e r a l y e a r s ,
th e Shanyu and h i s p e o p le managed p e r f e c t l y w e ll w ith o u t h i s
a c tiv e a s s i s t a n c e .
In
th e
wake
re s to re
Im p e ria l
d e fe n c e
works
fo rtific a tio n s th ro u g h
th e
of
lu
F a n g 's
c o n tro l.
fu rth e r
and
fire s
v a lle y
of
th e
th e r e was some a tte m p t t o
Yanmen was re o c c u p le d , and a p a t t e r n o f
e s ta b lis h e d beacon
d e fe a t,
to from
Sanggan
th e
e a s t,
Plngcheng R iv er
to
w ith county
Dal
a
lin e of i n Yanmen
county
i n Dal
223 commandery,
w h ile a f o r t i f i e d
ro ad was b u i l t from th e F elh u P ass In
th e s o u th e rn p a r t o f Dal commandery n o rth e a s tw a rd s I n to Shanggu.
The
m easu res,
n e c e s s a ry T aihang
to
Xlongnu g iv en
g a r r is o n
ran g e
Chang8han
however,
o n to
and
th e
th e
were e s s e n t i a l l y d e fe n s iv e : i t was f e l t Hutuo
g re a t
Zhongshan,
and
v a lle y ,
p la in by
which
le a d s th ro u g h th e
th e
Han t e r r i t o r i e s o f
near
38,
as
a r e s u l t o f r a id s o f th e
f u r t h e r t o th e w e st a g a i n s t th e Wei R iv er v a l l e y , o r d e r s w ere f o r a s e r i e s o f w a lls to be c o n s tr u c te d a s d e fe n c e s f o r th e Fen
R iv e r, th e southw ard c o u rs e o f th e Yellow R iv e r, and th e re g io n o f th e form er im p e r ia l c a p i t a l , Changan.
In
39,
th e
te rrito ry .
Grand
M arshal
O ffic ia lly ,
Q
Wu Han was s e n t n o r th t o th e b o rd e r
t h i s was to a t t a c k th e Xlongnu, b u t i n f a c t
th e m ajo r r e s u l t was t h a t th e com m anderies o f Yenman and Dal w ere once more
abandoned, to g e th e r w ith Shanggu.
a lre a d y so u th th e
le ft of
la n d s
re tu r n e d G ao llu
t e r r i t o r y o f t h e i r own a c c o rd were o rd e re d t o move
th e Juyong and F elhu of
th e
n o r th e r n
under
th e ir
c i t y . 10
In
abandoned, m ost
th e
and
p ro b a b le
Such o f th e p eo p le a s had n o t
a e g is 44,
p asses.
Q
commanderies
The Xlongnu
were now u sin g
a s t h e i r own, and Lu Fang
to ta k e up r e s id e n c e f o r a few y e a rs In Wuyuan
commandery
was
a ls o
o ffic ia lly
I t s o f f i c i a l s and p e o p le t r a n s f e r r e d to Hedong; I t I s th a t
th e
e d ic t
accom pli o f e a r l i e r y e a r s . 11
d id
no more th a n
re c o g n is e a
fa it
224
Note: commandery borders shorn are those o f Former Han
225 By
th e e a r ly 4 0 s, then» th e n o r th e r n f r o n t i e r s o f China had been
d ra s tic a lly fo rm e rly
changed.
s tre tc h e d
The
c e n tra l
p a r t o f th e defen ces» w hich had
from Shanggu and th e Sanggan R iv e r t o Shuofang on
th e
n o r th e r n
lo o p
o f th e Yellow R iver» had been e n t i r e l y abandoned:
th e
l i n e o f th e I m p e r ia l f r o n t i e r fo llo w e d n o t th e advanced p o s itio n s
conquered by Emperor Wu b u t th e r e a r d e fe n s e s I n d ic a te d ro u g h ly by th e modern and
(Ming d y n a s ty ) G reat W all.
th e
A ll o f p re s e n t-d a y n o r th e r n Shanxi
Ordos re g io n was u n d er th e c o n tr o l o f th e Xlongnu» and t h e i r
r a id s w ere p r e s s in g f u r t h e r s o u th .
F u r th e r te rrito ry Wuhuan,
to
was
th e
u nder
n o rth e a s t» p re ssu re
from
from
Ykiyang
ra id s
and
to
L la o x i,
C hinese
d is tu r b a n c e s o f th e
who w ere now jo in e d by th e X lan b l p e o p le , l a t e r t o become th e
most p o w erfu l nomads o f th e n o r th e r n s te p p e .
The had
been
ac c o u n t
o f th e X lanbl I n Hou Han Shu say s t h a t th e
s e p a r a te d
from
China
s in c e
X lanbl
th e d e f e a t o f th e E a s te rn Hu
c o n fe d e ra c y by th e Xlongnu Modun I n th e l a t e t h i r d c e n tu ry BC.
At th e
tim e o f c i v i l war I n C hina, how ever, th e y began to move so u th and j o i n th e a t t a c k s o f th e Xlongnu and Wuhuan on th e f r o n t i e r s .
12
On th e w e s t, In th e t e r r i t o r y o f p r e s e n t-d a y Gansu, th e s i t u a t i o n was r a t h e r more s a t i s f a c t o r y . by
Ih e Qiang tr lb e s p e o p le had been s e t t l e d
th e g e n e r a l Ma Yuan i n th e 3 0 s , ^
and th e ro u te to th e
n o rth w e st
a lo n g th e Gansu c o r r i d o r , w hich had been m a in ta in e d by th e w a rlo rd Dou Rong,
was
s till
In ta c t.
In d e e d , I n 45, th e im p e ria l c o u rt re c e iv e d
226 em b assies from s i x t e e n s t a t e s o f th e W estern R egions come once more to pay r e s p e c t s and t o a s k f o r C h in a 's p r o t e c t i o n . 1^
The d i s t a n t kingdoms o f c e n t r a l A sia , how ever, were o f n e g l i g i b l e s ig n if i c a n c e n o r th .
In th e summer o f 44, a f o r c e o f th e Xiongnu a tta c k e d Shangdang
commandery fu rth e r Wei,
compared w ith th e th r e a te n in g Xiongnu im m ediately t o th e
in
p r e s e n t- d a y s o u th e a s te r n S h an x i, and a t th e same tim e ,
to
th e w e s t, a n o th e r r a i d i n g p a r ty reach ed th e v a lle y o f th e
where
th e y a tta c k e d T ia n s h u i commandery and th e n tu rn e d a g a in s t
Youfufeng d e fe n c e s
and
th e
w e ste rn
ap p ro ach es
to
Changan.
Though th e new
were now c o m p lete, i t was q u e s tio n a b le w h eth er th e y c o u ld be
e f f e c t i v e a g a in s t th e c o n s ta n t h a ra ssm e n t o f th e h ig h ly m obile en en y .
In
th e
w in te r o f 4 4 /4 5 , th e c e le b r a te d g e n e r a l Ha Yuan, who had
o n ly l a t e l y r e tu r n e d from th e c o n q u est o f Vietnam f o r th e Han d y n a s ty , was g iv e n command o f a l l d e fe n c e o p e r a tio n s a g a in s t th e n o r th . h is
h e a d q u a rte rs
embarked
on
a
at
He s e t
X langguo, i n Zhao kingdom , and i n th e autumn he
to u r o f in s p e c t i o n , n a t u r a l l y combined w ith a show o f
s t r e n g t h , o f th e f r o n t i e r p o s ts i n D ai, Yanmen, Shanggu and Y oubeiplng commanderl e s . been
und er
a tte m p te d
He advan ced . In d e e d , a s f a r n o r th a s G a o liu , w hich had Xiongnu
a
m inor
s o rtie ,
4 5 /4 6 ,
th e r e
c o n tr o l
lig h tn in g how ever, was
a
fo r
th e
ra id
a g a in s t
was
d e f e a te d
la s t
se v e ra l
y e a rs,
and he
th e Wuhuan f u r t h e r n o r th ; t h i s w ith
lo s s .
In th e w in te r o f
r i p o s t e from th e X iongnu, who broke th ro u g h th e
d e fe n c e s on th e b o rd e r w ith Shanggu commandery and ra id e d a s f a r so u th a s Z ho n g sh an .1^
227 It
Is
r e s to r e d th e
p e rfe c tly
t r u e , a s B ie le n s t e i n h as p o in te d o u t, t h a t th e
Han d y n a sty had y e t found no good answ er to th e a t t a c k s from
Xlongnu.
I t I s p o s s ib le t h a t Ma Yuan, o p e r a tin g w ith th e d e fe n c e
p o s itio n s
now
would
a b le
be
Xlongnu
had
e s ta b lis h e d , to
and
g iv e n an ad e q u a te su p p ly o f tr o o p s ,
h o ld th e l i n e , b u t t h e r e was no q u e s tio n t h a t th e
ta k e n
p o litic a l
w eakness
te r r ito r y
com parable
most
e f f e c t i v e a d v an tag e o f C h in a 's m i l i t a r y and
and
d i s t r a c t i o n , and th e Shanyu now c o n tr o lle d a
to
t h a t o f h i s g r e a t a n c e s to r Modun.
I t was a
rem ark a b le p e r s o n a l ach iev em en t f o r th e a g in g le a d e r Yu, now w e ll i n t o h is s e v e n t i e s . w ith in
a
C hinese
At t h i s c r i t i c a l moment, how ever, th e Shanyu d ie d , and
s ta rtlin g ly had
sh o rt
tim e
th e
s itu a tio n
was re v e r s e d , th e
re ta k e n th e n o r t h , and th e Xlongnu em pire was on th e way
t o I t s own d e s tr u c tio n *
The d ivisio n of the Xiongnu 46-50: S in ce
h is
fa th e r
H uduer8hidaogao
he
governm ent s o u th e rn not
Shanyu
had d ie d i n 31 BC, th e
had
He had r e ig n e d o v e r th e Xiongnu f o r a lm o st t h i r t y
re -e s ta b lis h e d
th e
com plete
Independence
of
h is
from th e in f lu e n c e o f th e C h in e se, and he had ex ten d ed th e te rrito rie s
been
ftih a n x le
ru o d i Shanyu Yu must have been ab o u t e ig h ty y e a rs o ld
when he d ie d i n 46* y e a rs,
th e
u n d er
of
nomad
th e em pire a c r o s s f e r t i l e c o u n try which had c o n tr o l
s in c e
th e
g re a te s t
days
of
h is
a n c e s to rs .
In sh o u ld
th e s e expect
c irc u m s ta n c e s , and
p la n
to
it be
was
only
n a t u r a l t h a t th e Shanyu
succeed ed by h i s s o n s .
The e l d e s t ,
228 Wudadlhou,
had
a lr e a d y
been named Worthy King o f th e L e f t, and when
h i s f a t h e r d ie d he came t o th e th ro n e w ith th e g e n e r a l a p p ro v a l o f th e c o u rt. th e
He, I n t u r n , named h i s younger b r o th e r Punu a s Worthy King o f
L e f t.
Wudadlhou d ie d a few months l a t e r , I n th e same y e a r , and
Punu d u ly succeed ed him .
On th e w hole, t h e r e I s n o th in g p a r t i c u l a r l y rem ark ab le a b o u t t h i s lin e
of
s u c c e s s io n .
A d m itte d ly , th e Shanyu Yu had come t o power a s
th e
r e s u l t o f th e sy stem o f t r a n s f e r o f a u t h o r i t y from one b r o th e r to
th e
n e x t, b u t t h i s had been th e r e s u l t o f a s p e c i a l arran g em en t a f t e r
th e d e a th o f th e Huhanxle Shanyu, and I t was n o t th e r e g u la r custom o f th e
Xlongnu.
been
rig h tly
h a lf-b ro th e r Wang
accu sed
p a r ty
c e n tre d
o f r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r th e d e a th o f h i s younger
Y ltu z h ly a s l,
Z haojun,
C hinese had
A gain, I t was v e ry p o s s ib ly t r u e t h a t th e Shanyu Yu had
but
th a t
was
l a r g e ly
around
Y ltu z h l y a s l v8
th e son o f th e ftih an x le Shanyu by th e Lady p ro b ab ly to o k p la c e a t a tim e when th e p ro -
th e
d is c re d ite d ,
Shanyu
h a lf-s is te r
and
a fte r
th e
In trig u e
th a t
X ian , th e Lady Yun (who was a t once h is
n ie c e ),
and
her
husband
th e
ren eg ad e and p r e te n d e r Shanyu Xubu Dang.
At
th e tim e
o f h i s d e a th , th e n , th e Shanyu Yu
co u ld re a s o n a b ly
b e lie v e
th a t
he had e s t a b l i s h e d a good c la im t o
th e th ro n e on b e h a lf
of
own
lin e a g e .
I t I s v ery p o s s ib le t h a t
th e e x is te n c e o f h is
s o n 's s e r i o u s and u lt i m a t e l y f a t a l I l l n e s s
was a lre a d y known a t
h is
e ld e r
th e tim e Yu h im s e lf d ie d , and I t was I n ac c o rd an ce w ith th e exam ple o f h i s f a t h e r th e Huhanxle Shanyu t h a t he a rra n g e d f o r th e I n h e r ita n c e t o
229 p a ss
from
one
of
h is
sons
to
th e
n e x t;
c e r ta in ly » I f a son of
Wudadihou had come to th e th ro n e on h i s f a t h e r 's d e a th i n 46» he would p ro b ab ly have been to o young t o m a in ta in a u t h o r i t y .
D e sp ite c la im a n t
th e s e
to
th e
arran g em en ts» however» th e r e was a n o th e r p o s s ib le th ro n e :
Bi»
e l d e s t s u r v iv in g son o f th e W uzhullu
ru o d l Shanyu Zhl» Y u's e l d e r h a lf - b r o th e r » who had d ie d i n 13.
The Shanyu Zhi had r e ig n e d f o r tw en ty y ears» and we a r e t o l d t h a t he
to o had a tte m p te d to a rra n g e th e s u c c e s s io n i n fa v o u r o f h i s sons»
b u t t h i s p la n had been overcome by th e i n t e r v e n t i o n o f th e p ro -C h in e se p a rty » and» o f course» by th e c o n tin u in g In f lu e n c e o f th e te s ta m e n t o f th e to
ftih a n x le Shanyu.
Thus th e s u c c e s s io n t o th e s t a t e had gone f i r s t
Xian and th e n to Yu» th e lin e a g e o f th e Shanyu Zhi had been p a sse d
over»
and
e ith e r
of
tw e n ty - f iv e p rin c ip le
y e a rs
la te r
th e r e was no p a r t i c u l a r reason»
o r custom» t h a t th e s u c c e s s io n sh o u ld r e t u r n to
Z h l's d e s c e n d a n ts .
B1» tim e
of
however» th e
fro n tie r
of
d is c o n te n t c o u r t,
Shanyu th e at
and had
M arquises c o n tr o l h i s
e v id e n tly th o u g h t t h a t i t sh o u ld .
were
Yu,
em p ire, not
when
Bi
Even d u rin g th e
was g iv en command on th e e a s te r n
n e ig h b o u rin g th e
Wuhuan, ^
he had
shown
b ein g made h e i r - a p p a r e n t, had r e fu s e d t o a tte n d
made th e Shanyu s u f f i c i e n t l y s u s p ic io u s t h a t two Gudu s e n t to s u p e r v is e th e governm ent o f h i s t e r r i t o r y and
m ilita ry fo rc e s .
Bi was in c r e a s in g ly d i s s a t i s f i e d .
230
and
The
e v e n ts o f 46 and th e fo llo w in g y e a rs w ere e x tre m e ly com plex,
th e
C hinese
a c c o u n ts
of
them a r e o f te n a b b r e v ia te d , g e n e r a lly
c o n fu s in g ,
and n a t u r a l l y e x p re s s e d from th e v ie w p o in t o f th e c o u r t o f
Han.
a p p e a r s , how ever, t h a t th e r e were th r e e main f a c t o r s which
It
b ro u g h t
an
Im m ediate c r i s i s t o th e Xiongnu c o u r t.
I n e v it a b l e
p o litic a l
e x p e rie n c e d a fte r
ru le r
th e
s e v e rity d ro ugh t
an
which
accom panied th e d e a th o f an
and th e q u ick s u c c e s s io n o f two younger h e i r s , one
o th e r. of
u n c e r ta in ty
The f i r s t was th e
The a lre a d y
second
was
th e c o n tin u a tio n and In c re a s e d
e s t a b l i s h e d d ry s p e l l , now c u lm in a tin g I n a
and a p la g u e o f I n s e c ts w ith s e r io u s consequences f o r an im als
and men. The t h i r d was a sudden a t t a c k by th e Wuhuan, e r s tw h ile a l l i e s and
even v a s s a ls o f th e X iongnu, by which th ey s e iz e d a la r g e a re a of
g ra z in g
c o u n try
In
th e e a s t o f th e em p ire .
As a r e s u l t o f t h i s , we
are
to ld
th a t
th e new Shanyu Punu s e n t an embassy to th e Guangwu to
a sk
fo r
peace
w ith C hina, and a r e t u r n em bassy came back n o r th from
Luoyang.
It te rm s:
Is
hard
as
Wuhuan
been
doin g
of
may
Im p o rtan ce
o f th e s e e v e n ts I n r e a l
s u g g e s ts , th e e f f e c t s o f b o th th e d ro u g h t and be e x a g g e ra te d .
The X iongnu, a f t e r a l l , had
a d ry s p e l l would make them o n ly th e more I n t e r e s t e d
te rrito rie s
s ig n if i c a n c e th a t
a tta c k
th e
v e ry w e ll In m i l i t a r y term s f o r y e a rs b e fo re h a n d , and th e
c o n tin u a tio n th e
ju d g e
B le le n s te ln
th e
In
to
of
to
th e s o u th . I n s id e C hina.
The re a s o n and th e
th e Wuhuan a t t a c k c a n n o t be a s s e s s e d ; I t I s p o s s ib le
th e C hinese d e fe n c e s , o r even C hinese a g e n ts , had d iv e r te d t h e i r
a t t e n t i o n a g a i n s t t h e i r a n c ie n t en em ies; and I t I s p e rh a p s s i g n i f i c a n t th a t
th e
d is tric t
c o n tr o lle d by th e d is c o n te n te d p rin c e B1 b o rd e re d
upon th e Wuhuan - he p ro b a b ly s u f f e r e d some lo s s of p r e s t i g e .
231 It th e
i s , again» d i f f i c u l t t o c o n te m p la te w hat was d is c u s s e d d u rin g
exchange o f e m b a s s ie s .
Punu
was
p re se n t th o s e
con cern ed weakness»
of
h is
th a t and
The Chinese r e c o rd s s t a t e t h a t th e Shanyu Han
th a t
a n c e s to r s
m ight
he
in
ta k e m i l i t a r y ad v an tag e o f h i s
asked f o r peace on s im ila r term s to
th e p a s t .
On th e o th e r hand» s in c e th e
Xiongnu now c o n t r o l l e d such a g r e a t amount o f Former Han t e r r i t o r y » i t is
d iffic u lt
p ro p o sin g
a
p robab ly »
he
c o n tro l»
and
to
s e e w hat term s c o u ld be n e g o tia te d .
Was th e Shanyu
w ith d ra w a l back t o th e form er G reat W all f r o n t i e r ? was
s u g g e s tin g
o ffe rin g
en cro a c h m en ts.
a
to
C o n sid e rin g
tru c e » put
th e
a
b ased s to p
to
More
on e x i s t i n g a r e a s o f fu rth e r
ra id s
and
p r e s t i g e and th e amount o f t e r r i t o r y
in v o lv ed » i t i s h a rd to im agine t h a t e i t h e r s id e was e x p e c tin g to g a in a
lo n g -te rm
peace,
and
th e
exchange
of
em bassies
may w e ll have
r e p r e s e n te d an o p p o r tu n ity f o r th e new Shanyu to g a in re c o g n itio n from Han and f o r b o th s i d e s t o o b ta in a b r e a th in g sp ace i n t h e i r w ar.
We
a re
next
Xiongnu
te rrito ry ,
p r iv a te
m essenger
th a t
Bi to
th a t sent
when
th e
th is
s u g g e s te d
C hinese embassy came to th e
a c e r t a i n C hinese named Guo Heng a s h is
o f f e r a map o f Xiongnu t e r r i t o r y , b e in g a s ig n
he was p re p a re d t o subm it t o Han.
fo llo w e d and
t o ld
In th e fo llo w in g y e a r , 47, he
m essage by a v i s i t to th e Grand A d m in is tra to r o f X lhe, th a t
he
sh o u ld
a c t a s a s u p p o r te r o f Han w ith in th e
Xiongnu governm ent.
T h is seems v ery d an g ero u s b e h a v io u r, b u t th e r e i s p ro b ab ly t r u t h in
th e
s to ry .
The e s s e n t i a l p o in t i s t h a t th e C hinese now knew o f
232 B i's
d is a ffe c tio n ;
som ething B i's
to
th e
tr e a c h e r y
in
tim e
it
may
enco u rag e i t .
grow ing
ic a tio n s
and
th e
of
be
s u g g e ste d
th a t
th e y
had done
In f a c t i t i s p o s s ib le t h a t th e w hole o f
may
be
tr a c e d back to some p r iv a te commun
e a r ly 4 0 s , b e fo re th e d e a th o f th e Shanyu Yu and a t
h i s f i r s t s u s p ic io n s .
Given B i's p o s s ib le c la im to th e
s u c c e s s io n , and h i s p re s e n c e n e a r th e n o r t h e a s te r n f r o n t i e r s , i t would not
be
s u rp ris in g
c o n ta c t ,
i f some a g e n ts o f th e C hinese governm ent had made
sy m p ath ised
w ith and en co u rag ed h i s s e n s e o f i n j u s t i c e , and
p re p a re d th e ground f o r h i s l a t e r d e f e c t i o n .
Even of
as
X ihe,
B1 was o f f e r i n g h i s s e r v i c e s t o th e Grand A d m in is tra to r
how ever,
th e
two Gudu M arquises who had been a p p o in te d t o
s u p e rv is e him w ere r e p o r t i n g a b o u t h i s i n t e n t i o n s to th e Shanyu.
When
th e
c o u rt g a th e re d a t Longcheng f o r th e s a c r i f i c e o f th e f i f t h m onth,
th e
m a rq u ises
th re a t
to th e s t a t e .
n o b le B l.
argued
rank
th a t
B1
sh o u ld be a r r e s t e d and e x e c u te d a s a
One o f B i 's younger b r o th e r s , how ever, who h e ld
a t c o u r t , le a r n e d o f th e p la n and s e n t word p o s t- h a s te to
In f e a r f o r h is l i f e , B1 g a th e re d th e commanders and s o l d i e r s of
h is
command,
th e
two
th e
c o u r t;
te n
thousand
some
Gudu
f o r t y o r f i f t y th o u san d men, and p re p a re d t o k i l l
M a rq u ise s.
The m arq u ises e scap ed and re p o r te d back to
th e Shanyu Punu s e n t an armed f o r c e a g a in s t Bi o f p erh ap s c a v a lr y ,
but
th e y saw th e y were o u tn u m b e re d and th e y
tu rn e d back w ith o u t f i g h t i n g .
We
are
t o l d t h a t Bl had th e
s u p p o rt o f e ig h t
d i v i s i o n s ^ , and
i n th e s p r in g o f 48, s e v e r a l months a f t e r th e open b re a c h , when i t was
233 e v id e n t e ig h t
th a t
s itu a tio n
a t a sta le m a te » th e le a d e r s o f th e
Bi was n o t h a s ty o v e r th e m a tte r .
h e a d q u a rte rs
su g g e s t and
was
d i v i s i o n s d is c u s s e d th e q u e s tio n o f e s t a b l i s h i n g him a s a r i v a l
Shanyu. h is
th e
to
th e
Ordos
During th e year» he moved
re g io n , and s e n t envoys to C hina t o
t h a t he sh o u ld ta k e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r d e fe n d in g th e f r o n t i e r
act
as
respond ed
a
to
b u ffe r th is
s ta te
a g a in s t
th e
n o r th .
Emperor Guangwu
p roposed a l l i a n c e w ith a r e tu r n embassy a c c e p tin g
th e o f f e r , and when t h i s m a tte r was s e t t l e d , i n th e w in te r o f 48/49 Bl p ro claim e d h im s e lf Shanyu.
He to o k th e d y n a s tic t i t l e o f X lluo sh iz h u
d l Shanyu, b u t he a l s o s t y l e d h im s e lf a s Huhanxle Shanyu, b ecau se b o th he
and
h is
s u p p o r te r s
g r a n d f a th e r ,
who
had
were an x io u s to a c c e p t th e p re c e d e n t o f B l's re c e iv e d
C hinese
s u p p o rt
a g a in s t
riv a l
1A
c la im a n ts . °
In of
th is
in te re s t.
governm ent y ears,
Punu,
had
h is w ith
a b le
more
It
s e rie s is
been
o f e v e n ts , t h e r e a r e some s p e c i a l p o in ts
re m a rk a b le , c o n tro lle d
by
fo r
exam ple, t h a t a lth o u g h B l's
th e two Gudu M arquises f o r some
he does n o t a p p e a r to have had any d i f f i c u l t y i n o b ta in in g and
k e e p in g
not
whole
fig h tin g th e
men and t h e i r p e o p le .
In c o n t r a s t , th e Shanyu
e s s e n t i a l r e s o u r c e s o f th e s t a t e a t h i s command, was
to m is te r more th a n a f r a c t i o n o f h i s enem y's power.
S till
s u r p r i s i n g l y , a s e a r l y a s 46, soon a f t e r th e C hinese exchange o f
e m b assie s
w ith
w illin g n e s s
to
o rd e rs
th e
fo r
th e
Shanyu
accept
R inu, a t th e tim e Bi f i r s t i n d ic a te d h i s
C hinese
disbandm ent
of
s u z e ra in ty , th e
m ajor
th e Han governm ent gave d efen ce l i n e s a lo n g th e
n o rth e r n f r o n t i e r , w ith th e e v id e n t assu m p tio n t h a t peace was s e c u r e .
234 These
C hinese s ig n s o f c o n fid e n c e , shown so e a r l y , ap p ear a s I n d i r e c t
e v id e n c e th e
t h a t th e Xiongnu s t a t e was i n s e r io u s d i f f i c u l t y even b e fo re
in te rn a l
sh o u ld
p o l i t i c a l c r i s i s d e v e lo p e d .
p e rh a p s
s e v e rity
accept
more
of
th e
d ro u g h t
s ta te s
th a t
th e
g r a s s la n d
th ird s
of
th e
Xiongnu
e x a g g e ra te d ,
but
se v e re ,
th a t
and
it
In th e s e c irc u m s ta n c e s , we
r e a d ily th e h i s t o r i a n s ' a c c o u n ts o f th e
in
th e s te p p e was
had
a t th is
tim e . Hou Han Shu
red u ced to b a re e a r t h and t h a t tw o-
d ie d o f s t a r v a t i o n . ^
T his i s
s u r e ly
i s c e r t a i n l y p o s s ib le t h a t th e d ro u g h t was v ery
i t d r a s t i c a l l y a f f e c t e d th e p o l i t i c a l and m i l i t a r y
f o r c e s a v a i l a b l e t o th e c e n t r a l governm ent o f th e Xiongnu.
In
a ll
in f lu e n c e of
h is
on
how ever,
it
B i 's a c t i v i t i e s .
a tte m p t
d iv is io n s , th e
th is ,
at
i s h a rd n o t to s u s p e c t some C hinese I t seems v e ry l i k e l y t h a t th e s u c c e s s
in d e p e n d e n c e,
re fle c ts
s u b s id ie s
s u p p o rte d by th e le a d e r s o f e ig h t
and b r ib e r y from C hinese h a n d s.
Even
speed w ith w hich th e d e fe n c e s were ea se d a t th e tim e o f h i s f i r s t
p ro p o s a ls
fo r
d e f e c tio n i n 46 may r e f l e c t a c o n fid e n c e i n th e f u t u r e
which was c e r t a i n l y borne o u t by e v e n ts .
In
48,
was
a c o u rt
it
i s s a id ,
grounds
when
Bi
p ro p o sed
a l l i a n c e w ith Han, we a r e t o l d th e r e
c o n fe re n c e to d is c u s s th e m a tte r . a ll
At th e c o n fe re n c e , so
who spoke w ere opposed t o th e id e a , on th e g e n e r a l
t h a t i t was p rem atu re f o r th e newly r e s to r e d Han t o u n d e rta k e
su ch
a commitment and t h a t th e b a r b a r ia n s co u ld n o t be t r u s t e d .
Guo,
how ever,
m is s io n ,
and
spoke
e n e rg e tic a lly
Geng
i n fa v o u r o f r e c e iv in g B i 's su b
th e em peror a g re e d ; Geng Guo was th e n s e n t a s l e a d e r o f
th e embassy t o a d v is e c o n s e n t.
20
235 The Geng
s to r y
o f th e
Guo h im s e lf ,
and
c o u r t c o n fe re n c e comes from th e th e
p a tte rn
b io g rap h y o f
o f th e a n ecd o te I s fo rm u la , o r
c li c h e :
a l l a d v ic e u rg e s one p a r t i c u l a r p o l i c y , b u t th e n th e h e ro o f
th e p ie c e
sways th e d e b a te w ith h i s elo q u en ce and wisdom, and h i s p la n
Is
ad o p te d .
The c h ie f p u rp o se o f th e s t o r y I s n o t t o
p ro c e e d in g s
of
a
d is c u s s io n
but
d e s c r ib e th e
to enhance th e r e p u ta tio n o f Geng
Guo.
Geng Guangwu
GUo
and one o f h i s most com petent g e n e r a ls .
o rig in a lly Geng
from
Guo's
c e rn in g
and
th e
T here
Is
s id e r
th e
The Geng fa m ily came
th e r e g io n o f Changan, b u t f o r m ost o f th e c i v i l war
fa th e r
commandery,
th e
was th e younger b r o th e r o f Geng Yan, an o ld comrade o f
had been Guangwu's Grand A d m in is tra to r o f Shanggu
Geng
Guo
was a r e s p e c te d a d v is e r on q u e s tio n s con
n o r th e r n b a r b a r ia n s , p a r t i c u l a r l y th e Wuhuan and X la n b l.
no
e v id e n c e f o r th e s u g g e s tio n , b u t I t I s tem p tin g t o con
p o s s ib ility
t h a t Geng Guo was In some way re s p o n s ib le f o r
c o v e r t m anoeuvres w hich s e n t Wuhuan trib e sm e n a g a in s t th e Xlongnu
and a ls o .p e r s u a d e d th e d is c o n te n te d p rin c e B1 to tu r n a g a in s t h i s c la n and h i s c o u n try .
In Shanyu, n o r th .
49,
th e
new
Shanyu B l, h e r e a f t e r d e s c rib e d a s th e S o u th ern
s e n t an e x p e d itio n u n d er h i s younger b r o th e r Mu t o a t t a c k th e They
claim ed
of
d r iv in g
th e r e s t o f th e enemy away to th e n o r th .
th irty
Punu,
th ousand
w ith
success,
b r o th e r
w ith
Shanyu
c o n s id e r a b le
c a p tu rin g th e younger
o th e r p e o p le , h o rs e s and c a t t l e , and Ttoo Gudu M arq u ises,
p e o p le u n d er t h e i r command, came s o u th to j o i n
236 B l.
At th e same tim e , m oreo v er, th e N o rth ern Xiongnu were a tta c k e d by
th e
X lanbl
to
from th e h i l l c o u n try o f th e w e st, who had been p ersu ad ed
th e
a tta c k
by th e Grand A d m in is tra to r o f L iaodong, Zhal Tong; he
a
rew ard
fo r
gave
numbered
two
co n tin u e d
ev ery
th o u s a n d .
th e ir
head
21
th e y to o k , and th e f i r s t In s ta lm e n t
The
a tta c k s
Wuhuan,
a ls o ,
fu rth e r
s o u th ,
e v id e n tly
and numbers of t h e i r le a d e r s came to
China to o f f e r t r i b u t e and a l l i a n c e and r e c e iv e a p p r o p r ia te g i f t s
D e sp ite
th is
a c tiv ity
of
non-C h in ese
a l l i e s , o r even p erh ap s
because o f I t , th e S o u th ern Shanyu c o n tin u e d h i s n e g o tia tio n s w ith th e c o u rt of Han, and a p p e a rs to have so u g h t w ith I n c r e a s in g a n x ie ty f o r a form al h is is and
re la tio n s h ip of a llia n c e .
He asked to r e s t o r e th e t r e a t y t h a t
g r a n d f a th e r had h e ld , he o f f e r e d t o send a son a s h o s ta g e , and i t s a id
th a t
s ta te
even
as tr ib u te
m ain ta in e d Shanyu
he
c o n tr o l
proposed to
of
to
o ffe r
t r e a s u r e s o f h i s fa m ily
Han; th e N o rth ern Shanyu, o f c o u rs e , had
th e o f f i c i a l s t a t e
t r e a s u r y , so th e S outhern
may n o t have had a g r e a t d e a l t o o f f e r , b u t h i s I n te n tio n s a r e
made c l e a r .
The S o u th ern Shanyu w as, in d e e d . I n a d i f f i c u l t p o s i t i o n , and th e fact
th a t
h im s e lf . n o r th ,
he had
b ro u g h t I t
ab o u t made I t no e a s i e r to e x t r i c a t e
He had s m a ll chance o f r e c o n c i l i a t i o n w ith h i s c o u s in i n th e he
had th e
p o s s ib ility
th a t
arm ies o f th e
China
at
h is
b ack , and he had th e
e n e r g ie s o f th e Wuhuan and th e X lanbl c o u ld a t
any p o in t be tu rn e d n o t j u s t a g a in s t th e N o rth ern X iongnu, b u t a g a in s t a ll
Xiongnu.
I f he was r e l y i n g t o any d e g re e on C hinese s u b s id ie s .
237 th e n
th e
p o s s ib ility
have
upon
th e
o f t h e i r w ith d ra w a l, and th e e f f e c t t h i s would
lo y a ltie s
of
h is
p r e s e n t f o llo w e r s , m ust have been
p e r s o n a lly q u i t e f r i g h t e n i n g .
In
th e
a n o th e r
s p r in g
G en eral
of
50,
th e C hin ese s e n t a n o th e r em bassy, under
o f th e Gentlemen of th e H ousehold, Duan Chen, and on
t h i s o c c a s io n th e S o u th ern Shanyu was fa c e d in p u b lic w ith th e r e a l i t y of
h is
th a t was
s itu a tio n .
th e y th e
When th e envoys came b e fo re him , th e y announced
c a rrie d d u ty
w ith them an e d i c t from th e Son o f Heaven, and i t
and
c o u r te s y o f th e Shanyu t h a t he sh o u ld p erfo rm th e
kowtow i n r e s p e c t f o r i t .
T his
was
a
The Shanyu h e s i t a t e d , and th e n obeyed.
m is e ra b le
h u m ilia tio n ,
and
th e fo rm al end o f any
e x p e c ta tio n o f in d e p e n d e n c e.
No su ch p r o s t r a t i o n had been re q u ire d of
th e
n o r any o f h is s u c c e s s o rs in th e tim e of
firs t
Former
Huhanxle
Shanyu
Han,
not
even
of
th e
em peror
e m b a rra sse d ,
and
we
p re se n c e
when
th e y
h im s e lf .
v is ite d 23
Hie
Changan
and w ere i n th e
Shanyu was
d e s p e r a te ly
a r e t o l d t h a t h i s c h ie f s u p p o r te r s w ept f o r th e
shame o f i t .
In and
who He
fo llo w in g
m ilita ry
summer, of
th e
a
m onths, th e r e w ere some c o m p lic a te d p o l i t i c a l
m anoeuvres
betw een N orth and S o uth.
t h i r d Shanyu was p ro c la im e d .
For a tim e i n th e
T his was th e younger b r o th e r
Punu, who had been c a p tu re d by th e South i n th e p re v io u s y e a r , but made h i s e sc a p e t o th e no -m an 's la n d betw een th e opp o sin g f o r c e s . was
su p p o rte d
by
f i v e o th e r l e a d e r s , Gudu
M arquises
who had
238 abandoned T h is
sm a ll g ro u p , how ever, soon f e l l o u t amongst th e m se lv e s, and when
th e an
th e south» p o s s ib ly i n d i s g u s t a t B i 's su b s e rv ie n c e t o Han.
s u r v iv o r s a nay
from
S outhern th e
a tte m p te d to r e t u r n t o th e s o u th th e y were c a p tu re d by th e
N o rth ern
Shanyu.
In
th e w in te r o f 5 0 /5 1 , th e
Shanyu s e n t an army to t h e i r s u p p o rt, b u t i t was d e fe a te d by
fo rc e s
of
th e
N o rth .
For th e n e x t s e v e r a l y e a r s , t h e r e was no
fu rth e r la rg e -s c a le f ig h tin g .
D uring were
50,
made
u n d er
to
a fte r b rin g
th e
sa d ceremony o f th e kowtow, arran g em en ts
th e S ou th ern Shanyu p erm an en tly and e f f e c t i v e l y
C hinese c o n t r o l .
At th e o r d e r s o f th e Han c o u r t, h i s r e s id e n c e
was
moved from th e n o r th o f th e G reat W all o u ts id e Wuyuan, f i r s t i n t o
th e
te rrito ry
w in te r ,
of
Yunzhong
commandery,
and
th e n , i n th e fo llo w in g
to th e neighbourhood o f th e c i t y o f M e iji i n Xihe commandery.
M e ljl,
near
re g io n
of
th e th e
commandant c o u n ty ,
w e ste rn Ordos
d u rin g
w ith
bank o f th e Yellow R iv e r, i n th e n o r th e a s t
lo o p ,
had
been
th e Former Han p e r io d .
th e
h e a d q u a rte rs o f a c h ie f
I t was now m a in ta in e d a s a
C hinese o f f i c i a l s i n re s id e n c e to s u p e rv is e th e conduct
and th e governm ent o f th e Shanyu.
The g iv en th e h o ld
o ffic ia l
p r im a r ily
r e s p o n s ib le
fo r
th is
s u p e r v is io n was
th e t i t l e G en eral o f th e Gentlemen o f th e H ousehold E m issary t o Xlongnu th a t
p r in c e ly s u c c e s s o rs
( s h i Xiongnu zhonglangjiang) p o s itio n
s ta te
in
was th e
Duan
Chen.
and th e
firs t
C hinese t o
L ike a B r i t i s h R e sid e n t i n a
tim e o f th e In d ia n em p ire , Duan Chen and h i s
had u ltim a te a u t h o r i t y o v e r th e governm ent o f th e S o u th ern
239 Xlongnu:
th e y
were
of
p o lic y ,
d is c u s s io n s e n su re
th e y
were
a d m in i s t r a t o r s C hinese
a g e n ts
o f Han a t h i s c o u r t, th e y to o k p a r t In
and th e y checked h i s d e c is io n s and o r d e r s t o
a c c e p ta b le
and
to
Han.
s e c re ta rie s ,
w ith
The E m issary had a s t a f f o f a
lo c a l l y r e c r u i t e d f o r c e o f
tro o p s o f some two and a h a l f th o u sand men under an A s s is ta n t
C o lo n e l.
In
p erm an en tly
p a rtic u la r,
at
th e
we a r e t o l d t h a t f i f t y men w ere s ta tio n e d
r e s id e n c e
of
th e
Shanyu
to a c t a s h i s "body
g u a r d " .25
The tim e
Shanyu
on
th e r e
h o s ta g e ,
were
of
does th e s e
appear
e a rly
rem ark ab ly
by
arran g m en ts
exchanges
of
fo r
an
m issio n s
an n u a l change o f w ith
r e p o r ts
how ever, th a t
s ta g e s
and
and c o n g r a tu la tio n s from th e Shanyu, and g i f t s
from th e em peror t o th e Shanyu and h i s r e l a t i v e s .
h im s e lf , not
one o f h i s so n s to Luoyang, and from t h i s
r e g u la r
re sp e c t
s u b s id ie s
Shanyu
sen t
accom panied
m em orials and
now
of
n ev er
v is ite d
th e Im p e ria l c o u r t, and I t
he was ask ed a g a in t o p erform th e kowtow. e s ta b lis h m e n t,
The
th e
g ifts
from
In
China were
g e n e ro u s. I n c lu d in g n o t o n ly s i l k and g o ld f o r th e le a d e r s
b u t a ls o on o c c a s io n g r a in f o r th e p e o p le .
As awarded
B l e le n s te in to
a n y th in g Han.
th e
p o in ts
c o u rt
re c e iv e d
of
o u t. th e
In
fa c t,
th e
s c a le o f th e g i f t s
S o u th ern Shanyu was f a r g r e a t e r th a n
by th e f i r s t H uhanxle Shanyu I n th e tim e o f Former
He h as f a i r l y e s tim a te d t h a t th e o f f i c i a l g i f t s to th e Shanyu B1
and h i s Im m ediate fo llo w e r s I n th e f i r s t e i g h t y e a rs o f su b m issio n was alm o st
as
much
as
th e t o t a l o f p r e s e n ts to th e Xlongnu In th e l a s t
240 f i f t y y e a rs o f Former Han. does
not
from
a
re fe r
by
Xiongnu
100.900.000 had
b u t w hich i s d is c u s s e d by Yu Y in g -sh ih
m em orial
S o u th ern
im p e ria l
r e c e iv e d
7 .8 0 0 .0 0 0
th e
an n u al
su b sid y
of
more th a n
o v er
th e
y e a rs,
but
th e r e
i s no q u e s tio n t h a t th e
c o u rt was p ay in g h e a v ily f o r th e m aintenance o f t h e i r puppet
fa c t.
W estern
an
I t i s p o s s i b l e , a s Yii p o in ts o u t, t h a t th e su b sid y
and b u f f e r s t a t e i n th e n o r th ,
In
- i t a p p e a rs
th e m in is te r Yuan An, p re s e n te d in 91, t h a t th e
s ta te
cash .
In c re a s e d
F u rth erm o re - a p o in t to which B ie le n s te in
cash
Yuan
An
b ein g
2
re fe rre d
p a id
a ls o
a n n u a lly
to to
s u b s id ie s th e
am ounting
to
v a rio u s s t a t e s o f th e
R egions w hich w ere now t r i b u t a r y to Han, w h ile th e Account o f
X ianbl
te lls
us
th a t
i n th e tim e o f Emperor Ming th e r e was an
an n u a l su b sid y p a id t o th e X ianbl trib e s m e n beyond th e f r o n t i e r s o f no le s s Xu.
th a n
27
270
m illio n c a s h , le v ie d on th e two p ro v in c e s o f Qlng and
As Y3 o b s e rv e s ,
th e r e i s no r e f e r e n c e t o
paym ents w hich may
have been made a t one tim e o r a n o th e r to th e Wuhuan o r Qlang trib e sm e n of
th e n o r t h e a s t and th e w e s t, b u t th e " p r o te c tio n " paym ents by China
to
th e nom inal a l l i e s o f th e em pire may have amounted to a s much a s 7
per
cent
of
th e a n n u a l re v e n u e o f th e em p ire, o r p e rh a p s a t h i r d o f
th e t o t a l governm ent p a y - r o l l .
These paym ents w ere In d e e d a v e ry h ig h p r o p o r tio n o f th e im p e r ia l b u d g e t. y e a rs 24.000
On war
th e o th e r h an d , we a r e t o l d t h a t th e c o s t o f th e tw elv e
a g a in s t
th e
r e b e l Qiang from 107 t o 118 was e s tim a te d a t
m illio n c a s h , and th e second r e b e l l i o n o f th e Q lang, d u rin g th e
241
e a r l y 140s, c o s t 8 ,0 0 0 m illio n c a s h . Jio n g
a g a in s t
th e
Qlang
The triu m p h a n t cam paigns o f Duan
i n 168 and 169 had an o r i g i n a l e s tim a te o f
5,400 m illio n c a s h , b u t a c t u a l l y c o s t o n ly 4,400 m illio n cash*
On
28
t h i s b a s i s , i t may be c a l c u l a t e d t h a t th e im p e r ia l governm ent
had an a n n u a l m i l i t a r y e x p e n d itu re a g a in s t th e Qlang d u rin g th e tw elv e y e a rs
of
cash,
w hich i s tw enty tim es th e amount m entioned by Yuan An i n 88 f o r
th e
t h e i r f i r s t r e b e l l i o n from 107 t o 118 o f some 2 ,000 m illio n
annual
su b sid y
v a ria tio n s th a t
of
th e
fra c tio n s e r v ic e
v a lu e
s u b s id ie s of
to
th e
a g a in s t
th e S o u th e rn Xiongnu*
betw een to
Even a llo w in g f o r th e
one p e rio d and a n o th e r , i t seems c l e a r
v a s s a l s t a t e s and p e o p le s was no more th a n a
c o s t r e q u ir e d to m a in ta in m i l i t a r y f o r c e s i n a c tiv e them*
I t i s d i f f i c u l t t o ju d g e th e s i g n i f i c a n c e o f
th is
d r a in o f t r e a s u r e upon th e economy a s a w hole, b u t i t i s c e r t a i n
th a t
much
r e tu rn e d fa r
of to
le s s
th e China
from
th is
money
and
goods p a id o v e r to th e b a r b a r ia n s was
th ro u g h t r a d e , and th e common p eo p le would s u f f e r form
o f e x p e n d itu re th a n from th e m is e r ie s and
w aste o f m i l i t a r y re c r u itm e n t and r e q u i s i t i o n s f o r th e arm ies*
A lto g e th e r ,
though
th e
im p e r ia l
governm ent
of
l a t e r Han was
paying a h ig h p r ic e f o r th e s e c u r i t y o f r e c e iv in g nom inal t r i b u t e from th e
Xiongnu
and o th e r p e o p le s a lo n g th e f r o n t i e r , i t a p p e a rs to have
been a p r i c e t h a t th e governm ent co u ld a f f o r d to pay*
In exch an g e, a t
l e a s t a s f a r a s th e S o u th ern Xiongnu w ere co n cern ed , th e C hinese co u ld see th e ir
in
t h e i r n o r th a new b u f f e r zo n e, d iv id in g th e m i l i t a r y power o f m ost
a n c ie n t
enemy,
and
e ffe c tiv e ly
under
th e
c o n tr o l o f
242
im p e r ia l
o ffic ia ls .
Even th e c o s t o f d a n eg eld may be l e s s th a n th e
e x p e n s e s , s t r a i n s and u n c e r t a i n t i e s o f w ar.
The northern peace 51-85: As
th e
S o u th ern
e s ta b li s h e d la n d s
h is
Shanyu
c a p ita l
e n te r e d
at
th e
G reat
W all f r o n t i e r and
M e ljl, h i s p e o p le sp re a d o u t a c ro s s th e
o f th e Ordos and th e f r o n t i e r com m anderies f u r t h e r t o th e e a s t .
Each
of
Shanyu g ra z in g
th e B1
e ig h t
was
d iv is io n s
a llo c a te d
la n d ,
from
B eid l
th e
which
had su p p o rte d th e c la im o f th e
t e r r i t o r y o f a Han commandery f o r i t s
i n th e so u th w est to Dal commandery i n th e
e a s t.
At th e same tim e , th e im p e r ia l f o r c e s o f Han had a ls o advanced to th e
form er f r o n t i e r , and i n 50 th e r e was an im p e ria l e d i c t announcing
th e
r e - e s ta b lis h m e n t
r e s e ttle m e n t
o f th e f r o n t i e r com m anderies and o r d e r in g t h e i r
by C h in ese.
I n te r n u n c io s were s e n t , w ith c o n v ic ts whose
s e n te n c e s w ere r e la x e d b u t who w ere e x i l e d t o th e n o r th , t o r e p a i r th e o ld
d e fe n c e s
is s u e d homes.
and
occupy
them ,
and
g r a n ts o f money and g r a in were
to en co u rag e re fu g e e s from th e n o r th t o r e t u r n t o t h e i r form er In
51, th e whole p r o j e c t was p u t under th e a u t h o r i t y o f th e
s e n io r o f f i c i a l . Grand Commandant Zhao X i. was s e t t l e d .
29
In e v ita b ly , s u c c e s s fu l. tw en ty
We a r e t o l d t h a t th e n o r th
how ever,
th e
r e s e ttle m e n t
was
only
m a rg in a lly
Many o f th e re fu g e e s had abandoned th e n o r th te n y e a r s ,
o r ev en a g e n e r a tio n e a r l i e r , and one way o r a n o th e r th e y w ere
243
re -e s ta b lis h e d governm ent to
th e
in
were
China,
and
in
abandoned th e p r o j e c t .
n o r th ,
th e
th e
la te r, was
of
57 an e d i c t o f th e new Emperor Ming fo rm a lly
30
b a s is
cen su s re la te
fig u re s to
th e
a v a i l a b le
on
a
commandery -b y -
s i t u a t i o n alm o st one hundred y e a rs
on th e eve o f th e f i n a l C hin ese w ith d ra w a l i n th e 140s.
and
backw ards
th e
Han had c e r t a i n l y r e s t o r e d a C hinese p re se n c e i n th e
The
c e rta in ly
y ears,
re s o u rc e s
d e c lin e i n numbers o f s e t t l e r s had been n o th in g l e s s th a n
c a ta s tro p h ic . commandery
a d m in is tr a tiv e
q u i t e in a d e q u a te to c o l l e c t them and r e p a t r i a t e them
n o rth ,
Though
The
some
lo s s
of
p o p u la tio n
There
in th e in te r v e n in g hundred
i t i s d i f f i c u l t t o e x t r a p o l a t e w ith any acc u ra cy from 140 to
th e
5 0 s,
b u t th e f i g u r e s n o n e th e le s s show an enormous
d e c lin e from th e p o s i t i o n d e s c r ib e d a t th e c en su s o f 2 AD, tow ards th e end o f Former Han.
The t a b l e on page 244 p r e s e n ts a co m parison.
31
The t a b l e m ust be I n t e r p r e t e d w ith some c a r e , f o r th e b o rd e rs o f th e commanderles a t th e tim es o f th e two c e n su ses were n o t e n t i r e l y th e sam e, and some c o u n tie s had been s h i f t e d from one a d m in is tr a tio n to a n o th e r : D lngxiang, f o r exam ple,
l o s t t e r r i t o r y to Yunzhong and
g a in e d i t from Yanmen, w h ile Yanmen expanded i t s t e r r i t o r y a t th e expense o f Dal and o f T aiyuan commandery, f u r t h e r to th e s o u th . A gain, many o f th e Former Han c o u n tie s o f Shang and B e ld i commanderl e s which were a b o lis h e d had been s i t u a t e d i n th e s o u th , n e a r th e o ld c a p i t a l d i s t r i c t a b o u t Changan, and some d is ta n c e from th e form er fro n tie r.
We know t h a t Emperor Guangwu d i s e s t a b l i s h e d a c o n s id e ra b le
244
T able 2:
C hinese P o p u la tio n Changes i n th e N orth 2-140 AD
p ro v in c e :
c o u n tie s ; p o p u la tio n by in d iv id u a ls
commandery
Former Han (2 AD)
Later Han (140)
You: Shanggu
15; 117,762
Dal
18; 278,754
l i ; 126,188
Yanmen
14; 293,454
14; 249,000
D lngxiang
12; 163,144
Yunzhong
11; 173,270
i i ; 26,430
Xihe
36; 698,836
13; 20,838
Wuyuan
16; 241,328
10; 22,957
Shuofang
10; 136,628
Shang
23; 606,658
8;
51,204
Bing:
5;
6;
3,571
7,843
10; 28,599
L ian g : B e id i
19; 210,688
6;
18,637
245
number
of
in te re s ts
cou n ty of
a d m in is tr a tio n s
economy,
th ro u g h o u t
th e
em pire
in
th e
and th e s e may w e ll have been a f f e c te d by t h a t
32 c o n s i d e r a t i o n .J
On
th e
o th e r
hand,
th e
o v e ra ll
p a tte rn i s s tr ik in g .
In th e
g e n e ra l a r e a o f th e te n com m anderies, th e re c o rd e d p o p u la tio n d e c lin e d from
a lm o st
th r e e
m i llio n
c e n tu ry and a h a l f . per
cent
in
to
l e s s th a n 500,000 i n th e c o u rse o f a
M oreover, w h ile th e d e p o p u la tio n amounts to f i f t y
th e Shanggu/D ai a r e a , and i s much l e s s n o tic e a b le ab o u t
Yanmen, th e s i t u a t i o n from D lngxlang and Yunzhong westw ard i s m arkedly more
s e rio u s .
numbers
and
form er
pow er.
a v e ra g e th o usan d
a
Shang
and
B e id i commanderies had l o s t g r e a t
o f t h e i r p e o p le , e v id e n tly by m ig ra tio n southw ards t o th e Wei
v a lle y
w ere
X ihe,
beyond, In
p o p u la tio n
w h ile 140, of
a
Shuofang and Wuyuan a r e rem nants o f t h e i r f o r exam ple, i t may be c a lc u la te d t h a t th e co u n ty
in
Wuyuan
was
a l i t t l e o v e r two
p e o p le , men, women and c h il d r e n ; th e h o u seh o ld s a t t h a t tim e
a s s e s s e d a t 4 ,6 6 7 , l e s s th a n f i v e hundred p e r c o u n ty .
sm a ll
v illa g e s , p ro v id e
number, th e r e fo r
sp re a d can
out
h a rd ly
among have
c itie s
W ith such
which were no more th a n
been enough C hinese p o p u la tio n to
more th a n th e s e r v ic e s o f th e a d m in is tr a tio n , th e c r a f t s
r e q u ir e d by any s e ttle m e n t, and p ro b a b ly th e m ain tenance o f some tr a d e w ith
th e
s u rro u n d in g p a s t o r a l p e o p le s .
D esp ite th e p o s s i b i l i t i e s o f
i r r i g a t i o n a g r i c u l t u r e , th e r e w ere n o t s u f f i c i e n t c i v i l i a n s t o s u p p o rt a p e a s a n t c u l t u r e i n th e n o r th .
246
On
any
p o p u la tio n r e ig n
of
There
can
Its e lf th e
a n a ly s is ,
must have ta k e n p la c e d u rin g th e tu rm o il a t th e end o f th e Wang
Mang
have
and
th e
f r o n t i e r w ars In th e tim e o f Guangwu.
been few p eo p le l e f t I n th e n o r th when th e Han c o u rt
d e c la r e d th e commanderl e s abandoned, and th e low p o p u la tio n o f
140s
re fle c ts
co m p arativ e of
Che g r e a t e r p a r t o f t h i s re d u c tio n I n C hinese
th e
fa ilu re
S outhern
fa irly
not
assume
o n ly th e d is tu r b a n c e s o f l a t e r y e a rs b u t th e
o f th e r e s e ttle m e n t p o l i c i e s a f t e r th e s u r r e n d e r
X longnu.
th a t
th e
For a l l th e p e rio d o f L a te r Han, we may numbers o f C hinese p e o p le I n th e n o r th were
few , and t h e i r o c c u p a tio n o f th e ground was m inim al.
On to
th e
assess.
th e
Xlongnu s i d e , p o p u la tio n f i g u r e s a r e even more d i f f i c u l t We a r e t o l d , f o r exam ple, t h a t In 90, a f t e r th e d e f e a t o f
N o rth ern
h o ld s ,
X longnu,
th e
S o u th ern Shanyu c o n tr o lle d 34,000 house
237,300 I n d i v i d u a l s , w ith 50,170 f i g h t i n g men.
rem ark s,
how ever,
e a rlie r,
th e
s u rre n d e re d
t h i s I s s u r e ly an
c h r o n ic le at
o c c a s io n s .
one
te lls
us
u n d e rs ta te m e n t;
As B le le n s te ln a sh o rt
tim e
t h a t more th a n 200,000 p e o p le had
tim e , b e s id e s s e v e r a l te n s o f th o u san d s on o th e r
A gain, I t
Is
s a id
la te r
th a t
th e p eo p le o f f i f t e e n
d i v is io n s a tte m p te d to e sc a p e a g a in t o th e n o r th , and t h a t th e numbers of
th e s e
assume
p eo p le
th a t
to ta lle d
d iv is io n s
200 ,0 0 0 .
There I s no re a s o n , how ever, to
o f th e Xlongnu w ere I n any way e q u a l I n s i z e ,
and we a re n o t t o l d how many p eo p le had accom panied th e Shanyu B1 when he
came
seems
so u th
most
I n to China w ith h i s e i g h t d i v is io n s o f f o llo w e r s .
lik e ly ,
how ever,
numbered a lm o st 100,000 p e o p le .
th a t
It
by th e 50s h is fo llo w in g a lr e a d y
247
If n o rth
th is th e
C hinese
is
a
Xiongnu
fa ir
e stim a te » th e n i n many commanderies o f th e
w ith in
s e ttle rs .
In
th e
fro n tie rs
outnum bered
th e re tu r n e d
th e e a s t» i t a p p e a rs t h a t th e Xiongnu had no
m ajor p re s e n c e i n Shanggu commandery - t h a t was e v id e n tly re s e rv e d f o r th e
Wuhuan - and i n Dai and Yanmen th e C hin ese p ro b ab ly sh a re d i n th e
econom ic
a c tiv ity
a u th o rity . beyond
no
Xiongnu
w e ll
as d o m in atin g th e m i l i t a r y and p o l i t i c a l
From th e v a lle y o f th e Dahel R iv e r w estw ard s, how ever, and
th e
seems
as
Yellow
R iv er
q u e s tio n
acro ss
th a t
th e Ordos s te p p e and d e s e r t , th e r e
th e p red o m in an t way o f l i f e was t h a t o f th e
p a s t o r a l l s t s ; though he had come i n s u b ju g a tio n , th e S outhern
Shanyu
Bi
had
r e tu r n e d
h is
fa m ily
and h i s p e o p le t o t h e i r form er
home.
W ith fro n tie r Xiongnu
th e
S o u th ern
Shanyu
e s ta b lis h e d
in s id e
th e
G reat W all
and und er th e p r o t e c t i o n o f th e Han governm ent, th e N o rth ern were
com pelled
to
a c c e p t th e f a c t o f th e d iv i s i o n o f t h e i r
s tre n g th ,
and th e y came to se e k term s w ith China on t h e i r own b e h a lf .
In
am bassadors
51,
commandery,
in
th e
came Gansu
to
th e
c o rrid o r,
Grand to
c o n fe re n c e was h e ld t o d e b a te th e q u e s tio n .
A d m in is tra to r ask
fo r
peace.
of
Wuwei A c o u rt
34
We a r e t o l d t h a t th e c o n fe re n c e had d i f f i c u l t y i n re a c h in g a g re e m ent,
and
it
was
co ncerned
w ith a c r i t i c a l d e c is io n o f
p o lic y .
On
ta k e
o f f e n s iv e , and a s i n g l e cam paign co u ld s o lv e th e problem o f
th e
th e
Xiongnu
th e
c e rta in ly
fo r
one han d , th e r e were argum ents t h a t Han sh o u ld now
e v er.
With th e a id o f th e S outhern Shanyu and th e
248
o th e r
b a rb a ria n s ,
power
of
th e
X la n b i, Wuhuan and Q lang, I t was p o s s ib le t h a t th e
N o rth ern Xlongnu co u ld be d e s tro y e d , and th e Shanyu Bi
s e t upon th e th ro n e to r u l e a s a g r a t e f u l c l i e n t o f C hina.
T his p o lic y
was u rg ed m ost e n e r g e t i c a l l y by th e g e n e r a ls Zang Gong and Ha Wu.
However, and
th e
th ro n e
even
Shanyu of
minded
Bi had been p la c e d by f o r c e o f C hinese arms upon th e
h is
c r e d ite d
i f such a campaign had been s u c c e s s f u lly m ounted,
a n c e s to rs ,
i t may be q u e s tio n e d how long such a d i s
r u l e r would have l a s t e d among h i s r e s e n t f u l and in d e p e n d e n tp eo p le
o r,
assum ing he and h i s lin e a g e d id m a in ta in th e s u c
c e s s io n , how lo n g th e y would be p re p a re d to a c c e p t th e d o m in atio n o f a d is ta n t
o v e r lo r d
in
C hina.
G r a titu d e
fo r
s e r v ic e s to th e f i r s t
Huhanxle
Shanyu had l a s t e d o n ly one g e n e r a tio n u n d er th e p ro v o c a tio n s
of
Mang,
Wang
c o u n tr y ,
fa r
and
once
d is ta n t
th e Shanyu was a t h i s own c o u rt i n h i s own
from
th e
c e n tr e s
of
C hinese pow er, a n o th e r
m i l i t a r y e x p e d itio n would be r e q u ir e d to b rin g him under c o n tr o l i f he once tu r n e d away.
Peace by th e r o u te o f war was v ery h a rd t o s e e k .
M oreover, we a r e t o l d t h a t Guangwu h im s e lf arg u ed a g a in s t th e war p o lic y
on
grounds
o f ex p en se and m i l i t a r y r e s o u r c e s .
I t may b e, a s
B ie le n s te in a r g u e s , t h a t he la c k e d e n erg y f o r th e c a u s e , and h i s e d i c t in
re p ly
to
Zang Gong and Ma Wu i s couched i n g e n e r a l p h ilo s o p h ic a l
te rm s, b u t in th e s i t u a t i o n o f th e tim e h i s c a u tio n i s u n d e rs ta n d a b le . A lthough
th e
c iv il
war
was
o v e r,
it
had been a c o n d itio n o f th e
s e ttle m e n t a t th e c o n c lu s io n o f h o s t i l i t i e s t h a t th e Former Han system of
m ilitia
tra in in g
be
abandoned, p r im a r ily i n o r d e r t o red u c e th e
249
number
of
d is o rd e r.
tra in e d
oc
men
who
m ight
r i s e t o arms i n
The em pire in d e e d had o n ly
tim es o f f u tu r e
r e c e n tly been
s e t t l e d » and
th e c e n t r a l governm ent was by no means r e s t o r e d t o th e p r o s p e r ity t h a t th e
c o u rt o f Former Han had e n jo y e d .
a lre a d y
o b serv ed
a g a in s t
th e
th a t
Xiongnu
C hinese i n th e
In th e s e c ircu m stan ces» we have
tro o p s
e a rly
had a c h ie v e d lim ite d su c c e s s
40s» when f i g h t i n g i n s id e C hinese
te rrito ry .
The c o s t o f r a i s i n g an a d e q u a te army would be g re a t» th e
d iffic u ltie s
o f r e c r u itm e n t
th e
of
need
ch an ces
f a i l u r e w ere by no means n e g l i g i b l e .
The army would
to o p e r a te f a r beyond th e f r o n t i e r s » w ith a l l i e s and a u x i l i a r i e s
composed a g a in s t
of th e ir
conseq u en ces p o te n tia l Sm all yet
and t r a i n i n g would be c o n s id e ra b le » and
fo r
wonder to
fic k le own fo r
trib e sm e n p e o p le .
th e
th a t
th e
east
and Xiongnu f i g h t i n g
And i f th e e x p e d itio n sh o u ld f a i l » th e
em pire
d is c o n te n t
from
i n l o s t p r e s tig e » w asted r e s o u rc e s and
and
b a n d itr y
Gdangwu h e s i t a t e d .
co u ld be v ery g r e a t in d e e d . The tim e o f th e war p a r ty was
come; b u t i n due c o u rse th e em pire d id e x p e rie n c e th e r e s u l t s
of th e ir p o lic ie s .
On tim e
th e
and
th e
o v e r tu r e s to o H e ir
had
of its
A pparent
d iffic u lty :
o th e r
hand»
s itu a tio n , peace?
if
o u trig h t
co u ld
th e
war was in a p p r o p r ia te t o th e C hinese
governm ent a c c e p t th e
I t was th e l o g i c a l a l t e r n a t i v e , b u t t h i s p o lic y
p ro b le m s.
At th e c o u r t c o n fe re n ce i n 51, th e im p e r ia l
and f u t u r e Emperor Ming, L iu Zhuang, s e t o u t th e b a s ic
250
I f we can n o t a t t h i s tim e send o u t tro o p s» and y e t on th e c o n tr a r y we e n t e r i n t o n e g o tia tio n s w ith th e N o rth ern enemy; th e n I am a f r a i d t h a t th e S o u th ern Shanyu could have second th o u g h ts , w h ile th e N o rth e rn e rs who t a l k o f s u rre n d e r may n o t come t o u s a g a in . b
No p o l i t i c i a n who h a s e v e r had t o d e a l w ith a s m a ll b u t a m b itio u s a l l y can th is
fa ll
to
and
S o u th ern
cause
peace
d ip lo m a tic a lly
w ith in
w ith
w ith w ith
th e y were h o ld in g Han t o ransom .
If
Shanyu became an x io u s and u n c e r ta in h i s f o llo w e rs co u ld
tr o u b le
c ilia tio n
a ls o
In
r e s p e c t a t l e a s t , th e Shanyu Bi and h i s f o llo w e rs had g a in e d th e
in itia tiv e , th e
sy m p ath ise w ith th e p o s i t i o n o f th e Han governm ent.
h is
th e
b o rd e rs o r he h im se lf m ight se e k a re c o n
b r o th e r s
in
th e n o r th .
I f Han was to m a in ta in
th e S o u th ern Xiongnu, th e y co u ld n o t a f f o r d t o have peace th e
c irc u m s ta n c e s
N o rth ern was
to
c o u r t.
re fu se
The h e i r - a p p a r e n t 's a d v ic e i n th e
a l l r e l a t i o n s w ith th e N o rth , and r e l y
upon th e m ain ten an ce o f th e S o u th ern Xiongnu a s a l l i e s on th e f r o n t i e r under
C hinese
c o n tro l.
T his
p o lic y
was a d o p te d , and i t no doubt
acco rd e d w ith th e w ish es o f th e f a t h e r a s w e ll a s th e so n .
In b rin g in g
52, how ever, a second embassy came to th e f r o n t i e r , t h i s tim e h o rs e s
and
f u r s a s t r i b u t e , and o f f e r i n g term s w hich would
g iv e China u n d is p u te d a u t h o r i t y i n th e W estern R eg io n s. th is
o c c a s io n ,
re c e iv e d d r a f te d Guangwu,
at by
u n lik e
c o u rt th e
in
th o s e
of
Luoyang.
c e le b r a te d
The envoys on
th e p re v io u s y e a r , w ere a p p a re n tly In th e m essage o f r e p l y , how ever,
s c h o la r Ban Biao and approved by Emperor
th e o v e r tu r e s o f th e Xiongnu were t r e a t e d w ith a rro g a n c e and
d is c o u r t e s y ,
and th e Shanyu was u rg e d r a t h e r to o f f e r su b m issio n th a n
251
to
look f o r an a l l i a n c e o f
th e
N o rth ern
g r a n te d
Shanyu
made
f r ie n d s h ip .^ one
la s t
T hree y e a rs l a t e r , I n 55,
a tte m p t.
His m essengers were
g i f t s o f s i l k and a l e t t e r s e a le d w ith th e Im p e ria l s e a l , b u t
no f u r t h e r re sp o n se was made by th e C hinese s i d e .
In
56,
p rin c ip le title Mo.
S o u th ern
Shanyu
Bl
d ie d .
p a sse d
to
h is
younger
b r o th e r ,
Mo, how ever, d ie d I n th e fo llo w in g
a ls o
In a cco rd an ce w ith th e
t h a t he had arg u ed on h i s own b e h a lf , th e s u c c e s s io n to h is
was
38
th e
by
a
younger
y e a r , and he was
b r o th e r , th e Y lfay u lii d l Shanyu Han.
y e a rs,
he
e ld e s t
son S h i, th e X ltong sh lzh u h o u d l Shanyu.
he
was
a ls o
th e Q lufuyou d l Shanyu
was
succeed ed
re ig n e d
as
a n o th e r
son
W ithin two
d ead , and I n 59 th e s u c c e s s io n r e v e r te d to B l 's When Shi d ie d I n 63,
by h i s c o u s in Su, son o f th e form er Shanyu Mo, who
Q lu c h u ju lln of
succeeded
B l,
dl
Shanyu.
A few months l a t e r , he d ie d and
th e Huxle shlzh u h o u d l Shanyu Chang, su c c e e d e d .
Chang re ig n e d more th a n tw en ty y e a r s u n t i l h i s d e a th I n 85.
D uring th e p e rio d o f sev en y e a rs when s i x Shanyu had fo llo w ed one a n o th e r ,
th e
y o u n g est
w ith in
d isa g re e m e n t fa c t
w hich
e s s e n tia l th e o r i e s
o rd e r
of each
was
g e n e r a tio n .
m a in ta in e d There
Is
no
from
e l d e s t to
I n d ic a tio n
of
o r d i f f i c u l t y I n m a in ta in in g th e o r d e r o f I n h e r ita n c e ; a p ro b a b ly
re fle c ts
p o w e rle ssn e ss of
s u c c e s s io n
s u c c e s s io n
of
th e
th e
c o n tr o l
Shanyu
as
of
th e C hinese and th e
mich a s th e t r a d i t i o n a l
esp oused by th e l a t e Shanyu B l.
y e a r s , th e n o r th e r n f r o n t i e r a p p e a rs to have been a t p e a c e .
For s e v e r a l
252
Emperor who
Guangwu
d ie d
th is
p e rio d
in h e r i t e d
i n 57, and was succeed ed by Emperor Ming» of
peace»
but
by th e e a r l y 60s i t was
e v id e n t t h a t th e s i t u a t i o n was becoming l e s s s t a b l e . th e
N o rth ern
Xiongnu
On th e one hand»
once more tr o u b lin g th e b o rd ers» and a r a i d i n
62» w ith s i x o r sev en th o u san d horsem en, p lu n d e re d w ith in th e f r o n t i e r a c ro s s o ff
a
by
Xihe
f r o n t o f a hundred k ilo m e tr e s u n t i l th e r a i d e r s were d riv e n a
combined f o r c e o f S o u th ern Xiongnu and C hinese tro o p s from
commander y .
e x te n d in g
At
peace
p re p a re d
to
th e
fe e le rs ,
e x p lo re
same tim e , th e N o rth ern Shanyu was a g a in and
th e
n e g o tia tio n s
governm ent in
of
Emperor Ming was
th e hope o f en d in g th e b o rd e r
d is tu r b a n c e s .
In th e summer o f 65, how ever, when th e envoy Zheng Zhong was s e n t to
th e
N o rth ern
c o u r t , v a rio u s groups o f th e S outhern Xiongnu a g a in
became s u s p ic io u s o f C hinese i n t e n t i o n s tow ards them , and th e y i n tu r n sent of
m essengers th e s e
to n e g o tia te w ith th e N o rth .
m e sse n g e rs,
appoin tm en t
of
a
and
he
Zheng Zhong cau g h t one
s e n t a m em orial t o Luoyang u rg in g th e
m i l i t a r y commander on th e f r o n t i e r to p re v e n t com-
39 m u n ic a tio n s betw een S outh and N o rth . 7
The
d e fe n c e s
i n th e n o r th were v ery s p e e d ily s tr e n g th e n e d .
The
G en eral o f th e Gentlem en o f th e H ousehold Wu Tang was a p p o in te d A ctin g G eneral a
Who
fro n tie r
M o n g o lia .^ un d er
th e
C rosses c ity
th e L ia o , w ith h e a d q u a rte rs a t Manbo i n Wuyuan,
somewhere
S o ld ie r s command
of
n o r th
of
p r e s e n t-d a y
were s e n t from th e th r e e
m ilita ry
Baotou
i n In n e r
base a t L iyang,
c o lo n e ls , and a t th e same tim e a C hief
253
Commandant
of
C avalry was d e sp a tc h e d t o M e ijl t o a s s i s t th e S o u th ern
Shanyu and a l s o to e n s u re h i s l o y a l t y .
The Liao
e s ta b lis h m e n t
o f th e army u n d er th e G eneral Who C ro sses th e
marked a change I n C hinese p o lic y .
had
been
firs t
p u t fo rw ard by th e a d v is e r Geng Guo even a t th e tim e o f th e
n e g o tia tio n s
th a t
th e
d efen ce
The p ro p o sa l f o r such a p o s t
fo r
governm ent of
th e
p o s s ib ility
Shanyu
s u r r e n d e r ,^ 1
and
I t Is c le a r
was co n cern ed n o t o n ly w ith th e sim p le m i l i t a r y
fro n tie r
th a t
B l 's
th e
from a t t a c k by th e n o rth b u t a ls o w ith th e
N o rth ern
and
S o u th ern
XLongnu m ight combine
a g a in s t th e C h in ese.
I t may be o b se rv e d , a g a in , t h a t r e c r u itm e n t o f th e tro o p s f o r th e new
command r e f l e c t s th e w eakness o f C hinese p o p u la tio n i n th e n o r th .
The
Hanguan y i
o f Ying Shao, w r i t t e n l a t e I n th e
second c e n tu ry AD,
re c o rd s t h a t Emperor (Aiangwu had e s t a b l i s h e d a g r e a t camp a t L iyang, a co u n ty
of
Xunxlan of You,
c iv il Ji
war and
in
J1
p ro v in c e ,
now i n th e v i c i n i t y o f
T his was do n e, so we a r e t o l d , becau se In th e tim e
Gbangwu had r e c r u i t e d th e g r e a t e r p a r t o f h is men from Bing p r o v in c e s , and th e camp a t Liyang was d e sig n e d and
as
s u p e r v is io n
fe s s io n a l at
commandery
i n Henan.
m a in ta in e d th e
Wei
a
r e c r u i t i n g and t r a i n i n g d e p o t. of
re se rv e .
an
I n te r n u n c io ,
I t was s e t up u n d er
and th e s o l d i e r s formed a p ro
From th e tim e o f Emperor Ming onw ards, th e camp
Liyang e v id e n tly became th e m ajor so u rc e o f tro o p s f o r th e command
o f th e f r o n t i e r G en eral Who C ro sse s th e L ia o .* 2
254
In
th is
d efen ce
way, i t a p p e a rs t h a t th e C h in ese f o r c e s in v o lv e d i n th e
o f th e f r o n t i e r were l a r g e l y r e c r u i t e d f o r lo n g -te rm s e r v i c e .
C o n sid e rin g
th e
sm a ll
a lr e a d y ,
it
but
arran g em en t
th e
Yellow
o f p o p u la tio n w hich we have o b serv ed
would h a r d ly be a p p r o p r ia te t o r e l y on c i t i z e n s o l d i e r s ,
R iv er
m ilita ry
numbers
in d ic a te s
th a t
th e
la n d s i n th e n o r th o f th e
and th e Ordos re g io n were now p r o te c te d by p r o f e s s io n a l
fo rc e s
in much th e same manner a s th e i s o l a t e d d i s t r i c t s o f
th e Gansu c o r r i d o r and th e E dsln Gol s a l i e n t f u r t h e r to th e w e s t.
T here
is
some q u e s tio n a s to th e n a tu r e o f th e C hinese m i l i t a r y
d is p o s i t i o n s i n th e n o r th d u rin g th e p e rio d a f t e r th e s u rre n d e r o f th e S o u th ern
Xiongnu.
We
have
a lre a d y
t h a t th e emergency
Emperor Guangwu a g a in s t
th e a t ta c k s o f th e
d e fe n c e s e s t a b l i s h e d
by
Xiongnu
abandoned
had been
m entioned
in
46,
v ery
soon
in tim a tio n s o f th e d i v i s i o n among th e X iongnu.
a fte r
th e
firs t
Based upon th e C hinese
re c o rd , B i e l e n s t e l n a rg u e s t h a t t h i s a c t i o n e n t a i l e d th e w ith d ra w a l o f C hinese
g a r r is o n s from a l l th e p o s i t i o n s o f th e G reat W all, in c lu d in g
th e re g io n o f th e Gansu c o r r i d o r . ^
F or
a number
B le le n 8 t e l n v8
does
re fe re n ce
in
th e
manning
th e w atchtow ers
re fe rre d
to
n o rth e r n
S h an x i,
However,
th o s e
of
re a s o n s , how ever,
not
ap p e a r c o r r e c t .
C hinese
h is to ry in
to
th is
In te rp re ta tio n
of
F i r s t l y , he arg u es t h a t th e th e d e m o b ilis a tio n o f tro o p s
th e b o rd e r
commanderies
can n o t
have
fa c in g th e Xiongnu i n th e re g io n o f th e Ordos and becau se
B ie l e n s t e l n
has
th o s e
d e fe n c e s had a lr e a d y been o v e r - r u n .
h im s e lf
been
d e s c r ib in g
how
th e
Han
255
governm ent was a tte m p tin g t o s e t up new w a lls and o th e r f o r t i f i c a t i o n s alo n g
th a t
C hinese w hich
s h iftin g
te x t were
to
zone
of
in d ic a te
abandoned
d e fe n c e ,
and th e r e i s n o th in g i n th e
t h a t i t was n o t th o s e tem porary p o s itio n s
a fte r
th e
s e c e s s io n
of
th e f u tu r e S outhern
Shanyu.
S e c o n d ly , th a t
th e
Emperor
a lth o u g h
re g io n
B ie l e n s t e i n
c i t e s th e s u g g e s tio n o f Lao Kan
o f Juyan may have been abandoned d u rin g th e tim e o f
Guangwu,
Lao
K an's s u g g e s tio n i s I t s e l f , q u i t e n a t u r a l l y , a
t e n t a t i v e o n e , b e in g b ased upon th e ab sen ce o f d a te d wooden s l i p s from th e E d8in Gol r e g io n f o r th e p e r io d fo llo w in g 31 AD. from no
n e g a tiv e fu rth e r
been
e v id e n c e i s in c o n c lu s iv e , and a lth o u g h i t i s tr u e t h a t
d a te d
u n e a rth e d
be fo u n d .
Such an argum ent
s l i p s from th e m id d le o f th e f i r s t c e n tu ry AD have
i n th e E d sln G ol, i t i s p o s s ib le t h a t some a r e y e t to
44
More
s p e c ific a lly ,
how ever,
th e
docum ents
found by S i r A urel
S te in in th e rem ains o f H an-tim e f o r t i f i c a t i o n s n o r th o f Dunhuang, th e firs t
to
be
tr a n s la te d
d is c o v e re d
by
in
C havannes.
modern
tim e s ,
have
been
Indexed and
Among th o s e s t r i p s , th e r e a r e d a te d t e x t s
f o r th e y e a r s 35, 43, 46, 50, 53, 56, 61 and so on th ro u g h th e d y n a sty up
to
th e
m iddle
of
th e
second c e n tu ry
I f th e Wall
in th a t
r e g io n
was abandoned i n 46 o r 47, i t was v e ry soon manned a g a in .
as
have
we
f u n c tio n if
th e
d is c u s s e d
And
ab o v e, th e Juyan s a l i e n t perform ed a v a lu a b le
a s p a r t o f th e d e fe n c e s o f th e re g io n o f th e Gansu c o r r id o r : W all
a t Dunhuang was m a in ta in e d , i t i s e x tre m e ly l i k e l y t h a t
256 th e
fo rtific a tio n s
a lo n g
th e
whole
Juyan s a l i e n t , w ere a l s o i n o p e r a tio n .
In w hich
sum, is
Xlongnu
one
lin k e d and
may n o te t h a t th e d e m o b ilis a tio n a t th e end o f 46, in
th e
o f th e c o r r i d o r , I n c lu d in g th e 46
th e A nnals to th e a t t a c k o f th e Wuhuan upon th e
b e g in n in g
o f th e d e f e c tio n o f th e p rin c e B i, would
have been o f p rim ary im p o rtan ce t o th e r e g io n o f th e Ordos lo o p o f th e Yellow have
R iv er been
and th e f r o n t i e r s f u r t h e r e a s t .
any
good
cau se
fo r
th e
There does n o t seem to
C hinese t o q u i t th e G reat W all
f r o n t i e r in th e w e s t, a lo n g th e Gansu c o r r i d o r , and th e b a la n c e o f th e e v id e n c e would i n d i c a t e t h a t th e y d id n o t do so .
It system
is
v e ry
of
p o s s ib le t h a t th e d is e s ta b lis h m e n t o f th e emergency
d e fe n c e s
in th e n o r th d u rin g 46 marked a c e s s a tio n to any
C hinese r e l i a n c e on f ix e d p o s it i o n s in t h i s re g io n f o r th e tim e b e in g . C e rta in ly movement w hich
th e r e of
is
Xlongnu
fo llo w e d
B ie le n s te in looked
d u rin g
perm anent
a llie s th e
c e rta in ,
fo r
fo llo w in g
and
th e
and
th e
it
o f C hinese I n te r f e r e n c e i n th e
s o u th in th e few y e a rs o f c o n fu sio n
s e p a ra tis t
a rg u e d ,
as
e v id e n c e
n o r th
B i 's
h as
upon
re lia b le
little
re v o lt.
a p p e a rs enem ies
d e fe n c e
y e a rs,
e s ta b lis h m e n t
of
th e
c o n tr a r y ,
as
t h a t th e S o u thern Xlongnu were o f th e N o rth , and to t h a t e x te n t
of
th is
On
im p e ria l t e r r i t o r y .
However,
assu m p tio n m ust have seemed l e s s th e
command o f th e G eneral Who
C ro sses th e L iao was e v id e n tly accom panied by a r e - o r g a n is a tio n o f th e d e fe n c e s th e
e a s t.
a lo n g
th e
n o r th e r n lo o p o f th e Yellow R iver and f u r t h e r to
In th e a r e a o f You p ro v in c e , o p p o s ite th e Wuhuan, i t would
257
seem t h a t some c o n tr o l o f th e f r o n t i e r was m a in ta in e d from th e tim e o f Emperor and
Guangwu onw ards, I f o n ly to e n fo rc e th e r e s t r i c t i o n s o f tr a d e
movement
w hich
are
Im p lie d
by
th e
e s ta b lis ta ie n t o f o f f i c i a l
m arkets u nder th e s u p e r v is io n o f th e C olonel P r o te c to r o f th e Wuhan a t Nlng i n Shanggu commandery
T here
rem ains
fo r
c o n s id e r a tio n
th e
l i n e o f th e Yellow R iv er
alo n g th e w e ste rn s id e o f th e Ordos lo o p , betw een Wuwei commandery and Shuofang. R egion,
T h is is
fla n k e d
T engger.
At
p ic k e ts
re a c h in g
p o s s ib le Yellow
t e r r i t o r y , now l a r g e ly u n der th e N lngxla Autonomous on
e ith e r
s id e by th e d e s e r ts o f th e Ordos and
one tim e o r a n o th e r i n Former Han, th e r e was a l i n e o f
th a t
w est from Shuofang to th e o a se s o f Ju y an , and i t i s
l a t e r Han a l s o m a in ta in e d some p a t r o l s s o u th a lo n g th e
R iv er o r e a s t a c r o s s th e d e s e r t .
On th e o th e r h and, th e r e a r e
numerous r e f e r e n c e s to n o n -C h in e se , Xlongnu and QLang, tr a v e r s i n g t h i s re g io n
w ith o u t
m ilita ry
a p p a re n t
a u th o ritie s
I n t e r f e r e n c e , and i t does n o t seem t h a t th e
of
L a te r
Han
w ere
s u f f i c i e n t l y co ncerned to
expend t h e i r lim ite d r e s o u rc e s on th e f u l l c o n tr o l o f t h i s r e g io n . lo n g th e
as
n o rth ,
d e s e rts th e
th e
So
r e g io n from Shuofang e a stw a rd s was p ro p e rly d efended i n and
betw een
o c c a s io n a l
th e
Gansu
c o r r i d o r was p r o te c te d i n th e s o u th , th e
were s u f f i c i e n t l y i n h o s p ita b le t o d is c o u ra g e a l l b u t ra id in g
p a r t y , and were c e r t a i n l y n o t a re g io n which
would o f f e r a m ajor t h r e a t .
In Road
th e
th ro u g h
f a r w e s t, how ever, among th e o a s is c i t i e s a lo n g th e S ilk c e n t r a l A sia , where th e C hinese p re se n c e had been w ith -
258 drawn
s in c e
f in d
an
o p p o r tu n ity
cen tu ry » p e tty
th e
th e ir
of
King
re c o v e re d
Xian»
N o rth ern In
th e
was
dead
s e c e s s io n
c ro s s
S outh;
th e
one
of
and
th e
N o rth ern Xiongnu » somewhat
th e South» were se e k in g t o expand a p ro te c to ra te .
48
C lo se r to home»
a ls o begun o p e r a tio n s a g a in s t th e C hinese
In c id e n t,
C hinese More
we
are
made
t o l d t h a t two tho u san d horsem en
b o a ts
o f i n f l a t e d h o rs e s k in s so th e y
d e fe n c e s w ere a l e r t e d , how ever, and th e in v a d e rs
s e rio u s ,
it
a p p e a rs
t h a t th e r a id in g a g a in s t th e
p o s i t i o n s a lo n g th e Gansu c o r r i d o r was so a c tiv e and t r o u b l e
th a t
th e
th e d a y tim e .
By
had
and
th e Yellow R iv er and c o n ta c t d i s a f f e c t e d s u b je c ts o f th e
w ithdrew . C hinese
Xiongnu
Shuofang
could
In th e f i r s t p a r t o f th e f i r s t
Yarkand» b u t by th e e a r ly 60s th e e n e r g e tic r u l e r o f
from
approach ed
had
e x p a n sio n .
I n f lu e n c e and r e - e s t a b l i s h
n o r th .
some
fo r
c i t i e s o f A sia were dom inated by th e l o c a l power o f th e
s ta te
Yarkand»
th e
th e tim e o f Wang Mang» th e N o rth ern Xiongnu were a b le to
g a te s o f th e c i t i e s had to be k e p t c lo s e d even d u rin g
AQ
th e e a r l y 7 0 s, t h e r e f o r e , th e d is tu r b a n c e s a lo n g th e f r o n t i e r
become
s u ffic ie n tly
s u ffic ie n tly s tr o n g ,
i r r i t a t i n g , and th e C hinese governm ent f e l t
t h a t a m ajor e x p e d itio n was p lan n ed a g a in s t th e
N o rth ern Xiongnu.
IV enty Xiongnu, th e
and
re s to re d
fe e lin g
th a t
y e a rs
of
b a s ic
peace
and
s e c u rity
w ith th e S o u th ern
a whole g e n e r a tio n o f u n i f i e d governm ent i n China under Han
d y n a s ty , had e v id e n tly b ro u g h t Emperor Ming t o th e
th e
n a tio n
co u ld
now
a f f o r d some s e r io u s a tte m p t a t
259
dominance
over
th e
n o r th e r n
s te p p e and th e W estern R eg io n s.
There
w as, m oreo v er, a d e f i n i t e w ar p a r ty a t th e c o u r t, le d by Geng Bing and Dou Gu. Geng
Both were members o f g r e a t f a m i l i e s : Geng Bing was th e son o f
Guo,
Xlongnu w hich
a d v is e r
s u rr e n d e r had
to
Emperor
in
fo llo w e d ;
Rong,
h is
a llia n c e
c iv il
who
w ar.
had
and
a t th e tim e o f th e S o u th ern
th e
l a t e 4 0 s, and a r c h i t e c t o f th e s e ttle m e n t
Bing
h im s e lf was r e s p e c te d a s an e x p e r t on th e
a f f a i r s o f th e f r o n t i e r . ^ Dou
Guangwu
Dou Gu was a nephew o f th e g r e a t
w a rlo rd
dom inated th e r e g io n o f th e Gansu c o r r id o r u n t i l su b m issio n to Guangwu i n th e c lo s in g s ta g e s o f th e
The Dou fa m ily had been p ro m in en t a t c o u rt and le a d e r s o f
a p o w erfu l f a c t i o n i n th e tim e o f Guangwu; b u t th e y were d ism isse d and d is g ra c e d
by
n o rth w e s t. p re v io u s w ith
th e
problem s w ith
Dou
Ming i n 59 and e x i l e d to t h e i r homeland i n th e
Dou Gu, how ever, who had n o t been a c e n t r a l f ig u r e i n th e p o litic a l
em peror th e
Emperor
d e b a c le , had a c q u ire d a r e p u ta tio n f o r e x p e rie n c e of
th e
fro n tie r,
h is a g g re s s iv e p o l i c y .
fa m ily
became
lin k e d
and
he g ain ed th e e a r o f th e
From t h i s tim e , th e f o r tu n e s o f
w ith
th e
war p a r ty a t th e im p e ria l
c o u r t.
The Indeed th e
p la n of
of
th e
N o rth e rn
whole ra is e d
a rc
D ingxlan g , Plngcheng
fo r
73 was a m ost a m b itio u s o ne, w orthy
t r a d i t i o n o f Emperor Wu o f Former Han.
The a t t a c k on
Xlongnu was lau n ch ed i n fo u r g r e a t d iv is io n s a c ro s s th e
of
from
campaign
th e
e m p ire 's
T aiyuan,
n o r th e r n
Yanmen,
D ai,
b o rd e rs.
On th e e a s t , tro o p s
Shanggu, Yuyang, Y oubeiplng and
to g e th e r w ith X ianbi and Wuhuan a u x i l i a r i e s , went o u t from near
p re s e n t-d a y
Datong
in
S hanxi;
in
th e c e n t r e , th e
260
c o m m a n d e r-ln -c h ie f, Wu
th e
Grand Coachman Z hal Tong, was accom panied by
Tang, G eneral Who C rosses th e L ia o , and th e f o r c e s o f th e S o u thern
Shanyu;
i n th e w e s t, th e r e w ere two colum ns:
one from J iu q u a n , u n der
th e command o f Dou Gu and Geng B in g 's c o u s in Geng Zhong, c o n ta in e d men at and
arms
from
o th e r
ilia rie s
J iu q u a n , Dunhuang and Zhangye com m anderies, w ith Qiang
b a r b a r ia n a u x i l i a r i e s ; th e o t h e r , a ls o w ith b a r b a r ia n aux b u t w ith l e v i e s from th e more e a s t e r n commanderies o f Wuwei,
Longxi and T ia n s h u i, advanced from Ju y an , th e E dsin Gol s a l i e n t .
C o n sid e rin g such
an
east
p e n e tr a te d
w ith
th e
bad as
th e
p la n n in g
and ex p en se w hich must have gone i n t o
e x p e d itio n , th e r e s ü l t s were d is a p p o in tin g . deep
enemy.
in to
52
The army on th e
th e s te p p e b u t made no e f f e c t i v e c o n ta c t
Zhai Tong, i n th e c e n tr e column, was a p p a re n tly on
term s w ith th e S o u th ern Xiongnu c h i e f t a i n who was supposed t o a c t h is
g u id e ,
and
he
was
tr i c k e d i n t o tu r n in g back b e fo re he had
re a c h e d
h is o b j e c t i v e ; a g a in th e m ain f o r c e o f th e Xiongnu evaded th e
C hinese
army
w ith o u t
m ajor
w ith
e ffe c t,
hundred k ilo m e tr e s . of
th e
ease.
Xiongnu,
and
Geng
Bing
e n c o u n te re d some f i g h t i n g , but
tu rn e d back a f t e r an advance o f some two
Only Dou Gu, m arching n o rth w e st a g a in s t th e f la n k reach ed
la k e
Bar Köl i n th e r e g io n o f p re s e n t-d a y
Hami, d e f e a te d th e Xiongnu k in g o f th e Huyan c la n who opposed him , and s e iz e d p o s s e s s io n o f th e t e r r i t o r y known a s Y iw ulu.
In d ie d
th e
a fte r m a th
i n p r is o n ,
g e n e ra l
L ai
w h ile
M lao,
o f t h i s cam paign, Zhai Tong was d is g ra c e d and Wu
Tang
was
d is m isse d and
re p la c e d by th e
who had commanded th e e a s te r n column o f th e g r e a t
261
e x p e d itio n . W estern
Geng Bing and Dou Gu, however» advanced f u r t h e r I n to th e
R egions
and f o r c e d th e s u r r e n d e r o f th e kingdoms o f J u s h l i n
CO
T ü rfa n .
From
th is
begin n in g »
under
th e o rd e rs
o f Dou GU» th e
g r e a t commander Ban Chao» son o f Ban B lao and b r o th e r o f th e h i s t o r i a n Ban Gu» advanced to re c o n q u e r th e em pire o f Han in c e n t r a l A s i a . ^
The th e
g r e a t e x p e d itio n o f 73, how ever, had o n ly m a rg in a l e f f e c t o f
power
y e a r,
of
a fte r
Yunzhong
th e th e
Xiongnu arm ies
commander y .
i n th e n o r th o f C hina; l a t e r i n th e same
had
On
r e tu r n e d , a p a r ty o f r a i d e r s p lu n d e re d
th e C hinese s i d e , no f u r t h e r such cam paigns
were m ounted f o r a n o th e r te n y e a rs and m ore.
In 77, in d e e d , a t a tim e
when th e governm ent o f th e new Emperor Zhang, who succeeded h i s f a t h e r in th e
75,
was
r e g io n
h e s ita tin g
ab o u t th e commitment to th e W estern R eg io n s,
o f Ylwulu was abandoned by th e C h in ese, and o ccu p ied once
a g a in by th e X iongnu.
Geng
Bing
su cceed ed
L ai
Miao
as
th e G eneral Who C ro sses th e
Liao
i n 76, and rem ained a t t h a t p o s t f o r th e n e x t sev en y e a r s . I t i s
s a id
th a t
a u th o rity , In te rn a l plag u e was
th e Xiongnu w ere awed and k e p t q u ie t by h i s r e p u ta tio n and but and
it
seems
e x te rn a l
lik e ly
p ressu res.
t h a t th e y were a ls o s u f f e r in g from In 76, we know t h a t th e r e was a
o f lo c u s t s i n th e t e r r i t o r y o f th e S o uthern Xiongnu, and g r a in
sen t
by
th e
C hinese c o u r t t o r e l i e v e t h e i r d i s t r e s s .
I t seems
l i k e l y t h a t th e N o rth ern Xiongnu were a f f e c t e d by th e same m is fo rtu n e , and v a r io u s re c o rd s p re s e rv e d i n th e T r e a t i s e o f th e F iv e E lem ents and i t s commentary I n d ic a te d t h a t th e r e were l o c a l d ry s p e l l s and d ro u g h ts
262
in
China
d u rin g
If th is i s so , i t
th e y e a rs 76, 77, 79 and 8 4 . ^
i s p ro b a b le t h a t th e s te p p e t e r r i t o r y o f th e Xiongnu s u f f e r e d a l s o .
At to
th e
lau n c h
a n o th e r
s u b s id i e s , n o ta b ly th e as
same tim e , m oreover, though th e C hinese were n o t w i l l i n g d ire c t
e v id e n tly
a tta c k
c o n tin u e d
on
to
th e n o r th , t h e i r a g e n ts , w ith
en co u rage
th e
Wuhuan
and more
th e X ianbl i n r a i d s and f i g h t i n g a g a in s t th e e a s t e r n f la n k o f
N o rth ern
Xiongnu.
Under t h i s form o f p r e s s u r e , and p erh ap s a ls o
a consequence o f I n t e r n a l w ra n g le s , th e r e was a m ajor s u r r e n d e r o f
some
38,000
N o rth ern
Xiongnu
at
th e
Wuyuan
fro n tie r
i n 83, and
a n o th e r , even l a r g e r , i n 85.
In he
84, th e Grand A d m in is tra to r o f Wuwei, Meng Yun, r e p o r te d t h a t
had
re c e iv e d
re s to ra tio n c o u rt
of
a
req u est
p e a c e fu l
from
th e
N o rth ern
Xiongnu
fo r
th e
tr a d e th ro u g h m a rk ets a t th e f r o n t i e r .
The
a p p ro v e d , a h ig h o f f i c e r o f th e Xiongnu a r r iv e d w ith h o rs e s and
c a ttle ,
and
r e s id e n c e s
fo r
a
sh o rt
p ro v id e d
fo r
p e rio d
th e r e was a f l u r r y o f t r a d e , w ith
th e Xiongnu v i s i t o r s i n th e c i t i e s o f Wuwei
and g i f t s and rew ards f o r th o s e who came.
T his lo n g .
to le ra n t The
p o s s ib ility and
he
a c ro s s tra d e rs
sen t th e
p o lic y ,
S o u th ern
Shanyu
how ever, was
co u ld
not
p r e d ic ta b ly
be
m a in ta in e d f o r
concerned
ab o u t th e
o f agreem ent betw een th e C hinese and h i s n o rth e rn r i v a l s , out
lig h t
c a v a lry i n r a i d s from Shang commandery w est
Tengger d e s e r t .
o u ts id e
th e
They I n te r c e p te d c arav an s o f th e Xiongnu
Wuwei f r o n t i e r , s e iz e d t h e i r c a t t l e , h o rs e s and
263
o th e r
g o o d s, and r e tu r n e d w ith p r is o n e r s and b o o ty t o t h e i r t e r r i t o r y
In th e O rdos.
In th e w in te r o f 85, Meng Yun r e p o r te d : The N o rth ern c a i t i f f s c la im t h a t th e y came In p e a c e , b u t th e S o u th e rn e rs a tta c k e d and p lu n d e re d them. The N o rth ern Shanyu sa y s t h a t Han has d e c e iv e d him , and he p la n s to resume h is a t t a c k s on th e f r o n t i e r . I t I s s u g g e ste d t h a t we sh o u ld show good w i l l and r e t u r n th e p eo p le s e iz e d by th e S o u th e rn e rs . 0
At
th is ,
th e r e
was a m ost h e a te d d is c u s s io n I n th e c o u r t o f Emperor
Zhang.
The p r o ta g o n is ts seem to have been f a i r l y ev e n ly d iv id e d , and
In
e x c ltm e n t
th e
sh o u te d Huan
at
Yu:
who
Huan
at
th e
d e b a te
th e
Grand
Commandant Zheng Hong
c h ie f o f h i s o p p o n e n ts, th e M in is te r o v er th e Masses
"Anyone
t r a i t o r !" swore
th e
of
Zheng
sa y s
we
sh o u ld
hand back th e c a p tiv e s I s a
Y u's r e p ly I s n o t q u o ted d i r e c t l y , b u t he e v id e n tly Hong
In open c o u r t.
S e v e ra l o th e r s e n io r m in is te r s
l o s t t h e i r te m p e rs, and th e C olonel D ir e c to r o f R e ta in e rs r e p o rte d a l l of
them
w ords,
f o r le s e - m a je s ty . and
Coachman th e g iv e n
S hanyu 's any
Yuan
em pire to
th e n An.
th a t th e
co u rt
a c c e p te d
The em peror p ardoned th e
a d v ic e
of
them w ith so o th in g
Zheng Hong and th e Grand
I t was I n a c c o rd a n ce w ith th e m oral a u t h o r i t y of th e
G en eral th a t
p r is o n e r s Who
sh o u ld be r e tu r n e d , and o rd e rs were
C ro sses th e L iao and th e E m issary a t th e
th e y sh o u ld buy back th e N o rth ern c a p tiv e s .
If
had been k i l l e d , th e em pire would pay b lo o d money t o th e N orth In
acco rd a n ce w ith th e u s u a l p r a c t i c e
264
T here but a
Is
e v id e n c e
h e re o f a p eace p a r ty a t th e I m p e ria l c o u rt»
d e s p ite t h e i r a p p a re n t d e f e a t i n th e d e b a te , th e war p a r ty was i n f a r b e tte r p o s itio n :
c o n flic t under
w ith
th e
c o n tro l*
lim ite d
th e S o u th ern Shanyu was a n x io u s to b r in g on a
n o rth ,
and th e Han governm ent co u ld n o t keep him
Even th e c o n c i l i a t o r y e d i c t o f Emperor Zhang was o f
s u c c e s s , f o r b o th th e N o rth ern and S o uthern Xiongnu f e l t t h a t
th e
Han c o u r t, by p u rc h a s in g th e p r is o n e r s from th e S o u th ern Xiongnu,
was
e f f e c t i v e l y rew ard in g t h e i r b a n d itr y , and th e S o u th e rn e rs were in
no
way
p e n a lise d *
f a c tio n
at
No
c o u rt,
th e
doubt w ith th e encouragem ent o f th e fo rw ard S outhern
Xiongnu
c o n tin u e d t h e i r p o lic y o f
and ta k in g p ris o n e rs *
I n c re a s in g numbers o f th e
r a id in g ,
p lu n d e rin g
N orthern
Xiongnu came to th e f r o n t i e r to s u r r e n d e r , and th e im m ediate
e x p e c ta tio n s o f peace w ere lo s t*
The destruction o f the Northern Shanyu 87-93: In d ie d ,
85, and
th e he
Shanyu
Han,
y e a rs
la te r,
lo n g - r e ig n in g
was
su cceeded
Shanyu Zhang o f th e S o u th ern Xiongnu by
h i s c o u sin Xuan, son o f th e form er
who to o k th e t i t l e o f Y itu y u lu d l Shanyu* and
was
succeeded
by
Z hang's
son
He d ie d th r e e ftin tu h o ,
th e
X iu lan sh izh u h o u d i Shanyu*
T here
is
in h e r ita n c e a u th o rity Y oullu
no
ac c o u n t
i n th e C hin ese re c o rd s o f th e lin e a g e and
o f th e N o rth ern Shanyu a f t e r th e d e f e c tio n o f B1 from th e of
Shanyu
h is c o u s in Punu. of
th e
N o rth ern
In 87, how ever, P u n u 's s u c c e s s o r , th e Xiongnu, came to a t e r r i b l e en d .
A
265 g re a t
ra id
by th e X lanbl broke i n t o th e Xlongnu t e r r i t o r i e s from th e
east
and c a p tu re d th e Shanyu h im s e lf .
to o k
h is
s k in
from th e body, and re tu r n e d w ith th e g r i s l y tro p h y to
t h e i r home c o u n try .
W ith a c ro s s
th is
th e ir
c o n fu s io n . S outhern
The trib e sm e n k i l l e d him , th e n
58
m ilita ry g ra z in g
d la s te r,
la n d s ,
th e
compounded by a p la g u e o f lo c u s ts N o rth ern
Xlongnu
were
In u t t e r
G reat numbers o f th e p e o p le came so u th t o s u r r e n d e r t o th e Shanyu
and
seek
th e
p r o t e c t i o n o f th e C hinese f r o n t i e r s ,
w h ile th e new N o rth e rn Shanyu w ithdrew h i s fo llo w e rs to th e n o r th . 88,
a
d is s id e n t
Shanyu
group
of
In
n o b le s e s t a b l i s h e d a h a l f - b r o t h e r o f th e
a s h i s r i v a l , and th e w eakened, Im p o v erish ed s t a t e was d iv id e d
In c i v i l w ar.
Emperor
Zhang
of
Han d ie d i n th e s p r in g o f 88, and he was su c
ceeded by h i s te n - y e a r - o ld son th e Emperor He. tra d itio n ,
th e
Rong,
a c te d
now
E m pressas
In acco rd an ce w ith Han
Dowager n ee Dou, g re a t-g ra n d d a u g h te r o f Dou
r e g e n t,
and th e Dou fa m ily came to th e h ig h e s t CQ
p o s itio n s o f power i n th e e m p ire . 7
The Gu,
s itu a tio n ,
nephew
s e n io r
of
Dou
s ta te s m a n
le a d e r s h ip
of
th e
of
how ever,
was n o t e n t i r e l y s tr a ig h tf o r w a r d .
Dou
Rong and g r e a t- u n c le o f th e Empress-Dowager, th e th e
fa m ily ,
d ie d w ith in a few m onths, and th e
c la n o f th e Im p e ria l r e l a t i v e s by m arriag e sh o u ld
have p a sse d I n t o th e hands o f th e Em press-D ow ager's e l d e r b r o th e r , Dou X ia n .^
Dou
X ian, how ever, was a r r o g a n t , greedy and c r u e l .
In th e
266 tim e o f Emperor Zhang» he b a r e ly escap ed d is g r a c e when he a tte m p te d to e x to rt
la n d from one o f th e im p e r ia l p r in c e s s e s » and a f t e r h i s s i s t e r
became
e ffe c tiv e
k illin g s » th e n
firs t
to
im p e r ia l
Dou
to
of
ta k e
th e
em pire
he a rra n g e d f o r a s e r i e s o f
vengeance on a fo rm er eneiqy o f h i s fa th e r»
co v er
up
th e
crim e by a s s a s s i n a t i o n o f a m arquis from th e
c la n
who
was
s p o n so rin g
d isco v e re d » had
ru le r
th e r e
Xian
was
h e ld
an
e n q u iry .
The whole p l o t was
an a p p a llin g sc an d al» and th e Empress-Dowager
under
house
a rre st
at
th e
p a la c e
w h ile she
c o n sid e re d h is case.***
It from
was
th e
S ou th ern
campaign Shanyu
a t t h i s p o in t» i n th e autumn o f 88» t h a t a m em orial came
of
Shanyu»
co n q u e st
p r a is e d
th e
a sk in g f o r an im p e ria l army t o s u p p o rt a
a g a in s t p o lic ie s
th e n o r th . of
In th e lo n g document» th e
Emperor Zhang» and rem arked on th e
manner i n w hich he had u sed th e Wuhuan and X ianbi to m a in ta in p r e s s u re on
th e N o rth .
Now» w ith two r i v a l Shanyu i n th e North» and a h o s t o f
th e
p eo p le a n x io u s t o make t h e i r p eace w ith Han and th e South» he and
h is
le a d e r s
had
made
p la n s f o r th e c o n q u est o f th e whole a n c e s t r a l
te rrito ry .
They were» however» s t i l l to o weak t o manage su ch a ta s k
w ith o u t
su p p o rt
th e
army
be
from
Juyan
ceremony
of
Han» and he ask ed t h a t a f u l l e x p e d itio n a ry
s e n t out» so th e a t t a c k m ight p ro c eed a c r o s s th e w hole f r o n t
of
to
Wuyuan.
If
p la n s
co u ld
be s e t t l e d by th e an n u al
th e n i n t h month» th e cam paign c o u ld b e g in i n th e tw e lf th
m onth. ^
The
Empress-Dowager
ask ed
th e
o p in io n
of
Geng
Bing» form er
267
G en eral
Who
C hief
of
G ro sses
th e
L ia o ,
th e P a la c e P o lic e .
and now I n o f f i c e a t th e c a p i t a l a s
P r e d ic ta b ly , Geng Bing was e n t h u s i a s t i c
t h a t th e governm ent sh o u ld s e iz e th e o p p o r tu n ity : I t was th e v e ry p la n which
he
more
had urged upon Emperor Ming In 73, and th e tim e was now f a r
p ro p itio u s
p re se n t
chance
th a n had
on th e o c c a s io n o f t h a t g r e a t e x p e d itio n . come
from
Heaven
The
l i k e a g i f t , and I t would be
Im pious t o tu r n I t down.
From
th e
Em press-D ow ager's p o in t o f v iew , th e p ro p o s a l p ro v id e d
o n ly
th e
o p p o r tu n ity
means
to
rid
h e rs e lf
o f th e em barrassm ent o f h e r b r o th e r Dou Xian.
Given
supreme
command
o f th e army, he co u ld co v er h i s re c e n t crim es
not
w ith
a
c lo a k
fa m ily .
She
of
fo r
a v i c t o r y to th e d y n a sty , b u t a ls o a
m i l i t a r y g l o r y , and r e s t o r e some p r e s t i g e t o h e r
welcomed
Geng
B in g 's
a d v ic e ,
and gave o rd e rs f o r th e
m o b ilis a tio n .
At s e n io r In
m in is te rs .
c o u rt,
They a
t h i s p o i n t , how ever, th e r e came a sto rm o f c r i t i c i s m from th e
but
The m a tte r had n o t been p u t forw ard f o r d is c u s s io n
a s e r i e s o f m em orials was
s e n t I n to th e governm ent.
w ere p o s s ib ly I n i t i a t e d by th e M aster o f W ritin g Song Y l, who a s
member o f th e I m p e r ia l s e c r e t a r i a t was r e s p o n s ib le f o r d r a f t i n g th e
n e c e s s a ry w ritte n o v er to ld ,
o rd e rs, o b je c tio n s
but from
h is
p ro te s t
was fo llo w ed and accong>anled by
th e Grand Commandant Song You, th e M in is te r
th e Masses Yuan An, th e M in is te r o f Works Ben Wei a n d , so we a r e a ll
th e m i n i s t e r s o f th e governm ent.
I h e l r e s s e n t i a l argum ent
was t h a t no campaign a g a in s t th e Xlongnu co u ld e n su re l a s t i n g s u c c e s s ,
268
th a t
th e N o rth ern Xlongnu were a t p r e s e n t se e k in g o n ly f o r peace» and
th a t
th e r e
was no j u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r th e Immense c o s t o f th e n a t i o n 's
re s o u rc e s In s e e k in g such a s h o r t - l i v e d t r i u m p h . ^
The her
Empress-Dowager» however» was determ ined» and I n th e fa c e o f
angry
resen tm en t» th e m a jo rity o f th e p r o t e s t e r s w ithdrew .
An
and
Ben
In
th e
te n th
p ro claim e d th e
Yuan
Wei m a in ta in e d t h e i r argum ent» b u t th e y w ere o v e r - r u le d . m onth,
as
a t th e b e g in n in g o f w in te r In 88» Dou Xian was
G en eral o f C h a rio ts and C avalry» commander - l n - c h l e f o f
e x p e d itio n
a g a in s t
th e
N o rth ern Xlongnu» w ith Geng Bing a s h i s
c h ie f a s s i s t a n t .
The u n s u c c e s s fu l p r o t e s t by th e m i n i s t e r s r e p r e s e n ts th e c r i t i c a l d e fe a t
o f th e peace p a r ty a t c o u r t . se e n
To a la r g e e x te n t» o f course» I t
may
be
and
to th e p o s s i b i l i t i e s o f power which would d ev elo p from Dou X ia n 's
command th e
a s a q u e s tio n o f f a c t i o n a l o p p o s itio n t o th e Dou fam ily
o f such an army» and t o some d e g re e a l s o th e p r o t e s t r e f l e c t s
In d ig n a tio n
of
d e cl8 io n -m a k in g how ever,
to
p ro sp e ro u s c la s s
th a n
on
s e n io r such
a
o ffic ia ls v ita l
who
q u e s tio n .
had been h e ld o u t o f th e I t I s a ls o p o s s ib le »
se e Yuan An and h i s c o lle a g u e s a s r e p r e s e n ta tiv e s o f th e g e n try who w ere co n cern ed r a t h e r w ith t h e i r own fa m ily and w ith
th e enhanced f o r tu n e s o f th e c o u rt and th e d y n a sty .
Yuan An came from a n Im p o rta n t l o c a l fa m ily In th e la r g e commandery o f Runan,
and
commandery T h eir
more
Ren of
Wei
from
Nanyang,
re lu c ta n t
th e p r e f e c tu r e o f Wan In th e n eig h b o u rin g
one o f th e w e a l t h i e s t re g io n s o f th e em p ire. a s s o c ia te .
Song You, was from a g e n try fa m ily
269 ab o u t
C hangan;^^
c la n
a ll
th r e e men were th e f i r s t
g e n e ra tio n o f
th e ir
to h o ld h ig h r a n k , and th e y la c k e d th e lo n g a s s o c i a t i o n w ith th e
th ro n e
and
common
to
w ith
th e
h ig h e s t
p o s i t i o n s o f d y n a s tic power t h a t were
th e Geng and Dou f a m i l i e s .
To some e x t e n t , th e d e b a te s a t
c o u rt r e f l e c t a d if f e r e n c e betw een th e p o w erfu l group a t th e c e n tr e o f d y n a s tic and
pow er,
o f te n h av in g c o n ta c t and e x p e rie n c e on th e f r o n t i e r ,
th e newer men o f p o l i t i c a l Im portance a t th e c a p i t a l , e s ta b lis h e d
I n t h e i r own r e g io n s , and co n cern ed r a t h e r w ith peace and la n d -h o ld in g th a n w ith th e a m b itio n s and expense o f e m p ire. p e rio d
In e f f e c t , d u rin g t h i s
when th e governm ent o f Han was c l e a r l y s e c u r e , and ap p eared to
have
th e
o p p o r tu n ity
Han
d e b a te
f o r f u r t h e r e x p a n sio n o f I t s pow er, th e Former
betw een
th e
c e n tra lis in g
M o d ern ists
and
th e
more
c o n s e r v a tiv e R e fo rm ists was d e v e lo p in g once a g a in .
The of
army
th e
was p re p a re d d u rin g th e w in te r o f
fo rc e
was
8 8 /8 9 .^
The co re
p ro v id e d by tro o p s from th e f iv e re g im e n ts o f th e
N o rth e rn Army, th e p r o f e s s i o n a l e l i t e f o r c e n o rm ally m a in ta in e d a t th e c a p ita l, at
to g e th e r
LI yang
added
In
th e
fro n tie r
th e th re e
Wei
army
and
Yong
In
Y o u f u f e n g .^
To th e s e th e r e w ere
o f th e G en eral Who C ro sses th e L ia o , l e v i e s from th e
com m anderles, b a r b a r ia n a u x i l i a r i e s from th e Qlang and o th e r
t r lb e s p e o p l e , fig u re
w ith th e r e g u la r tro o p s drawn from th e g r e a t camps
and
th e main f o r c e o f th e S o uthern Xlongnu.
was some f o r t y th o u sa n d .
C hinese columns
M ountain,
In
year from th e
89,
The t o t a l
In th e summer, I n th e s i x t h month of
th e army p a sse d o u t th ro u g h th e G reat Wall In
Shuofang
and
Wuyuan, and reassem b led a t Zhuoye
Gurvan Sayhan Uul ra n g e , th e f i r s t n o ta b le a r e a of
h ig h ground I n O uter M ongolia, th e p r e s e n t- d a y P e o p le 's R e p u b lic .
270
Map 8:
Han and Xiongnu 89-92
271
From wards
th is
th e
c o n c e n tr a tio n
n o rth w e s t,
M o u ntain s,
d ire c tly
p o in t» a l a r g e detachm ent was s e n t t o
fo llo w in g
th e
n o r th e rn
f la n k
of
th e A lta i
a g a in s t th e f o r c e s o f th e N o rth ern Shanyu.
T his
detachm ent was commanded by th e A s s is ta n t C olonel Yan Pan, a s s i s t e d by two
members o f th e Geng c la n , Geng K ul, younger b r o th e r o f Geng B ing,
and
Geng
Tan,
Xlongnu
and
it
was s u p p o rte d by two c o n tin g e n ts o f S outhern
c a v a lr y . In th e m ajor b a t t l e o f th e cam paign, th e y met and
d e fe a te d
th e
th e
S lqu
head
of
N o rth ern Shanyu n e a r J l l u o M ountain, and p u rsued him to
and
B e ld l
la k e s .
I t i s s a i d t h a t th e y c a p tu re d a m illio n
h o r s e s , c a t t l e , sheep and c am els, k i l l e d more th a n t h i r t e e n
th o u san d
of
hundred
th e enemy,
and In duced w h o le sa le s u r r e n d e r o f some two
tho u san d p eo p le
from
e ig h ty -o n e
d iv is io n s o f th e N o rth ern
Xlongnu.
In of
th e
th e
s te le
m eantim e,
a rn y was
in
in
and
what was v i r t u a l l y a triu m p h a l p r o g r e s s .
th e
Hangayn
in s c rip tio n .
th e ir
had
a llie s
Shanyu
marched Modun,
cam paign, th e
th e
C h in ese
te rrito ry
A
Nuruu ran g e o f c e n t r a l M ongolia, and th e
h i s t o r i a n Ban Gu, who was accom panying th e arm y, w ro te a
commemorative
v a lle y ,
Xian and Geng Bing b ro u g h t th e main body
e r e c te d on Mount Y anran, one o f th e c h ie f p eak s o f Xlongnu
te rrito ry , s c h o la r
n o r th
Dou
He
c ro s s e d th ro u g h
and a rn y
d e s c rib e d th e r e how th e C hinese and
th e Zhuoye m o u n tain s, tr a v e r s e d th e Anhou a ll
burned
th e la n d s o f th e em pire founded by th e
th e s a c r e d s i t e o f Longcheng.
had re a c h e d more th a n
fro n tie r,
and
Dou
th r e e th o u san d l i
In t h i s beyond
Xian le d h i s f o r c e s back t o C hinese
272
As w ith
he d id s o , how ever, he s e n t two e n v o y s, Wu SI and L iang Feng,
an
e sc o rt
to
th e
W estern
L a k e s T h e y
summons
to
su rre n d e r
tow ards C hina. army
had
N o rth ern
Shanyu,
now In th e re g io n o f th e
to o k w ith them a g i f t o f to
Han.
g o ld b ro c a d e , and a
The Shanyu a g re e d , and he re tu r n e d
At th e S iqu L ake, how ever, i t was le a rn e d t h a t th e Han
w ithdraw n
to th e f r o n t i e r , and th e Shanyu h a lte d th e r e and
s e n t h i s younger b r o th e r a s envoy and h o s ta g e t o C hina.
Dou
X ian, now i n h e a d q u a rte rs a t Wuyuan, urged t h a t th e N o rth ern
Shanyu sh o u ld n o t be g ra n te d p eace u n t i l he came h im s e lf t o s u r r e n d e r . The
S ou th ern
e n tire ly ,
and
thousan d Tan
Shanyu, in
c a v a lry
w hich
m arches,
fo r
h is
p a rt,
hoped
to
d e s tro y
h is r iv a l
th e s p r in g o f 90 he s e n t o u t a f o r c e o f some e ig h t w ith
appro ach ed su rro u n d ed
a sm a ll C hinese p a r ty under th e E m issary Geng th e
him
N o rth ern and
Shanyu's
d e fe a te d him .
h e a d q u a rte rs by f la n k The N o rth ern Shanyu was
wounded and f l e d , and th e in v a d e rs c a p tu re d h i s s e a l and t r e a s u r e , h is w ives
and
sons
and
d a u g h te r s .
They k i l l e d e ig h t tho u san d p e o p le ,
c a p tu re d s e v e r a l th o u san d m ore, and r e t u r n e d . ^
In th e m id st o f t h i s war o f h a ra s s m e n t, th e N o rth ern Shanyu s t i l l a tte m p te d a
to o b ta in term s o f p eace w ith Han.
h o s ta g e
a s k in g
fo r
s u g g e s tio n , but
by
th e
was
re je c te d ,
When h i s f i r s t o f f e r o f
he s e n t a n o th e r k in g to th e Juyan f r o n t i e r
a C hinese envoy t o come and d is c u s s te rm s . Ban tim e
Ou
On Dou X ia n 's
and L iang Feng were s e n t on an embassy to r e p ly , th e y re a c h e d th e S iqu Lake th e N o rth ern Shanyu had
been d riv e n from th e f i e l d by h i s r i v a l ' s s u r p r i s e a t t a c k .
Ban Gu and
273 h is
p a r ty
Shanyu
r e tu r n e d ,
and
Dou Xian now recommended t h a t th e N o rthern
was so weak th e r e was no p o in t I n t r e a t i n g w ith him ; he sh o u ld
be u t t e r l y d e s tro y e d .
In
91,
a
fin a l
a tta c k
was made by th e C o lo n el Geng K ul.
N o rth ern
Shanyu
kingdom .
No-one knew w here he w ent o r w hat became o f him.
The In
h is
The
was d e fe a te d once more and f le d away, abandoning h i s
fo rm er
Shanyuvs
p la c e .
younger b r o t h e r , Y u ch u jlan , was now s e t up
He g a th e re d th e rem nants o f h i s p e o p le to g e th e r ab o u t
th e
P u le l
Lake,
and
ask ed
a g a in t o s u r r e n d e r . Dou Xian recommended t h a t he sh o u ld be
re c o g n is e d
as
th e p r e s e n t day Bar K51, n o r th o f Hami In X in jia n g ,
th e
N o rth ern Shanyu, and I n th e s p rin g o f 92 Geng Bui
was
sent
on em bassy to a c c e p t h i s su b m issio n .
th e
seal
and
In s ig n ia
of
Y uchujlan was g ra n te d
a Shanyu t r i b u t a r y to Han, to g e th e r w ith
c e re m o n ia l sw ords c a rv e d from ja d e and a f e a th e r e d p a la n q u in c a r r i a g e . The of
m i l i t a r y commander Ben Shang was s e n t a s G eneral o f th e Gentleman th e
H ousehold,
b e a rin g I m p e r ia l c r e d e n t i a l s o f a u t h o r i t y , to s e t
him In a guarded c a p i t a l a t Y lw u .^
The a rran g em en t was d e l i b e r a t e l y p a r a l l e l t o t h a t o f th e S o u th ern Shanyu, M e ljl
w ith
h is
p re fe c tu re
c a p ita l l n X lhe.
u n d er
th e s u p e r v is io n o f th e E m issary a t
Such a p o lic y was c e r t a i n l y p o s s ib le :
It
d iv id e d th e t i t l e o f Shanyu betw een two r i v a l s , b o th un d er th e c o n tr o l of th e
C hina, p e o p le
and so lo n g a s one o r th e o th e r co u ld e x e r t I n flu e n c e o v er of
th e
s te p p e , a id e d o f c o u rse by th e m i l i t a r y power o f
C hina, th e f r o n t i e r c o u ld be s e t t l e d I n t h a t f a s h io n .
274 The some
m a jo r ity
o p p o s itio n .
s tr o n g ly th e
a u th o rity In
Wuhuan
Shanyu»
was
and
and
no
th e
and
to s e t up h i s d e fe a te d r i v a l w ith s i m i l a r
X lan b l.
Moreover» th e p o lic y o f Han had lo n g been
Among
o th e r
reaso n s»
th e
enormous
expense
o f th e
cam paigns c o u ld h a rd ly be j u s t i f i e d by th e e s ta b lis h m e n t and of
c o n tin u in g
two
s u b o rd in a te
su b sid y I n th e f u t u r e .
s in g l e
ru le r
and
e n s u re
b o th
of
which would need
F ar b e t t e r to r e s t o r e th e power o f
72
F or
th e
b e in g ,
Yuan An and Ren Wei w ere I n th e m in o r ity ,
Dou
Xian had h i s way.
Yuan An, In f a c t , d ie d In th e t h i r d month
92,
and
c a p ita l. I n f lu e n c e rem ark ab le X ia n 's
tim e
c o u rts ,
t h a t he rem ained s u b je c t to Han, a s th e
o r i g i n a l H uhanxle Shanyu had b een .
Dou
a
few
The at
power
weeks
l a t e r Dou Xian re tu r n e d I n triu m p h t o th e
o f th e Dou fa m ily was a t I t s h e ig h t, and t h e i r
th e c o u r t and I n th e c o u n try seemed u n a s s a i l a b l e .
coup,
how ever,
p a rtis a n s
la te r
com pelled
In a
on 14 August 92, th e young Emperor He had
a r r e s t e d , took th e I n s ig n ia o f o f f i c e from Dou
Xian h im s e lf and h i s b r o t h e r s , and e x ile d them to t h e i r e s t a t e s . were
It
p a r t o f th e o r i g i n a l p la n t h a t two t r i b u t a r y r u l e r s sh o u ld be
m aintenance
of
Wei» In p a r t i c u l a r » p r o te s te d
to g e t th e S o u th ern Shanyu back to power In th e n o r th :
m ilita ry
and
Ben
a c l e a r b e t r a y a l o f t r u s t » w h ile I t would a ls o In v o lv e
e s ta b lis h e d .
a
An
th e w e l l - e s t a b l i s h e d q u a r r e l o f th e N o rth ern Xlongnu w ith th e
s e ttle d : was
Yuan
t h a t th e Han d y n a s ty had lo n g b een com m itted to th e c a u se o f
S o u th ern
Han
o f th e c o u r t had app ro v ed t h i s plan» b u t th e r e was
to
commit
They
s u i c i d e , and a lth o u g h th e Em press-
73 Dowager was m a in ta in e d I n h e r t i t l e , sh e h e ld no f u r t h e r p o w e r . ''
275 The rem oval o f th e Dou fa m ily from governm ent was e s s e n t i a l l y th e d o m estic but
problem
It
had
p o s itio n
of
Y u ch u jlan th e
and
p u rs u it, th e y th e
Shanyu
th e
at
on
N o rth ern
Shanyu
a p p e a rs Ylwu.
a tte m p te d
th e
p o lic y was
a lo n g
once
th e f r o n t i e r .
c o n ta c t
The
a g a in I n q u e s tio n , and
t o have had h opes o f f r e e i n g h im s e lf from
In th e autumn o f 93 he made h i s e sc a p e to th e to
r e g a in
In d ep en d ence.
Ren
and re in fo rc e m e n ts were s e n t t o a s s i s t him .
made way
an em peror d e a lin g w ith an o v er-m ig h ty s u b j e c t ,
r e p e r c u s s io n
h im s e lf
bondage
n o r th
of
Shang w ent i n I t a p p e a rs t h a t
and p e rsu a d e d him t o s u r r e n d e r once a g a in , b u t on
back he was k i l l e d .
The l i n e o f I n h e r ita n c e o f th e N o rth ern
d ie d w ith him ; though we know t h a t some c h ild r e n o f th e form er
Shanyu had been c a p tu r e d , th e y do n o t a p p e a r a g a in upon th e s c e n e .
CHAPTER
7
ASHES OF SUCCESS: XIONGNU, XIANBI AND HAN 90-150 AD
The problem s o f v i c t o r y The r e b e l l i o n s o f th e Xiongnu The coming o f th e X ianbl and th e w ars o f Q lz h ljla n (121-133) The C hinese w ith d ra w a ls
The problems o f victo ry: W ith numbers
th e of
S o u th ern g re a t
a as
and
s u rre n d e re d
c o u rt
campaign
co u n ted
d e fe a t
had of
d e s tru c tio n
Xiongnu
In c re a s e d Dou
Xian»
who
of now
th e N o rth ern Shanyu, th e a c c e p te d
d r a m a tic a lly . It
Is
th e sway o f th e
In 90» a f t e r th e f i r s t
s a id t h a t th e S o u th ern Shanyu
among h i s s u b j e c t s 34»000 h o u s e h o ld s, 237»300 I n d iv id u a ls and
fo rc e o f 50,170 f i g h t i n g men.
Since th e re c o rd s r e f e r to groups o f
many a s 200,000 p e o p le s u r r e n d e r in g a t any one tim e , t h i s s p e c i f i c
census f i g u r e seems d i f f i c u l t to r e c o n c ile w ith th o se o th e r t e x t s , and I t I s l i k e l y t h a t la r g e numbers o f th e fo rm er s u b je c ts o f th e N o rth ern Shanyu were o m itte d from th e c o u n t.
In r e c o g n itio n o f th e p r a c t i c a l d i f f i c u l t i e s I n d e a lin g w ith such numbers o f new -com ers, th e E m issary Geng Tan asked t h a t h i s a s s i s t a n c e sh o u ld re q u e s t
be
I n c re a s e d
lik e ly
from
re fle c ts
two not
A tte n d a n t o n ly
th e
O ffic ia ls grow ing
to tw e lv e . The
numbers o f Xiongnu
277 s u b je c ts under of
of
th e S outhern c o u r t , b u t a ls o th e problem o f k eep in g them
some
90,
form
th e r e
o f s u p e r v is io n .
were
com m anderles,
About th e same tim e . I n th e s p r in g
e s ta b lis h e d
Dependent fo r
d e a lin g
S ta te s o f XLhe and Shang
a ls o
presum ably
w ith
th e
"s u rre n d e re d
most
p a r t , o f c o u rs e , g r e a t numbers o f th e Xlongnu who
b a rb a ria n s " • 1
F or had
th e
n o m in a lly
s u rre n d e re d rem ained In t h e i r own g ra z in g t e r r i t o r y o f
M ongolia, a c c e p tin g a g e n e r a l s u z e r e lg n ty from th e c o u r t a t M e ljl.
At
th e c o u r t , how ever, and In th e Ordos t e r r i t o r y o f th e S o u th ern Xlongnu g e n e ra lly ,
th e r e
were
c o n s id e r a b le
numbers
o f th e fo rm er N o rth ern
Xlongnu, and th e r e was grow ing s o c i a l and p o l i t i c a l t e n s io n .
The
two
ra id in g ,
p a rtie s ,
p lu n d e r
triu m p h a n t
and
s o u th e r n e r s
a ll,
o c c a s io n a l now
found
had
been
m assacre
engaged on
th e m selv es
b o th s h a rin g
In w ar, w ith s id e s . w e a lth
The and
I n flu e n c e
w ith
from
n o r th had n e i t h e r a f f e c t i o n n o r t r u s t f o r t h e i r c o n q u e ro rs.
th e
th e
a fte r
n o r th e r n g ro u p , and th e newly s u rre n d e re d p eo p le
With th e d e a th o f th e Shanyu TXratuhe In 93, m a tte rs came to a h ead .
T untuhe Shanyu
Xuan.
was
su cceeded
by
Anguo, younger b r o th e r o f th e form er
I t was n o t , how ever, a p o p u la r a c c e s s io n , f o r Anguo was
over-shadow ed by h is c o u s in S h l z l , son o f th e form er Shanyu S h i. S h lz l was
younger
a g a in s t
th e
fro n tie r
In
th a n
Anguo, b u t had shown rem ark ab le en erg y In th e wars
n o r th . th e
e a rly
He
had 8 0 s,
been In v o lv e d I n s k irm is h e s a lo n g th e he
had
le d th e Xlongnu c o n tin g e n t In
278 c o - o p e r a tio n
w ith
Dou
X ian,
w hich
d e fe a te d
and
Lakes
in
The fo rm er Shanyu Xuan and Tùntuhe had b o th r e s p e c te d
him ,
90«
drove
and he had commanded th e c a v a lry fo rc e
away th e N o rth e rn Shanyu n e a r th e W estern
and even Emperor He i s s a id to have e x p re sse d a d m ira tio n f o r h i s
p ro w ess. S h iz i was th e p o p u la r le a d e r o f th e S o uthern Xiongnu; a n d , a s a
n a tu ra l
c o ro lla ry ,
su rre n d e re d
p e o p le
p a rtic u la r
s u p p o r t,
he
of
was
th e
and
he
d is lik e d
n o rth .
and
fe a re d
by
th e new ly-
Anguo, on th e o th e r h an d , had no
was p r e d ic ta b ly je a lo u s o f h i s c o u s in 's
p o p u la r ity and s u c c e s s .
S h iz i
and
h is
s u p p o r te r s
had e v id e n tly c o n tin u e d th e w ar even
a f t e r th e mass s u r r e n d e r s , and th e y had p i l l a g e d and p lu n d ered many o f th e
d e f e a te d
ap p ears
to
N o rth ern have
Xiongnu
who came t o th e s o u th .
Anguo, th e n ,
so u g h t fa v o u r from th e s e p eo p le by h is h o s t i l i t y to
S h iz i,
and S h i z i , f e a r i n g f o r h i s l i f e , m a in ta in e d a s e p a r a te camp i n
Wuyuan
commandery
o ffic ia ls L ia o ,
a ls o
Huangfu
and made ex c u se s n o t to a tte n d c o u r t.
The C hinese
knew
o f th e q u a r r e l , and th e G en eral Who C ro sses th e
Leng,
u n d e rto o k to p r o t e c t S h iz i and a rra n g e d t h a t no
q u e s tio n s would be ask ed a b o u t h i s a b se n c e s from M e ljl.
Huangfu
Leng
le ft
o ffic e
i n 94, and was succeeded by Zhu H ui.
The Shanyu Anguo, how ever, was a ls o on bad term s w ith th e E m issary , Du Chong. Du
Anguo s e n t i n a l e t t e r to th e c o u r t to c r i t i c i s e Du Chong, b u t
Chong
a c c u s a tio n s
I n te r c e p te d th e l e t t e r and th e n jo in e d w ith Zhu Hui t o send of
th e ir
own, q u e s tio n in g Anguo's l o y a l t y , and c la im in g
t h a t he was p ro p o s in g th e a s s a s s i n a t i o n o f S h iz i and o th e r p ro -C h in e se le a d e rs •
o
279 The c o u r t o f Emperor He a g re e d t h a t Anguo sh o u ld n o t be condemned w ith o u t
I n v e s tig a tio n » b u t t h a t I n th e f i r s t I n s ta n c e th e r e sh o u ld be
a s p e c i a l w atch and g u ard p la c e d upon hlm» and s t r i c t o r d e r s sh o u ld be g iv en him t o p u n ish any o f h i s s u b je c ts who d is tu r b e d th e p e a c e .
When
t h i s d e c is io n was re c e iv e d » however» Du Chong and Zhu Hul le d an armed fo rc e was
In
th e n ig h t t o A nguo's camp.
f r ig h te n e d .
g reat
number
Anguo h eard o f t h e i r coming and
He f l e d from h i s c o u rt» g a th e re d h i s own men and a
of
th e s u rre n d e re d N o rth ern Xlongnu» and went n o r th to
a t t a c k S h lz l.
S h iz i a tta c k
took
was
re fu g e
In
th e
u n s u c c e s s f u l.
Anguo
re fu se d
Peace
was
to
Then
su rre n d e r»
re s to re d
and
he
S h lz l
g a r r is o n c i t y o f Manbo» and Anguo's th e C hinese arn y a rriv e d » and when was now
k ille d ascended
by h i s own f o llo w e r s . th e
th ro n e a s Tlngdu
sh izh u h o u d l Shanyu.
The
d e a th
of
and th e a c c e s s io n o f S h lz l I n such circum
s ta n c e s
had»
Xlongnu
o f t h e i r f u t u r e tr e a tm e n t a t th e hands o f t h e i r new r u l e r and
h is
C hinese
s u rp ris e
of
Anguo
m a s te r s .
a tta c k
n o rth e r n e r s »
course»
done
n o th in g
t o r e a s s u r e th e su rre n d e re d
Very soon a f t e r S h l z l 's a c c e ssio n » th e r e was a
a g a in s t
him
I n h i s own camp by f i v e o r s i x hundred
and th e y were b e a te n o f f o n ly by th e I n te r v e n tio n o f th e
Shanyu's C h in ese b o d y -g u ard .
W ith t h i s In c id e n t» g r e a t numbers o f th e
N o rth ern Xlongnu broke I n to open r e b e l l i o n .
280 The Shanyu of
r e b e ls T untube,
th e
In
d iv is io n s ,
w ith
C hinese
th e
c h ie fta in
Fenghou,
son
of
th e form er
a s t h e i r l e a d e r , and d e s p i te h i s d e s c e n t a s a p rin c e
s o u th e rn
h e s ita tio n
and
chose
lin e a g e ,
a c c e p tin g
p o s ta l
200,000
Fenghou does n o t a p p e a r t o have shown any th e
c h a rg e .
p e o p le ,
It
jo in e d
Is
s a id
him.
th a t
fifte e n
They d e s tro y e d th e
c o u r ie r s t a t i o n s and r e s id e n c ie s and k i l l e d o f f i c i a l s
p e o p le .
Then th e y m arched tow ards Shuofang commandery w ith th e
I n te n t i o n o f e s c a p in g to th e n o r th .
F or th e
a
Ordos
tim e , how ever. I t a p p e a rs t h a t Fenghou was d e la y e d w ith in r e g io n .
The
ris in g
had
broken o u t In th e v i c i n i t y o f
M e ljl, and I t e v id e n tly took some weeks b e fo re th e f o r c e s o f r e b e l l i o n had
g a th e re d th em selv es I n to an o rg a n is e d body to a tte m p t a b re a k -o u t
a c ro s s th e Yellow R iv e r and th ro u g h th e f r o n t i e r t o th e freedom o f th e d e se rt
and
a tta c k e d
Du
h e a d q u a rte rs
s te p p e Chong of
w ith o u t s u c c e s s .
one
beyond.
There was a b r i e f s k irm is h when Fenghou
and
Shanyu S h lz l a s th e y were camped I n th e
th e
o f th e h e rd in g o f f i c e s , but th e r e b e ls w ithdrew
And I n th e mean tim e , a t th e C hinese c a p i t a l , o rd e rs
were Is s u e d f o r th e m o b ilis a tio n o f f o r t y th ousand men, w ith guardsmen and
s o ld ie rs
from th e N o rth ern Army, g a r r i s o n tro o p s and l e v i e s from
th e f r o n t i e r com m anderles, and Wuhuan and X lanbl a u x i l i a r i e s commanded by
th e
C o lo n el
P r o te c to r o f th e Wuhuan Ren Shang.
A ll th e s e f o r c e s
were
u nder th e command o f th e A ctin g G eneral o f C h a rio ts and C a v a lry ,
Deng
Hong,
f u tu r e
y o u n g est
Em press,
and
son o f th e g r e a t Deng Yu, u n c le o f Emperor H e's a
form er
G en eral Who C rosses th e L iao who had
ta k e n p a r t I n th e cam paigns o f Dou X ian.
3
281 The
Han
co u rt
e v id e n tly re g a rd e d F eng h o u 's d e f e c tio n w ith con
s id e r a b l e
concern» b u t In th e w in te r o f 94-95» when Deng Hong a r r iv e d
w ith
th e
main
good
f o r tu n e
of
c o ld
of
n o rth »
th e
n o rth e r n
body o f th e arny» th e y p roved t o be to o l a t e .
Fenghou» th e Yellow R iv er f ro z e o v er In th e In te n s e
sh o re .
d etach m en ts
and th e r e b e l Xlongnu w ere a b le t o c r o s s t o th e
They
of
To th e
th e
were
C hinese
p u rsu ed
w ith c o n s id e ra b le energy» and
fo rc e s» th e Xlongnu and o th e r b a r b a r ia n
a u x i l i a r i e s » cau g h t up w ith one group o r a n o th e r o f th e f le e in g en en y . But
Fenghou
fig h t. th e y
and
T h e ir one were
h is
p e o p le
w ere v ery l i t t l e I n c lin e d t o tu r n and
co n cern was e sc a p e beyond th e f r o n t i e r s » and In t h i s
s u c c e s s f u l.
In
th e
s p r in g
of
95»
th e Im p e ria l arn y
abandoned th e ch ase and w ithdrew to th e f r o n t i e r l i n e .
The
re sp o n se
of
campaign
was
cam paign
and d ie d I n p r is o n .
of
IXi
h a rsh :
th e
Chong and
im p e r ia l
Deng
c o u rt
to
th e
fa ilu re of th is
Hong was found g u i l t y o f mismanaging th e F u r th e r i n v e s t i g a t i o n r e v e a le d th e r o l e
Zhu Hui In c a u s in g th e I n i t i a l tr o u b le w ith th e l a t e
Shanyu Anguo; th e y to o w ere s e n t t o p r is o n and d ie d t h e r e .
It
was n o t an u n re a s o n a b le r e a c tio n » though th e whole a f f a i r was
as
much th e f a u l t o f th e g e n e r a l p o lic y o f th e Han governm ent a s t h a t
of
any I n d iv id u a l o f f i c i a l s o r commanders.
h is
f o llo w e r s
Im p e ria l
d e s ig n
marked which
The escap e o f Fenghou and
th e f a i l u r e and even th e f u t i l i t y o f th e whole had
c u lm in a te d i n th e c o n q u e sts o f Dou X ian.
The N o rth e rn Shanyu had In d eed been d e stro y e d » b u t now th e r e was a new Shanyu
In
th e open step p e» w ith th e n u c le u s o f a fo llo w in g » and good
re a s o n f o r h o s t i l i t y t o C hina.
282 F or
Che
r e in f o r c e Fen,
next
th e
fo rm er
th e
of
Tooth
s ta tio n e d
tro o p s
y e a rs, of
th e
Han governm ent was com pelled to
th e G en eral Who C rosses th e L ia o , now Pang
Grand A d m in is tra to r o f Yanmen, w ith a second f o r c e u n d er
C olonel
T ig e r
few
th e E l i t e C av alry Feng Zhu, commanding tro o p s o f th e
R egim ent, r e c r u i t e d from th e re g io n o f Changan, and a ls o
on
th e
Wuyuan
fro n tie r.
In th e war o f s k irm is h in g and
a t t r i t i o n w hich fo llo w e d , t h e r e w ere d e s e r t i o n s from e a c h s i d e . a
In 96
la r g e number o f F enghou's p eo p le r e b e l l e d a g a in s t him and came back
to C hina, and i n th e autumn o f th e same y e a r a r e v o l t by a s u b o rd in a te k in g to
of
th e S o u th ern Shanyu, who a tte m p te d to e sc a p e w ith h i s p eo p le
th e
n o r th ,
re s e ttle d W ith
in
th is
c o u r t,
was th e
more
success,
and
th e
d e f e a te d by C hinese tr o o p s and th e c a p tiv e s were s o u th e r ly
Feng
m ajor
commanderles o f Andlng and B e ld i.
Zhu was b ro u g h t back f o r an ap p o in tm en t a t
p a r t o f h i s f o r c e may have been d isb a n d e d , o r
in c o r p o r a te d i n t o th e command o f th e G en eral Who C ro sses th e L iao .
In was
98,
succeed ed
Shanyu
s e r io u s l y
th e y asked
by
Chang.
a ffe c te d
th e
th e Shanyu S h iz i d ie d , a f t e r a r e ig n o f fo u r
e a s t. were fo r
p re p a re d
not
y e a r s , and
th e Wanshl 8h iz h u d i Shanyu Tan, son o f th e form er The war w ith Fenghou c o n tin u e d , and th e ren eg ad e was
only
by
th e
r a id in g from th e s o u th b u t p ro b a b ly more
by th e p r e s s u r e and a g g re s s io n o f th e X lanbl trib e sm e n from He and h i s p e o p le r e t r e a t e d s t e a d i l y tow ards th e w e s t, and in c r e a s i n g l y
im p o v erish ed and d i s t r e s s e d .
term s
p eace
to a c c e p t.
and
as
In 104 Fenghou
a t r i b u t a r y , b u t Emperor He was n o t
He s e n t gen ero u s g i f t s i n
8end any envoy t o c o n tin u e n e g o t i a t i o n s .
/i
r e t u r n , b u t he d id n o t
283 D e s p ite h a rd ly been
d iffic u ltie s ,
s a tis fa c to ry . u n a b le
Xian*8 two
Fenghouv8
to
g re a t
Shanyu
The e s s e n t i a l problem was t h a t th e C hinese had
d e c id e w hat p o lic y t o fo llo w i n th e a fte r m a th o f Dou
v ic to rie s .
s e p a r a te
Xlongnu
m ight
be
d a n g e ro u s,
S o u th ern
Shanyu
govern
u n p o p u la r betw een
u n d er
clum sy
and
so
b o th
C hinese
s itu a tio n th e
th e n th e y had hoped t h a t th e S o u th ern
r e s t o r e d t o h i s kingdom i n th e s te p p e , b u t t h a t was
to o
s till
They had to y ed w ith th e id e a o f m a in ta in in g
S ta te s ,
e v id e n tly
w h ile
th e s i t u a t i o n I n th e n o r th was
h is
th e y
was
a tte m p te d
to have th e
own p e o p le and h i s fo rm er enem ies
tu te la g e .
th e r e
had
To t h i s cumbersome, te n s e and
added
th e
m isfo rtu n e
of a riv a lry
new Shanyu Anguo and h i s c o u s in S h iz i, compounded by th e
m anoeuvres
of
th e
l o c a l C hinese o f f i c i a l s .
Among a l l th e s e
p o l i t i c k i n g and p e r s o n a l q u a r r e l s , th e C h in ese had l o s t s i g h t o f t h e i r c h ie f
o b je c tiv e :
to e s t a b l i s h an a g re e a b le governm ent to c o n tr o l th e
Xlongnu i n th e n o r t h . s itu a tio n produced
and a
As a r e s u l t , th e y l o s t c o n tr o l o f th e p o l i t i c a l
w ith in
s ta te
a
of
few
y e a rs
u n c e r ta in ty
o f an a p p a re n t triu m p h th e y had and c o n fu sio n once more alo n g th e
b o rd e rs.
and
The
w o r s t,
th e
d is c o n te n t
is o la tio n .
From
o p p o rtu n itie s s ig n s
of
how ever, of
was th e
y e t t o come. Xlongnu
The w eakness o f Fenghou
co u ld no lo n g e r be re g a rd e d i n
th e e a s t , t h e r e came o th e r b a r b a r ia n s t o s e iz e th e
o ffe re d
by th e power vacuum, and a t th e same tim e , th e
w eakness w ith in th e em pire en co u raged th e r e l u c t a n t v a s s a ls
o f Han to seek r e l i e f from t h e i r m a s te rs
284
The reb ellio n s o f the Xiongnu: Emperor C hinese
year
governm ent of
He
d ie d i n th e w in te r o f 105-106, th e l a s t month o f th e
and
th e b e g in n in g o f th e W estern y e a r .
C o n tro l o f th e
was ta k e n by h i s Empress-Dowager nee Deng, f i r s t on b e h a lf
Emperor
H e's
son.
Emperor
Shang,
who d ie d a s an I n f a n t i n th e
fo llo w in g autum n, and th e n f o r h e r own nom inee. Emperor An. Shanyu
Fenghou
commandery a
in
The r e b e l
had
s e n t a n o th e r embassy to th e f r o n t i e r a t Dunhuang
105,
a s k in g a g a in f o r term s o f s u r r e n d e r and o f f e r i n g
ho8t a g e , and In d eed a p o lo g is in g f o r th e meagre v a lu e o f th e t r i b u t e
th a t
he
co u ld
how ever, and
o ffe r
from h i s im p o v e rish e d
p e o p le .^
Once a g a in ,
th e new governm ent r e j e c t e d th e p o s s i b i l i t y o f n e g o t i a t i o n s ,
Fenghou
C hinese
e v id e n tly
c o n c e rn .
w ithdrew
fo r
th e
tim e
beyond th e ran g e o f
In th e n e x t few y e a r s , th e r e were o th e r th in g s to
i n t e r e s t th e c o u r t o f Han.
In of
th e
Yellow to
th e
summer
Q lang, R iv e r.
th e
o f 107 t h e r e broke o u t th e f i r s t g r e a t r e b e l l i o n
n o r th
and so u th o f th e Wei R iver and w est a c ro s s th e
I t began w ith a m utiny among c o n s c r ip t trib e sm e n s e n t
W estern
R egions,
but
it
sp re a d
a c ro s s th e whole o f Liang
p ro v in c e , and a t v a r io u s tim e s th e f o r c e s o f th e r e b e ls th r e a te n e d th e o ld
c a p ita l
at
and
d iffic u lty ,
Changan.^ even
th e
With t h i s e v id en ce o f s u b je c te d
im p e ria l w eakness
S o u th ern Shanyu was s t i r r e d by
a m b itio n .
A ccording th e r e
were
to
th e
Annals and th e T r e a tis e o f th e F iv e E lem en ts,
r a i n and flo o d s y e a r a f t e r y e a r i n China
a t th is
ti m e ,7
285 and
in
th e summer o f 109 a C hinese ren eg ad e named Han Zong urg ed th e
Shanyu h is
th a t
he sh o u ld ta k e a d v a n ta g e o f th e C hinese d i s t r e s s to seek
in d e p e n d e n c e.
s e ig e
to
Chong
h e ld
Q
The
Shanyu fo llo w e d
h i s su g g e stio n »
and l a i d
th e h e a d q u a r te rs o f th e E m issary Geng Chong a t M e ijl.
e v id e n tly
out
a g a in s t
weakened
by
th e
a tta c k »
but
Geng
th e C hinese p o s itio n was
th e d e a th o f th e G en eral Who C ro sses th e Liao
Wang Biao» and h is army was u n a b le to d e a l w ith th e r e b e l l i o n .
By th e
autum n, i n f a c t , a combined f o r c e o f r e b e l Xiongnu, Wuhuan from Yanmen commandery Wuyuan,
and
and
X ianbi
th e
from beyond th e f r o n t i e r had jo in e d to a t t a c k
lo c a l
tro o p s
u n d er
th e
Grand A d m in is tra to r were
h e a v ily d e f e a te d .
By
w in te r ,
commanderles d e s p ite
ab o u t
r e b e ls th e
c o n tr o lle d a la r g e a r e a o f th e n o r th e r n
Yellow
R iv e r,
and th e im p e ria l governm ent,
th e d i s t r a c t i o n s o f th e f i g h t i n g w ith th e Q iang, found i t s e l f
com pelled command
th e
to a u th o r is e th e d e s p a tc h o f tw enty thousand men, under th e of
th e
m i n is te r
He
Xi
a c tin g
a s G en eral o f C h a rio ts and
C a v a lry , and c o n ta in in g p r o f e s s io n a l s o l d i e r s from th e c a p i t a l a s w e ll as
lo c a l
C hinese m i l i t i a . 7
c o lle c t,
and
u n d e rta k e n of
Liaodong
by
th e
firs t
T h is f o r c e , how ever,
o p e r a tio n s
a g a in s t
to o k some tim e to
th e r e b e l Xiongnu were
th e Grand A d m in is tra to r o f th e n o r th e a s te r n commandery w ith
th e a id o f X ianbi a u x i l i a r i e s .
They a c h ie v e d some
s u c c e s s , b u t i n th e s p r in g o f 110 th e Xiongnu w ere n e v e r th e le s s s tr o n g enough M ountains
to
ra id
Changs han
and
Zhongshan,
east
of
th e
Talhang
286 The
main
body o f th e Im p e r ia l army u n d er He XI p ro ceed ed slo w ly
to
th e
n o r th and to th e r e l i e f o f th e s e t e r r i t o r i e s , w h ile th e b ru n t
of
th e
fig h tin g
was
P ro te c to r - G e n e ra l
borne
by Geng Kui and th e n by L iang Q ln, l a s t
o f th e W estern R eg io n s, who had fo u g h t h i s way back
a g a in s t
th e Qlang r e b e ls and was now s e n t i n h a s te t o th e n o r th , w ith
a n o th e r
e ig h t
and
tho u san d m en .10
In a s e r i e s o f engagem ents
Geng Kui
LLang Qin d e f e a te d d etach m en ts o f th e Xiongnu f o r c e s and r e lie v e d
th e 8 e lg e o f M e lji.
The army und er He Xi re -o c c u p ie d Manbo i n Wuyuan,
b u t was s t r i c k e n by s ic k n e s s , o f w hich He Xi h im s e lf d ie d , and numbers of
Geng
out
K u i's
X ianbi a u x i l i a r i e s abandoned him when a d is e a s e broke
among t h e i r h o r s e s .
Xi *8
F i n a l l y , how ever, a combined f o r c e le d by He
second-in-com m and
Chong,
w ith
Pang
X iong, L iang Q in, and th e E m issary Geng
s i x t e e n th o u san d I n f a n t r y and c a v a lr y , was b ro u g h t s o u th
to in v e s t th e Shanyu i n th e p la c e o f h i s r e t r e a t among th e Hu M arshes, near
Shenmu
Shanyu
in
n o r th e r n
S h aan x i.
Tan, a p p a r e n tly overwhelmed
C h in ese ,
came
to
kowtow
and
In th e t h i r d month o f 110, th e by th e n u m erical r e s o u rc e s o f th e
begged t o s u r r e n d e r .
His r e q u e s t was
g r a n te d .
The on
th e
Han
u p r is in g fo r
a
been
cam paign, o f c o u rs e , had p la c e d a c o n s id e ra b le s t r a i n
governm ent,
at
was a lre a d y s e r i o u s . s e ttle m e n t
v is ite d hoped
whole
upon th a t
th e th e
in
a
tim e when th e s i t u a t i o n o f th e Qlang I t i s a m easure o f th e C hinese a n x ie ty
th e n o r th t h a t no p e n a lty a p p e a rs t o have been
Shanyu
o r any o f h i s f o llo w e r s .
I t was e v id e n tly
d e m o n stra tio n o f power i n th e p re v io u s cam paigns had
s u f f i c i e n t , and t h a t a w arn in g f o r th e f u t u r e would be enough to
287 s e c u re
q u ie t
Xlongnu
fo r
th e p r e s e n t .
rem ained
at
So, In d e e d , I t p roved:
th e S o u th ern
peace w ith Han f o r more th a n te n y e a r s .
By 115
th e C h in ese had g a in e d th e I n i t i a t i v e I n th e f i g h t w ith th e QLang, and t h e i r f i n a l v i c t o r y was c e le b r a te d In 118.
It
Is
n o tic e a b le ,
Xlongnu
In
109-110 was accom panied by v e ry lim ite d c o - o p e ra tio n w ith
th e
Q lang.
handed
At
back
to
th e
how ever,
tim e
th e
Han
t h a t th e r e b e l l i o n o f th e S o u th ern
o f Shanyu T a n 's s u r r e n d e r , he a p p a re n tly fo rc e s
a
number
o f C hinese who had been
c a p tu re d by th e Qlang and had been s o ld t o th e Xlongnu; t h i s , how ever, Is
th e
o n ly
re fe re n ce
to c o n ta c t betw een th e two groups o f r e b e l s .
The Qlang had a t t h a t tim e a l e a d e r , D la n lia n , who had p ro claim ed him s e lf
as
near
Y lnchuan
QLang
em peror In 108, and had e s t a b l i s h e d h is c a p i t a l a t L lngzhou,
w a rs,
In
p r e s e n t- d a y N ln g x la.
In th e c lo s in g s ta g e s o f th e
Llngzhou was a tta c k e d by C hinese tro o p s and Xlongnu aux
i l i a r i e s u n d e r th e command o f th e G en eral Who C ro sses th e L iao , so th e Ordos
D e se rt to th e n o r th was n o t an Im p assab le b a r r i e r .
how ever,
th a t
fig h tin g
th e
Qlang th e
w ere
th e
QLang
C h in ese, c h ie f ly
a m b itio n s
of
and
found
I t a p p e a rs ,
th e Xlongnu, even when th e y were b o th no ad v an tag e In j o i n t o p e r a tio n s :
th e
In v o lv e d w ith th e Wei v a lle y on th e s o u th , w h ile th e
t e r r i t o r i e s o f th e O rdos.
Xlongnu
la y
e s s e n tia lly
w ith
th e f r o n t i e r
I t I s l i k e l y , m oreover, t h a t th e Shanyu and
h is
p e o p le had l i t t l e I n t e r e s t I n th e l e s s c u l t i v a t e d tr lb e s p e o p le o f
th e
Qlang
re b e llio n s
and t h e i r p r e te n d e r em peror. kept
th em selv es
be d e f e a te d s e p a r a t e l y .
F o rtu n a te ly f o r Han, th e two
a p a r t , and th e y c o u ld , w ith some e f f o r t ,
288 In Who
114 a c o u s in o f th e em p ress-dow ager, Deng Zun, became G eneral
C ro sses
x in g
th e
L ia o ,
and f o r th e f i r s t tim e th e q u a lif y in g p r e f i x
" a c tin g " , was dropped from th e t i t l e o f t h a t o f f i c e .
th e
same
Shanyu
tim e
as
Fenghou
th e
came
la s t
In 118, a t
cam paigns a g a in s t th e Q iang, th e r e b e l
to th e Shuofang f r o n t i e r and s u rre n d e re d uncon
d i t i o n a l l y to C hina.
S in ce 104 it
and
Fenghouvs u n s u c c e s s fu l a p p ro a c h e s t o th e Han governm ent i n 105, he had n o t been n o tic e d by th e C hinese c h r o n i c l e r s , b u t
a p p e a rs
had
now
so u g h t
en cro ach ed
t h a t i n th e i n te r v e n in g y e a r s th e t e r r i t o r y where he
to
m a in ta in
upon
by
th e
h im s e lf X ia n b l,
M ongolia
had
been
s te a d ily
and Fenghou was u n a b le t o m a in ta in
h im s e lf
a g a in s t
kingdom
w ith l i t t l e more th a n a hundred horsem en, and th e p e o p le t h a t
had
fo rm e rly
trib e s
of
them .
in
been
He escap ed from th e r u in o f h i s in d e p e n d e n t
h is
th e X ia n b l.
s u b je c ts
now
numbered th em selv es among th e
On Deng Z u n 's recom m endation, Fenghou and h i s
companions
were
p ro v in c e .
They were presum ably In tro d u c e d t h e r e t o th e p r i n c i p l e s o f
a g ric u ltu re
r e s e t t l e d i n Ylngchuan commandery, now p a r t o f Henan
i n exchange f o r th e w andering p a s t o r a l l i f e t h a t th e y had
known i n th e p a s t .
Though b ro u g h t
th e
th em selv es th o s e of
th e
grow ing end o f
power
o f th e X ianbl i n th e open s te p p e had
Fenghoufs s e p a r a t i s t
movement,
th e
X ianbl
were r a t h e r more a g g re s s iv e and u n f r ie n d ly n e ig h b o u rs th a n
rem nants
X ianbl
They a r e n o t r e f e r r e d t o a g a i n . **
were
o f Xiongnu pow er. p r e s s in g
By th e e a r ly 120s, r a id in g p a r t i e s
a g a in s t im p e r ia l t e r r i t o r y , and becoming a
c au se o f u n c e r t a i n t y and u n r e s t among th e Xiongnu.
289 The am id st
G en eral th e
a fte r
th e
Who C ro sse s th e L iao Deng Zun was d ism isse d I n 121,
g e n e r a l d is g r a c e o f h i s fa m ily a t th e hands o f Emperor An d e a th
o v e rb e a rin g
of
th e
Empress-Dowager
had
fre e d
him
s u p e r v is io n and th e I n f lu e n c e o f h e r r e l a t i v e s *
from h e r Deng Zun
was su cceed ed by Geng Kui.
To d e a l w ith th e X ianbl r a i d s , Geng Kill r e c r u i t e d Xlongnu who had come
fo r
s u r r e n d e r and re fu g e a lo n g th e b o r d e r s , and In c o -o p e ra tio n
w ith th e Xlongnu k in g Huyouhui he d efen d ed th e f r o n t i e r s w ith a m obile r e s e r v e and o c c a s io n a l p u n itiv e r a i d s .
and Geng
In
124 th e Shanyu Tan d ie d , a f t e r a r e ig n o f tw e n ty -se v e n y e a r s ,
he
was su cceeded by h i s younger b r o th e r Ba.
Kill
c o n s c r ip t Huyouhui
le ft
o ffic e .
Xlongnu, and
Soon a fte r w a r d s t h e r e was a m utiny among th e
which
In s is te d
was le d by th e c h i e f t a i n Azu.
th a t
They s e iz e d
he j o i n them , b u t Huyouhui d e c la re d h is
l o y a l t y to h i s o v e r lo r d s o f Han. n o r th
About th e same tim e
Azu and h i s p eo p le a tte m p te d t o f l e e
th ro u g h th e f r o n t i e r , b u t th e y w ere ch ased and c au g h t by tro o p s
commanded
by
th e
E m issary Ma Y i, g r e a t numbers o f them were k i l l e d ,
and none o f them a p p e a r t o have made t h e i r e s c a p e .
The
Shanyu
Ba
d ie d
in
128,
and was succeeded by h i s younger
b r o th e r
X iu ll.
F or more th a n tw e lv e y e a r s , u n t i l th e l a s t months o f
X l u l l *8
re ig n ,
th e r e
Xlongnu.
were
no
f u r t h e r m ajor d is tu r b a n c e s among th e
290
The coming o f the Xianbi and the wars o f Q izhijian 121-133: In
th e
b a re ly a
n o tic e d
p eo p le
jo in e d was
of
u n til
tra d itio n
of
C hina,
th e X ianbi p e o p le a r e
th e tim e o f L a te r Han.
They w ere, a p p a r e n tly ,
s i m i l a r o r i g i n and custom s to th e Wuhuan, and th e y w ere
w ith th e Wuhuan i n th e kingdom o f th e E a s te rn Hu, whose le a d e r
k ille d
Xlongnu th a t
h is to ric a l
and
em pire
s ta te
d e s tro y e d
by th e g r e a t Modun, fo u n d e r o f th e
i n th e l a t e t h i r d and e a r l y second c e n tu ry BC.
A fte r
m assive d e f e a t , th e X ianbi e v id e n tly to o k re fu g e i n th e m ountain
and
fo re st
c o u n try o f th e n o r th e r n p a r t o f th e G reat Xlngan ran g e on
th e
b o rd e r
o f th e p re s e n t- d a y M ongolia and M anchuria, and i t i s s a id
t h a t th e name X ianbi came from one o f th e peaks o f t h a t r e g io n .
D uring
th e
12
Former Han p e r io d , th e r e i s no m en tio n o f th e X ianbi
peo p le i n th e r e c o rd s o f th e d y n a s ty .
Im p e ria l d e a lin g s w ith th e n o n -
C hinese p e o p le o f t h a t r e g io n w ere co n cern ed o n ly w ith th e Wuhuan, who liv e d
s o u th
of
th e
X ianbi
hom eland,
and
w ith th e v a rio u s t r i b a l
kingdoms
o f M anchuria and n o r th e r n Korea su ch a s th e Mo and H ul, Fuyu
and
r i s i n g power o f Koguryo
tim e
th e of
(G a o g o u li). 13
I t i s n o t u n t i l th e
Emperor Guangwu t h a t we have th e f i r s t s p e c i f i c r e f e r e n c e t o
th e X ianbi a s a p eo p le on th e f r o n t i e r s o f th e e m p ire .
At u n if ie d been
th e
b e g in n in g
L a te r
Han,
d u rin g th e tr o u b le s w ith th e
Xlongnu u n d er th e Shanyu Yu, th e X ia n b i, l i k e th e Wuhuan, had
In v o lv e d
n o rth e a s t, Liaodong,
of
and in
w ith r a i d i n g o f th e C h in ese b o rd e r commanderles t o th e th e th e
c e n tr e o f X ianbi a t t e n t i o n was th e commandery o f s o u th e rn
p a rt
of
M anchuria, w ith i t s c a p i t a l a t
291 X lan p ln g ,
in
L ia o n in g . Tong,
In
younger
s u p p o r te r s , a
th e
m ajo r
41
v a lle y th e
c o u s in
as Grand
of
th e
L iao
n o r th
o f modern Ylngfcou In
governm ent o f Emperor Guangwu a p p o in te d Zhal of
Zhal
Zun,
one
o f th e e m p e ro r's e a r l i e s t
A d m in is tr a to r .^
In 45, Zhal Tong I n f l i c t e d
d e f e a t on th e X lanbl r a i d e r s , c a u s in g them heavy l o s s e s , and
p r e v e n tin g
them
fo r
th e
tim e
b e in g from
c o n te m p la tin g
fu rth e r
I n c u r s io n s I n t o h i s t e r r i t o r y .
In S o u th ern
49,
m oreover,
Xiongnu
when
th e
d iv is io n
betw een th e N o rth ern and
had been co n firm ed by th e s u rre n d e r o f th e S outhern
Shanyu t o Han, Z hal Tong was a b le t o a rra n g e w ith th e X lanbl c h i e f t a i n Blanhe
fo r
th e re c r u itm e n t o f X lanbl a s
r a i d e r s a g a in s t th e N o rth ern
X iongnu, and th e Han a d m in is tr a tio n p a id a b o unty Xiongnu t h a t th e X lanbl b ro u g h t to them . X la n b l,
Yuchouben
and
M antou,
who
f o r th e head o f each
In 54, two c h i e f t a i n s o f th e
came b e a rin g t r i b u t e t o th e Han
c o u r t, were g ra n te d s e a l s a s k in g and m arquis r e s p e c t i v e l y , and In 58, when th e Wuhuan o f Shanggu commandery w ere r a id in g a lo n g th e f r o n t i e r , Blanhe
a tta c k e d them , d e s tro y e d t h e i r f o r c e s and k i l l e d t h e i r l e a d e r ,
and b ro u g h t th e head t o Z hal Tong I n L iaodong. th e no
From t h i s tim e on, f o r
n e x t t h i r t y y e a r s , th e C hinese a d m in is tr a to r s on th e f r o n t i e r had m ilita ry
C olonel
d iffic u ltie s
P r o te c to r
of
th e
w ith
th e
Wuhuan
X la n b l, was
made
and
th e o f f i c e o f th e
r e s p o n s ib le
a ls o
fo r
p o l i t i c a l r e l a t i o n s w ith th e X la n b l.1^
The
s itu a tio n
s a tis fa c to ry
In
th e
n o rth e a s t,
a s t h i s r e c o rd would Im p ly .
how ever,
was
not
q u i t e so
F i r s t l y , th e A ccount o f th e
292 X lanbl
rem arks
t h a t d u rin g t h i s p e r io d o f p eace th e two p ro v in c e s o f
Qlng and Xu9 b o th o f w hich were on th e p l a i n so u th o f th e f r o n t i e r You province» m illio n more
w ere
r e s p o n s ib le
cash to th e
th a n
Xlongnu,
two and
X la n b l.* ^
and It
a
p ro v id e d
o ffe re d
by th e X la n b l.
of
th e
by
lo c a l
fro n tie r
annual
payment
T his I s a v ery
of
th e sum o f 270
c o n s id e ra b le am ount,
h a l f tim e s th e a n n u a l su b sid y t o a l l S o u th ern
seems
p ic tu re
s p e c ific a lly
fo r
q u ite
th e
out
o f p r o p o rtio n to th e r e s t o f th e
h is to rie s
o f th e t h r e a t and In co n v e n ie n c e
I n t e r e s t i n g l y » I t was e v id e n tly r a is e d from a
ta x on th e two p ro v in c e s t o e n s u re th e p r o t e c t i o n re g io n
Im m ediately
on t h e i r n o rth » and u n lik e th e
paym ents t o th e S o u th ern Xlongnu o r th e s u b s id ie s t o v a rio u s s t a t e s o f th e
W estern
been
R egions l a t e r I n th e dynasty» th e y do n o t ap p e a r to have
a rra n g e d
Im p e ria l
p ro v in c e s»
fo r who
and
o p e ra tio n »
a tta c k s
C hina.
m ilita ry m ight
on how and
ch arg e
Is
lo n g
th e
p o s s ib le
s e r v ic e
o th e rw is e on
on
th e th e
by have
th a t th e
g e n e r a l rev en u e o f th e th e
money
p eo p le
of
r e p r e s e n ts th e
s e ttle d
been c o n s c r ip te d f o r g a r r is o n
fro n tie r. fin a n c ia l
T here
Is»
arrangem ent
again»
no
rem ained
In
w h eth er th e X lan b l re c e iv e d t h i s w e a lth a s rew ard f o r on
For
d ire c t It
s e rv ic e
In fo rm a tio n
th e ir
a
tre a su ry .
co m m itatlo n
d u tie s
as
th e
Xlongnu
o r m erely f o r k e ep in g th e p eace w ith
some y e a rs» however» I t was o b v io u sly a m ajor so u rc e o f
p r o f i t to th e b a rb a ria n s » and I t r e f l e c t s b o th th e Im portance o f t h e i r m i l i t a r y power and t h e i r c o s t t o th e C h in ese econom y.1^
B esid es X lanbl
th is
people»
q u e s tio n
though
of
sub sid y »
It
I s a ls o c l e a r t h a t th e
c o n te n t w ith t h e i r o f f i c i a l r o l e a s a l l i e s o f
293 Che C h in ese a g a i n s t th e Xiongnu and o c c a s io n a l r e b e l Wuhuan, were w e ll p re p a re d
to
For
one
re a s o n o r a n o th e r , t h e i r e x p a n sio n and r a id in g i n t o Liaodong
had
been
w ere
m a in ta in
h a lte d
now
by th e e n e r g ie s o f Zhai Tong, b u t th e X lanbi t r i b e s
e s ta b lis h e d
h e a d q u a rte rs Gulf
th e a t t a c k s on ac c o u n t o f t h e i r own a m b itio n s .
of
o f th e D eling R iv e r, th e rugged c o u n try n o rth w e st o f th e
Liaodong
w ith H eb ei.
i n th e m ountains o f th e N uluerhu ran g e and th e
near
th e b o rd e rs o f p re s e n t-d a y L iao n in g p ro v in c e
During th e y e a rs o f Wuhuan w eakness, th e X lanbi had moved
so u th i n t o t h e i r fo rm er t e r r i t o r i e s , and th e y now dom inated th e re g io n beyond
th e
c o u n try
im p e ria l
fro n tie rs
i n th e n o r t h e a s t , and th e t r a n s i t i o n
betw een th e m ountain f o r e s t s and th e M ongolian s te p p e f u r t h e r
to th e n o r th and w e st.
In th e e a r ly y e a r s o f th e L a te r Han p e r io d , though th e Wuhuan had shown
some
p r e s s in g la te
b eh in d
40s
gro u p s
s tre n g th
and
of
commanderles
a s enem ies o f C hina, i t a p p e a rs t h a t th e X lanbi
them e a rly
th e
w ere
In th e s e ttle m e n t o f th e
5 0 s, a f t e r th e d i v i s i o n o f th e Xiongnu, s e v e r a l
Wuhuan
and
more p o w e rfu l.
were
allo w ed
a c c e p te d
w ith in
th e
C hinese f r o n t i e r
to s e t t l e a lo n g th e b o r d e r s .
To th e n o r th
o f th e Wuhuan, how ever, th e X lan b i e v id e n tly m a in ta in e d t h e i r p r e s s u r e on
g ra z in g
la n d s ,
and even th e im p e r ia l f r o n t i e r was moved so u th to
accommodate them .
D uring upper H ebei.
Former
Han, th e t e r r i t o r y o f th e em pire had in c lu d e d th e
v a lle y o f th e Luan R iv e r, th e a r e a ab o u t p re s e n t-d a y Chengde i n S e v e ra l p r e f e c t u r e s o f Y oubeiping and Yuyang commanderles were
294 set
In
th is
census
re g io n ,
but
by th e second c e n tu ry AD, th e tim e o f th e
re c o rd e d f o r L a te r Han ab o u t 140, th e y had a l l been abandoned,
and th e f r o n t i e r l i n e was e s s e n t i a l l y t h a t o f th e modern G reat W all o f th e
Ming
D allng
d y n a s ty .
R iv er
under
had
Former
upon
th is
In s i m i l a r f a s h io n , th e h i l l c o u n try o f th e u p per been
Han:
c o n tr o lle d
by c o u n tie s o f L la o x l commandery
I n th e L a te r Han p e r io d , th e h o ld o f th e em pire
re g io n
d e c lin e d ,
and
d u rin g
th e second c e n tu ry AD such
a d m in is tr a tiv e c e n tr e s as rem ained were no lo n g e r o rg a n is e d a s r e g u la r c o u n tie s , Though
b u t a s dao
m arches u n d e r th e
a d m in is tr a tio n
e s ta b l i s h e d
to
Dependent S ta te o f Liaodong.
by m arches and depen dent s t a t e s was o f f i c i a l l y
e n a b le
th e
a s s im ila tio n
and
Improved
c o n tr o l
of
s u rre n d e re d b a r b a r ia n s , I n t h i s a r e a o f th e n o r th e a s t I t seems e v id e n t th a t
It
re fle c te d
a
d e c lin e
of
I m p e ria l
a u th o rity ,
not
Its
e x p a n s io n .
The m ilita ry th e y
had
a g a in s t te m p tin g C hinese m ountain s
X lanbl
how ever,
d e fe n c e s been th e
of
th e
not
yet
In te re s te d
C hinese f r o n t i e r .
In t e s t i n g th e
At l e a s t f o r th e tim e ,
bought o f f , and th e p r o s p e c ts o f p lu n d e r and co n q u est
weakened
and
w ere
Xlongnu o f th e M ongolian ste p p e were e v id e n tly
s a tis fy in g .
In a developm ent la r g e ly u n re c o rd e d by th e
h i s t o r i a n s , th e X lanbl t r i b e s expanded t h e i r c o n tr o l from th e and
th e
s te p p e
b o rd e rla n d w estw ards a c r o s s th e M ongolian
p la te a u .
In N o rth ern
87,
th e
X longnu,
X lanbl when
a c h ie v e d
t h e i r c e le b r a te d v ic to r y o v e r th e
th e y d e f e a te d th e S hanyu's own army and to o k
295 th e
r u l e r 's
s k in
as
have
been
fo llo w e d
a tro p h y . by
a
Almost c e r t a i n l y , t h i s v ic to r y must
c o n s o lid a tio n
of
X lanbl p re s e n c e I n th e
s te p p e , and I t I s v e ry l i k e l y t h a t by ab o u t t h i s tim e t h e i r p eo p le had ta k e n o v e r th e g r e a t e r p a r t o f e a s t e r n M ongolia. Xian
w hich
Shanyu,
and
were c o n c e n tra te d
rem nants Shanyu were
fo llo w e d ,
of
th e N o rth ern
and
a ls o
The cam paigns o f Dou
w hich d e s tro y e d th e power o f th e N o rth ern In
th e w e s te rn h a l f o f M ongolia, and th e
Xlongnu,
u nder
th e l a s t o f th e N o rth ern
In th e tim e o f Fenghou I n th e e a r ly second c e n tu r y ,
found In th e w est o f M ongolia, n e a r th e b o rd e rs w ith th e W éstern
R eg io n s. In
th e
Is
s a id
We a r e t o l d t h a t th e fo rm er f o llo w e rs o f th e N o rth ern Shanyu la te of
su rre n d e r
80s and e a r l y 90s c a l l e d th e m selv es X la n b l, and th e same th e form er
I n 118.
I Q
f o llo w e rs
of
Fenghou
at
To a l l I n t e n t s and p u rp o s e s ,
th e tim e o f h is by th e 120s, th e
X lanbl dom inated th e w hole re g io n o f M ongolia.
In
94,
P r o te c t o r
th e X lanbl c h i e f t a i n Subahul had accom panied th e C olonel
of
th e
Wuhuan Ren Shang I n th e p u r s u i t o f Fenghou, and he
was rew arded f o r h i s s e r v ic e s by th e g r a n t o f th e t i t l e King Who Leads HIs
P e o p le .
c o - o p e r a tio n firs t
to th e
T h is , how ever,
was th e l a s t o c c a s io n o f f u l l X lanbl
w ith th e governm ent o f Han:
I n 97 th e r e I s re c o rd e d th e
o f a s e r l e s o f r a i d s a g a i n s t th e n o r th e r n com m anderles.
autum n, a ls o ,
on
th e
In th e
X lanbl a tta c k e d th e t e r r i t o r y o f Liaodong commandery and
f u r t h e r w e s t, th e f r o n t i e r co u n ty o f F e lru I n L la o x l, now d o s e
th e l i n e o f th e Ming G reat W all w est o f S hanhalguan. lo c a l
In L iaodong,
tro o p s w ere d e f e a te d by th e r a i d e r s , and th e Grand Admini
s t r a t o r Zhal Can, son o f th e fo rm er Grand A d m in is tra to r Zhal Tong, was
296
p u n ished and d ie d In j a i l f o r h i s f a i l u r e i n Che b a t t l e - f i e l d . ^ *
From
th is
w estw ards th e
p lu n d e re d
d e fe a te d
fo rc e s.
by
In
re s u lte d
on,
th e
p re ssu re
of
a lo n g th e f r o n t i e r o f th e e m p ire .
X lanbi
were
tim e
th e
in
th e
th e
Grand
summer u tte r
fro n tie r, In
th e
th e
tim e
of
were
He
In th e w in te r o f 101/102
o f 106, how ever, a second a t t a c k on Yuyang o f th e l o c a l tro o p s and th e d e a th i n 22
were th u s a p o t e n t i a l t h r e a t t o th e n o r th e r n
n o t o rg a n is e d o r c o n s is te n t i n t h e i r h o s t i l i t y .
y e a rs o f th e r e ig n o f Emperor An, f o r exam ple, even a t th e
c h ie fta in
c o u r t.
sp re a d
A d m in is tra to r and th e l o c a l commandery
d e fe a t
X ianbl
th e y e a r ly
X ianbl
th e
th e
r a id in g
Y oubeiping and th e n e n te r e d Yuyang, w here th e y
b a t t l e o f th e Grand A d m in is tra to r Zhang X ian.
Though
X ianbl
g re a t named
QLang r e b e l l i o n w hich broke o u t i n 107, th e Y anllyang
b ro u g h t
trib u te
to th e im p e r ia l
was aw arded th e s e a l o f a k in g , and to o k up r e s id e n c e i n
neighbourhood
o f Ning p r e f e c tu r e i n Shanggu, th e h e a d q u a rte rs of
th e C o lo n el P r o t e c t o r o f th e Wuhuan and th e o f f i c i a l m arket c e n tr e f o r tr a d e w ith th e n o r th e a s te r n b a r b a r ia n s . th e
X ianbl
sen t
h o s ta g e s
to
N ing,
I t i s s a id t h a t 120 groups o f and
two
h o s te l q u a r te r s were
c o n s tr u c te d f o r them to l i v e i n . 23
The th e r e
Account
were
b a r b a r ia n s , tr o u b le
of
o c c a s io n s
th e X ianbl rem arks a t t h i s p o in t t h a t h e r e a f t e r when
th e
X ianbl a s s i s t e d China a g a in s t o th e r
and t h e r e w ere a l s o o c c a s io n s when numbers o f them caused
297 One th e ir
may o bserve» indeed» t h a t Y anliyang and h i s c o lle a g u e s» w ith
120
g ro u p s,
d id
n o t r e p r e s e n t a g r e a t number o f p e o p le .
The
governm ent em phasis on th e new a rra n g e m en ts a t Nlng may be se e n p a r t l y as
p ro p ag an d a,
p a rtly th e
en co u rag e
f u r t h e r t r i b u t e from o th e r g ro u p s, and
a s r e c o g n itio n o f th e e s t a b l i s h e d Im p o rtan ce o f th e X ianbl and
need
fo r
re a lity , th e
to
an
th is
e ffe c tiv e
a d m in is tr a tio n
to
d e a l w ith them .
In
s m a ll and p e rh a p s nom inal s u r r e n d e r o f Y anliyang marks
b e g in n in g o f th e p e rio d when th e X ianbl p eo p le to o k a p o s itio n o f
le a d e r s h i p a s enem ies o f Han.
It
is ,
on
th e o th e r hand, re m a rk a b le t h a t th e X ia n b l, l i k e th e
Xlongnu, made sm a ll a tte m p t to ta k e ad v an tag e o f th e em barrassm ent and d iffic u lty
fa c e d
by th e Han governm ent f o r c e s d u rin g th e tim e o f th e
firs t
g re a t
109,
d u rin g
th e
th e
a tta c k
jo in e d im p e r ia l Shanyu
Qlang
fo rc e s
re b e llio n
betw een 107 and 118.
In th e autumn o f
b r i e f r e b e l l i o n o f th e S o u th ern Shanyu, some X ianbl on Wuyuan, b u t th e r e were o th e r s who a s s i s t e d th e
a g a in s t
th e
X longnu.
A f te r th e s u r r e n d e r o f th e
Tan i n 110, th e r e was no f u r t h e r re c o rd e d d is tu rb a n c e from th e
X ianbl i n th e w est f o r s e v e r a l y e a r s .
In X ianbl c lo s e
115,
th e r e
fro n tie r, to
B elzhen
Dependent S t a t e . a n o th e r
was
firs t
renewed a g a in s t
ra id in g
on th e e a s t e r n end o f th e
th e county o f Wulii i n L iaodong, now
i n L ia o n in g , and th e n a g a in s t F u ll i n th e Liaodong Two y e a rs l a t e r , how ever, i n th e summer o f 117, when
group o f r a i d e r s broke th ro u g h th e C hinese d e fe n c e s i n L ia o x l
commander y ,
th e y
were
d riv e n
back
by a u x i l i a r i e s u n der th e Wuhuan
298 le a d e r
Y u z h lju ,
were h e a v ily d e f e a te d and s u f f e r e d lo s s e s o f c a t t l e »
h o rs e s and o t h e r t r e a s u r e s .
In
th e
a g a in s t
p lu n d e r. b ro u g h t
118
th e r e
was a m ajor a t t a c k by th e X lanbl
k ille d
many
The r a i d e r s e n te r e d C hinese
o f th e o f f i c i a l s and p e o p le and r e t i r e d w ith
L ev ies were r a i s e d a lo n g th e bord er» and re in fo rc e m e n ts were n o rth w ard
a tta c k s »
but
I n to
whole
of
th e f r o n t i e r s o f Dal commandery.
te rrito ry »
tim e
autumn
In
th e
from th e camp a t LIyang t o p re p a re a g a in s t f u r t h e r th e
same w in te r th e X lanbl made a n o th e r ra id » t h i s
n e ig h b o u rin g
Shanggu commandery.
They tr a v e r s e d th e
t e r r i t o r y o f Shanggu a s f a r a s th e Juyong Pass» and th e C hinese
d e fe n c e fo rc e s » w hich had a g a in p ro v en t o be o f lim ite d e f f e c tiv e n e s s » were s tre n g th e n e d once m ore.
In
th e
autumn
of
th e fo llo w in g y e a r th e r e was a n o th e r a tta c k »
a g a in s t th e co u n ty o f Macheng I n Dal commandery» n e a r th e h e a d q u a rte rs o f th e C o lo n e l P r o te c to r o f th e Wuhuan a t Nlng In Shanggu. however»
th e
T his time»
C hinese were a b le to p u t a f a r more a d e q u a te f o r c e I n to
th e
f ie ld »
I n c lu d in g
th r e e th o u san d bowman s c o u ts u n d er th e G eneral
Who
C ro sses
th e Liao Deng Zun» c a v a lry o f th e S o u thern Xlongnu under
th e
o rd e r s
o f th e E m issary Ma Xu» and horsem en and f o o t s o l d l e r s from
th e commanderles o f L la o x l and Y oubelplng.
The X lanbl were cau g h t and
d e fe a te d I n th e f i e l d and th e C hin ese p u r s u i t fo llo w e d them beyond th e fro n tie rs » enemy 24
re tu rn in g
once
a g a in
w ith
booty
from
th e
f l e e in g
299
fo r
The
fro n tie r
cam paigns o f 117/118 and 119» however» f o r tu n a te ly
th e
Chinese»
had
en d in g th e
In
th e w est and tr o o p s co u ld be made a v a i l a b l e f o r d e fe n c e In
n o rth .
w hich
come a t th e tim e when th e Qlang r e b e l l i o n was
For
th e
th e X la n b i, on th e o th e r hqnd, 118 was th e y e a r In
u n f o r tu n a te Xiongnu l e a d e r Fenghou c o n fe sse d h i s d e f e a t In
th e open t e r r i t o r y o f M ongolia and ask ed f o r re fu g e w ith in C hina. X lanbi
now
fro n tie rs
c o n tr o lle d
on
th e
whole
re g io n
beyond
th e
The
Han im p e r ia l
th e n o rth » and th e r a i d s a g a in s t Dai and Shanggu may be
se e n a s a r e f l e c t i o n o f energy tu rn e d t o p o s s ib le ex p a n sio n and p r o f i t i n th e s o u th .
In
th e
w in te r a t th e b e g in n in g o f 121» th e c h i e f t a i n s Wulun and
Q lz h ljla n » le a d e r s o f th e X lanbi from th e re g io n o f L lao x l commander y , came
to
title s and
Deng Zun w ith t r i b u t e .
a s King Who Leads His P eople and M arquis Who Leads His People»
w ere
g iv e n
s h o r tliv e d »
and
p r e s e n ts o f s i l k .
The subm ission» however» was very
Q lz h ljla n
n o to r io u s
became
X lanbi f o r more th a n te n y e a r s .
In X lanbi
th e in
th e
few
months
th e
summer
121
th e r e was an in c u r s io n i n t o Liaodong by
Grand A d m in is tra to r C al Feng d ie d i n b a t t l e a g a i n s t them.
th e
A
l a t e r , however» i n th e autumn» th e r e d ev eloped a f a r more
campaign
X lanbi
d e f e a te d
of
a s a w a r-le a d e r o f th e
25
a l l i a n c e w ith th e Ä ii and Mo p e o p le o f th e n o r th and e a s t»
and
s e r io u s
By im p e r ia l d e c re e th e y w ere g ra n te d
had
f u r t h e r w e s t, le d by Q lz h ljla n . ra id e d
commandery
W ithin a few weeks
a c r o s s Shanggu once more to th e Juyong P a s s , tro o p s
of
Yunzhong
and
k i l l e d th e Grand
300 A d m in is tra to r
Cheng
Yan,
and
b e sie g e d th e C o lo n el P r o te c to r o f th e
Wuhuan, Xu Chang» i n th e c i t y o f Macheng.
Once Geng th e
again»
la r g e C hinese army had t o be r a i s e d f o r d e fe n c e .
Kui» th e new G en eral Who C ro sses th e Liao» com bining f o r c e s w ith p ro v in c ia l
a tta c k e d
th e
a s s is ta n c e d riv e n
tro o p s b e s ie g e r s
from
a
of on
s o rtie
You p ro v in c e u n d er th e In s p e c to r Pang Can two by
f la n k s Xii
and
Chang.
r e lie v e d Macheng» w ith
The X ianbl» however» w ere
o f f b u t n o t d e f e a te d ; from t h i s tim e on we a r e t o l d t h a t t h e i r
a g g re s s iv e n e s s te n s
a
c o n tin u a lly
in c re a se d » and t h a t t h e i r f o r c e s numbered
o f th o u san d s o f mounted a r c h e r s .
were a c o n tin u a l t h r e a t .
In
th e
T h e ir r a id s a lo n g th e f r o n t i e r
2 (L
w in te r o f 122-123 th e X lan b i r a id e d Yanmen and D ingxlang
commanderles» and re a c h e d so u th a s f a r a s Taiyuan» i n th e u p per v a lle y of
th e Fen R iv e r.
In th e w in te r o f 123-124, Q iz h ijia n h im s e lf le d an
a t ta c k on th e t e r r i t o r y he
k ille d
en em ies. was
th e
Y u jian
o f th e S o u th ern Xiongnu. Rizhu King
and more
In a b a t t l e a t Manbo
th a n a th o u san d
o th e r
In th e fo llo w in g autum n, a r a i d on G aollu i n Dai commandery
accom panied
by a f u r t h e r cam paign a g a i n s t th e Xiongnu, t h i s tim e
d e f e a tin g and k i l l i n g th e Z h an jlan g K in g .22
It
was
fo llo w in g
th e s e d e f e a t s ,
engagem ents
a lo n g
th e f r o n t i e r ,
a u x ilia rie s
broke
out
Z h an jlan g
th a t 2ft
i n 124. °
and
no
th e
m utiny
M oreover,
doubt of
o th e r
m inor
th e Xiongnu
a f t e r th e d e a th o f th e
King th e S o u th ern Shanyu was s u f f i c i e n t l y concern ed t h a t he
301 w rote
to
th e Han c o u r t a s k in g f o r p ro p e r r e s t o r a t i o n o f th e f r o n t i e r
p o s ts
and
f u r t h e r r e c r u itm e n t
o f g a r r i s o n tr o o p s .
29
No a c t i o n was
ta k e n I n th e fo llo w in g y e a r , w hich Indeed was c o m p a ra tiv e ly q u i e t , b u t In
126
th e governm ent o f th e new Emperor Shun was fa c e d w ith a n o th e r
s e rie s Dal
of ra id s :
commandery
la te r
th e r e
P robab ly Can,
k ille d
th e
a n o th e r ,
Grand A d m in is tra to r, and two months
le s s e r
I n c u r s io n
a lo n g
county
X lan b l,
of
th a t on
re c ru itin g
th e r e
was now a s tr e n g th e n in g o f d e fe n c e s I n th e
camp,
s o u th
n o r th e r n tra in in g
of
had
fo rm e rly
30
been e s t a b l i s h e d I n th e
name I n Wèi commandery, was now t r a n s f e r r e d t o a new
th e and
w hich
th e
b o rd e rs
o f Zhongshan.
T his move p u t th e
b ase In th e t e r r i t o r y o f Guangcheng c o u n ty ,
F elh u
P a s s , and th e tro o p s s ta t i o n e d th e r e w ere
e v id e n tly In te n d e d f o r employment a s a m o b ile r e s e r v e :
Dal
fro n tie r.
a c q u ire d c o n s id e r a b le e x p e rie n c e In a c tio n a g a in s t th e
Llyang
lo c a t i o n
P ass
th e
The Im p e ria l e d i c t was Is s u e d on 14 November, 126.
The
ju s t
was
had
and
n o r th .
and
w ith th e a d v ic e o f th e new G en eral Who C ro sses th e L iao Pang
who
Qlang
I n th e autumn th e X lanbl under Q lz h ljla n broke I n to
from th e F elhu
th e y c o u ld m arch n o r th d i r e c t l y a c r o s s th e Sanggan R iv e r th ro u g h commandery,
n o r th e a s t
to
or
a lte rn a tiv e ly
th e y
co u ld fo llo w th e F elhu Road
Shanggu and j o i n th e d e fe n c e o f th e Juyong P ass a g a in s t
r a id in g a t t a c k from th e n o r th .
As
a
c o ro lla ry
to t h i s move, m oreover, a l l th e b o rd e r d e fe n c e s
and
f o r t i f i c a t i o n s I n th e n o r th were r e - e s t a b l i s h e d and s tr e n g th e n e d ,
and
th e
I n s p e c to r
of
You p ro v in c e was g iv e n o rd e rs t o I n c r e a s e th e
302 m ilita ry
le v ie s
in
th e
commanderies
r e in f o r c e th e f r o n t i e r p o s t s . sent
from
u n d er
h i s s u p e r v is io n and to
To a id i n th e program» I n s t r u c t o r s were
th e p r o f e s s i o n a l re g im e n ts o f th e N o rth e rn Arny a t Luoyang
to t r a i n m i l i t i a r e c r u i t s o f each commandery i n th e s k i l l s o f f i g h t i n g w ith th e c ro ss-b o w .
A few months l a t e r » i n th e s p r in g o f 127» a f o r c e o f te n th o u san d Xiongnu» Guo» th e
s u p e rv is e d by an A tte n d a n t O f f i c i a l under th e E m issary Zhang
was
sent
X ia n b l.
c a p tu re d were and
th ro u g h th e f r o n t i e r on a p u n itiv e e x p e d itio n a g a in s t They
d e fe a te d
tre a s u re .
d isc o u ra g e d Shanggu»
commandery»
It
a p p e a rs f o r th e tim e b e in g t h a t th e r a i d e r s
from d i r e c t a t t a c k s a g a in s t th e new d e fe n c e s o f Dai
but and
a group o f th e eneiqy and re tu r n e d w ith
in in
th e th e
autumn
o f 128 th e r e was a r a i d on Yuyang
w in te r a t th e end o f 129 th e y s tr u c k a s f a r
w est a s Shuofang.
In
th e e a r l y 130s» however» th e c h i e f a c t i v i t y o f th e X ianbl was
d ir e c te d
a g a in s t th e C hinese commanderles o f th e n o r t h e a s t .
c o n tin u e d
to
cau se
tr o u b le
in
They had
Liaodong and Xiiantu commanderles o f
p re s e n t- d a y
M anchuria» w ith r a i d s th e r e i n 124 and 127» and a f t e r th e
p re lim in a r y
a t t a c k on Yuyang i n 128 t h e r e developed» from 131» a tw o -
year
b o rd e r war i n t h i s r e g io n betw een th e X ianbl on th e one hand and
th e C hin ese w ith m ajor s u p p o rt from th e Wuhuan on th e o th e r . have
been
L ia o x l,
to ld
th a t
Q iz h ljla n
h im s e lf
S in ce we
came from th e f r o n t i e r s o f
and th e C hin ese t e x t s a s c r i b e him a m ajor r o l e o f le a d e rs h ip »
i t i s re a s o n a b le to assume t h a t he was c l o s e ly In v o lv ed i n th e a t ta c k s
303 w hich sp re a d from Yuyang e a s tw a rd s to th e Dependent S ta te o f L iaodong. He
was
opposed,
Fushuguan a g a in s t Geng
and th e
Ye,
R ongzhuhul,
by
Wuhuan
31
who
fo rc e s
were
under le a d e r s such a s
c o n s is te n t a l l i e s
o f China
X lanbi and w ere rew arded w ith gen ero u s g i f t s and t i t l e s .
th e
r e s p o n s ib le m a in ta in e d
how ever,
C olonel
fo r th e
th e
P r o te c to r p o litic a l
su p p o rt
of
of and
th o s e
th e
Wuhuan, who was p r im a r ily
d ip lo m a tic most
u se fu l
arran g em en ts a llie s ,
moved
which h is
h e a d q u a r te rs
f o r a tim e t o WulU I n Liaodong I n o r d e r t o s u p e r v is e th e
d e fe n c e s
th a t
In
p a tte rn
of
r e g io n
and a l s o , no d o u b t, to e s t a b l i s h a s i m i l a r
a l l i a n c e s from t r i b a l a u x i l i a r i e s a g a in s t th e p r e s s u r e o f
th e enemy.
In sen t
133,
a n o th e r p u n itiv e e x p e d itio n o f th e S o u th ern Xlongnu was
a g a in s t
autumn
of
th e
th a t
X lanbi I n th e re g io n o f Dai commandery, b u t i n th e year
th e r e was a r e t u r n r a i d w hich re a c h e d Hacheng.
The commandery tro o p s a tta c k e d th e en en y , b u t w ith o u t s u c c e s s .
T h is
In c id e n t,
o c c a s io n The
a f te r w a r d s ,
In
C hinese
of
th e
and
a p p a re n tly
th e
la s t
once
th e
X lanbi
Im p o rta n t
rem arks sim ply t h a t Q lz h ljia n d ie d soon
th e number o f r a i d s t h e r e f o r e d e c lin e d .
m en tio n s
145,
u n til
was
f o r many y e a rs t h a t th e X lanbi tr o u b le d th e C hinese b o r d e r s .
Account
Its e lf
how ever,
The h i s t o r y
n ex t o n ly th e m ajor I n c u r s io n , t h i r t e e n y e a r s l a t e r , more a g a in s t Dai commandery, and a g a in n o th in g f u r t h e r
tim e
c o n tin u e d
of
th e to
g re a t
have
T a n sh ih u a l
d iffic u ltie s
in th e l a t t e r 150s.
The
on th e f r o n t i e r , b u t t h e i r
enem ies w ere once a g a in d i s u n i t e d and u n c o o r d in a te d i n t h e i r a t t a c k s ,
304 and
th e
em pire
irrita tio n
was
th a n
fa c e d
w ith
th e
ra th e r th re a t
w ith of
a
c o n s ta n t,
tro u b leso m e
a m ajor o f f e n s iv e and lo s s o f
te rrito ry .
It
is
q u ite
o b v io u s, how ever, t h a t th e triu m p h o f Dou Xian and
th e d e s t r u c t i o n o f th e N o rth ern Xlongnu had b ro u g h t no lo n g -te rm peace to
th e
th e
The X lanbi had ta k e n o v e r th e p o s i t i o n o f
Xlongnu i n th e M ongolian s te p p e , and th e y p lay ed th e same r o l e a s
th e ir th e
n o r th e r n f r o n t i e r .
p re d e c e s s o rs X ianbi
em pire
le d
as
th e
by
alo n g th e f r o n t i e r . Q iz h ijia n
W hile th e r a id in g a t t a c k s o f
were n o t such a s e r io u s t h r e a t to th e
in c u r s io n s o f th e Xlongnu a hundred y e a rs e a r l i e r , i n
th e
tim e
o f Emperor Guangwu and th e Shanyu Yu, th e y n e v e r th e le s s p u t
a ll
th e n o r th e r n com m anderles u n d e r t h r e a t and th e y weakened th e h o ld
o f th e C hinese s e t t l e r s on t h i s m a rg in a l t e r r i t o r y .
It fin d in g
is
n o tic e a b le ,
th e
in
non-C h in ese
fa c t,
th a t
a u x ilia rie s ,
th e im p e r ia l governm ent was w h ether Wuhuan o r Xlongnu, o f
c o n tin u a l Im p o rtan ce i n d e fe n c e p la n n in g . C rosses a
The camp o f th e G en eral Who
th e L iao was m a in ta in e d i n Wuyuan commandery now p r im a r ily a s
d efe n c e p o s t a g a i n s t th e X ia n b i, and th e Liyang b a se had been moved
to th e n o r th to a s s i s t i n d e a lin g w ith th e p re s s u r e on Dai and Shanggu com m anderles, cam paigns
c a r r i e d o u t by n o n -C h in ese tr o o p s .
commanderles o c c a sio n s and
th e
b u t th e c h r o n ic le s o f th e tim e r e f e r a g a in and a g a in to
w ere
when d e a th s
c a lle d
th e of
out
only
to o
The l o c a l le v i e s o f th e
o f te n , b u t th e r e were many
s t r e n g t h o f th e In v a d e rs was to o g r e a t f o r them , grand
a d m in is tr a to r s
and
o th e r
o f f ic ia ls a re
305 re c o rd e d c o n tr o l
w ith
a
sad fre q u e n c y .
To a v e ry la r g e e x t e n t , th e C hinese
o f th e n o r th e r n f r o n t i e r s o f th e em pire was now a q u e s tio n o f
b a rg a in in g
and
d ip lo m acy ,
w ith one g roup o f b a r b a r ia n s u sed t o d e a l
w ith a n o th e r .
The
e s s e n tia l
and
b a s ic
d iffic u lty
was
th e
C hinese p h y s ic a l p re se n c e i n th e s e n o r th e r n r e g io n s . of
w eakness o f th e In th e a fte rm a th
th e w ars a g a i n s t th e X ianbl u n d er Q lz h i j ia n , th e cen su s f i g u r e s o f
L a te r
Han, d e a lin g w ith th e p e rio d a b o u t 140, d em o n stra te th e la c k o f
re g is te re d d is c u s s e d Bing
a lr e a d y
p ro v in c e ,
Emperor and
c iv ilia n
th e
d ra s tic
i n th e b o rd e r com m anderies•
We have
d e c lin e o f p o p u la tio n in th e a r e a of
where th e S o u th e rn Xiongnu had s e t t l e d i n th e tim e o f
Guangwu, and th e s i m i l a r r e d u c tio n in th e commanderies of Dal
Shanggu, i n th e w e s te rn p a r t o f
e a s t,
it
Former
Yuyang,
Y oub elp ln g ,
L iaodong; f ig u r e s
32 You p ro v in c e . J
F u rth e r to th e
i s n o t p o s s ib le to make e f f e c t i v e com parisons o f p o p u la tio n
betw een
th e
p o p u la tio n
in
and
L a te r Han c en su s f i g u r e s f o r th e commanderies o f L ia o x l,
LLaoxl,
Liaodong
or
th e
Dependent
S ta te
of
Liaodong and th e Dependent S t a t e , p o p u la tio n
a r e e i t h e r m issin g o r o f q u e s tio n a b le v a l i d i t y , and i n a l l of
a re a
g e n e ra l
th e r e term s
Y oubelplng
were c o n s id e r a b le i n t e r n a l
boundary
33 c h a n g e s .J
In
we have n o te d th e lo s s o f t e r r i t o r y on th e f r o n t i e r o f
commandery
and one
can o b serv e
a ls o a
c o n s id e ra b le
r e t r e a t o f s e ttle m e n t from th e n o rth e rn m o st re g io n s to th e more s e c u re a re a s
in
th e
s o u th
of
Yuyang
and th e t e r r i t o r y o f Guangyang com-
mander y , im m ed iately below th e Juyong P a s s .
35
306 In
th e
fro n tie r
t e r r i t o r y o f You P ro v in c e , to th e n o r th o f th e
g r e a t p l a i n , how ever, th e C hinese p re se n c e a t th e m iddle o f th e second c e n tu ry
was s t i l l re a s o n a b ly m a in ta in e d , and th e n o n -C hinese rem ained
f a i r l y w e ll under c o n t r o l . had
become
I t was i n Bing p ro v in c e th a t th e s i t u a t i o n
c r i t i c a l , and th e fa c a d e o f im p e r ia l a u t h o r i t y was alm o st
gone.
The C hinese w ith d ra w a ls: In of
th e summer o f 140, th e f o u r t h C hin ese month o f th e f i f t h y e a r
th e
among
r e ig n th e
Xiongnu
Goulong
c la n .
of
s tä te ,
th e
p e rio d
Yonghe
le d
by
o f Emperor Shun, th e r e was a r e b e l l i o n th e
c h ie fta in s
Wusl and C henlu, o f th e
T h e ir t e r r i t o r y was based i n th e l e f t , o r e a s t e r n p a r t presum ably
in
th e
a re a
of
Yunzhong and D ingxiang
commanderles n e a r p r e s e n t- d a y T ogtoh.
At f i r s t , t h e i r combined f o r c e s
numbered
horsem en,
only
a c tiv itie s
w ith
p ersu ad e d
th e
S outhern
Shanyu
th a t
th r e e
r a id s Worthy
to
E m is s a ry 's
send
th o u san d
a g a in s t King
of
Xlhe th e
b u t th e y began t h e i r
commandery, and th e y v e ry soon R ig h t,
a c lo s e r e l a t i v e o f th e
w ith a u t h o r i t y i n th e re g io n o f Shuofang commander y ,
he sh o u ld j o i n them .
enough
of
some
an
arnoy
W ith in a few w eeks, th e r e b e ls w ere s tr o n g of
alm o st
e ig h t th ousand men a g a in s t th e
h e a d q u a rte rs and th e S h an y u 's c o u rt a t M e ijl, w h ile o th e r s
t h e i r f o r c e s a tta c k e d th e C hinese p o s itio n s i n Shuofang and i n Dal
commandery•
Ma r a is e d
Xu, G en eral Who C ro sse s th e L ia o , and th e E m issary L iang Bing g a r r is o n tro o p s and l o c a l l e v i e s to a t t a c k them .
The l o y a l i s t
307 fo r c e s
were
C o lo n el from and
s tre n g th e n e d
P r o te c to r
th e s o u th . Wu8l
not»
by Wuhuan and X ianbl a u x i l i a r i e s under th e
o f th e Wuhuan» Wang Yuan» and a l s o by Qlang f o r c e s A lto g e th e r th e r e were more th a n tw enty thousand men»
and Chenlu w ere com pelled t o r e t r e a t b e fo re them .
however»
su rre n d e r»
and
p lu n d e rin g th e c o u n tr y s id e .
T his
firs t
o u tb re a k
They d id
th e y
rem ained
a t la rg e » r a id in g and
been
checked by th e end o f th e f i f t h
36
had
month o f th e C hinese year» b u t th e s i t u a t i o n soon became more s e r i o u s . South
of
th e
O rdos,
In th e s i x t h m onth, th e r e was an a t t a c k by th e
Judong
t r i b e o f th e Qlang a g a in s t th e commanderles ab o u t Changan. The
u n re st
among
but
th e
p ro b ab ly
speed owed
c o n s c r ip tio n th e camps
th e Qlang had f i r s t d ev elo p ed on th e Jln c h e n g f r o n t i e r , o f I t s sp re a d th ro u g h th e Wei v a lle y to th e e a s t very som ething
which
Im p e ria l
had
to
th e
example
of
th e
Xlongnu
accom panied th e C hinese d e fe n c e .
and th e
Very so o n ,
governm ent was com pelled to e s t a b l i s h d efen ce works and
In an a tte m p t to cope w ith a r a p id ly d e t e r i o r a t i n g s i t u a t i o n In
L iang p ro v in c e .
37
In th e s e c irc u m s ta n c e s , t h e r e w ere few re s o u rc e s to s p a re f o r th e d is o r d e r s
In
th e
n o r t h , and th e s i t u a t i o n was now made more s e r io u s
by th e m ista k e n a rro g a n c e o f th e C hin ese E m issary Chen G ul.
A fte r th e f i r s t s u c c e ss a g a in s t Wusl and Chenlu an Im p e ria l e d i c t had
been
s e n t to reb u k e th e S o u th ern Shanyu X lu ll f o r h i s f a i l u r e to
m a in ta in o rd e r among h is s u b j e c t s .
The e l d e r l y Shanyu had no w ish f o r
308 re b e llio n
and
d i s tu r b a n c e ,
and
he
a tte n d e d
a p o lo g is e t o th e E m issary L iang B ing. Bing a
le ft
form er
o ffic e Grand
Shanyu.
In
humble fa s h io n to
Soon a f te r w a r d s , how ever, L iang
b ecau se o f i l l n e s s , and h is re p la c e m e n t, Chen G ui, A d m in is tra to r
o f Wuyuan, b u l l i e d and th r e a te n e d th e
He was presum ably a tte m p tin g to f o r c e th e Xlongnu le a d e r s h ip
i n t o a more a c t i v e r o l e a g a i n s t th e r e b e l s , b u t th e Shanyu h im se lf was squeezed
betw een th e demands o f th e C hinese and th e r e a l weakness and
la c k
of
a u t h o r i t y i n h i s own p o s i t i o n .
Gui,
b o th
Under th e o p p re s s io n o f Chen
he and h i s b r o t h e r , th e Worthy King o f th e L e f t, com m itted
s u ic id e .
W ith in to to
th is
lim b o . th e
r e s u l t , th e le a d e r s h ip o f th e Xlongnu had f a l l e n
The Worthy King o f th e L e ft had been t i t u l a r s u c c e s s o r
Shanyu,
younger
and f o r th e tim e b e in g th e r e a p p eared no m ale o f th e
g e n e r a tio n
tu te la g e . of
sad
who
was p re p a re d to ta k e th e t i t l e un d er C hinese
The c irc u m s ta n c e s o f th e Shanyu X i u l i 's d e a th , i n th e hands
h is
C hinese
o v e r lo r d s ,
exposed th e whole w eakness o f th e puppet
governm ent and removed much o f th e re m a in in g se n s e o f f e a l t y w hich had h e ld
th e
b rin g
Xlongnu
th e
i n th e c h a in o f a u t h o r i t y .
members
Chen Gui now so u g h t to
o f th e Shanyu's fa m ily so u th i n t o th e s e c u r i t y o f
th e in n e r com m anderies, b u t th e u n r e s t o n ly sp re a d th e w id e r, and Chen Gui
h im s e lf
c r u e lt y
an d , 39
p r is o n . *
was
summonsed
w o rse,
h is
to
answ er c h a rg e s , found g u i l t y f o r h i s
fa ilu re
of
p o lic y ,
and was se n te n c e d to
309
D uring Che autum n, th e C hinese a u t h o r i t i e s a tte m p te d to n e g o tia te a s e ttl e m e n t .
With th e a u t h o r i t y o f th e G eneral i n C h ief L iang Shang,
f a t h e r o f th e Empress and th e most p o w erfu l o f f i c i a l a t th e c o u r t , th e G eneral
Who
p re p a re
s tra te g ic
in
p itc h e d
th e
th e
Liao
Ma
Xu was encouraged to f o r t i f y and
d efen ce p o s i t i o n s , t o a v o id combat w ith th e r e b e ls
b a t t l e , and to en co u rag e them to s u rre n d e r w ith g i f t s and
p ro m ise s. of
C ro sses
Ma X u's n e g o t i a t i o n s b o re some f r u i t , and th e Worthy King R ig h t, Y i t i , w ith t h i r t e e n th o u san d f o llo w e r s , came to subm it
and make p e a c e .
In
f a c t , how ever, t h i s s u r r e n d e r was o f on ly m a rg in a l v a lu e .
Worthy
King
S han y u 's
th e
fa m ily ,
re lu c ta n t was
of
no
and
a s s o c ia te lo n g e r
a
R ig h t, from
As
Y i t i was a r e p r e s e n ta tiv e o f th e form er th e
b e g in n in g
o f Wusl and C heniu. s ig n ific a n t
p a rt
of
he
had
been a somewhat
The number o f h is fo llo w e rs th e
fo rc e s
th a t
th e y new
c o n t r o l l e d , and h is d e f e c tio n l e f t th e r e b e l s f r e e to choose t h e i r own le a d e r .
In th e n i n t h month, Wusi p ro c la im ed h i s c o lle a g u e C heniu as
Shanyu, and th e r e b e l governm ent so u g h t a l l i a n c e s and su p p o rt from th e Qlang i n th e s o u th and th e Ifahuan of th e e a s t .
Wusl e n e rg ie s fo rc e s
h im s e lf
was c l e a r l y th e r e a l le a d e r o f th e r e b e l s , and h is
a t t h i s tim e w ere accom panied by q u ic k s u c c e s s . drove
southw ards
The Xiongnu
tow ards th e v a lle y o f th e Wei, d e fe a te d th e
l o c a l tr o o p s o f Shang commandery, k i l l i n g th e C h ief Commandant and h i s second-in-com m and, and a tta c k e d th e T ig e r Tooth Camp i n Jln g z h a o , v e ry c lo s e
to
Changan.
They
then
re tire d ,
but
th e
Xiongnu
p eo p le
Map 9:
The C hinese W ithdraw als 140-141
311 th ro u g h o u t
th e n o r th r a l l i e d t o th e r e b e l c a u s e , and we a r e t o l d t h a t
th e r a i d i n g ex ten d ed n o t o n ly th ro u g h Bing p ro v in c e and I n to Liang and You,
but
a ls o
to J1 p ro v in c e , a c r o s s th e T alhang M ountains and I n to
th e p l a i n to th e e a s t .
On 28 O ctober 140, th e l a s t day o f th e n in th month o f th e C hinese y e a r,
an im p e r ia l e d i c t o rd e re d th e w ith d ra w al o f th e c a p i t a l of Xihe
commande ry
from
commandery
from I t s c a p i t a l a t F ushl to Xiayang i n Z u o p ln g y l, and th e
h e a d q u a r te rs county
P ln g d ln g
to
L L shl,
th e
a d m in is tr a tio n
of
Shang
o f Shuofang commandery was s h i f t e d to Jlu y u a n , th e c h ie f
o f W u y u an .^
Twelve months l a t e r , In th e w in te r o f 141, th e
c a p i t a l s o f B e ld i and Anding com m anderles w ere a ls o moved s o u th to th e co m p arativ e s e c u r i t y o f th e Wei v a l l e y .
At were
th e
tim e
d r iv in g
o f th e f i r s t Qiang r e b e l l i o n , when r e b e l trib e sm e n
east
acro ss
p re s e n t- d a y
S hanxi,
s h ifte d
th e
p e rio d a ls o
to
C hinese of
th e c a p i t a l s o f Shang, B eld i and Andlng had been
s o u th ,
o f th e 1 2 0 s . ^ re la te d
to
in
th e
X iongnu,
and
c o n fin e s
of
th e
and Andlng was
r e b e l l i o n o f th e Qiang and t h e i r d e f e a t of th e b u t th e abandonment
of L ls h l In Xihe and
r e p r e s e n te d th e c o lla p s e of th e C hinese c i v i l i a n
p re se n c e
Ordos
th e y were r e s to r e d In th e s e ttle m e n t
T his second t r a n s f e r o f B e ld i
th e
Shang
a d m in is tr a tiv e w ith in
though
g e n e r a l Ma X l a n ; ^
F u sh l
th e Yellow R iv er to r a id th e t e r r i t o r y o f
lo o p
In
th e
n o r th .
The whole n o rth e rn re g io n
of
th e Yellow R iver was now occu p ied by th e
forms o f C hinese governm ent were r e s t r i c t e d t o th e
th e Wei v a lle y I n th e s o u th , th e rump o f Xihe commandery
312 In
th e
e a s t,
combined
In
and a
th e rem nants o f Shuofang and Wuyuan com m anderles,
s in g l e c e n tr e and g u ard ed by th e m i l i t a r y d e fe n c e s o f
th e n e ig h b o u rin g g a r r is o n camp u n d er th e G eneral Who C rosses th e L ia o . F u r th e r
to
m anderles fu rth e r o v er
th e
n o rth e a s t,
Yunzhong,
Yanmen, D ingxian and Dal com
c o n tin u e d In o c c u p a tio n , b u t from t h i s tim e on th e r e was no a tte m p t to m a in ta in th e fa c a d e o f r e g u la r I m p e ria l governm ent
th e w e ste rn p a r t o f Bing p ro v in c e .
C hinese
The r e l a t i o n s h i p betw een th e
and th e Xlongnu I n t h i s r e g io n was now once a g a in a m a tte r o f
m i l i t a r y pow er.
In
th o se
te rm s ,
s u c c e s s fu l.
In
th e
th e
c o u n te r - a tta c k was c o m p a ra tiv e ly
w in te r o f 140/41, th e E m issary Zhang Dan le d a
combined
fo rce
p ro v in c e
and d e f e a te d th e Xlongnu In b a t t l e a t Mayl county I n Yanmen,
now
Shuoxlan
In
R i v e r T h e y titie s
of
of
C hinese
lo c a l
tro o p s
n o r th e r n k ille d
m ilita ry
and
S han x i,
on
g r e a t numbers
eq u ip m en t,
c a ttle
Wuhuan
a u x ilia rie s
from You
th e u p p er re a c h e s o f th e Hun o f th e enemy, and
c a p tu re d quan
s h e e p , and re c e iv e d th e
s u rre n d e r o f Shanyu Chenlu and h is le a d in g f o llo w e r s .
W ith t h i s b a t t l e , th e Xlongnu a tte m p t a t an In d ep en d en t s t a t e was en ded,
though
c o n tin u e d but
In
Wusl
w ith
h is r a i d i n g .
some o f h i s p e r s o n a l fo llo w in g escap ed and
He was jo in e d f o r a tim e by d i s s i d e n t Wuhuan,
th e s p r in g o f 141 h i s f o r c e s were d e fe a te d by th e G eneral Who
C ro sse s th e L iao Ma Xu, commanding f i v e th o u san d X lanbl horsem en. I n a s k irm is h 8ante
at
tim e ,
Guluo c i t y I n th e O rdos,
n e a r M e ljl i n X l h e . ^
At th e
Zhang Dan and h i s tr o o p s d e f e a te d W usl's Wuhuan a l l i e s a t
313 T o n g tla n M ountain, k i l l e d t h e i r l e a d e r s , s e iz e d t h e i r c a t t l e and o th e r g oods, and f r e e d th e C hinese c a p tiv e s th e y had been h o l d i n g . ^
D e s p ite a s s o c ia tio n r a id in g
th e s e w ith
lo s s e s , th e
Wusl
Wuhuan.
rem ained
at
la r g e
and
kept h is
In 142 he was r e s p o n s ib le f o r f u r t h e r
In Bing p ro v in c e , and h i s c a r e e r a s an enemy o f Han was ended
on ly In th e w in te r a t th e end o f th e fo llo w in g y e a r , when th e E m issary Ma
Shi
had
an
agent
In th e r e b e l camp k i l l him.
Such tr e a c h e ro u s
a s s a s s i n a t i o n was n o t an uncommon p o lic y o f C hinese le a d e r s In d e a lin g w ith
re b e l
g ro u p s:
and
In
144
of
h is
he
re c e iv e d
W u sl's head was s e n t I n triu m p h t o th e c a p i t a l ,
Ma Shi s e n t a mopping up o p e r a tio n a g a in s t th e rem ain d er
f o llo w e r s .
A f te r a s h o r t f i g h t , I n w hich he to o k 1200 h e a d s,
th e s u r r e n d e r o f more th a n sev en hundred th o u san d Wuhuan
and o th e r b a r b a r ia n s , w ith Innum erab le b aggage, c a t t l e and sh e e p .
Even a tte m p t The
b e fo re
th e s e
fin a l
v i c t o r i e s , th e Han c o u r t had begun an
to r e - e s t a b l i s h th e a u t h o r i t y o f a lo y a l Shanyu I n th e n o r th .
Xlongnu
p r in c e
had been
r e s id e n t
at
th e Im p e ria l
c a p ita l,
and
L o y a lty .
We a r e n o t t o l d what r e l a t i o n he was to any p re v io u s Shanyu,
but
had
Toulouchu
been g iv e n th e s p e c i a l t i t l e o f King Who M a in ta in s
h i s c la im was presum ably a t l e a s t com parable t o t h a t o f th e r e b e l
nominee W orthy
C henlu, King
c o n te n d e r. lis h e d p re se n c e
and
o f th e R ig h t, who w ould o th e rw is e have been a more v a l i d In th e
as
summer o f 143,
tfcilanruo of
he was e v id e n tly n o t compromised l i k e Y l t l , th e
th e
s h i z h u jiu
on 24 J u ly , Toulouchu was e s t a b
Shanyu,
in
a
ceremony
h e ld I n th e
em p ero r, where he was g ra n te d th e o f f i c i a l s e a l and
314
ta s s e l»
to g e th e r
w ith
c a r r ia g e s »
ornam ents and swords o f jad e» and
b a le s o f s i l k s » b ro c a d e s and o th e r c l o t h . ^
A
sh o rt
tim e
e s c o r te d
by
Im p e ria l
c re d e n tia ls .
G ate
Luoyang» th e fo rm a l ceremony o f f a r e w e ll was a tte n d e d by th e
of
h o sta g e
a
l a t e r » th e new Shanyu was s e n t home t o th e n o rth »
G en eral
of
th e
Gentlem en
o f th e H ousehold b e a rin g
As th e c o rte g e g a th e re d o u ts id e th e Ghangyang
r e s i d e n t s o f a l l th e v a s s a l s t a t e s » and th e r e was a f e a s t and
p r e s e n t a t i o n s and games» w ith th e em peror h im s e lf I n a tte n d a n c e .
Toulouchu u n til
h is
rem ained
d e a th
re la tio n s h ip
In
w ith
I n th e n o rth » u n d er h i s C hinese s u p e rv is o rs »
147.
He
was su cceeded
by
Jucheer»
whose
Toulouchu I s n o t m entioned In th e re c o rd s» and who
re ig n e d f o r tw e n ty - f iv e y e a r s a s Y llln g s h l z h u jlu Shanyu.
It
was
E m issary G eneral
p ro b a b ly
who
had
at
d r iv e n
th is
tim e t h a t
Chen
Gui» th e o p p re s s iv e
th e Shanyu X lu ll to s u ic id e » was a p p o in te d
Who C ro sses th e L ia o .
In a m em orial to th e governm ent o f th e
new
young Emperor Huan» he p ro p o sed a l e n i e n t and re fo rm in g p o lic y In
th e
n o r th
p ro v in c e s and among
and
n o rth w e st»
w ith
ta x re d u c tio n s
to en co u rag e r e c o n s t r u c t i o n .
f o r Bing and Liang
For a tim e t h i s was follow ed»
Chi G u l's b io g ra p h y rem arks t h a t he had g r e a t r e s p e c t and s u p p o rt th e p e o p le o f th e f r o n t i e r s » and even th e r a id in g o f th e X lanbl
was red u ced
315 I t i s q u e s tio n a b le , how ever, w h eth er th e r e s to r e d Shanyu, o r even th e
Han
program
of
s ig n ific a n c e .
As
co n cern e d ,
Han
th e
Toulouchu ru le r,
re s e ttle m e n t,
were
of
any more th a n m a rg in a l
f a r a s ceremony and th e ap p earan ce o f r e s p e c t was governm ent
had
a tte m p te d to c o n fe r upon Shanyu
a l l th e p r e s t i g e t h a t co u ld re a s o n a b ly be shown t o a v a s s a l
and
th e
c o u rt
of
th e Shanyu was m a in ta in e d I n th e n o r th a s
b e f o r e , w ith no r i v a l le a d e r o f th e Xlongnu to d is p u te h is c la im . th is
a p p earan ce
not
so
much
Yet
o f s e ttle m e n t and a c c e p ta n c e very p o s s ib ly I n d ic a te s
a
t a c i t a p p ro v a l among th e p eo p le b u t r a t h e r a la c k o f
I n t e r e s t I n a p o s i t i o n w hich was l a r g e l y I r r e l e v a n t .
It any
I s u n c e r t a i n how many p e o p le now c o n s id e re d th e m se lv e s t o owe
lo y a lty
d is c o n c e r tin g
to to
th e
Shanyu
c o n te m p la te
of th e
th e
X longnu,
numbers
of
In v o lv e d
In
th e r e b e l l i o n s o f th e e a r l y 140s.
exam ple,
we
are
thousand
horsem en;
of
and p eo p le
It
Is
q u ite
who had been
In th e b e g in n in g , f o r
t o l d t h a t Wusl and C henlu had a f o r c e o f some th r e e th e n th e y o b ta in e d th e su p p o rt of th e Worthy King
th e R ig h t and t h e i r s t r e n g t h I n c re a s e d t o sev en o r e i g h t th o u sa n d .
L a te r
In
re n d e re d th irte e n A d m itted ly
th e
y e a r,
once
more
th o u san d at
th is
a g a in , to
th e Worthy King o f th e R ig h t s u r
Han, h e b ro u g h t w ith him a fo llo w in g o f some
p e o p le , tim e
when
th e
presum ably C hinese
men,
women
and
c h ild r e n .
tro o p s and lo y a l a u x i l i a r i e s
commanded by Ma Xu, L iang Bing and Wang Yuan a r e s a id to have numbered more
th a n tw enty th o u san d men, b u t th e f i g u r e s f o r th e Xlongnu r e b e ls
under Wusl and h i s fe llo w s a r e rem ark ab ly s m a ll.
316
The ta in
Worthy
of
th e
King o f th e R ig h t, f o r exam ple, was th e t h i r d c h i e f
Xiongnu
a fte r
th e
Shanyu h im s e lf:
t h i r t e e n tho u san d
p e o p le , w ith p e rh a p s t h r e e o r f o u r th o u sa n d f i g h t i n g men, seems a v e ry sm a ll f o llo w in g . cam paigns arm ies
of
F i f t y y e a rs e a r l i e r , f o r exam ple, in th e tim e of th e
Dou X ian, th e S o u th ern Shanyu had been a b le t o send two
of
te n
th o u san d
fro n tie rs ,
and
soon
men
a fte r
each th a t
in to th e
th e
campaign
o ffic ia l
f ig u r e
f i g h t i n g men was g iv e n a s more th a n f i f t y th o u sa n d .
M oreover,
even
though
th e
reb el
Xiongnu
beyond
th e
f o r Xiongnu
AO
were
not
in g re a t
num bers, i t i s e v id e n t t h a t th e u n f o r tu n a te Shanyu X iu li had few lo y a l tro o p s
to
do
a n y th in g
e ffe c tiv e
a g a in s t h is en em ies:
th e d e f e a ts
i n f l i c t e d upon Wusi were r e g u l a r l y a c h ie v e d by C hinese and non-X iongnu a u x ilia rie s . h im se lf
And
e v id e n tly
in
th e
l a t t e r s ta g e s o f h is c a r e e r , though Wusi
r e ta in e d
a
p e rs o n a l
fo llo w in g
of
Xiongnu, h i s
g r e a t e s t annoyance to Han came from h is a b i l i t y to a t t r a c t th e su p p o rt of
th e
W u sl's
Wuhuan d e a th ,
rem ark ab le
and we
number
o b ta in
some
a s s o c i a t io n w ith th e Q iang.
A fte r
a r e t o l d t h a t Ma S hi re c e iv e d th e s u r r e n d e r o f th e of
sev en hundred th o u san d Wuhuan, b u t th e r e i s no
s p e c i f i c r e f e r e n c e t o any Xiongnu component i n t h a t d e fe a te d g ro u p .
In changed
th e s e
s itu a tio n
a d m in is tr a tio n com m anderles, Xiongnu
c irc u m s ta n c e s ,
s tä te
in
th e
la rg e ly but have
at
it
a p p e a rs
n o r th :
n o t o n ly h a s th e c i v i l i a n C hinese
d is a p p e a re d th e
been
same
t h a t we a re c o n s id e rin g a
tim e
s e rio u s ly
w ith
th e
w ith d raw al
of
th e
th e l i n e s o f a u t h o r i t y i n th e w eakened.
Many o f th e X iongnu,
317 as
we
know,
ab so rb e d
had
among
rem ained beyond th e im p e r ia l f r o n t i e r and had been
th e
expanding
power
of
th e X ia n b i, and i t i s v ery
p ro b a b le t h a t o th e r s had r e g u l a r l y made t h e i r e s c a p e , i n sm a ll g ro u p s , to
jo in
them:
even i f th e g a r r i s o n s o f th e n o r th had been a b le to
m a in ta in
t h e i r v ig ila n c e a g a in s t th e problem s and p r e s s u r e s o f X ianbi
ra id in g ,
th e r e was alw ays an o p en in g a lo n g th e Yellow R iv e r c o u rse to
th e
w est
of
th e
O rdos, w hich n e v e r a p p e a rs to have been a d e q u a te ly
s u p e rv is e d .
Yet even w ith in th e norm al t e r r i t o r y o f th e e m p ire , in th e s te p p e and
d e se rt
of
nomad
people
under
th e
a m b itio n s re b e l
th e Ordos re g io n i t s e l f , i t i s l i k e l y t h a t numbers o f rem ain ed .
It
j u s t happened t h a t th e y were no lo n g e r
e f f e c t i v e c o n tr o l o f th e Shanyu o r th e o th e r p r in c e s .
of Wusl and h i s c o lle a g u e s , and th e s tr u g g le s f o r power and
w a rfa re
a g a in s t th e C h in e se ,
On o c c a s io n some g roups m ight be or
The
meant l i t t l e to them o r n o th in g .
c o n s c r ip te d in to s e r v ic e on one s id e
a n o th e r , b u t f o r th e most p a r t th e y were untouched by th e p o l i t i c s
o f th e could
s tä te
w hich
th e ir fa th e rs
had owed a l l e g i a n c e , and many
rem ain f o r y e a rs w ith o u t any cau se f o r con cern beyond im m ediate
problem s g re a t
to
o f th e group o r th e t r i b e .
triu m p h
Xiongnu a u th o rity
s ta te ,
of th e
n o r th e r n
In e f f e c t , f i f t y y e a r s a f t e r th e
c o n q u e s t,
and th e r e - u n i f i c a t i o n o f th e
em pire of th e Shanyu was w ith e rin g away, and th e
o f China was m a in ta in e d o n ly by th e t h r e a t and p o t e n t i a l o f
m i l i t a r y power c a l l e d up f o r em ergency.
C H A PTER 8
THE END OF EMPIRE IN THE NORTH
The C hin ese g e n e r a ls 155*169 The v ic to r y o f T a n sh ih u a i 177 F a l l o f em p ires
The Chinese g e n e r a ls 155-169: The In d ia n firs t
d e fe a t summer»
and
a tta c k e d in
b e fo re
th e
more
of
T a ljl
p eo p le
and
fo r
s tirrin g s
c h ie fta in s
o f Wusi was fo llo w e d by a p e rio d o f peace» a lm o st an
renewed
and
In 155 th e r e ap p eared th e
tr o u b le among th e Xiongnu» when th e two
Bode» o ld a s s o c i a t e s o f Wusi» made a r e b e l l i o n
M e ijl.
th e
th a n te n y e a r s .
They in te n d e d t o se ek a l l i a n c e w ith th e Qlang
south»
and th e y had a c q u ire d some s u p p o rt th e re » b u t
two r e b e l g ro u p s co u ld make c o n ta c t th e y were in te r c e p te d
fru s tra te d
in
t h e i r p la n s by th e e n e r g e tic o f f i c i a l Zhang Huan»
C h ief Commandant o f Andlng D ependent S t a t e . 1
Zhang
Huan
was
a
no rth w est»
born
in
th e
A d m in is tra to r d is ti n c t i o n » a fte r
a
of but
man
Hanyang» it
was
from
year and only
Dunhuang
104. he
H is was
commandery fa th e r
h im se lf
had a
in been
th e f a r Grand
s c h o la r of some
i n 155» a t th e age o f f if ty - o n e » and
p e rio d o f c l e r i c a l s e r v ic e a t th e c a p ita l» t h a t he was g iv en
h i s f i r s t s u b s ta n tiv e p o s t i n th e b o rd e r t e r r i t o r y o f A ndlng.
319 Zhang
Rian
th em selv es Ig n o rin g tro o p s sent
betw een th e
to
on
occupy
th e
occupy
sm a ll two
fo rc e
gro u p s
of
In
two
hundred
re b e ls »
men
found
Xiongnu and Q lang.
th e v a n ta g e p o in ts alo n g th e o ld G reat W all and he
to th e g a r r i s o n tr o o p s I n th e d e fe n c e p o s itio n s f u r t h e r
c ity
of
Shaanxi»
m u n ic a tio n s
of
and w arn in g s o f h i s su b o rd in a te s» he le d o u t h i s
th e l i n e o f th e Yellow River*
th e
Y ulln
h is
p le a s
summons
west»
and
Then he s e n t a detachm ent to
Q lucl» I n Shang commandery n o r th o f p re s e n t-d a y and
r o u te s
w ith
betw een
th e s e n o r th
d e fe n c e p o s ts b lo c k in g th e com and
south»
he s e n t t o th e Qlang
r e b e ls c a l l i n g on them to s u r r e n d e r .
was
Zhang
H uan's men w ere s p re a d v ery th in » and much o f h i s p o s i t i o n
based
on b lu ff» b u t he had g ain ed th e I n i t i a t i v e and he a c h ie v e d
rem ark a b le
success.
jo in e d
a t t a c k on th e Xiongnu I n th e n o r th .
an
d e re d
or
C hinese
fle d »
and
These In tu r n s u r r e n
and p eace was r e s t o r e d w ith a minimum e x p e n d itu re o f
m ilita ry
r e p u ta t i o n
The r e b e l Qlang d id In d eed su rre n d e r» and th e y
r e s o u r c e s .2
Zhang
Huan
h im se lf
e s ta b lis h e d
h is
among
th e
Qlang by r e f u s in g th e t r i b u t e p r e s e n ts o f g o ld
th a t
th e y
o f f e r e d him ; and he was known a l l h is l i f e a s
h o rs e s
r e l i a b l e and h o n o u ra b le p a tr o n o f th e n o n -C hinese p e o p le s w ith whom he had d e a lin g s .
Zhang of h is th is
th e
Huan
was
soon t r a n s f e r r e d t o be G eneral o f th e Gentlemen
Household E m issary t o th e Xiongnu» and In th e f i r s t p e rio d o f
ap p o in tm en t tim e
by
he th e
b ro u g h t Wuhuan
ab o u t th e s e ttle m e n t o f a n o th e r r is in g » p eo p le
of
Shuofang» In com b in atio n w ith
320
321 members h is
of
tro o p s
diplom acy Xlongnu
w ith o u t th a t
group o f th e X iongnu:3
o ffe rin g
th e y
sh o u ld
b a ttle , change
th e n
be fa c e d them w ith
p ersu ad ed th e Wuhuan by
t h e i r a lle g ia n c e and a t t a c k th e
th e m se lv e s, and he a l s o a rra n g e d f o r th e a s s a s s i n a t i o n o f th e
Xiuchuge
le a d e rs .
w ith o u t th e
th e Xiuchuge
Once
fig h tin g ,
p o te n tia l
by
fo r
a g a in ,
a
d angerous s i t u a t i o n was s e t t l e d
o f f e r i n g a show o f s tr e n g th , th e n p la y in g upon
d i v i s i o n and d i s t r u s t betw een d i f f e r e n t groups o f
b a r b a r ia n s .
In
th e
w in te r
th e f r o n t i e r s .
o f 158-159, th e r e was a r a i d o f th e X lanbl a lo n g
Zhang Huan le d tro o p s o f th e S outhern Shanyu to a t t a c k
them , and th e y to o k s e v e r a l hun d red h e a d s . th e
young Emperor Huan and h i s eunuch a l l i e s o v erth rew th e G eneral In
C h ief
Liang J l , d e s tro y e d th e power o f h i s f a m ily , and p r o s c r ib e d h i s
fo llo w e rs and a s s o c i a t e s . Huan and
In Septem ber 159, how ever,
had he
E a r l i e r I n h is c a r e e r a t th e c a p i t a l , Zhang
h e ld a c l e r i c a l p o s t I n th e o f f i c e o f th e G en eral I n C h ie f, was
o r d in a te
th e r e f o r e
of
th e
now
fa lle n
p ro s c r ib e d
m in is te r.
from o f f i c e a s a form er sub
He r e c e iv e d , how ever, no f u r t h e r
p u n ish m en t, and r e t i r e d to h is home.
A f te r and
a p p o in te d
fa v o u ra b le refo rm
y e a rs
b an ish m en t, Zhang Huan was r e c a l l e d t o o f f i c e
Grand A d m in is tra to r o f Wuwel, where he a c q u ire d a most
re p u ta tio n
fo r
even-handed
a d m in is tr a tio n
and
f o r th e
o f non-C h in ese custom s; th e r e was even a tem ple e r e c te d I n h i s
honour. L ia o ,
fo u r
About 164, he was t r a n s f e r r e d t o be G en eral Who C ro sses th e w ith
c h ie f
re s p o n s ib ility
fo r
th e
s e c u r i t y o f th e n o r th e r n
322 fro n tie r. he
was
He
rem ained th e r e f o r th e n e x t two o r th r e e y ears» u n t i l
c a lle d
to
th e c a p i t a l a s Grand M in is te r o f A g ric u ltu re » th e
m i n i s t e r i a l p o s t r e s p o n s ib le f o r th e p u b lic tr e a s u r y o f th e em p ire .
Zhang had
R ia n 's
ap p o in tm en t a s G en eral Who C ro sses th e L iao i n 164
been made a t th e I n s t i g a t i o n o f h i s f r i e n d and c o lle a g u e » R iangfu
Gui»
a
man
came
to
from
th e
Anding»
a tte n tio n
commandery
d u rin g
c ritic is e d
th e
who
of
th e
th e
tim e
conduct
was b o rn i n 103.4 co u rt
of
as
a
R iangfu Gui f i r s t
ju n io r o f f i c e r o f h i s
th e second Qlang re b e llio n » when he
o f th e campaign» in c lu d in g th e c o r r u p tio n o f
th e C hinese a d m i n is t r a t o r s and commanders» and p r e d ic te d th e d e f e a t o f Ma and
X ian. L ater» d u rin g th e m iddle 140s» he was recommended a s C apable Good»
S in c e re
o p p o rtu n ity
to
s e n io r o f f i c e . of
th e
Huangfu G u l's memorial» however» was b i t l n g l y c r i t i c a l
o nly
P a la c e .3
Liang
Huangfu
and
fam ily»
and
Liang
J1 a rra n g e d t h a t he was
th e lo w -ra n k in g p ro b a tio n a r y p o s t o f Gentleman o f th e
f o u r te e n
jin g
U pright» a s p e c i a l n o m in atio n w hich gave th e
subm it a m em orial to th e th ro n e and be c o n sid e re d f o r
p o w erfu l
o ffe re d
next
and
Gui
y e a rs
th e
p le a d e d i l l n e s s and re sig n e d » and he s p e n t th e as
Yi j i n g 9
a
s c h o la r i n
w ith a
p riv a te
re tire m e n t» s tu d y in g th e S h i fo llo w in g
of
some
th r e e
hundred s t u d e n t s .
In Huangfu
159» Gui
when was
th e
a g a in
d e c lin e d a l l o f f e r s .
power
of
th e
L iang fa m ily was overthrow n»
i n v i t e d to ta k e o f fic e » b u t f o r some tim e he
In t h e w in te r o f 160-61» however» when th e r e was
s e r io u s b a n d itr y i n T alsh an commandery» on th e e a s t o f th e N orth China
323 P la in , and It
he was s e n t an Im p e ria l c a r r ia g e and a most c o u rte o u s summons,
he
became
Grand A d m in is tra to r o f T a ish an .
W ithin a few m onths,
I s s a i d , he had b ro u g h t th e t r o u b le s under c o n tr o l w ith th e use o f
m ilita ry
s tra ta g e m s
tra n s fe rre d Q lang.
to
By
and
th e
th e
n e g o tia tio n s .
In th e w in te r o f 161, he was
w est to ta k e command o f o p e ra tio n s a g a in s t r e b e l
end
of
162,
th e s i t u a t i o n th e r e had been la r g e ly
s e t t l e d and Huangfu Gul r e t i r e d from o f f i c e .
In ab out
th e h is
G en eral
fo llo w in g y e a r , a f t e r some r a t h e r u n g ra c io u s c o n tro v e rs y ach iev em en ts
Who
recommended h im s e lf
C ro sses th a t
sh o u ld
a g a in s t th e Q lang, Huangfu Gul was a p p o in te d
th e
Zhang occupy
L ia o . ftian
th e
A
sh o u ld
few
months l a t e r , how ever, he
ta k e th e p o s i t i o n , and t h a t he
l e s s e r ap p o in tm en t o f E m issary .
For th e
n e x t few y e a r s , th e two men c o -o p e ra te d w ith s u c c e s s , and th e f r o n t i e r rem ained
q u ie t.
In 166, Zhang Huan was r e c a l l e d t o th e m i n i s t e r i a l
p o st a t th e c a p i t a l , and Huangfu Gul was re a p p o in te d to r e p la c e him a s G en eral Who C ro sse s th e L iao .
The s ig n a l
d e p a r tu r e
of
Zhang Huan, how ever, a p p e a rs t o have been th e
f o r c o n s id e r a b le d is tu r b a n c e .
The X ianbi o u ts id e th e f r o n t i e r
a rra n g e d an a l l i a n c e n o t o n ly w ith th e Wuhuan b u t a ls o w ith th e Shanyu Ju c h e e r
and
of
th e r e
166
la te r
h is was
Xiongnu f o llo w e r s , and i n th e summer and th e autumn s e r io u s
r a i d i n g a lo n g a l l th e n o r th e r n f r o n t i e r ,
jo in e d by th e Qlang t r i b e s i n a t t a c k s a g a in s t C hinese p o s itio n s
o f Wuwei and Zhangye com m anderles.
324 In
th is
fro n tie r. of
em ergency,
ftian
was q u ic k ly p o s te d back t o th e
He was g iv e n wide m i l i t a r y command, w ith th e t i t l e G eneral
th e
Gentlem an
of
s p e c ia l
a u th o rity
o v er
in c lu d in g Who
Zhang
b o th
C ro sses
th e
th e
Liao
re p u ta tio n
and
Wuhuan
ap p o in tm e n t,
H ousehold
P r o te c to r o f th e X iongnu, w ith
th r e e p ro v in c e s o f L ian g , Bing and You,
c i v i l a d m i n i s t r a t i o n and th e two camps o f th e G en eral
p e rs o n a l th e
th e
was
came
and
and th e C olonel P r o te c to r
so g r e a t , a p p a r e n tly , t h a t b o th th e Xiongnu
to
o nly
o f th e Wuhuan.His
su rre n d e r th e X ianbi
as
soon
made
th e ir
as
th e y h e a rd o f h i s
e sc a p e
a c ro s s
th e
f r o n tie r .^
The
Q iang, to o , made a
th e X ia n lia n not
u n til
bro u g h t
a fte r
of
th e
end
h is
of
Changan, and i t was
th e y e a r t h a t Zhang Huan co u ld c la im t o have
te rrito ry
u n d er c o n t r o l .
In th e autumn o f 168, he
i n triu m p h to th e c a p i t a l , b u t on 25 O ctober t h a t y e a r , soon
h i s a r r i v a l , he was In v o lv e d i n a c r i t i c a l r o l e d u rin g th e coup
d 'e t a t th e
r e b e l l e d a g a in , a t t a c k i n g th e a re a o f
a ll
r e tu r n e d
b r i e f s u r r e n d e r , b u t i n th e s p r in g o f 167
of
th e eunuchs a g a i n s t th e G en eral i n C h ief Dou Wu, f a t h e r o f
Empress-Dowager th e
young
and
Emperor
le a d e r o f th e governm ent d u rin g th e reg en cy L ing,
who had come t o th e th ro n e some m onths
b e fo re .
but o n ly
It
i s s a i d t h a t Zhang Huan was b a s i c a l l y opposed t o th e eu n u ch s,
he
was
r e c e n tly
a tte m p te d
to
co n fu sed by th e speed o f e v e n ts and th e f a c t t h a t he had a r r i v e d a t th e c a p i t a l . s e iz e
As a r e s u l t , when th e eunuchs
power and Dou Wu c a l l e d up th e tro o p s a t Luoyang
325 to
su p p o rt him , Zhang Huan a c c e p te d th e e u n u c h s' com m ission t o oppose
th e
Dou
fo rc e s.
reg im e n ts to
Zhang
H uan's
p r e s t i g e was so h ig h t h a t Dou Wu's
changed s id e s and tu rn e d a g a in s t him .
commit
s u ic id e ,
and
th e
eunuchs
Dou Wu was com pelled
o b ta in e d
c o n tr o l
of
th e
g o v ern m e n t.7
It
is
a
re g re tte d
h is
o ffic ia ls
of
had
lo n g
Huan,
s u rp ris in g ro le .
s t o r y , and Zhang Huan i s s a id t o have soon
His
c h ie f
sy m p athies
la y w ith th e s c h o l a r -
th e b u re a u c ra c y , men su ch a s Chen Fan and Li Y ing, who
opposed th e eunuch I n flu e n c e o v er th e governm ent o f Emperor
and
re fo rm .
who
had
so u g h t
On
th e o th e r
th e s u p p o rt o f th e Dou fa m ily to a c h ie v e
han d ,
Dou
Wu and h is r e l a t i v e s were o v e r -
p o w erfu l s u b j e c t s i n th e same t r a d i t i o n a s th e L iang group o f th e 140s and 1508, and a lth o u g h Zhang Huan had h e ld appointm ent under th e Liang hegemony,
he
had no
p a rtic u la r
re a s o n
to
welcome t h e i r w ould-be
su cc e sso rs.
M oreover, th e
v ery
f a c t t h a t Zhang Huan was i l l - i n f o r m e d a b o u t
q u e s tio n s a t is s u e d u rin g th e c r i s i s i s i t s e l f a comment upon th e
re la tio n s
betw een
th e
fie ld .
th e
Liang
s u p p o rt
any
Im p o rta n t
th e p o l i t i c i a n s a t th e c a p i t a l and th e s o l d i e r s i n
Huangfu G ui, s i m i l a r l y , was known f o r h i s o p p o s itio n to fa m ily
fo r
e v id e n c e t h a t w ith
th e
th e th ey
and
la te r
re fo rm e rs
a ls o t o th e eu n u ch s, and e x p re s s e d h is on s e v e r a l o c c a s io n s , b u t th e r e i s sm a ll
r e c ip r o c a te d ,
of th e ir a c t i v i t i e s . and
s y m p a th e tic
and he was n e v e r c lo s e ly In v o lv e d I t i s s u r p r i s i n g , i n f a c t , t h a t th e s e
commanders
were
so
d is re g a rd e d
by th e
326 p o litic a l
o p p o s itio n
in
th e
a d m in is tr a tio n
and
th e u n i v e r s i t y a t
Luoyang; and i n th e tim e o f Dou Wu, when th e c o n tr o l o f th e governm ent was d e c id e d by th e r i v a l a u t h o r i t y o f two m i l i t a r y le a d e r s , t h e i r p a s t n e g le c t
o f th e h e ro Zhang Huan b ro u g h t d i s a s tr o u s consequences to th e
r e f o r m e r s ' c a u s e .8
N e ith e r in
Zhang Huan n o r Huangfu Gui h e ld a c t i v e command o f tro o p s
th e b o rd e r re g io n s a g a in ,
A d m in is tra to r fo r
a
th e
QLang.
ä ia n g fu Güi was t r a n s f e r r e d to be Grand
o f Hongnong commandery ab o u t th e end o f 167, and he was
tim e i n th e e a r l y 170s a p p o in te d a g a in a s C olonel P r o te c to r o f
how ever,
A f te r th e g r e a t m assacre o f th e X ia n lla n by Duan J lo n g ,
th a t
te rrito ry
p a r t t o p la y .
was
a t p e a c e , and tbiangfu Gui had no m ajor
In 174 he was r e c a l l e d on th e grounds o f i l l h e a lth and
d ie d on th e way home.
Zhang ra th e r of
ftian ,
a fte r
h is le a d in g r o l e i n th e c r i s i s o f 168, had a
l e s s p e a c e fu l end o f h i s c a r e e r .
m in is te ria l
re s e n tfu l
of
o ffic e s th e ir
He was a p p o in te d to a number
u n d er th e governm ent o f th e eu n u ch s, b u t was
dominance
at
c o u r t , and a tte m p te d to e s t a b l i s h
h im s e lf , to o l a t e , a s an opponent and c r i t i c o f t h e i r reg im e. he
sent
In 169,
i n an e lo q u e n t m em orial u rg in g th e r e h a b i l i t a t i o n o f th e Dou
g ro u p , and he a l s o a tte m p te d t o prom ote th e in f lu e n c e o f th e re fo rm e rs Li
Ying and o th e r s a g a in s t th e eu n u c h s.
a c c e p te d ,
and
p ro s c rip tio n
at of
th e th e
end men
His a d v ic e , how ever, was n o t
o f t h a t y e a r , when th e m ajor a r r e s t s and of
fa c tio n
d ism is s e d and s e n t from th e c a p i t a l .
to o k
p la c e ,
Zhang
Rian was
327 Zhang s e r v ic e s at
Rian to
th e ir
had
th e
been
o ffe re d
th e
fie f
of
a m arq u is f o r h i s
eunuchs i n 168, b u t he r e fu s e d to a c c e p t any rew ard
h an d s.
Some
tim e
e a r l i e r , how ever, a f t e r h i s s u c c e s s e s
a g a in s t th e Xiongnu, Wuhuan and Qiang i n 166 and 167, he had a ls o been c o n s id e re d
fo r
e n fe o ffm e n t
and
o th e r
h o n o u rs.
The f i e f was n o t
g r a n te d ,
b u t Zhang Rian d id r e q u e s t and o b ta in p e rm issio n f o r h im s e lf
and
fa m ily to s h i f t l e g a l r e s id e n c e from th e f r o n t i e r commandery
h is
o f Dunhuang to th e in n e r t e r r i t o r y o f C hina.
I t was an o ld r e g u la tio n
o f Han t h a t p e o p le o f th e b o rd e r re g io n s i n th e n o r th were bound t h e r e by law ; a r e f l e c t i o n , o f c o u r s e , o f c o n tin u in g i l l e g a l e m ig ra tio n , and a
symbol
ra th e r
firm n e s s
and
of
th e
w eakness o f Han a d m in is tr a tio n th a n o f i t s
e ffe c tiv e n e s s .
d is p e n s a tio n ,
and
when
he
Zhang Huan, how ever, was g iv e n s p e c i a l le ft
th e
c a p ita l
i n 169 he s e t t l e d i n
Uongnong.9
U n f o r tu n a te ly , th e
a g g r e s s iv e
a s s o c ia tio n
how ever, Zhang R ian was an opponent and c r i t i c o f
Duan
J lo n g .
He
had
se rv e d
a g a in s t th e Qiang i n
w ith R ian Jio n g d u rin g th e 160s, and he l a t e r made s tr o n g
p r o t e s t s a g a in s t Duan J l o n g 's p o lic y o f e x te rm in a tio n i n th e cam paigns of
168
and 169.
Duan J io n g , f o r h i s own p a r t , d e s p is e d Zhang R ia n 's
le n ie n c y i n d e a lin g w ith th e tr lb e s p e o p le who so u g h t to s u r r e n d e r ; and some
of
been
th e argum ent t h a t th o s e who s u rre n d e re d so s w if tly t o Zhang Rian
had
th e
pro v en
j u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r h i s cam paign a g a in s t th e X ia n lia n had
th e m se lv e s
o nly
tro o p s had l e f t th e sc e n e 10
to o
ready t o r e v o l t once more when h i s
328 Duan he
was
o ffic e
J io n g
named
was a s u p p o r te r o f th e euauch governm ent, and i n 172 C olonel
D ir e c to r o f R e ta in e r s , c h ie f o f th e c e n s o r ia l
a b o u t th e c a p i t a l , i n o r d e r t o co n d uct a purge o f th e Im p e ria l
U n iv e rs ity
at
L u o y an g .H
With th e a u t h o r ity o f
h is new o f f i c e , he
a l s o p ro p o sed t h a t Zhang R ian sh o u ld be s e n t back t o h i s o r i g i n a l home in
Dunhuang.
of
h is
p a r e n ts
m ercy.12 of
In a hum ble, b e g g in g , l e t t e r , c a l l i n g upon th e memory and
th e
exam ples o f th e p a s t , Zhang Uuan ask ed f o r
Duan J io n g was moved to p i t y ,
ban ish m en t,
and
Zhang
w ith
Shu j l n g •
He d ie d a t h i s home i n 181»
Hou
Huangfu them
GUI,
an
Han
shu
and
rem ained
Hongnong,
The
f o llo w e rs
Ilian
of
he d id n o t e n fo rc e th e o rd e r a t p eace i n r e tir e m e n t i n
s t u d e n t s , e d i t i n g a commentary to th e
Fan
Ye has combined th e
b io g ra p h ie s
of
Zhang Huan and Duan Jio n g i n t o a s i n g l e c h a p te r , g iv in g
em phasis com parable to t h a t o f th e g r e a t Ban Chao, co n q u ero r
o f c e n t r a l A s ia , and g r e a t e r th a n t h a t o f th e g e n e r a l Ren Shang, c h ie f commander
a g a in s t
th e
firs t
g r e a t Qlang r e b e l l i o n .
Duan J io n g , o f
c o u rs e ,
was r e s p o n s ib le f o r th e d e s t r u c t i o n o f th e power o f th e Qlang
in
w e s t,
th e
b lo o d th irs ty be
g iv e n
as and to
a lth o u g h
b a ttle s
com parable
m a in ta in in g th e y
and
th e
Huangfu
Qui and Zhang Uian had no such
to t h e i r c r e d i t , i t seems f a i r t h a t th e y sh o u ld s ta tu s .
Both
men
p lay ed
a le a d in g r o l e i n
p eace a lo n g th e n o r th e r n f r o n t i e r o f th e e m p ire , and
d id i t a s much by n e g o t i a t i o n , diplom acy and p e rs o n a l r e p u ta tio n by
d ire c t
u se o f m i l i t a r y f o r c e .
In t h i s , th e y w ere s u r e ly w ise
good s e r v a n ts o f th e e m p ire , and th e Han governm ent was f o r tu n a te have
men
of
such
re s tra in t
and r e s p o n s i b i l i t y t o m a in ta in th e
329 I l l u s i o n o f a u t h o r i t y o v e r a t e r r i t o r y w here th e r e was alm o st a vacuum of
power*
By th e tim e o f Emperor L in g , how ever, from th e b e g in n in g
of
th e 1708, th e p r e s s u r e o f X lan b l a g g r e s s io n from th e n o r th and th e
d is in te g ra tio n
of
Xiongnu
power
w ith in
th e
b o rd e rs had b ro u g h t a
s i t u a t i o n a lo n g th e n o r th e r n f r o n t i e r w hich proved t o be unm anageable, w hether G ul,
by
a
Zhang
p e a c e fu l p o lic y o r one o f w ar.
Huan
The th r e e men, Huangfu
and Duan J lo n g , w ere th e l a s t s u c c e s s f u l commanders
o f Han a g a in s t th e b a rb a ria n s *
The v i c t o r y o f Tanshihual 177: In Ju c h e e r
166, at
th e
governm ent m a in ta in th e
when
Zhang
end
of
Uian h is
re c e iv e d th e s u r r e n d e r o f th e Shanyu b r i e f r e b e l l i o n , he recommended to th e
a t Luoyang t h a t J u c h e e r sh o u ld be d ism isse d f o r f a l l i n g t o a u t h o r i t y among h i s p e o p le , and re p la c e d by th e L u ll King o f
L e f t,
who had rem ained l o y a l t o Han*
E nperor Huan, how ever, was
le n ie n t,
and o rd e re d t h a t J u c h e e r sh o u ld be k e p t on h is th ro n e*
he
in
d ie d
Shanyu,
172,
whose
When
he was su cceed ed by h i s so n , th e Ih d e ru o s h lz h u jlu
p e rs o n a l
name
is
r e f e r r e d to i n th e C hinese re c o rd s
m erely a s mou 'u n k n o w n '•
Some,
at
of
th e
name
of
h is
power:
p re p a re d in d ic a te s
le a s t,
o f th e re a s o n t h a t no re c o rd h as been r e ta in e d
o f th e Shanyu may be a s c r ib e d to th e lim ite d Im portance and
th e f a c t t h a t th e C hinese governm ent had been
to c o n te m p la te th e rem oval o f h i s f a t h e r Ju c h e e r from o f f i c e th a t
th e r e
was
now
sm a ll
in te re s t
in
th e p re te n c e o f
330 a u th o rity
f o r th e Xiongnu s t a t e .
a tte m p te d
t o r e - e s t a b l i s h th e p r e s t i g e o f th e Shanyu, b u t by th e 160s
th e
p o s itio n
o f t h a t r u l e r had so d e c lin e d » and h i s c r e d i t among h i s
o s te n s i b l e
fo llo w e r s
power
as
was
took
was
mich
e ffe c tiv e n e s s . he
In t h e 140s, th e Han governm ent had
a
so
low»
m a tte r
t h a t h i s c o n tin u a tio n I n nom inal
of
Im p e ria l
g ra c e
as
of p o litic a l
In 177» th e w eakness o f th e Shanyu was confirm ed» a s
p a r t u n d e r C h in ese t u t e l a g e I n a d i s a s t r o u s cam paign a g a in s t
th e new r u l e r s o f th e s te p p e .
We th e
n o r th
u n d er of
have
n o te d e a r l i e r t h a t th e grow th o f power o f th e X ianbl I n
had
been
e x p re s s e d I n th e 120s and e a r l y 130s by r a id in g
th e g e n e r a l g u id a n c e o f th e w a r - le a d e r Q lz h ljla n » b u t th e l e v e l
a c tiv ity
had
d e c lin e d f o r more th a n tw enty y e a rs a f t e r th e d e a th
of th a t c h ie fta in .
In 156, how ever, th e d is tu r b a n c e s began once m ore,
and th e Account o f th e X ianbl r e l a t e s th e f r o n t i e r w a rfa re betw een Han and
X ianbl
s p e c ific a lly
to
th e
p o lic ie s
o f th e r u l e r T a n s h lh u a l,
fo u n d er o f a g r e a t n o r th e r n e m p ire .13
It tim e , th e
a p p e a rs as
re c o rd e d
p a ra lle l
com piled
te x t
about
tra d itio n s been
v ery
of
255,
lik e ly
In th e of
Account o f th e X ianbl I n
th e Is
t h a t th e h i s t o r y o f th e X ianbl a t t h i s
lo s t
based
T a n s h lh u a l's
Wei shu to
own
a
o f Wang Shen and
c o n s id e ra b le
fa m ily and
Hou Han shu and o th e rs ,
e x te n t upon th e
d e s c e n d a n ts . 14
i t has
s u g g e ste d t h a t t h s Saga o f T a n sh lh u a l was re c o u n te d to th e c o u r t
o f th e Wei s t a t e o f th e Cao fa m ily d u rin g th e 220s, a t a tim e when th e grandso n
of
T a n s h lh u a l,
Budugen,
was s e e k in g th e a s s i s t a n c e o f th e
331 C hinese
a g a in s t
C e r ta i n l y ,
th e
In flu e n c e d
by
b a r b a r ia n
ru le r
It
Is,
In
m entio n th a t
a
a g a in s t
and
h is to ry
non-C h in ese which
of
s o u rc e ,
co n q u ero r
T a n sh lh u al and
of
and
Kèblneng.15
a p p e a rs
c o n ta in s
s tr o n g ly
p r a is e s
of
a
a r e somewhat u n u su a l f o r a C hinese h i s t o r i a n :
T a n s h lh u a l.
e s ta b lis h
C hina,
e v e n tu a l
rem a rk a b le t h a t th e Annals o f
name
d id
riv a l
C hin ese
fa c t,
th e
he
h is
a
th a t
wide he
Hou Han shu
do n o t
There I s sm a ll q u e s tio n , how ever, dom inion
alo n g th e s te p p e f r o n t i e r
tr o u b le d and d e f ie d th e Han em pire f o r
alm o st t h i r t y y e a r s .
T a n sh lh u a l but
th e r e
Tuoluhou h is
was
Is
n o m in ally th e son o f a c h i e f t a i n named Tùoluhou,
s a id to have been some u n c e r ta in ty o v er t h a t q u e s tio n :
had been away f i g h t i n g f o r th r e e y e a r s , b u t r e tu r n e d t o f in d
w ife
had
ju s t
g iv en
b irth ;
she
e x p la in e d
t h a t she had been
Im preg n ated by a m ira c u lo u s h a i l s t o n e w hich f e l l I n to h e r mouth a s sh e looked
up agape a t a c la p o f th u n d e r.
In fa n t
exposed,
but
he
was
TXioluhou, u n co n v in ced , had th e
re sc u e d and b ro u g h t up I n h i s m o th e r's
fa m ily .
D e s p ite , of
or
even b ecau se o f , th e u n u su a l c irc u m sta n c e s
h i s c o n c e p tio n and b i r t h , T an sh lh u al made a r e p u ta tio n f o r h im s e lf
w h ile
s till
I n h i s e a r ly t e e n s , f i r s t a s a f i g h t i n g man o f s k i l l and
d e te r m in a tio n , The
p e rh a p s
p eo p le
a p p o in te d
of him
e a r ly tw e n tie s .
and h is th e ir
th e n a s a c o u n s e llo r o f good se n se and judgem ent. trib e
acknow ledged
c h ie fta in ,
p ro b a b ly
h is
p e rs o n a l a u t h o r i t y and
by th e tim e he was In h is
332 The and
chronology o f su ch a r i s e , o f c o u rs e , i s e x tre m e ly d i f f i c u l t
d e c e p tiv e
to
re c o n s tru c t.
p a r a l l e l p a ssa g e from th e
The Account o f th e X ianbl (and th e
Wei shu
o f Wang Shen) sa y s t h a t T a n sh lh u a l
d ie d i n th e e a r l y 180s a t th e age o f f o r t y - f i v e
s u i:
t h a t he was b o rn i n th e second h a l f o f th e 130s.
which in d i c a t e s
The same so u rc e a ls o
s t a t e s t h a t th e r a i d by th e X ianbl on Yunzhong i n th e autumn o f 136, a ra id
w hich
i s a ls o m entio n ed i n th e A nnals o f
by T an sh lh u al w ith a f o r c e o f th r e e o r
Hou Han shu,
fo u r th o usand
was le d
h o rse m e n .16
^
we d is c o u n t th e h ig h p o s s i b i l i t y o f e x a g g e ra tio n by th e a u th o r s o f th e Saga,
it
would
c o n s id e r a b le
appear
p o s itio n
th a t of
T an sh lh u al
had
a lr e a d y e s ta b lis h e d a
le a d e r s h ip by th e tim e he was aged no more
th a n tw e n ty .
T h is
is
of
c o u rs e , byno means im p o s s ib le , and T a n sh lh u a l m ust
have d e m o n strated n o ta b le a b i l i t y v ery e a r l y i f he was e v e r to r i s e to a
p o s i t i o n o f h ig h a u t h o r i t y .
lik e
th a t
of
fle x ib le .
th e
ra th e r
Xlongnu
h e lr a r c h y th e
of
a
w ere
had r u le d
m a tte r
th e
th o s e
X ianbl of
d is in te g ra tin g
Xlongnu
c o n q u e s t,
th e r e
and
fo r
th e ir
p e rs o n a l q u a l i t i e s and
s te p p e
fo r
hundreds o f
Though
y e a rs w ith a
k in g s and o th e r ra n k s , and w ith a t r a d i t i o n o f
c la n and th e
chosen
th a n f o r any re a s o n s o f h e r e d ita r y d e s c e n t.
Shanyu,
ro y al
in te r m a r r y , was
th e Wuhuan and a ls o th e Q lang, was unformed and h ig h ly
L ead ers
a u th o r i t y
The p o l i t i c a l s t r u c t u r e o f th e X ian b l,
n o b le
f a m ilie s
w ith w hich
had no such s o p h i s t i c a t i o n .
p o p u la r s ta te , was
no
m ig ra tio n ra th e r
a g a in s t th a n
a
th e
it
m ight
T h eir ex p a n sio n tro u b le d
d e lib e ra te
p la n
and of
c la n o r t r i b a l group w hich c o u ld c la im
333 hegemony en ergy
as
of
and
rig h t.
a m b itio n
So
th e o p p o r tu n ity was th e r e f o r a man o f
to r i s e h ig h amongst h i s p e o p le , and T an sh lh u al
had th e c a p a c ity t o ta k e t h a t o p p o r tu n ity .
O b v io u sly , e x c e lle n t X lanbl th a t
a
means
adm ired a
p ro fita b le
d e m o n stra te th e q u a l i t i e s o f le a d e r s h ip t h a t th e
and
so u g h t a f t e r , and i t i s n o t u n l i k e l y , t h e r e f o r e , number
to
th e
ra id
in c id e n ts
in
th e
w in te r
have
of
163,
been
of
th e
a tta c k s
a g a in s t
th e n o r th e r n
o f Han were In d eed le d o r i n s t i g a t e d by T a n sh lh u a l.
re fe re n c e
summer
a g a i n s t C hinese t e r r i t o r y was an
to
c o n s id e r a b le
commanderie8
ra id
and
i n 156 of
The
i s fo llo w e d i n th e A nnals by f u r t h e r 158/159,
i n th e s p rin g o f 159, i n th e
i n th e summer o f 166.17
Not
a l l o f th e s e may
th e co n cern o f T a n s h lh u a l, and i t i s v ery l i k e l y t h a t some
s m a lle r r a i d s i n th e in te r v e n in g y e a r s w ere n o t re c o rd e d , b u t th e r a i d of
166
was
o r d in a te d
a
in
m ajor a f f a i r , w ith te n s o f th o u san d s o f horsem en, co s e p a r a te
b an d s,
ra id in g
n in e
commanderles a lo n g th e
n o rth e r n f r o n t i e r , and w ith th e s u p p o rt and a l l i a n c e , a s we have s e e n , o f th e Wuhuan and th e X iongnu.18
Given to
e v id e n c e
t h a t we hav e, i t does n o t seem u n re a so n a b le
r e l a t e th e grow ing in c id e n c e and s e v e r i t y o f th e s e r a i d s a lo n g th e
fro n tie r a tta c k
to of
in s ig n ia same
th e
th e 166,
d e v e lo p in g th e
C hinese
power
of
a p p a r e n tly
T a n sh lh u a l. o ffe re d
A fte r th e g r e a t him
th e s e a l and
o f a k in g , and I n v i t e d him to a l l i a n c e and f r ie n d s h ip i n th e
f a s h io n a s th e Xlongnu r u l e r s o f th e p a s t .
T a n sh lh u a l, how ever,
r e j e c t e d th e s e a d v a n c e s, and a lth o u g h a p e r io d o f p eace was m a in ta in e d
•
i y
0 p®
/ : / 1 .
"vj
......”
.
4/ ' w- '
/ v
EASTERN DIVISION
334
)
Y U N ZH O N gT^ .G a o liu \
' /
-
— ~ 7 \ Dai ycjApu 3)
y
YANMEN
b *f I
____ I \
**'
200 4 --
Map 11:
The Em pire o f T a n sh lh u a l and th e F r o n t i e r T e r r ito r y o f Han c . 180
300
400 km = k
335 d u rin g
167
and
Che
A ccording
to
Bing
L iang s u f f e r e d a t t a c k s e v e ry y e a r from th e b e g in n in g o f th e
and
r e ig n
of
e v e ry
year
p a rt,
th e
L ing,
from
168
b ecause
th e
and in d e e d th e A nnals r e f e r t o X ianbi r a id s
to
in c id e n ts
181
e x c e p t o n ly f o r 170.19
a r e re c o rd e d of
grow ing
g ra n a rie s . in
Account o f th e X la n b i, th e th r e e p ro v in c e s o f You,
Emperor
presum ably o u ts id e
th e
f i r s t p a r t o f 168, th e r a id in g began once m ore.
th e
in
th e w in te r
For th e most
of
each
y e a r,
a d v an tag e o f Im proving th e anim al fo d d e r
se a so n on th e s te p p e by supplem ent from C hinese
You and Bing p ro v in c e s were m ost f r e q u e n tly a f f e c t e d , but
174/5
th e r e
was a r a i d a s f a r s o u th and w est a s B e id l commandery
i n Liang p ro v in c e .
T h is pow er,
p e rio d
and
g re a te s t
it
of is
marked
th e h e ig h t
of T a n s h ih u a l's
s u r e ly a t t h i s tim e t h a t h is dom inion reach ed i t s
e x te n t.
k i l o m e t r e s / 4 ,000
th e 170s
It
i s s a i d t h a t i t e x te n d ed o v e r 12,000 l i (6 ,0 0 0
m ile s )
from
east
to
w est
and more th a n 7 ,0 0 0 l i
(3 ,5 0 0 k i l o m e t r e s /2 ,3 0 0 m ile s ) from n o r th t o s o u th - f i g u r e s w hich a r e c e r t a i n l y e x a g g e ra te d and a lm o st tw ice a s l a r g e a s th e y sh o u ld be - i t is
v ery
trib e s
lik e ly of
t h a t he c o u ld in d e e d c la im some t r i b u t e from a l l th e
M ongolia,
e x te n d in g
from
th e
M anchuria on th e e a s t a c r o s s t o D zungaria i n he
fa c e d
th e
b a tte re d
th e
v a s s a la g e ,
m ost
p a rt
of
Xlngan
th e w e s t.
ran g e
and
In th e s o u th ,
f r o n t i e r o f C hina; i n th e n o r th , h is domain
p ro b a b ly re a c h e d Lake B a ik a l i n S i b e r i a . fo r
G reat
co u rse ,
by
th e
To some e x te n t d i r e c t l y , b u t p ro c e ss
o f su b m issio n and
T a n s h ih u a l's w r i t co u ld ru n a c r o s s a l l th e fo rm er la n d s o f
th e Xiongnu.20
336 The
c e n tr e
fro n tie rs p e o p le
of
of
T a n s h lh u a i's
c o n tin u e d
li
to
n o r th o f
modern
term s
M ongolia: C hinese
la y d o s e t o th e
be b ased upon h i s s u c c e s s a s a w a r - le a d e r and a
so
His c a p i t a l , a p p a r e n tly , was o n ly some
G ao liu i n Dal commandery,
it
was
somewhere
in
th e
w hich would mean t h a t i n re g io n
of
Huade i n In n e r
h is em pire was b ased on th e f r i n g e o f s te p p e n e a r th e
fro n tie r.
a d m in is tr a tiv e (2>u),
how ever,
C hina, and th e r e a l so u rc e o f h i s a u th o r ity amongst th e
p la n n e r o f p lu n d e rin g p a r t i e s . 300
power,
S im ila r ly ,
a rra n g e m e n ts ,
th e
in
th e te x t
d e s c rib e d from e a s t to w est i n
little sp eak s
we a r e t o l d o f h is of
term s o f th e
th r e e
d iv is io n s
C hinese f r o n t i e r .
The
E a s te rn D iv is io n e x te n d e d from Liaodong commandery t o Y oubeiping,
and
c o n ta in e d
some
D iv is io n
fa c e d
Shanggu,
and
D iv is io n
s tre tc h e d
th e
from
th e
s u b o rd in a te
groups ( y i ) .
The C e n tra l
s h o r t s t r e t c h o f f r o n t i e r betw een Y oubeiping and
in c lu d e d r a t h e r more th a n
n o r th e r n
n o r th
tw enty
te n y i
g ro u p s .
The W estern
from Shanggu a c r o s s th e w hole o f th e rem ain d er o f
fro n tie r
te rrito ry
as
f a r a s Dunhuang commandery and
th e r e t o th e la n d s o f th e Wusun i n D zungaria:
th is g re a t
a r e a was a ls o d iv id e d i n t o tw en ty y i g ro u p s .21
The
Wei
shu
o f Wang Shen
p ro v id e s a l i s t
T a n s h lh u a i's
s u b o rd in a te
d i v i s i o n s . 22
Among t h e s e , th e m ost I n t e r e s t i n g a r e Murong,
an
a n c e s to r
founded
in
of
th e
la te r
commanders
in
each
o f names o f some o f of
th e
th r e e p ro b ab ly
im p e r ia l c la n o f th e Former Yan d y n a s ty ,
th e m id - f o u r te e n th c e n tu r y , and IXilyan, p ro b ab ly th e same
p erso n as th e TXiiyin who i s d e s c rib e d a s a n c e s to r o f th e Tuoba c la n o f th e
N o rth ern
Wei
s ta te ,
w hich
dom inated n o r th C hina from th e l a t e
337 f o u r th
to
th e
w ith in
each
e a r ly s i x t h c e n t u r i e s . 23
i t seems
most l i k e l y t h a t
d i v i s i o n o f T a n s h lh u a l's realm th e s e c h i e f t a i n s a c te d a s
c o -o rd in a to rs ,
w ith r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s f o r m i l i t a r y command and f o r th e
s u p e rv is io n o f v a s s a l s , b u t t h a t below t h e i r l e v e l th e d a y -to -d a y l i f e o f th e p e o p le c o n tin u e d t o be g overned by t h e i r own l o c a l r u l e r s .
T his
is
s tru c tu re , dom inion
not
n o r. was
p r im a r ily
th e
In d e e d ,
ra th e r
on
d e s c rip tio n
a
s o p h is tic a te d
sh o u ld we e x p e c t t o f in d on e.
a
p e rs o n a l
of
lo o s e
p o litic a l
T a n s h lh u a l's
c o n fe d e ra c y th a n an e m p ire , d ependent
a u th o rity ,
w ith
no
perm anent i n s t i t u t i o n a l
e s ta b lis h m e n t:
th e s h o r t l i v e d c h i e f t a i n s h i p o f a nomad t r i b e w r it now
very
Even
la rg e .
d iv is io n s
-
th e
nom inal arran g em en t o f th e s t a t e I n to th r e e
from th e e x te n s iv e t e r r i t o r y o f th e E a s te rn D iv is io n , to
th e narrow ran g e o f th e C e n tre and t h a t a g a in c o n tr a s te d w ith th e v a s t a re a
o f th e W estern D iv is io n , s e v e r a l tim e s th e s i z e of th e o th e r two
combined th e
more
p r im a r ily more
- d is p la y s ad hoc arra n g e m en ts and a vagueness o f command i n d i s t a n t r e g io n s , a s p e rc e iv e d from a h e a d q u a rte rs concerned w ith
re a s o n a b le
th e
p ro fits
to
c o n s id e r
o f r a i d i n g a g a i n s t th e s o u th . th e
s ta te
I t seems
o f T an sh ih u al a s t h a t o f a
p i r a t e k in g th a n a s th e f i r s t g r e a t X lanbi em p ire.
N o n e th e le s s , th e
nomad
in
p e o p le s
China
was
a
170s,
it
q u ite
In c a p a b le
one of
th e
f a s h io n o r a n o th e r , T an sh ih u al had u n if ie d s te p p e , and th e e f f e c t o f h i s power upon
m a tte r o f c o n tin u in g co n cern and d i s t r e s s .
was
c le a r of
By th e m ld-
t h a t th e r e g u l a r C hinese f r o n t i e r d e fe n c e s were p re v e n tin g f r e q u e n t i n c u r s io n s , and i t was a b o u t
338 th a t
tim e
th e
p ro p o s a l
was
ra is e d
fo r
a
m ajor
a s s a u l t a g a in s t
T a n sh lh u a l, on h i s home g ro u n d , by a C hin ese a n y o p e r a tin g beyond th e fro n tie rs .
It
a p p e a rs
C olonel c h ie f
t h a t th e s u g g e s tio n was f i r s t p u t fo rw ard by XIa Yu,
P r o te c to r o f th e Wuhuan.
Xia Yu had been one o f Äian J l o n g 's
l i e u t e n a n t s I n th e g r e a t cam paigns a g a in s t th e Qlang d u rin g th e
1608,24
and
a p p o in te d B eld l
a fte r
Grand
of
d e s tru c tio n
A d m in is tra to r
commandery
a u x ilia rie s
th e
of
of B e ld l.
th e X la n lla n
Qlang
he was
When th e X lanbl a tta c k e d
I n th e w in te r o f 1 7 4 /5 , Xla Yu le d l o c a l tro o p s and th e XIuchuge t r i b e o f th e Xlongnu t o a t t a c k them , and
he
g ain e d
of
th e Wuhuan and from t h a t p o s i t i o n he s e n t I n a m em orial r e q u e s tin g
th a t
an
a tta c k
some s u c c e s s .2 5
a rn y th e
commander,
He was th e n a p p o in te d
C olonel P r o te c to r
sh o u ld be r a i s e d from th e r e s o u rc e s o f You p ro v in c e to
X la n b l. Duan
In
a
p h ra s e
w hich ech o es
t h a t o f h is fo rm er
J lo n g , he claim ed t h a t "In one w in te r and two s p r in g
cam paigns, I s h a l l c e r t a i n l y be a b le t o d e s tro y them ".2 6
had
The
s itu a tio n ,
been
d e a lin g
Im p e ria l mopping
o f c o u rs e , was by no means th e same: w ith
te rrito ry ,
and
th e
E a s te rn
Duan Jlo n g
Qlang trib e s m e n , l i v i n g w ith in
h i s p la n s had c a l le d p r im a r ily f o r d e c is iv e
up; Xla Yu was p ro p o s in g an a d v e n tu re beyond th e f r o n t i e r s o f
C hina, a g a in s t a most com petent and h ig h ly m obile enemy, whose numbers w ere
unknown,
d e fe a te d
whose
te rrito ry
was unknown, and who had seldom been
by C hinese f o r c e s I n th e f i e l d .
h e s i t a t e d t o g iv e p e rm is s io n .
Not s u r p r i s i n g l y , th e c o u rt
339 We
a re
to ld
g o v ern m e n t's was
an
c h ie f had
one
of
th e c h i e f f a c t o r s w hich changed th e
p o lic y was th e In flu e n c e o f th e eunuch Wang Fu.
Wang Fu
o ld a s s o c i a t e o f Duan J lo n g , and T lan Yan, Duan J i o n g 's o th e r lie u te n a n t
la te ly
o ffe n c e ,
and
Fu
In
th e Qlang w a rs, was a ls o h i s p r o te g e .
H a n Yan
been d is m is s e d a s C o lo n el P r o te c to r o f th e Qlang f o r some
o p p o r tu n ity Wang
th a t
a lth o u g h to
g a in
a g re e d
to
he
had
been
pardoned he was an x io u s f o r an
a renew ed r e p u t a t i o n and ra n k .
At h i s u r g ln g s ,
s u p p o rt th e p la n , and th e c o u rt was p ersu ad ed to
approv e I t .
It
Is
o p in io n . th e
not
known
w h eth er
Duan
Jlo n g h im se lf was ask ed f o r an
I t I s v e ry p o s s ib le t h a t th e s u c c e ss o f h is campaign a g a in s t
Qlang had g iv e n th e C h in ese a m ista k e n se n s e o f c o n fid e n c e I n th e
c a p a c itie s th e re
of
th e
Im p e ria l
fo rc e s;
and I t I s f a i r to o b se rv e t h a t
had been v e ry few o c c a s io n s I n th e p a s t when th e r e g u la r a rm ies
o f th e em pire had
been d e f e a te d by t h e i r en em ies.
backs
s k ir m is h e s ,
In
m inor
and
lo c a l
There co u ld be s e t
l e v i e s , o f c o u rs e , were n o t
ex p e c te d to be f i r s t - r a n k t r o o p s , b u t I n o p e ra tio n s a g a in s t th e Q lang, th e
Wuhuan,
th e
Xlongnu
and ev en th e X la n b l, th e a rm ie s o f Han had
a c h ie v e d a rem ark ab le re c o rd o f s u c c e s s .
The In c u r s io n Xian th e In
e x p e d itio n I n to
177,
how ever,
r e p re s e n te d
th e f i r s t m ajor
th e s te p p e by C hinese arms s in c e th e cam paigns o f Dou
a g a i n s t th e s tra te g y
of
of
N o rth e rn Xlongnu a lm o st a hundred y e a rs e a r l i e r ,
and
p u n itiv e a t t a c k s p roposed by Xla Yu and T lan Yan was
f a c t more c lo s e ly a l l i e d t o t h a t o f th e g r e a t Emperor Wu o f Former
340 Han.
In
a
p r o te s te d be
th e
cost th e
reduced Xiongnu;
argu m en t,
c o u r t 's
em barking
th e of
s tr o n g
th e
s c h o la r
and h i s t o r i a n C al Rong
d e c is io n on th e grounds t h a t th e em pire would
on an i n d e f i n i t e war a g a i n s t a p o w erfu l enemy, and t h a t
i n man-power and money would be more th a n th e p r e s e n t s t a t e n a tio n to
co u ld
s u p p o r t.
In Emperor Wu's tim e , C hina had been
b a n d itr y and d i s t r e s s by th e e x a c tio n s o f war a g a in s t th e
in
many
re s p e c ts ,
th e X lan b i w ere more d an g erous th a n th e
Xlongnu had been th e n , and th e s i t u a t i o n o f Han was no s t r o n g e r .27
Cal th e
K ong's
e ig h th
month
commandery; Household E m issary Yanmen.
argum ents w ere o v e r - r u le d , and th e arm ie s s e t o u t i n
H an Who
of
Xia Yu
177.28
advanced from
G aollu i n Dai
Yan, w ith th e t i t l e G en eral o f th e Gentleman o f th e
Smashes
th e
X ia n b i,
went o u t from Yunzhong, and th e
Zang Min le d th e S o u th ern Shanyu h im se lf and h i s f o r c e s from Each
of
th e columns i s s a id to have numbered te n th o usand
c a v a lr y .
The
d e s c rip tio n
o f th e
campaign
beyond th e f r o n t i e r s ,
is
very b r i e f :
advanced
2 ,0 0 0 l i
d e fe a te d
by
a combined army from a l l T a n s h ih u a i's d i v i s i o n s .
q u a r te r s
of
th e
baggage
and
C hinese f o r c e s
in s ig n ia
were
were
lo s t,
and
and th e y were
th e C hinese
k ille d th e
ja il.
were
b ro u g h t
T h re e -
o r c a p tu re d , a l l th e commanders
accom panied each by no more th a n a few s c o re o f horsem en. o ffic e rs
th e r e met and
fle d
home
The C hinese
back t o th e c a p i t a l i n cage c a r t s and s e n t t o
They were allo w ed to redeem t h e i r l i v e s by payment o f a f i n e ,
and were th e n d eg rad ed i n ra n k t o be com m oners.29
341 It
seem s.
c a r r ie d
out
th o u san d
In d e e d ,
somewhat
men
was
to
have been a p la n vague t o b e g in w ith and
h o th e a d e d ly .
The
combined
f o rc e o f t h i r t y
a la r g e o n e , com parable t o t h a t o f Dou Xian i n 89,
and t h i s had in c lu d e d a h ig h e r p ro p o r tio n o f S outhern Xiongnu c a v a lr y . On
th e
o th e r
e n tire ly th e r e
of
is
N o rthern th e
hand, th e C h in ese c o n tin g e n ts w ere a p p a re n tly composed le v ie s
from
You
and B ing, th e two n o r th e r n p ro v in c e s :
no r e c o rd o f any p a r t i c i p a t i o n by th e f i v e re g im e n ts o f th e Army
tro o p s
at
of
th e c a p i t a l , n o r even a s p e c i f i c c o n tr ib u tio n from
th e G en eral Who C ro sse s th e L iao , a command w hich now
a p p e a rs to fa d e from th e m i l i t a r y re c o r d .
In
th e
b o rd er
d e fe n c e f o r c e s , i t i s j u s t p o s s ib le to co n tem p late th e C hinese
d e s p a tc h in g In flic t
a
p u n itiv e
e x p e d itio n ,
of
s tric tly
lim ite d ra n g e , to
some damage on th e X ianbi i n r e p r i s a l f o r t h a t which th e y had
su ffe re d sh o u ld
c irc u m s ta n c e s , i f th e tro o p s w ere la r g e ly drawn from th e
th e m s e lv e s , have
allo w ed
te rrito ry
th a t
is
p o s s ib le
q u ite
b u t i t i s h a rd t o u n d e rsta n d why any commanders th em selv es
to
get
so
far
in to
th e enem y's
he c o u ld c o n c e n tr a te h i s f u l l fo r c e a g a i n s t them .
It
t h a t even th e meagre d e t a i l s o f th e campaign t h a t
we h av e, in c lu d in g th e r e c o rd o f th e d is ta n c e t r a v e l l e d and th e f o r c e s which
fa c e d
e x a g g e ra te d
th e by
m is f o r tu n e s . Yan,
e n tr u s te d
C hinese
in
em b arrassed In
th e
w ith
th e
fie ld ,
g e n e r a ls
have
a tte m p tin g
been to
d i s t o r t e d and e x p la in
th e ir
e n d , one h as a s u s p ic io n t h a t Xla Yu and H a n a
lim i t e d o b j e c t i v e , allo w ed th em selv es t o g e t
tra p p e d by t h e i r own a m b itio n s
342 The r e s u l t o f th e d e f e a t o f 177, how ever, was o f g r e a t im p o rtan ce In
b o th
had
m oral
lo s t
so
and m a te r ia l te rm s . many
men
The sim p le f a c t t h a t th e C hinese
made t h e i r d e fe n c e s i n th e n o r th w eaker th a n
e v e r , and th e r a i d i n g by th e X lanbl c o n tin u e d w ith In c re a s e d s e v e r i t y . S till
more
removed
s e r i o u s , th o u g h , th e c l e a r d e f e a t o f a m ajor C hinese army
some
of
th e
la s t
p r e s t i g e from t h e i r m i l i t a r y r e p u t a t i o n .
T here was grow ing u n r e s t among th e Wuhuan o f th e n o r t h e a s t , th e r e w as, as
we
s h a ll
Xlongnu,
see,
endem ic d is tu r b a n c e d e v e lo p in g among th e S o uthern
and th e te n s io n betw een th e Qlang and th e C hinese governm ent
in
Liang p ro v in c e c u lm in a te d a few y e a rs l a t e r i n th e g r e a t r e b e l l i o n
of
184.
A lthough th e im p e r ia l tr o o p s p roved th e m se lv e s a b le t o cope
w ith th e r e b e l l i o n s i n s i d e C hina, even th e Yellow Türbans o f 184 b ein g d e f e a te d o n,
w ith in
when
a
a
C hinese
c e r ta in of v ic to ry . been
few m onths, i t was a sa d f a c t t h a t from t h i s tim e a rn y
fa c e d
a b a r b a r ia n f o r c e i t was no lo n g e r
In a s e n s e , th e r e a l m i l i t a r y w eakness o f Han had
c o n c e a led by th e f i n e s s e o f Zhang Huan; i t was d is p la y e d f o r a l l
t o se e by th e c lu m sin e ss o f Xla Yu and H a n Yan.
F a ll o f em p ires: D e sp ite T an sh lh u a l A th e
its d id
a p p a re n t
power,
e x te n t
and e n e rg y , th e em pire o f
n o t lo n g s u rv iv e th e d e a th o f i t s fo u n d er and l e a d e r .
few y e a rs a f t e r th e v i c t o r y o f 177, some tim e i n th e l a t t e r p a r t o f Guanghe
T a n sh lh u a l
r e ig n d ie d .
d id
not
s h a re
and
d is h o n e s t,
p e r io d
of
Emperor
L ing,
betw een 180 and 183,
He was su cceed ed by h i s son H e lla n , who e v id e n tly h i s f a t h e r 's q u a l i t i e s , f o r he i s d e s c rib e d a s
greed y
and i t i s s a i d t h a t a s many a s h a lf th e v a s s a l t r i b e s
343 re je c te d
h is
a g a in s t
C hina,
c o u rse
of
s u z e r e lg n ty . but
H e lle n c o n tin u e d to le a d r a id in g p a r t i e s
a few y e a rs a f t e r h i s a c c e s s io n to pow er, i n th e
an a t t a c k on B e ld l commandery, he was s h o t and k i l l e d by a
C hinese d e fe n d e r.
H e lia n 's
d e a th
in s titu tio n a l im p o rta n t.
to o k
w eakness H e lia n 's
p la c e
of so n ,
th e
some tim e ab o u t 185 t o 187, and th e X lanbl
Qlanman,
s ta te
was
now
s till
a
became even more m inor,
and th e
governm ent o f th e em pire was p u t i n t o th e hands o f K u ito u , who was th e son
of
an e l d e r b r o th e r o f H e lia n and th u s a g ran d so n o f T a n sh lh u a l,
and
who was a lr e a d y an a d u l t .
I t i s v e ry l i k e l y i n f a c t , t h a t K iiitou
may
be
c h i e f t a i n H u a lto u , who had been l i s t e d
id e n tifie d
among
th e
s u b o r d in a te
T a n s h lh u a l's W ithin
a
Qlanman, broken
em pire
few now
grown
commanders
as
y ears,
th e
d e s c r ib e d how ever,
of in th e
th e
E a s te rn
little em pire
more had
D iv isio n
Wei shu o f
of
Wang Shen.30
K u ito u 's a u th o r ity was c h a lle n g e d by
t o f u l l a g e , and th e rem nant o f X lanbl u n ity was
i n f a c t i o n f i g h t i n g betw een th e two c o n te n d e rs .
190s, v ast
w ith
By th e m iddle
th a n t e n y e a r s a f t e r th e d e a th o f T a n s h lh u a l, h i s d i s i n t e g r a t e d and th e X lanbl p eo p le were once a g a in
l i t t l e more th a n a g a th e r in g o f fe u d in g t r i b e s and c h i e f t a i n s .
Some c la im s to I n f lu e n c e and a u t h o r i t y rem ained from th e d e p a rte d e m p ire , la te r
and th e exam ple o f T a n sh lh u a l was a so u rc e o f i n s p i r a t i o n f o r X lanbl
b r o th e r , lo c a l
le a d e rs .
Budugen,
a u th o rity
was a g a in s t
In th e e a r l y t h i r d c e n tu r y , K u ito u 's younger s till th e
engaged i n an a tte m p t to m a in ta in some c h ie fta in
S u ll,
who
had a ls o been a
344 s u b o rd in a te
commander
T a n sh ih u a i. o u ts id e r
Both
th e
E a s te rn
D iv isio n
in
th e
tim e
of
Budugen and S u l i , how ever, were c h a lle n g e d by th e
K èbineng,
se e k in g
in
who
was g e n e r a lly a n ti- C h in e s e and was e v id e n tly
to e s t a b l i s h a dom inion
com parable t o t h a t o f
T a n s h ih u a i.31
For a tim e i n th e 220s and 230s Kebineng d id g a in a d eg ree o f s u c c e s s , and
he
was
a
te rrito rie s he
of
le a d e r
of
r a id in g
p a rtie s
Wei i n b o th You and Bing p r o v in c e s .
a g a in s t th e
In 235, how ever,
was a s s a s s i n a t e d by a C hin ese a g e n t, and th e l e s s e r c h i e f t a i n s who
had It
su c c e ssfu l
fo llo w e d was
only
o b serv e th e
him ten d ed a g a in to fo llo w t h e i r own s e p a r a te p o l i c i e s .
th e
lo o s e
in
th e
second
dominance co n fe d e rac y
fo llo w in g
c e n tu ry
h a lf o f th e t h i r d c e n tu ry t h a t one may
o f a s i n g l e c l a n , th e Tuoba, d e v e lo p in g among of
th e
X ianbl
p e o p le ,
and
not
u n t i l th e
t h a t any group was a b le to i n t e r f e r e d e c is iv e ly i n
th e a f f a i r s o f C hina.
The
em pire
of
T a n s h ih u a i,
th e n ,
was
e s s e n tia lly
a p e rs o n a l
ach iev e m en t, and i t s exam ple o f u n ity and e f f e c t i v e a g g re s s io n a g a in s t China
was
not
fo llo w e d f o r more th a n a hundred y e a r s .
C hinese o f th e tim e were u n d o u b ted ly f o r t u n a t e : th e
i t i s rem ark ab le t h a t
c o n v u ls io n s and m is fo rtu n e s o f th e Yellow Türban r e b e l l i o n o f 184
c o in c id e d X ianbi it
In t h i s , th e
s ta te
was
th a t
w ith
u n if ie d
b e g in n in g
a fte r
of
d e c lin e and d i s i n t e g r a t i o n o f th e
th e d e a th o f T a n s h ih u a i; and i n th e lo n g e r term ,
o f c o n s id e r a b le Im p o rtan ce to th e f u tu r e o f th e C hinese w orld
th e
d u rin g
th e
Three
th e and
firs t
Kingdoms h a lf
p ow erful
w hich
s tr u g g le d f o r power i n China P ro p er
o f th e t h i r d c e n tu ry were n ev er fa c e d w ith a enemy on th e s te p p e f r o n t i e r o f th e n o r th .
By
345 th e
end o f th e seco n d c e n tu r y , though th e X ianbl p e o p le dom inated th e
te rrito ry
of
C h in a 's
n o r th e r n
b o rd e r la n d s and th e whole re g io n o f
M ongolia beyond, th e y w ere n o t y e t a t a s ta g e o f p o l i t i c a l developm ent when
th e y
co u ld
e x p re s s
th a t
dominance by co n q u est o f th e s e t t l e d
la n d s to th e s o u th .
F or trium ph
th e of
e x is te n c e , of
th e
rem nant th e
and
c o n tro l,
s e r io u s
fo r
Shanyu,
b a ttle
X ianbl th e
In
of th e
th e
S o u th ern Xlongnu, how ever, th e
n o r th
marked th e end o f m ean in g fu l
d i s a s t r o u s cam paign o f 177 co nfirm ed th e f a i l u r e
S o u th ern S han y u 's pow er.
C hinese
The
s ta te
That e x p e d itio n had been made under
b u t th e d e f e a t w hich fo llo w e d was I n many ways more
th e c o u r t o f th e Shanyu th a n f o r th e C hinese th e m se lv e s. even
w ith
C hinese
a llie s
and o v e r lo r d s , had l o s t th e
f o r th e command o f th e s te p p e , and he was now o f lim ite d v a lu e
e i t h e r a s a l e a d e r to th e n o n -C h in ese nomads o r a s an a g e n t o f C hinese Im p e ria l a u t h o r i t y .
W ithin a few y e a rs o f th e d e f e a t o f 177, th e l a s t
p r e te n c e s o f a u t h o r i t y had d is a p p e a re d .
The d e fe a te d th e
Shanyu
h im s e lf
d ie d w ith in a few months o f h i s r e t u r n w ith
tr o o p s , and he was su cceed ed by h i s son Hucheng, who came to
th ro n e
in
178.
In th e n e x t y e a r , how ever, th e r e was a p p a re n tly
a q u a r r e l betw een th e new r u l e r and th e E m issary , Zhang Xlu; Zhang Xiu k ille d
th e
Shanyu
Hucheng
and s e t up th e Worthy King o f th e R ig h t,
Q iangqu, a s Shanyu I n h i s s t e a d . 32
346 A dm ittedly» c a p ita l
In
J u s tic e
fo r
any
a
th e
g iv e n
p u n ish e d :
sent
to
was
he
of
such
power
was b ro u g h t to th e
th e o f f i c e o f th e Commandant o f
and was e x e c u te d .
c o n te m p la te
la c k
Qiangqu
was
c a rt»
co u ld
d e m o n stra te s
been
cage
Xlu
exam ination»
E m issary
Shanyu.
Zhang
an
and
On th e o th e r hand» t h a t a c tio n » and c a r r y I t out»
resp ect
t h a t was h e ld by th e
p e rm itte d to c o n tin u e on th e th ro n e which had
hlm» and f o r a lm o st te n y e a r s th e Xlongnu n e i t h e r played»
no r so u g h t to play» any p a r t In th e m i l i t a r y a c t i v i t i e s which In v o lv e d th e X ianbl t o t h e i r n o r th o r th e Qlang t o th e s o u th .
In
th e
w in te r o f 187/188, how ever, th e endem ic tr o u b le w ith th e
Xluchuge group a p p e a rs to have e ru p te d I n to open r e b e l l i o n , and I n th e firs t
C hinese month o f 188 th e Xluchuge d e fe a te d and k i l l e d th e Grand
A d m in is tra to r
of
Xihe
commandery.
Two months l a t e r , th e y d e a l t I n
s im ila r f a s h io n w ith th e I n s p e c to r o f Bing p ro v in c e .33
The Han.
Shanyu About
as
Yellow
of
Xlhe
and h i s f o llo w e r s , how ever, had rem ained f a i t h f u l to
t h i s tim e , a group o f b a n d i t s , who d e s c rib e d th em selv es
lU rb a n s,
had become a c t i v e from a b ase I n th e Bobo V alley
commandery.
c o n tin g e n t m akers, 34 o p e r a tio n s
to
I t seems
a s s is t
though a g a in s t
by
th e 188
T aiyuan
th a t
Im p e ria l th e
Bobo
th e
Shanyu
fo rc e s
a g a in s t
b a n d its
had
and Hedong.
may have s e n t a th e s e t r o u b le ex ten d ed
th e ir
F a ir ly c l e a r l y , th e C hinese
p o s itio n was d e t e r i o r a t i n g n o t o n ly alo n g th e Ordos loop o f th e Yellow R iv e r, Shanxi
b u t a l s o I n th e g e n e r a l r e g io n o f th e Fen R iv e r I n p re s e n t-d a y
347 At c a lle d
th is
p o in t,
u n fo rtu n a te ly ,
th e
governm ent o f Emperor Ling
upon th e Xiongnu f o r one more s e r v i c e .
th e
Wuhuan
and
su p p o rte d by X ia n b i, had broken o u t i n
th e
im p e r ia l
and
th e Shanyu Qiangqu was o rd e re d to p ro v id e a c o n tin g e n t o f Xiongnu
to
of
In 187, a r e b e l l i o n of
a s s is t
Worthy
You p ro v in c e .
35
In 188,
clansm an L iu Yu was a p p o in te d Governor o f You p ro v in c e ,
in
King
re s e n te d
th e n o r t h e a s t , le d by th e ren eg ad e C hinese Zhang Chun
th e of
campaign a g a i n s t th e r e b e l s .
th e
L e ft
w ith
tr o o p s ,
but
The Shanyu s e n t th e many of h i s fo llo w e rs
th e summons and o b je c te d t o th e p ro s p e c t o f f u r t h e r m i l i t a r y
s e r v ic e i n f u t u r e .
In
th e
W estern) a tta c k
D iv is io n th e
succeeded months h is from
th ird
month of
Shanyu him ,
of
th e
th e X lluo c la n o f th e R ig h t ( l . e .
Xiongnu jo in e d w ith th e Xluchuge group to
Qiangqu
w ith
188
th e
and title
k ill Z h lzh l
hlm.
Q ian g q u '8 son Yufuluo
shizh u h o u Shanyu, b u t a few
l a t e r he to o was u n d e r a t t a c k from th e f a c t i o n t h a t had k i l l e d
fa th e r, th e
fa m ily ,
and
he was com pelled to f l e e to Luoyang to a sk f o r h e lp
Han governm ent. a
Gudu
36
The r e b e ls s e t up a member o f th e Xubu
M arquis, a s Shanyu i n h is s te a d .
When t h a t man d ie d
a y e a r l a t e r , h i s fo llo w e r s e l e c t e d no f u r t h e r Shanyu. to
e n tru s t
They p r e f e r r e d
th e nom inal h e a d sh ip o f th e s t a t e to an o ld k in g , w ith o u t
o f f e r i n g th e i l l u s i o n t h a t th e a n c ie n t t i t l e m ight im p ly .
U n fo rtu n a te ly Emperor th e
Ling d ie d .
Empre s 8 -Dowager
fo r
Y ufuluo, soon a f t e r he a r r iv e d i n th e c a p i t a l
There fo llo w e d a s h o r t and tr o u b le d regency un d er and
her
re la tiv e s
of
th e He c la n , w hich soon
348 exploded 189,
in to
m assacre
and
c i v i l w a r.
37
By th e end o f
Septem ber
th e g e n e r a l Dong Zhuo had u su rp e d pow er, th e p r a c t i c a l a u t h o r i t y
o f th e d y n a sty was gone, and th e p o l i t i c a l s i t u a t i o n of th e em pire was to o
c h a o tic
le ft
to p e rm it any c o n s id e r a tio n o f Xiongnu a f f a i r s . Y ufuluo,
t o h i s own d e v ic e s , now so u g h t a l l i a n c e w ith th e b a n d its o f Bobo
v a lle y ,
and
a tte m p te d
s u p p o rte d
h im se lf
and
h is
fo llo w e rs
by
p lu n d e r. He
t o r e t u r n to h i s own t e r r i t o r y i n th e n o r th , b u t th e p e o p le
re fu s e d t o a c c e p t him , and he rem ained a vagabond i n e x i l e .
Y u fu lu o 's Hedong
b ase
are a
commandery,
S hanxi,
but
fo r
th e
some
to have been in Pinyang co u n ty i n
Fen R iv e r s o u th o f p re s e n t-d a y L in fe n i n
y e a rs
he
ran g ed w id e ly , though w ith lim ite d
success,
as
of
Shao and th e o th e r r e b e ls a g a i n s t Dong Zhuo; th e n he changed
Yuan
s id e s year
and he
a
on
a p p e a rs
s o l d i e r o f f o r tu n e .
gave was
co n fed e rac y
nom inal
o p e r a tin g known
Taihang
ran g e
h e a v ily
d e f e a te d
commandery,
as
near
s u p p o rt t o Dong Zhuo.
OQ
By th e fo llo w in g
i n a l l i a n c e w ith members o f a C hinese b a n d it th e
Hebi
by
For a tim e i n 191 he was an a l l y
Gao
B lack M ountain group (from a r id g e o f th e i n p r e s e n t- d a y H enan), b u t h i s f o r c e s were Cao
in
an
engagement a t Nelhuang i n Wei
on th e p l a i n e a s t o f p r e s e n t- d a y Anyang
i n Henan.
39
In
193, w ith o th e r b a n d i t s , he was a c t i n g i n th e s e r v ic e of th e p r e te n d e r Yuan
Shu,
p re s e n t- d a y fo rc e s,
and
at
Fengqlu i n C h e n llu , c lo s e to th e Yellow R iv er n o rth o f
K aifen g . began
In a sudden a t t a c k , Cao Cao d e fe a te d Yuan S h u 's a
drove Yuan Shu h im s e lf With
lig h t n i n g
cam paign t h a t broke up h i s army and
so u th o f th e Yellow R iv er
tow ards th e H u a i . ^
th e co n seq u en t d is a p p e a ra n c e o f t h i s p a tro n from h i s own a r e a of
349
o p e r a tio n s ,
Yufuluo had l i t t l e o p tio n b u t t o r e tu r n to th e p r o te c tio n
o f th e m ountains n o r th o f th e Yellow R iv e r.
Y ufuluo d ie d i n 195, and was su cceeded a s t i t u l a r Shanyu in e x i l e by
h is
younger
d iffic u lt,
fo r
b r o th e r th e ir
Huchuquan.
The p o s itio n o f th e em ig res was
fo llo w in g was n o t s t r o n g , and b o th th e Xlongnu
and t h e i r l o c a l a l l i e s o f th e Bobo gro u p s u f f e r e d r a id in g a t t a c k s from th e
X ia n b i,
th ro u g h
th e
a tte m p t
to
was
a ls o
ta k e n
who
were
now e v id e n tly p r e s s in g t h e i r in c u r s io n s so u th
t e r r i t o r y o f p r e s e n t- d a y S h an xi. r e ta k e
Huchuquan made a n o th e r
th e le a d e r s h ip o f h is p eo p le i n th e n o r th , b u t he
r e j e c t e d , and command among th e e x i l e group was e f f e c t i v e l y
o v er
by
th e
Worthy
King
o f th e R ig h t, Q ubi, a c h i e f t a i n o f
C hinese p a r e n ta g e .41
In a llie s
th e
w in te r ,
re c e iv e d
a
at
th e
end o f 195, Qubi and h is fo llo w e rs and
s u r p r i s i n g o p p o r tu n ity to r e tu r n once more to th e
w id er w orld of p o l i t i c s .
In Dong
th e
Zhuo
c a p ita l
fa c e had
at
of
r e b e l l i o n from th e e a s t e r n p a r t o f th e em p ire,
r e t r e a t e d w ith h i s nominee Emperor Xian to th e fo rm er
Changan.
He was a s s a s s i n a t e d th e r e i n 192 by a group o f
l o y a l i s t m in is te r s and o f f i c e r s , b u t h i s fo rm er l i e u t e n a n t s Li Jue and Guo They
Si and
to o k o v e r h i s command and r e s t o r e d th e m i l i t a r y d i c t a t o r s h i p . th e ir
a s s o c i a t e s , how ever, were c o n s ta n tly a t o d d s, and a s
th e d is o r d e r o f t h e i r q u a r r e lin g in c r e a s e d , th e young em peror was a b le to
ta k e
ad v an tag e
of
th e c o n fu sio n to a tte m p t an escap e from t h e i r
350 pow er.
In
diplom acy
th e
summer
betw een
th e
of
195,
v a rio u s
w ith
a
fa c tio n s .
co m b in atio n o f b l u f f and Emperor
d e p a rtu r e from Changan and moved tow ards th e e a s t . ^ he
had
Xian
made
h is
By th e w in te r ,
come as f a r as Hongnong commandery , b u t LI Ju e and Guo S i now
r e a l i s e d t h a t t h e i r p r iz e was s li p p i n g from t h e i r g r a s p , and th e y came to
f i g h t f o r p o s s e s s io n .
bend
of
th e
Yellow
In a b a t t l e a t D o ngjlan, so u th o f th e g r e a t
R iv e r, th e l o y a l i s t f o r c e s were d e fe a te d and I t
ap p eare d t h a t th e em peror m ight be r e c a p tu r e d .
At
th is
n o r th , to
p o in t,
a s k in g
come
to
th e
e m p e ro r's
s u p p o rte rs s e n t m essages t o th e
f o r a i d , and th e Bobo b a n d its jo in e d th e Xlongnu p a r ty th e r e s c u e .
In a second engagement n e a r Caoyang, I n th e
a re a
o f p r e s e n t- d a y Lingbao In Henan, on 25 December, 195, Li Ju e and
Guo
SI were d e f e a te d , and Emperor Xian was a b le to c o n tin u e h is march
tow ards Luoyang.
As
he
jo in e d
by
d id th e
so , Bobo
th e
Xlongnu c o n tin g e n t, commanded by Qubl, and
g ro u p , a c te d a s r e a r g u a rd .
LI Jue and Guo S i,
how ever, r e tu r n e d t o th e a t t a c k , broke th e l o y a l i s t s ' l i n e s , and drove them
I n h ead lo n g f l i g h t b e fo re them .
fe rrie d
a c ro s s
n o rth e r n
bank,
of
th e
Yellow
w h ile
R iv er
In d e s p e r a tio n , th e em peror was to
th e
g re a te r
s e c u r i t y o f th e
h undreds o f h i s f o llo w e r s , in c lu d in g th e women
th e p a la c e , were ro b b e d , s tr i p p e d and l e f t to d ie of ex p o su re when
th e
eneny
fre e , o x -c a rt
cau g h t
up w ith them .
For th e tim e b e in g , th e em peror was
and he came t o A nyl, c a p i t a l o f Hedong commandery, r i d i n g i n an
351 In
th e
fo llo w in g th e y
m onths,
p r is o n e r s
and th e i n s i g n i a t h a t th e y had ta k e n .
th e
autumn
w a rlo rd
p ersu ad ed
and Guo Si a c c e p te d th e new
and
e n to u ra g e ,
even
Ju e
s itu a tio n
own
were
11
to
r e tu r n
some o f t h e i r
W ithin th e e m p e ro r's
renewed d isa g re e m e n ts broke o u t, and i t was n o t u n t i l
th a t
he
came a t l a s t t o Luoyang.
A few weeks l a t e r th e
Cao Cao who had o b serv ed th e o p p o r tu n ity , came to th e c a p i t a l
and a p p lie d h i s c o n s id e r a b le pow ers o f p e r s u a s io n t o a r r a n g in g f o r th e em peror to accompany him s t i l l f u r t h e r , t o h is h e a d q u a rte rs a t Xu, now Xiichang
in
Henan.
Emperor Xian found t h a t he had no o th e r c h o ic e o f
a c t i o n , and on 16 O ctober 196, he e n te r e d h i s f i n a l c a p t i v i t y
In t h i s y e a r o f a c t i v i t y , we a r e t o l d t h a t th e Bobo group and th e Xlongnu
had
c o n tin u e d
as
p a rt
o f th e im p e ria l e s c o r t , though th e y
a p p e a r t o have had l i m i t e d in f lu e n c e on any o f th e p o l i t i c a l d e c is io n s ab out
th e e m p e ro r's movements.
Qubl
and
h is
presum ably
w ith
f o llo w e rs some
When Cao Cao had ta k e n o v e r, how ever,
r e tu r n e d
m a te r ia l
to
rew ards
th e ir
form er
te rrito rie s ,
f o r t h e i r s e r v i c e , and th e y f
e v id e n tly
m a in ta in e d
th e m se lv e s
i n Hedong w ith o u t g r e a t d i f f i c u l t y .
N othing more i s re c o rd e d o f them f o r o v er tw enty y e a rs
The r e b e l X longnu, th o s e who had d r iv e n Yufuluo and h i s f o llo w e rs away and who had come t o r e j e c t th e a u t h o r i t y o f any Shanyu, m a in ta in ed
th e ir
China n o tic e d
as
d is ta n c e th e
fo r
th e
most p a r t from th e tr o u b le s w hich b e s e t
Han d y n a sty f e l l i n t o c i v i l w ar.
o c c a s io n a lly
in
th e
h is to rie s ,
is
The m ajor e x c e p tio n , th e X iuchuge, o r Chuge
g ro u p , who ro s e t o in c r e a s in g prom inence a s th e powers o f th e Shanyu's governm ent came t o i t s f i n a l d e c lin e .
352 A f te r Q ianqu, th e
d u rin g
Black
la tte r and
th e
th e y
ro le
In
th e
d e p o s itio n
and
d e a th o f th e Shanyu
th e e a r l y 190s th e Xiuchuge were a ls o a s s o c ia te d w ith
M ountain
p a rt
lis h e d to
th e ir
group o f b a n d its i n th e T alhang Shan, and i n th e
o f th e decade th e y were s t i l l a c tiv e i n th e h i l l c o u n try
edge o f th e p l a i n . 45
As Yuan Shao and
th e n Cao Cao e s ta b
c o n t r o l , how ever, th e b a n d it groups were d e fe a te d o r p ersu ad ed
s u r r e n d e r , and a re
Yuan
named
d u rin g
p r o v in c e ,46
th e
Chuge Xiongnu r e t r e a t e d to th e w e s t.
In 214,
among th e enemy d e f e a te d by Cao C ao 's g e n e r a l Xlahou
h is and
cam paign th e ir
of
co n q u e st
im m ediate
in
m ilita ry
th e
re g io n
of
H ang
s tr e n g th was e v id e n tly
broken a t t h a t tim e .
In th e
th e
e a s te r n
v ic to rie s
of
p a r t o f Liang p ro v in c e , n o r th o f th e Wei R iv e r,
Xiahou Yuan i n 214 were fo llo w ed by a d m in is tr a tiv e
c o n s o lid a tio n , and w ith d ra w a l o f C hinese commanderies and p r e f e c t u r e s . In
s im ila r
p ro claim e d
f a s h io n , th e
in
215
a b o litio n
th e governm ent under Cao C ao 's c o n tr o l
of
th e
n o r th e r n
commanderies
of
Bing
p ro v in c e : Yunzhong, D in g x ian g , Wuyuan and Shuofang were a l l abandoned, and
th o se
of
th e ir
p eo p le
who
s t i l l so u g h t to m a in ta in a C hinese
id e n tity
were grouped under
For
th e
p u rp o se s o f th e Wei s t a t e , i n t e r e s t i n th e la n d s o f th e w est
was
re s tric te d
a g a in s t
Hanzhong
s u p p o r te r s w ar,
to
in
th e
th e s i n g l e new county
cam paigns
commande ry
and
so u th th e
c a lle d X inxing.47
a c ro s s th e Qin Ling ra n g e s
power
of
th e re g io n o f p r e s e n t- d a y S ichuan.
L iu
Bel
and
h is
E m battled i n c i v i l
Cao C a o 's a d m in is tr a tio n la c k e d th e re s o u rc e s to c o n te m p la te any
a tte m p t th e Ordos
at
re s to ra tio n
o f th e o ld dominance of Han in th e re g io n of
353 In th e fo llo w in g y e a r , 216» th e Shanyu Huchuquan t r a v e l l e d to Cao C ao 's
c a p i t a l a t Ye» v e ry p ro b a b ly w ith p e rs u a s io n from a g e n ts o f th e
Wei
s ta te .
was
kept
He was n o t allo w ed to r e t u r n to h is form er re sid e n c e » b u t as
e n to u ra g e
an
honoured
under
Cao
C ao's
p ris o n e r» l i k e Emperor Xian o f Han» In an power.
When he died» no re p la c e m en t was
named f o r hlm» and th e s u c c e s s io n of th e Shanyu came to an e n d .48
At C ao's
th e
same
tim e a s th e Shanyu was removed from th e scene» Cao
governm ent r e - a r r a n g e d th e a d m in is tr a tio n o f th e Xlongnu:
d iv is io n s ro y a l
were
f iv e
s e t up t o r u l e th e people» each under a le a d e r of th e
house» and th e c h i e f t a i n Qubl» now re c o g n ise d a s a s u p p o rte r of
C hinese
I n t e r e s t s » was s e n t t o a c t a s re g e n t o v e r - a ll» w ith a C hinese
Major to a s s i s t him and s u p e r v is e h is c o n d u c t.
Under th e new system» th e N o rth e rn D iv is io n d e a l t w ith th e re g io n of were th e
th e
a b o lis h e d commanderles In Bing p ro v ince» w h ile th e o th e r fo u r
sp re a d L e ft
D iv is io n QL Its
alo n g th e v a lle y o f th e Fen R iv e r In p re s e n t-d a y S hanxi:
D iv is io n
had
h e a d q u a rte rs
In
Z ls h l
county»
th e C en tre
was based on T a ilin g county» th e R ig h t D iv is io n was based on
co u n ty - a l l I n T aiyuan commandery - and th e S o uthern D iv is io n had h e a d q u a rte rs
at
Puzi
ln
Hedong.
Q ubl's
own
h e a d q u a rte rs »
presum ably w ith th e C hinese r e s i d e n t Major» were a t Plngyang.49
Like
o th e r
re -o rg a n is a tlo n th e
s ta te
of
a rra n g e m en ts c o n c e rn in g b a r b a r ia n s a t t h i s time» th e o f th e Xlongnu I n 216 r e l a t e s r a t h e r to th e p o lic y o f Wei founded by Cao Cao th a n t o any d e c is io n o f th e Han
354 em pire» th is
and
I t I s e v id e n t t h a t th e Xlongnu d e a l t w ith a t th e tim e o f
change
v a lle y : many
were
ap a rt
ways
n e ith e r
from
as
th e
th e
few
p eo p le
who had moved s o u th i n t o th e Fen
th e N o rth e rn D iv isio n »
much
w hich m ust have been i n
a f o r m a lity a s th e C hinese county c a lle d Xining»
C hinese
governm ent
nor
th e
Xlongnu
r u l e r s whom th e y
c o n tr o lle d co u ld c la im any r e a l In f lu e n c e o v er th e wide la n d s n o r th o f th e
Fen.
The Ordos reg io n » and a l l th e n o r th e r n lo o p o f th e Yellow
River»
were
south»
and
sp le n d o u r th e
e ffe c tiv e ly th e
of
frin g e s
behind
rump
th e of
abandoned» th e f r o n t i e r now came f a r to th e
of
th e
Xlongnu
empire» f o r a l l th e a p p a re n t
c la im to f i v e d iv is io n s » was b a s i c a l l y c o n fin e d to C hinese
te rrito ry »
were
g a th e re d
w h ile
th e p eo p le th e y had l e f t
in
th e
n o r th
i n t o th e amorphous mass of th e
T here
is ,
o f c o u rs e , a n o th e r s t o r y y e t to come:
X lan b i.
of
s tr u g g le and s u r v i v a l , th e c h i e f t a i n Liu Yuan, le a d e r o f th e R ight
D iv is io n an
from a c e n tu ry
of
th e
X longnu, r o s e t o power o v e r h i s fe llo w s and founded he named a f t e r Han.50
In d ep en d en t s t a t e w hich
c a p tu r e
o f Luoyang from th e J i n d y n a sty o f th e Sima fa m ily marked th e
b eg in n in g P ro p er
and
P e rio d
of
need
In 311 Liu Yuan*8
of
th e end o f C hinese im p e r ia l power i n th e n o rth o f China th e
opening
D iv is io n .
o b se rv e
h e re
of
th e age o f 'b a r b a r ia n d y n a s t i e s ' i n th e
A ll t h a t , how ever, la y i n th e f u t u r e , and one only t h a t when th e Han d y n a sty came t o i t s fo rm al
c lo s e
i n 220 AD, th e Xlongnu e m p ire , w hich had once ranged a c ro s s th e
w hole
n o r th e r n s te p p e , was red u ced t o a few s e ttle m e n ts and p eo p le i n
th e h i l l s o f n o r th e r n China
C H APTER 9
THE WUHUAN PEOPLE AND THE EMPIRE OF HAN
The s o u rc e s f o r th e h i s t o r y o f th e Wuhuan The manners and custom s o f th e Wuhuan The Wuhuan and Former Han Emperor Guangwu and th e s e ttle m e n t o f th e Wuhuan The Wuhuan and L a te r Han The ro a d t o W hite Wolf M ountain P o s t s c r i p t : th e Wuhuan and th e s t a t e o f Wei
The sources for the h isto ry o f the Wuhuan: In p eo p le^
have
em pire
of
fro n tie rs east th e
th e
o ffic ia l
a c c o u n ts
a c o m p a ra tiv e ly
th e of
Xlongnu
in
of
th e
Han
d y n a s ty ,
u n im p re ssiv e h i s t o r y . M ongolia
was
a
th e Wuhuan
W hile th e g r e a t
f r e q u e n t t h r e a t to th e
th e C hin ese e m p ire , and th e X ianbl p eo p le o f th e n o r th
co u ld c la im a p e rio d o f m i l i t a r y g lo ry i n th e second c e n tu ry AD, Wuhuan
had
no
such r e c o r d o f triu m p h .
Qi th e c o n tr a r y , a t th e
b e g in n in g o f th e Former Han p e rio d th e y s u f f e r e d m assive d e f e a t a t th e hands
of
th e
g re a t
Xlongnu
le a d e r Modun, and i n th e l a s t y e a rs o f
L a te r Han a s h o r t - l i v e d a l l i a n c e o f t h e i r le a d e r s was d e s tro y e d by th e m ilita ry th e
fame
g e n iu s
o f th e famous w a rlo rd Cao Cao.
N e v e rth e le s s , though
o f th e Wuhuan p eo p le la y r a t h e r i n t h e i r u n e n v ia b le r o l e a s
chopping b lo c k f o r th e a m b itio n s o f g r e a t e r m i l i t a r y powers th a n t h e i r own, th e y p lay ed a p a r t o f some im p o rtan ce in th e r e l a t i o n s h i p betw een Han China and th e p e o p le s o f th e n o r th , and th e in fo rm a tio n a b o u t them
356 in
th e
C hinese
re c o rd s th ro w s l i g h t upon th e p o l i c i e s of th e em pire
and th e h i s t o r y of th e f r o n t i e r *
The
m ajor
so u rc e s f o r th e h i s t o r y o f th e Wuhuan d u rin g th e Han Account o f th e Wuhuan and X ianbi i n Hou Han shu and a
p e rio d a r e th e
e x t r a c t from th e l o s t Wei shu
lo n g which
was
been
o f Wang Shen and
o th e r s c h o la r s ,
com piled i n th e m iddle o f th e t h i r d c e n tu r y , and w hich has
p re s e rv e d
as
an
ex te n d e d
q u o ta tio n
z h i *2
i n th e commentary o f P ei
Songzhi
to
th e Sanguo
a cco u n t
of
th e Wuhuan i n th e l a s t y e a r s o f L a te r Han, le a d in g up to
t h e i r d e f e a t by Cao Cao i n 207,
Sanguo zhi
30 c o n ta in s
b u t th e Wei shu of Wang Shen
Hou Han shu o f Fan Ye both p ro v id e c o n s id e ra b le th e
h is to ry
of
th e
a
b rie f
and th e
d e t a i l n o t only on
p eo p le d u rin g th e Han p e r io d , but a ls o on t h e i r
m anners and c u sto m s•
The
Account
arrangem en t
to
of
th e
th e
Wuhuan
in
Hou Han shu i s
fragm ent on t h a t p eo p le
s im ila r
i n th e Wei shu
in
o f Wang
Shen, th e t e x t s a r e v ery c l o s e , and i n some p la c e s th e y a re id e n tic a l* The
Hou Han shu Accountb e g in s w ith a d is c u s s io n
custom s
of
th e p e o p le ,
d u rin g
Former
and
C ao 's
campaign
in
o f th e manners and
th e n fo llo w s w ith a su rv ey o f t h e i r h is to r y
L a te r 207*
Han, and c o n c lu d es w ith a re f e r e n c e to Cao Hie Wei shu a ls o d e s c rib e d
th e custom s o f
th e p e o p le , i n r a t h e r more d e t a i l and w ith s l i g h t l y d i f f e r e n t a r r a n g e ment th e ir
to
Hou Han shu,
e a r ly
h is to r y *
and th e n p r e s e n ts a more c u rso ry ac c o u n t o f It
i s l i k e l y t h a t i t to o c o n ta in e d a d e t a i l e d
a c co u n t o f t h e i r h i s t o r y a t th e end o f Han and th e g r e a t e x p e d itio n o f
357 Cao
Cao,
b u t t h i s had been d u p lic a te d by th e B iography o f Cao Cao i n
Sanguo zhi
1 and by th e
main t e x t o f
Sanguo zhi 30,
so P ei Songzhi
d id n o t c o n tin u e th e q u o ta tio n .
In
many
Account
of
Wei on
be found i n th e
th e
d e s c rip tio n
shu, i t i s s t i l l more ample most
90/80 and in th e of
i n Hou Han shu 90/80
m a te r ia l
manners
fragm ent o f and
custom s.
i s le s s d e ta ile d
th a n th e in fo rm a tio n
th a n i n
w hich i s g iv e n
o th e r p e o p le s o f th e n o r th e r n f r o n t i e r : f o r th e Xiongnu, Fan
Ye added l i t t l e Ban
some o f th e m ost i n t e r e s t i n g in fo rm a tio n i n th e
Wuhuan i n Hou Han shu
th e
Wei shu may Though
w ays,
Ou
and
n o rth w e s t,
to th e m a t e r i a l
Shi
th e th e
w hich may be found i n th e
j i o f Sima Q ian;
in fo rm a tio n
in
f o r th e Qiang
Hou Han shu % ljll
Han shu of
p eo p le o f th e
i s s ig n ific a n tly
more s k e tc h y , and a lth o u g h th e r e i s u s e f u l m a te r ia l on th e non-C hinese p e o p le s
of
concerned w ith
th e
so u th w e st
in
Hou Han shu
i t i s la r g e ly
w ith t h e i r a n c e s t r a l fo u n d a tio n leg en d s and t h e i r r e l a t i o n s
C hina.
Only i n th e A ccount
o f th e E a s te rn B a rb a ria n s
Han shu 8 5 /7 5 , do we f in d a d e s c r i p t i o n o f th e
8 6 /7 6 ,
p eo p le
of
G ao g o u li,
th e
kingdoms
manners and
in Hou
custom s f o r
o f th e Korean p e n in s u la and
Ja p a n , t h a t may compare to th e m a te r ia l on th e Wuhuan.
T his fo llo w s
m a te r ia l
v ery
Sanguo zhi 30, peo p le
re la te s
on th e E a s te r n B a rb a ria n s i n
c lo s e ly
th e
Hou Han shu 85/75
In fo rm a tio n c o n ta in e d i n th e main t e x t o f
in much th e same way a s th e in fo rm a tio n to
th e t e x t o f th e Wei shu
on th e Wuhuan
o f Wang Shen.
G ard in er
h as su g g e s te d m ost p la u s ib ly t h a t th e acco u n t of G aogouli ( o r Koguryo)
358 in
Hou Han shu 8 5 /7 5
b o th
r e p o r ts Wei
30
a re d e riv e d from th e
of I n t e l l i g e n c e o f f i c e r s who were members o f th e s t a f f o f th e
g e n e ra l
a g a in s t
th e
Guanqlu
J ia n
p e o p le s
o f e a s t e r n M anchuria and n o r th e r n Korea i n 244-
0q th e same lin e s »
45.3
and Sanguo zhl
at
th e
tim e o f h is campaign o f co n q u est
i t i s p o s s ib le t h a t
th e b a s ic m a te r ia l f o r
th e acco u n t o f th e Wuhuan, and p a r t i c u l a r l y f o r th e d e s c r i p t i o n o f th e m anners
and
custom s
of
th a t
people» o r i g i n a l l y took th e form o f a
r e p o r t to Cao Cao a t th e tim e of h is campaign o f co n q u est which le d up t o th e B a t t l e of W hite Wolf M ountain i n 207.
In
C hinese
c o m p ila tio n perio d » Qlang
of
an
w hich th a t
h is to rio g ra p h y » Account
of
th e r e
is
no re c o rd o f th e fo rm al
th e Wuhuan and X ianbi d u rin g th e Han
m ight compare w ith th e a c c o u n ts o f th e Xlongnu and th e
are
known
to
have
been
Dongguan Hanjl i n th e e a r l y 1 5 0 s .4
p re p a re d f o r in c lu s io n i n th e For most o f th e
Han p e rio d th e
re c o rd o f th e Wuhuan and o f th e X ian b i would n o t have been a m a tte r o f m ajor
co n cern
to
th e s c h o la r s i n th e h i s t o r y o f f i c e o f th e c o u rt a t
Luoyang. By th e end of th e d y n asty » th e X ian bi had r i s e n t o a p o s i t i o n of
some
s ig n ific a n c e
T an8hihuai
-
and
as
it
th e
may
re s u lt
of
th e ir
co n fe d e rac y
under
be a rg u e d t h a t th e C hinese h i s t o r i e s have
In c o rp o ra te d e x te n s iv e m a te r ia l from th e X ia n b i's p e o p le 's own Saga on T a n s h lh u a l.5 co n nected h is to ry » th a n
a
fro n tie r.
xn
to
th e
lik e lis t
c o n tr a s t»
From
th e
Wuhuan
were more
c lo s e ly
governm ent and p eo p le o f Han China» t h e i r re c o rd e d
th a t of
though
o f th e X ianbi b e fo re T anshihual» was l i t t l e more
ra id s » th is
r e b e l l i o n s and o th e r d is tu r b a n c e s a lo n g th e p o in t o f view»
th e Wei shu o f Wang Shen n o t
359 o n ly
c o n ta in s
but in
its
few er
item s
of in fo rm a tio n th a n
Hou Han shu 9 0 /8 0 ,
c h r o n ic le , a s q u o ted by P el S ongzhi, ends i n th e 1 30s, e a r ly
th e
r e ig n o f Emperor Shun, w h ile Fan Ye c o n tin u e s w ith r e p o r ts of
I n c id e n ts
up
to
th e tim e o f Emperor Ling and th e l a s t y e a rs o f Han.
I t seems c l e a r t h a t Fan Ye had a c c e s s to a d d i t i o n a l s o u r c e s , and i t i s a g a in
p o s s ib le t h a t th e i n t e l l i g e n c e r e p o r t to Cao Cao, which we have
p o s tu la te d Wuhuan, w hich
as
a so u rc e f o r th e d e t a i l s on m anners and custom s o f th e
p ro v id e d was
a ls o
la te r
a
g e n e ra l
p re s e rv e d
summary o f t h e i r p re v io u s h i s t o r y
i n th e a r c h iv e s o f th e s t a t e o f Wei, was
drawn upon by Wang Shen and a l s o by Chen Shou, and was l a t e r a v a ila b le i n some form a ls o to Fan Ye.
The
q u e s tio n
im p o rta n t, m a te r i a l o th e r
fo r
th e s e
item s
of
h i s t o r y , how ever, i s n o t so
th e l i s t of i n c id e n ts which composes th e bu lk of t h a t
co u ld
w orks;
of
be
g a th e re d
from
a n n a ls and b io g ra p h ie s i n s e v e r a l
and Indeed th e h i s t o r y o f th e
Wuhuan as s e t o u t i n Hou
Han shu 90/80 must be re a d i n c o n ju n c tio n w ith th e a c c o u n ts Xiongnu
and
re fe re n ce s manners
X ia n b i,
and
custom s A lthough
d is g u s t
of
v o c a b u la ry
and
a ls o
th e ir
of th e
th e
w ith in d iv id u a l b io g ra p h ie s and
to C h in ese g e n e r a ls and o f f i c i a l s .
c a te g o r y .
broad
th e
of
The d e s c r i p t i o n o f th e
th e Wuhuan, how ever, i s i n a r a t h e r s p e c ia l C hinese
b a rb a ro u s
a u th o r o c c a s io n a lly e x p re s s e s h is
p ra c tic e s
e ith e r
by
h is
c h o ic e
of
o r by s p e c i f i c a d d i t i o n a l n o t e s , he was e v id e n tly a man of
sym pathy,
f o r th e r e a r e p la c e s where e x p la n a to ry a n a lo g ie s a r e
drawn w ith custom s i n China i t s e l f , and even th e m ost r e v o l t i n g id e a th a t
a
Wuhuan s e e s n o th in g wrong i n th e k i l l i n g o f h is own f a t h e r o r
360 e ld e r
b r o th e r
lin e a g e
s tru c tu re .
com piled had
a
If
th is
d e s c rip tio n
o f th e Wuhuan was in d e e d
f o r Cao Cao a t th e tim e o f h is campaign i n 207, t h a t w a rlo rd most
s ta ff,
- I s a t l e a s t g iv e n some e x p la n a tio n i n term s o f t h e i r
co m p eten t,
and
re c o rd e d
th e
in te llig e n t
manners
a lm o st
two
and
and
sy m p a th e tic s c h o la r on h is
custom s
th a t
y e a rs
la te r
th o u san d
he
d e s c rib e d have been
among th e p eo p le o f th e
f o r e s t and th e s te p p e i n r e c e n t tim e s .
The manners and customs o f the Wuhuan: In has
h is
a r t i c l e "Das Volk d e r H s ie n -p i z u r H a n -Z e it" , S c h re ib e r
tra n s la te d
Wuhuan
from
v a lu a b le Wuhuan
th e
th e
d e s c rip tio n
te x t
of
a n n o t a t i o n s .6 were
of
th e
manners and custom s o f th e
th e Wei shu o f Wang Shen,
The C hinese t e x t s b eg in
o rig in a lly
a
and has added
by s t a t i n g t h a t th e
group o f th e Donghu, who w ere d e f e a te d by
Modun o f th e Xiongnu a t th e b e g in n in g o f Han, and who th e n to o k re fu g e in
th e
Wuhuan
M ountains
th ey o b ta in e d t h e i r name, and
h e re
argum ents
o f th e Ja p a n e se s c h o la r S h i r a t o r i K u ra k ic h i, he r e j e c t s th e
S ib e r i a
two
w hich
S c h re ib e r
id e n tific a tio n
makes
from
im p o rta n t p o i n t s .
o f th e p h ra s e donghu w ith th e l a t e r Tùngus
and M anchuria,
g roups o f th e
donghu
n o rth e rn b a r b a r ia n s
w h ile he c i t e s a ls o th e work o f o th e r Jap an ese
re s e a rc h e s
p eo p le of
rem ark in g t h a t th e C hinese e x p re s s io n
meant no more th a n " e a s te r n (dong) (h u )",
F i r s t l y , fo llo w in g th e
s c h o la r s whose
i n d i c a t e some d i f f e r e n c e s betw een th e E a s te rn Hu d e s c rib e d
by
e a r ly C hinese t e x t s and th e Tungus p e o p le known to us from re c o rd s
of
th e p r e s e n t m ille n iu m .
Though Yii Y in g -sh ih r e f e r s to th e q u e s tio n
a s b e in g " s t i l l a m a tte r o f c o n tr o v e r s y " , i t seems t h a t we may i n f a c t
361 ta k e
th e
n e g a tiv e
o p in io n
of
S h lra to ri
and
h is
c o lle a g u e s
as
fo llo w in g
th e
d e c i s i v e .7
The
second
argum ents Wuhuan
of
word of
came
it
te n ta tiv e ly
made
S h lra to ri,
p eo p le
p ro b a b ly ,
p o in t
was
Id e n tifie d
th e
name
o th e r by
way
p r in c e ly
a g a in
of
th e
ro u n d .
m ountain:
r a t h e r more
The name Wuhuan I t s e l f i s
S h l r a t o r i w ith some form o f th e M ongolian
ukhagan, meaning "w is e " , a
S c h re ib e r,
i s t h a t i t i s most u n lik e ly th e name o f th e
from th e
by
and a s such i t was
p o s s ib ly th e t i t l e
le a d e r among th e E a s te rn Hu b e fo re th e d e s t r u c t i o n o f
t h e i r f e d e r a t i o n a t th e hands o f th e X longnu.8
The of y u rt
as
known
t o th e Han C h in ese, w ere nomad herdsm en
c a t t l e and sh e e p , who liv e d i n domeshaped t e n t s very much l i k e th e of
doorway wore
Wuhuan,
p re s e n t-d a y
w hich
f a c in g e a s t to th e r i s i n g su n .
th e ir
m arrie d
M ongolia,
h a ir
woman
cut
allo w ed
s h o rt,
fo r
were
alw ays e r e c te d w ith th e
For th e most p a r t , th e p eo p le
th e sak e o f
c o n v e n ie n c e ,9
h e r h a i r to grow lo n g , th e n d re s s e d i t up and
ad orned i t w ith g o ld and j e w e l s . 10
T h e ir c lo th in g was
and
le a th e r -w o rk ,
th e
s a d d le s th e
u se
women and of
a v a ila b ility and
were
ta le n te d
b rid le s . iro n , of
but a
in
made o f f e l t ,
w h ile th e men made
Wè a r e t o l d s p e c i f i c a l l y t h a t th e Wuhuan knew
which
d e p o s its
is
e v id e n tly
a
re fle c tio n
of
th e e a sy
c lo s e to th e s u r f a c e i n th e n o r th o f China
i n M anchuria, a re g io n t h a t i s s t i l l th e m ajor so u rc e o f p r e s e n t -
day C h in a 's i r o n o r e .
362 T h e ir m ain food was m eat, g e n e r a lly from t h e i r f lo c k s and h e r d s , but
th ey
u s in g
a ls o
h unted
f r e q u e n tly
s trin g e d
arrow s
l i k e h a r p o o n s .i l
a g ric u ltu re , s ig n ific a n t by
th e
though p a rt
b re e d in g
f a r m e r 's
year
In
th e
c o ld
f o r w ild b ir d s and a n im a ls , o f te n
of
w ild
a p r im itiv e
r e g io n s o f th e n o r th I t was n o t a
of t h e i r econony. c y c le
They had a l s o
Even t h e i r se a so n s were m easured b ir d s
and an im als r a t h e r th a n th e
o f C hina, and th e y d e te rm in e d th e d a te o f t h e i r sowing
by th e c ry o f th e cuckoo, which I s g e n e r a lly f i r s t h eard I n th e l a t t e r p a rt
of
A p r il.
dongqiang
p la n t.
T h e ir This
sp rin g -so w n la tte r,
c ro p s
whose
were
name
m ille t
means
and
n o th in g
th e more
In fo rm a tiv e th a n " e a s te r n w a ll" and I s p o s s ib ly th e t r a n s c r i p t i o n o f a Wuhuan
te rm , I s e x p la in e d by th e t e x t a s b e in g a ground c r e e p e r, w ith
fru it be
lik e
th e mallow w hich r ip e n s I n th e e a r ly w in te r and w hich can
used to produce a ferm en ted d r in k .
The Wuhuan a ls o commonly dran k
th e fe rm e n te d m a re 's m ilk , k u n ls s .1 2
T h e ir m e d ic a l te c h n iq u e s , t o C hin ese e y e s , were p r im itiv e . had
no
knowledge
m o x lb u stlo n ,
of
In te rn a l
They
m e d ic in e s , and a lth o u g h th ey a p p lie d
th e y la c k e d th e a r t o f a c u p u n c tu re .
In d eed , t h e i r c h ie f
re s o u rc e In tim e o f s ic k n e s s was th e a p p l i c a tio n o f h e a t: som etim es by m o x lb u stlo n , which
but
o f te n
enough sim ply by ly in g th e p a t i e n t on ground
had been h e a te d by f i r e , o r by p la c in g h o t s to n e s on h is c h e s t.
On o c c a s io n , th e y m ight a l s o b le e d th e p a t i e n t , c u t t i n g open a v e in a t th e p o in t where p a in was f e l t , presum ably to a llo w th e e v i l humours to escap e.
O ther th a n th e s e re m e d ie s , th e y c o u ld do no more th a n p ra y to
th e s p i r i t s o f heaven and e a r t h and o th e r n a tu r a l d e i t i e s .
363 It
i s s a id t h a t th e Wuhuan re g a rd e d d e a th i n b a t t l e a s th e most
h o n o u rab le e p ith e t
is
c rip tio n th e
end
of
a
a p p lie d
man, to
though i t may be o b serv ed t h a t a s i m i l a r
th e Qiang
by
Hou Han shu,13
and
th e d e s
p ro b a b ly r e f l e c t s a g e n e r a l C hinese la c k of com prehension of
em otions
and
man d id
I n t e n t i o n s o f t h e i r p e r e n n ia l f o e s .
In any e v e n t,
when
a
tim e
o f h is b u r i a l th e ceremony was more i n th e n a tu r e o f a wake, to
f a r e w e ll
th e
d i e , th e r e was mourning a t h is d e a th b e d , but a t th e
so u l
upon i t s jo u rn e y from th e la n d o f th e l i v i n g . The
Wuhuan b e lie v e d t h a t th e dead m ust make a jo u rn e y to th e Red M ountains (C hi
s h a n ), and
ceremony
to
at
th e tim e o f th e b u r i a l
e n su re
its
sa fe
tra v e l.
th ey h e ld a
p a rtic u la r
A f a tte n e d dog, bound w ith a
m any-coloured c o rd , was b ro u g h t i n t o th e f u n e r a l p a r t y , and i t was fe d fu rth e r
w ith g o b b e ts o f m eat.
dog
guard th e s o u l o f th e d e p a rte d a g a in s t th e e v i l demons i t may
m eet
to on
its
k ille d . r id d e n ,
dan g ero u s
p a th
Then two o f th e m ourners commanded th e
to
th e Red M ountains, and th e dog was
I t s body, to g e th e r w ith t h a t o f th e h o rse which th e man had h is c lo th in g
and
o th e r
p erso n al
ite m s ,
were
a l l burned
to g e th e r by th e g r a v e . 14
O th er b u rn in g .
o f f e r in g s
The
to
th e
s p irits
fo llo w ed
th e same r i t u a l o f
Wuhuan w orshipped a l l manner o f d e i t i e s i n n a tu r e , from
heaven and e a r t h t o th e sun and th e moon, th e s t a r s and c o n s t e l l a t i o n s and in
th e th e
m ountains and r i v e r s , to g e th e r w ith th o se o f t h e i r c h ie f men past
s a c rific e s
who
had a c q u ire d a r e p u t a t i o n f o r b ra v e ry . T h e ir m ajor
were c a t t l e and s h e e p , whose b o d ie s were burned a t th e end
364 of
th e
cerem ony,
but
w henever
th e y
a te
or
d ra n k , th e y poured a
l i b a t i o n o r made an o f f e r i n g f i r s t to th e g o d s.
Much
of
t h i s r e l i g i o u s p r a c t i c e was i n t e l l i g i b l e to a C h in e se ,
and th e c o m p ile r o f th e d e s c r i p t i o n n o te d p a r t i c u l a r l y t h a t th e b e l i e f in
th e
jo u rn e y o f th e dead to th e tied M ountains, which were b e lie v e d
to
be a few th o u san d 11
C hinese
co n cep t
n o rth w e s t o f L iaodong,
o f d e p a rte d s o u ls g oing to
was an alo g o u s to th e
Mount T a i.1 5
I t was i n
th e m a tte r o f t h e i r m a rria g e custom s and fa m ily r e l a t i o n s h i p s t h a t th e g re a te s t
c o n tra s t
pro w ess,
as
p o rta n c e , th e in
in
th e
o l d . 16
in
o b se rv e d .
w a rfa re Wuhuan
and
gave
In im m ediate te rm s , s in c e p h y s ic a l
th e
s o c ia l
g a th e r in g s and
th e
work o f h e rd in g , was o f c h ie f im
young men p re ced en ce and p re fe re n c e o v er
The C hinese com m entator
g e n e ra tio n s and
was
p e o p le
o b serv ed w ith
d is a p p ro v a l t h a t
s q u a tte d ab o u t q u ite
c a s u a l l y , 17
se x e s a l l I n te rm in g le d w ith no p ro p e r se n se o f o rd e r
p re c e d e n c e , and i t was rem arked w ith a sen se of h o rro r t h a t a man h is a n g e r co u ld k i l l h i s f a t h e r o r e l d e r b r o th e r w ith o u t in c u r r in g
any p e n a lty n o r a se n se o f g u i l t .
The th e
C hinese
fu tu re h er th a t
fo r
any
p e rio d
was
custom s
tra d itio n .
husband
p a re n ts , th is
m a rria g e
would tim e
would
o f th e Wuhuan w ere a lm o st th e r e v e r s e o f When
a g i r l came to m a rria g e a b le a g e , h e r
s t e a l h e r away from h e r p a r e n ts , and l i v e w ith
betw een th r e e months and h a lf a y e a r . a
Only a f t e r
go-betw een be s e n t a s m essenger to th e b r i d e 's
o f f e r i n g a b r i d e - p r i c e o f h o rs e s and c a t t l e and sh e e p . a c c e p te d ,
th e
When
new s o n -in -la w would a tte n d and l i v e a t h is
365 w i f e 's p a r e n t s ' home, ig n o r in g h i s own f a m ily , b u t p ay in g h is r e s p e c ts and
p e rfo rm in g
b r id e s e r v ic e
fo r
two
y e a rs.
A fte r
t h a t tim e o f
bondage,
th e new husband and w ife w ere g r a n te d a dowry by th e woman's
p a re n ts ,
s u ffic ie n t
to
set
up
in d e p e n d en t
e x is te n c e w ith l i v i n g
q u a r te r s and a l l h o u seh o ld goods and p r o p e r t y .18
Once
th e
re la tiv e s d ie d ,
were
h is
c la n
had
r e s p o n s ib le
widow
h u sb a n d 's so n s b r o th e r s
husband
would
born
be
e s ta b lis h e d fo r
h is
own
home,
a system o f " l e v i r a t e " .
male
When a man
ta k e n f o r w ife e i t h e r by one o f h e r l a t e
o f a d i f f e r e n t m other o r by one o f
o r nephew s.19
h is
The m a rria g e c o n n e c tio n
h is younger
betw een th e woman's
and h e r h u s b a n d 's was th u s m a in ta in e d , and i n a l l m a tte rs e x c e p t
th o se o f war th e women's c o u n se l was re s p e c te d and th e y to o k a le a d in g p a rt
in
m ight h is
d i s c u s s i o n s .2 0
k ill
As th e com m entator rem arked,
though a man
h is e l d e r b r o th e r o r even h is f a t h e r , he would n ev er harm
m other:
and
th is
was
e x p la in e d by th e f a c t t h a t th e woman was
s t i l l c o n s id e re d a s a member o f h e r own, in d e p en d en t fa m ily , and co u ld lo o k
fo r
revenge from h e r own male r e l a t i v e s ; w h ile a m an's d e a lin g s
w ith
h is
fa th e r
and
b r o th e r s
and
so n s were c o n sid e re d a s h i s own
p e rs o n a l c o n c e rn , h av in g no s i g n i f i c a n c e i n p u b lic o r d e r and m o r a lity . In
a
th e r e
s o c ie ty
based
was
q u e s tio n
no
e s s e n t i a l l y on c la n r e l a t i o n s h i p s and v e n d e tta , o f com pen satio n f o r th e k i l l i n g o f a lin e a g e
m ale.
T ra d itio n a lly , th e
Wuhuan
th e
was m inim al
p o l i t i c a l s t r u c t u r e and th e l e g a l sy stem o f Hie p e o p le were d iv id e d i n t o a m u ltitu d e of
366 p e tty
fa m ily g ro u p in g s ,
w ere
e v id e n tly
d e s c r ib e d i n
s im ila r
C hinese a s
to th o s e re c o rd e d among
y i and lu o , th e X iongnu.21
w hich On
o c c a sio n s
when
a
h is
o v er
a w hole d i v i s i o n c o m p risin g s e v e r a l hundred o r even a
sway
tho u san d though
yi
and
th e r e
cau se
s tr o n g and com petent le a d e r a r o s e , he m ight e x te n d
lu o .
were
His pow er,
cases
how ever,
was
not
h e re d ita ry ,
when th e memory o f a g r e a t c h i e f t a i n would
him to be ranked w ith th e gods and s p i r i t s a f t e r h is d e a th , and
th e surname o f h i s c la n m ight be changed i n h is h o n o u r.22
There
w as,
how ever,
o n s tra te h is a u th o rity . w r itin g : owers
it
by
p o s s ib le
f o r such a le a d e r to dem
The Wuhuan d id n o t have th e C hinese sy stem o f
m essages s c r a tc h e d upon a p ie c e o f wood, and a lth o u g h i t i s
it
composed
scope
i s s a id t h a t th e le a d e r co u ld communicate w ith h is f o l l
th a t
s c rip t,
lim ite d
th e
is
Wuhuan
v ery
w ith
symbols
had some in d e p e n d en t and advanced form o f
mich more l i k e l y t h a t th e s e m e s s a g e -s tic k s w ere and
p ic tu re s
lik e
th o se o f th e e a r l y N orth
American I n d ia n s .
In
such
c irc u m s ta n c e s ,
a d m in is tr a tio n h im se lf la b o u r th e
from
or h is
s e rv ic e .
judgem ent
v e n d e tta ,
e ffe c tiv e
u n ity .
was
no q u e s tio n o f a perm anent
Every
man
worked t o s u p p o rt
own p o s s e s s io n s , w ith o u t any system o f t a x a tio n o r A part from th e o c c a s io n a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y o f w a r f a r e ,
o f th e le a d e r was m ost commonly re q u ir e d when c a s e s o f
w hich th e
n o rm ally
g ro u p in g
of
him
a rb itra tio n .
fo r
th e r e
a ro s e
and
were s e t t l e d w ith in th e l e s s e r
t r i b e s , became so s e r i o u s t h a t th e y were b ro u g h t to Then
th e
d e a th o f a man would be m easured i n
367 term s
of
p e n a lty
a p r ic e In c a t t l e and sheep and th e a f f a i r was c lo s e d . fo r
wrongdoing from
d is o b e d ie n c e
The
to th e word o f a c h i e f , and f o r c o n s is te n t
such
as
ro b b e ry
th e
la n d s
of
th e
The
C hinese
and t h e f t , was o u tlaw ry and e x i l e , away
Wuhuan,
to th e n o rth e rn w ild e rn e s s and th e
Gobi.
d e s c r ib e d
and u n r u ly ,
p o l i t i c a l u n i t y , and I t I s u n lik e ly t h a t th e s o - c a l l e d King
c l e a r l y a p eo p le o f no
E a s te rn Hu, who I s s a id by Sima Qian to have d e f ie d Modun and
d e f e a te d by him I n b a t t l e , was a n y th in g more th a n th e s h o r t l i v e d
le a d e r o f an ex ten d ed warband.23 In
were
e x c ita b le
e ffe c tiv e
been
th e y
as
horsem en
th e
a rc h e rs,
Wuhuan
e x c e lle n t
of
and
th e
C hina,
e m p ire ,
th e
Wuhuan
were
At th e b eg in n in g
o f th e Han p e rio d
d is o r g a n is e d t r i b u t a r i e s o f th e Xlongnu
w ith sm a ll o p p o r tu n ity o r a b i l i t y to p la y an In d ep en d en t r o l e
a lo n g th e f r o n t i e r .
The Wuhuan and Former Han: A ccording
Wei of
shu o f Wang Shen, Modun
Wuhuan th a t
to th e C hinese a c c o u n t I n
Hou Han shu 90/80 and th e
th e co nsequences o f t h e i r d e f e a t
a t th e hands
I n th e l a s t y e a rs o f th e t h i r d c e n tu ry BC rem ained w ith th e
fo r th e y
M ongolian
alm o st s till s te p p e
a
hundred y e a r s .
I n h a b ite d
th e
In t h a t tim e , w h ile I t a p p e a rs
f o r e s t and h i l l c o u n try betw een th e
and th e M anchurian r i v e r b a s in , th e y were g e n e r a lly
s u b je c t
to
th e
Xlongnu.
trib u te
to
th e
c o u rt
of
Each
y e a r th e y w ere re q u ir e d to p r e s e n t
th e Shanyu, c a t t l e , h o r s e s , sheep and th e
p e l t s o f w ild a n im a ls , and we a r e t o l d t h a t I f a group f a i l e d t o b rin g
368 th e
co rre c t
q u a n tity
at
th e
r e q u ir e d
tim e ,
th e n t h e i r women and
c h ild r e n w ere s e iz e d a s h o s ta g e s u n t i l f u l l payment was made.
For Wu
most
of
th e second c e n tu ry BC, u n t i l th e r e ig n o f Emperor
o f Han, I m p e ria l C hina was l a r g e l y co n cerned w ith I t s own I n t e r n a l
problem s of c o n s o lid a tio n and e f f e c t i v e governm ent. Xlongnu
D ealin g s w ith th e
were g e n e r a lly p e a c e f u l, and a lth o u g h t r e a t i e s m ight be punc
tu a te d by nomad r a i d s ,
th e y were s tre n g th e n e d by e m b a ssie s, g i f t s and
o c c a s io n a l
m a rria g e
c o u rt
I t s arm ies were embarked on a p o lic y o f d e l i b e r a t e a t t a c k ,
w ith
and th e
hope
a llia n c e s .
and
By
th e 130s, how ever, th e C hinese
e x p e c ta tio n o f c h a lle n g in g th e Xlongnu power and
rem oving th e t h r e a t o f I t s m i l i t a r y p re s e n c e from th e f r o n t i e r s of th e e m p i r e A s
th e c u lm in a tio n o f th e p o lic y
on th e n o r t h e a s t . I n 119
BC Huo Qublng, ta k in g p a r t I n a j o i n t e x p e d itio n d is p a tc h e d by Emperor Wu,
le d
hundred
a
fo rc e
thou san d
of
f i f t y th o u san d c a v a lr y , accom panied by s e v e r a l
In fa n try ,
a g a in s t
th e
e a s te r n t e r r i t o r i e s o f th e
Xlongnu.
In and
th e c o u rs e o f t h a t cam paign, w hich d ro v e deep I n to M ongolia,
In flic te d
heavy
c a s u a l t i e s on th e Xlongnu, Huo Qublng formed an
a l l i a n c e w ith th e Wuhuan and enco u rag ed s e v e r a l gro u p s o f t h e i r p eo p le to r e t u r n w ith him to th e C hinese f r o n t i e r s .
They were s e t t l e d I n th e
te rrito ry
of
o u ts id e
Shanggu, th a t
G reat
W all,
n o r th
th e
commanderl e s o f
Yuyang, Y oub elp ln g , L ia o x i and L iaodong, and I t was In te n d e d
th ey
a g a in s t
th e
th e
sh o u ld
act
X longnu.
as
In fo rm a n ts and a u x i l i a r i e s o f th e C hinese
T h e ir le a d e r s came each y e a r to pay c o u rt to
369 Han, and th e r e was e s t a b l i s h e d a C olonel P r o te c to r o f th e Wuhuan, w ith ran k
and
w ith
a u th o rity
th e
s a la r y
com parable t o t h a t o f th e head o f a commander y , and to
s u p e r v is e th e Wuhuan and g iv e o rd e rs on b e h a lf o f
im p e r ia l governm ent.
power
had
seldom
P r o t e c t o r 's
Though th e Wuhuan e x p e rie n c e o f th e Xiongnu
been
a
happy
o n e,
one
re s p o n s ib ility
of
th e
o f f i c e was to e n s u re t h a t th e new a l l i e s o f China d id n o t
seek to communicate a g a in w ith t h e i r form er o v e r lo r d s .25
For th e m ost p a r t , th e p o lic y o f s e ttle m e n t a p p e a rs to have been s u c c e s s fu l, any
and
though
rem ark ab le
th e Wuhuan a re n o t known to have c o n tr ib u te d
a id t o Han s u c c e s s e s a g a i n s t th e Xiongnu; th e y a p p e a r
to have liv e d in g e n e ra l agreem ent w ith th e C hinese so u th o f th e W all. In d eed ,
in
th is
a g ric u ltu ra l
p o s itio n
com m unities
as
a
b u ffe r
betw een th e s e t t l e d
o f China and th e Xiongnu o f th e s te p p e , th e
Wuhuan p ro s p e re d and grew i n number. s u b o rd in a te
s ta te
re la tio n s h ip
w ith
Mot a l l o f them had a c c e p te d th e
C hina,
how ever, and th e r e were a few
I n c id e n ts
o f r a i d s a lo n g th e b o rd e r u n t i l i n 78 BC a number o f Wuhuan
u n d erto o k
a
th e ir
ra s h
e x p e d itio n
h u m ilia tio n s
at
th e
of
t h e i r own.
hands
of
C laim ing vengeance f o r
th e Xiongnu i n th e p a s t , th e y
ra id e d and p lu n d e re d th e f u n e r a l grounds o f th e Shanyu.
The tw enty th e ir
tho u san d best
g e n e ra ls th e
Xiongnu
c a v a lr y ;
p o lic y .
Zhao
Wuhuan
a tta c k e d
had
th e and
The
Wuhuan
r e t u r n , w ith a f o r c e of
th e Han c o u rt o f Emperor Zhao d e b a te d
r e g e n t,
&io
Chongguo and Fan Mingyou. become
in
Guang,
ask ed a d v ic e o f h is
Zhao Chongguo rem arked t h a t
to o s e l f - c o n f i d e n t , t h a t th e y had made r a id s
370 a g a in s t C hina, and th e r e was no re a s o n t o send them h e lp . argued
th a t
w in te r
of
th e 78
C hinese
co u ld
Fan Mingy ou
g a in from an e x p e d itio n , and I n th e
to 77 BC he was d u ly a p p o in te d G en eral Who C ro sses th e
L ia o , and d e sp a tc h e d w ith tw enty th o u san d horsem en n o r th from Liaodong to
seek
what
o p p o r tu n itie s
b u t Fan Mlngyou, d e te rm in e d t o a c h ie v e some r e s u l t , a tta c k e d
su ffered them ,
at
and
th e
Wuhuan and made good t h e i r
Aided by th e lo s s e s t h a t h is enemy had a lre a d y
hands
to o k
th e
Fan Mlngyou
re tre a t,
h im s e lf .
a tta c k e d
By th e tim e
th e
Wuhuan
had
c o u ld . 26
a rriv e d ,
th e
Xlongnu
he
th e
of
th e X longnu, he k i l l e d s i x t y th o u san d o f
heads
of
th r e e o f t h e i r k in g s . He re tu rn e d In
triu m p h t o C hina, and he was rew arded w ith a f i e f a s a m a rq u is .27
The
fa c t
th a t
he was rew arded w ith e n fe o ffm e n t I n d ic a te s t h a t
Fan Mlngyou had re a d h i s m a s te r s ' I n t e n t i o n s c o r r e c t l y , and I t a p p e a rs th a t
th e Xlongnu th e m se lv e s were so Im p ressed by h is d e m o n stra tio n o f
power
th a t
y e a rs. were of
caused no f u r t h e r I n c id e n ts I n t h a t r e g io n f o r many
Most p ro b a b ly , th e c h ie f o b je c ts o f Fan M lngyou's a g g re s s io n th e
th e
b rin g
th e y
more I s o l a t e d g ro u p s o f th e Wuhuan I n th e n o rth w e s te rn p a r t Liao
b a s in
In
M anchuria, and th e e f f e c t o f h i s work was to
th e g r e a t e r p a r t o f th e Wuhuan u n d er th e hegemony o f C hina.
In
th e
fo llo w in g y e a r s , th e r e were a few b o rd e r r a i d s and r e p r i s a l s , but
Fan
Mlngyou
who
came
g e n e r a lly f r o n t i e r .29 Qublng
and
a g a in
to
th e
d e f e a te d th ro n e
su b m issiv e
and
them. 28
In 74 BC, we a r e t o l d t h a t th e Wuhuan were m a in ta in e d
I t a p p e a rs , th e n , Fan
Mlngyou,
By th e tim e o f Emperor Xuan,
th a t
th e ir
p o s itio n
a s a r e s u l t of th e th e
Han
a lo n g
th e
cam paigns o f Huo
governm ent had removed th e
371 m a jo r ity
of
th e
Wuhuan
from t h e i r s u b o r d in a tio n to th e Xiongnu and
e s ta b li s h e d them in s te a d as t r i b u t a r i e s o f C hina.
In
fo llo w in g
indépendance p e rio d
h o s tility
e x p e d itio n
re g io n
fo rc e s from
th e Wuhuan w ere a b le to d e m o n stra te t h e i r to
th e Xiongnu as t h e i r eneqy e n te r e d a
o f w eakness and c o n fu s io n .
d is a s tr o u s 111
and
y e a rs,
of
were th e
by th e Xiongnu a g a i n s t th e Wusun p eo p le of th e
c e n tra l
so
In th e w in te r o f 71-70 BC, a f t e r a
A sia ,
who w ere a l l i e d w ith Han, th e Xiongnu
weakened t h a t th e y were exposed to c o n tin u a l a t t a c k s
Wusun,
th e D in g lln g o f s o u th e rn S ib e r ia , th e Wuhuan i n th e
e a s t , and a s p e c i a l e x p e d itio n from Han in t h e i r s o u th .
G reat numbers
of
t h e i r p e o p le w ere k i l l e d , and an e n fo rc e d t r e a t y b ro u g h t a m easure
of
peace
to C h in a 's f r o n t i e r s .30
In s i m i l a r f a s h io n , ab out
58
BC,
when t h e r e was a lre a d y te n s io n and some d is o r d e r i n th e Xiongnu s t a t e , a
su c c e ssfu l
to rie s of
in
th e
a tta c k
by th e Wuhuan p eo p le a g a in s t th e Xiongnu t e r r i
th e e a s t cau sed th e r u l e r o f t h a t re g io n t o f e a r th e an g er
Shanyu,
and
to
ra is e
a r e b e l l i o n , w ith a r i v a l Shanyu, to
d efen d h i s own p o s i t i o n . 31
In re ly
th e s e
upon
th e
d ire c t
a llie s
riv a lry
and
and o th e r i n c i d e n t s , i t a p p e a rs t h a t th e Wuhuan co u ld g e n e ra l of
th e
h o s tility
su p p o rt C hinese
o f Han, b u t th e y were n o t a c tin g a s and
th e y were I n s p ir e d p r im a r ily by
a g a in s t th e Xiongnu th e m se lv e s.
The C h in ese,
f o r t h e i r p a r t , were c h i e f l y co n cern ed w ith th e uneasy peace th e y k e p t w ith
th e
m a in ta in
Xiongnu by
in
th e l a s t h a l f - c e n t u r y BC, w hich th e y so u g h t to
m a rria g e
a l l i a n c e s and s t a t e v i s i t s from th e Shanyu, to
372 e n fo rc e by a sy stem o f h o sta g e s» and t o en co urage by p r e s e n ts o f gold» 8I l k , c lo th in g » weapons and o t h e r Item s o f v a lu e .
In was
a lre a d y
Mang, th e
th e
th e
la s t
days
o f Former Han» however» when th e governm ent
u n d er
th e
e f f e c t i v e c o n tr o l o f th e f u t u r e em peror Wang
C hinese p o lic y changed t o one o f g r e a t e r fir m n e s s .
IXiring
r e ig n o f Emperor Ping» th e Shanyu o f th e Xiongnu was com pelled t o
a g re e
to
Xiongnu C hina,
a
new
would
T re a ty
of
Four
A r tic le s » which p ro v id ed t h a t th e
r e f u s e to a c c e p t any re fu g e e s from among th e p eo p le o f
th e Wusun t r i b e s » th e t r i b u t a r y s t a t e s of th e W estern Regions»
o r th e Wuhuan.
A Inform ed
32
few y e a rs l a t e r , C hinese o f f i c i a l s r e s p o n s ib le f o r th e Wuhuan th e ir
p e o p le
th a t
th e new t r e a t y meant a l l com m unications
w ith th e Xiongnu sh o u ld be broken o f f .
When Xiongnu came to ta k e p a r t
in th e an n u al tr a d e o f f u r s , th e Wuhuan r e fu s e d to d e a l w ith them . th e
q u a rre l
th a t
f a m ilie s
and
re v e n g e ,
lau n ch ed
c a p tu r in g th e
In
broke o u t th e Xiongnu a g e n ts w ere k i l l e d and t h e i r
h e rd s
were a
s e iz e d by th e Wuhuan.
m assive
Then th e Shanyu, a s
a t t a c k a g a i n s t th e Wuhuan, k i l l i n g and
g r e a t numbers o f t h e i r p eo p le and ta k in g t h e i r go o d s, w h ile
rem ain d er
so u g h t re fu g e e i t h e r i n th e d e p th s o f th e m ountains o r
33 alo n g th e C hinese f r o n t i e r . J
Wang
M ang's r ig o r o u s p o lic y a g a i n s t th e Xiongnu produced a con
s is te n t
d e te rio ra tio n
end
10
of
AD,
th e
of two
Xiongnu and C hinese r e l a t i o n s B y
th e
s id e s w ere i n open d e f ia n c e , and Wang Mang
373 e s ta b lis h e d
a
g re a t
army
of
tw elv e d i v i s i o n s , w ith commanders and
encampments s t r e t c h e d a l l a lo n g th e n o r th e r n b o rd e rs o f th e em p ire , to a tta c k
th e
fo rc e
from
command up
Xiongnu. a ll
Troops w ere r e c r u i t e d and c o n s c r ip te d f o r t h i s
o v er th e e m p ire , and th e e a s te r n d i v i s i o n , under th e
o f th e g e n e r a l Zhuang You, in c lu d e d a m ajor c o n tin g e n t c a l l e d
from
th e
s e rv ic e ,
Wuhuan
now
c o n tro lle d
by C hina.
As s u r e ty f o r t h e i r
th e ir
f a m ilie s w ere h e ld h o sta g e i n commanderles w ith in th e
army
was m a in ta in e d i n i t s s t a t i o n s f o r s e v e r a l y e a r s , and
e m p ire .35
The it
is
s a id
th a t
th e
Wuhuan
found
it
d iffic u lt
to
l i v e on th e
p r o v is io n s t h a t were a v a i l a b l e among th e a g r i c u l t u r a l la n d s w ith in th e fro n tie r.
They
asked
h u n tin g -g ro u n d s ,
but
and
a c ro s s
fle d
n o r th
a u th o ritie s
o rd e re d
p e rm is s io n
when
le a v e
fo r th e ir tr a d itio n a l
t h i s was r e f u s e d th e y e v e n tu a lly d e s e r te d
th e
th e
to
G reat
k illin g
W all. of
a ll
In re s p o n s e , th e C hinese Wuhuan
h o s ta g e s , and th e
escaped
c o n s c r ip ts
tu rn e d
back to r a i d and p lu n d e r a lo n g th e n o r th
e a s te rn
b o rd e rs.
W ith in
a
s h o r t tim e , i n re sp o n se t o i n v i t a t i o n s
from th e Xiongnu, th e le a d e r s o f th e Wuhuan and t h e i r p eo p le had ta k e n s e r v ic e w ith th e enem ies o f C h in a .36
of
As
B i e le n s te in
Wang
Mangv8
In te rp re te d u su rp in g It
is
as
fo u n d er w e ll
has
p o in te d o u t , th e s to r y t h a t we now p o s s e s s
d e a lin g s
p a rt of
known,
of
a
w ith
th e
g e n e ra l
n o rth e rn p a tte rn
b a r b a r ia n s
may
be
o f s la n d e r a g a in s t th e
a d y n a sty which proved u ltim a te ly u n s u c c e s s f u l. how ever,
th a t
th e
g re a t
army was r a i s e d , and
374 Zhuang th e
You
h im s e lf p r o t e s t e d a g a i n s t th e i m p o s s i b i l i t y o f o rg a n is in g
v a rio u s
fo rc e s
a v a ila b le . of
and
s u p p lie s
w ith
th e
f a c i l i t i e s th e n
th e r e a r e r e f e r e n c e s i n th e Biography o f Wang Mang to
w ith
commanderles w h ile
th e ir
The tro o p s w ere m a in ta in e d on th e f r o n t i e r s f o r a number
years»
tr o u b l e s
and
th e
th e
s o ld ie r s »
and
to
fam ine
and
b a n d itry
i n th e
o f th e n o r th e r n b o rd e rs b o th b e fo re and a f t e r t h a t tim e» Account
th e Xiongnu i n Han shu sa y s sim ply
of
t h a t th e
t e r r i t o r y was red u ced to a w a s te la n d .37
It
is
a g a in s t
c e rta in ly
Wang
s ta te m e n ts
Mang
ab o u t
h o s tile
c lic h e .
d e fe n c e
of
fo r
th e
Wang
fact
g e n e ra l
and
th e
ex ag g erated » and many of th e
th e
r e s u l t s o f h i s governm ent a r e l i t t l e more th a n
On
th e o th e r hand, d e s p ite B i e l e n s t e i n 's e lo q u e n t
w ith in C h in a, th e e x p e rie n c e o f th e Wuhuan, from th e
of
from
h o s ta g e s ,
th e
In d ic a te s
le g a lis tic
th a t
th ey
had
su ffe re d
r i g i d i t y o f Wang Mang's p o s i t i o n .
i t was th e d i r e c t r e s u l t o f Wang M ang's a r r o g a n t c o n s c r ip tio n
s la u g h te r,
c o n fu s io n Wuhuan
and
o f th e a c c u s a tio n s l e v e l l e d
of th e T re a ty o f Four A r t i c l e s to th e fo rc e d c o n s c r ip tio n
c o n s id e ra b ly
and
overdraw n
many
t h a t h is p o lic y fo llo w e d e s t a b lis h e d t r a d i t i o n and had
k illin g
W hether
a re
th a t
Mang's d e a lin g s w ith th e Xiongnu, and even a llo w in g
su p p o rt
enforcem en t
tru e
or
m erely
th e
w eakness o f China d u rin g th e tim e o f
t h a t accom panied h i s f a l l and th e su c c e e d in g c i v i l w ar, th e
had c e r t a i n l y abandoned t h e i r a l l e g i a n c e .
By th e b eg in n in g o f
L a te r Han, a s L iu X lu, Emperor Guangwu, e s t a b lis h e d a p o s itio n a g a in s t h is
riv a ls ,
and
m a in ta in e d
em pire
th e
Wuhuan were i n g e n e r a l a s s o c ia tio n w ith th e Xiongnu a
p a tte rn
of
p e t t y r a i d i n g i n th e n o r th e a s t of th e
375
Emperor Guangwu and the settlem en t o f the Wuhuan: From war
th e
which
Emperor
la s t
y e a rs o f Wang Hang» th ro u g h th e p e rio d o f c i v i l
accom panied
GUangwu, of
h is
dow n fall»
and
f o r most o f th e r e ig n o f
th e Wuhuan rem ained enem ies o f C hina. th e Wuhuan i n Hou Han shu,
A ccording to
th e
Account
a f t e r t h e i r esc a p e from
th e
c o n s c r ip tio n o f Wang Mang t h e i r l e a d e r s were o f f e r e d p o s itio n s o f
m i l i t a r y command by th e Xlongnu» and i t i s p o s s ib le t h a t t h i s a r r a n g e ment
may
w ith
Wang
Wuhuan was a rea th e
have been e f f e c t i v e d u rin g th e tim e of d i r e c t c o n f r o n ta tio n Mang.
For
m a in ta in e d
o n ly
th e
m ost p a rt» however» i t a p p e a rs t h a t th e
a m easure o f in d ep en d en ce from th e Xlongnu» and i t
r a r e l y t h a t th e y to o k p a r t i n combined r a i d i n g .
T h eir main
o f i n t e r e s t rem ained on th e n o r th e a s te r n f r o n t i e r o f th e empire» c re sc e n t
s o u th e rn
of
commanderles
M anchuria
n o rth w e s t in c u r s io n s
of
w estw ards
o f Han w hich s tr e tc h e d from L la o x i i n to
Shanggu
and Dal commandery i n th e
modern Hebei and th e n o r th e a s t o f S hanxi.
were
im p o rta n t
enough
to
be
re c o rd e d
Few o f t h e i r
i n th e o f f i c i a l
c h r o n ic le s o f th e tim e» b u t th e c o n s ta n t d is tu rb a n c e and i n s e c u r i t y i n th e
b o rd e r
c o u n try
were dam aging
to th e C hinese p o s i t i o n .
As Hou
Han shu re m a rk s: [The Wuhuan] were s e t t l e d c lo s e a lo n g th e f r o n t i e r » so t h a t i n th e morning th e y co u ld be i n t h e i r t e n t s [on th e open g ra z in g la n d s ] and by ev e n in g th e y m ight come t o th e v ery o u t s k i r t s o f a tow n. Every fa m ily among th e p eo p le o f th e f iv e commanderies s u f f e r e d harm from them» and i t came t o a p o in t w here th e l o c a l a d m in is tr a tio n was q u i t e broken down» and th e peo p le f le d as re fu g e e s. The group t h a t was b ased on th e W hite M ountains» o u ts id e Shanggu commandery, was p a r t i c u l a r l y p o w erfu l and p ro s p e ro u s a t t h i s t i m e .38
376 For
th e m ost p a rt» th e m ain body o f th e Wuhuan p eo p le c o n te n te d
th em selv es y e a rs no
w ith t h i s form o f r a id in g » and p erh ap s en jo y ed th e s e v e r a l
re lie f
m ajor
found
from C hinese p r e s s u r e a g a i n s t them .
p a rt
in
th e
employment
fa c tio n s .
In
fo r 24»
c i v i l war» some o f t h e i r young men e v id e n tly a
tim e
w ith
one
o r o th e r o f th e c o n te n d in g
f o r example» we a r e t o ld t h a t Wuhuan and Xiongnu
tro o p s
a s s is te d
lo c a l
Xuan,
a g a in s t
th e ir riv a ls
commander y .3 9
A lthough th e y to o k
T hree
o ffic ia ls
s u p p o rtin g
y e a rs
l a te r »
to th e G engshi Emperor» L iu Emperor
Guangwu
Guangwu's g e n e r a l
of
Zhou
i n th e s o u th e rn p a r t o f th e N orth C hina p l a i n . 40
m iddle h is
in
Dai
Wu Han had a
c o n tin g e n t J la n
th r e e
lo y a l
th o u san d Wuhuan c a v a lry i n h is campaign a g a in s t in th e
30s» i t i s re c o rd e d t h a t th e p r e te n d e r Lu Fang» who m a in ta in e d p o s itio n
in
Wuyuan
and th e n o r th e r n commanderles w ith su p p o rt
from th e Xiongnu» a ls o in c lu d e d Wuhuan i n h is command.41
The of
th e
d e fe a t c iv il
e ffe c tiv e Gongsun
Shu
te rrito rie s o c c a s io n s p re s e n t- d a y Shaanxi
but
and
in In
th e th e
n o r th e r n r e g io n s o f China» d id n o t b rin g same
year» Guangwu's f o r c e s had d e s tro y e d
i n Sichuan» and China was u n ite d un d er a s in g le im p e r ia l
produce
r a id in g
war
peace.
a u th o r ity » co uld
o f Lu Fang i n 36» however» though i t marked th e end
fo r no
th e broad
next and
te n y e a r s and more th e new governm ent e f f e c t i v e a c tio n a g a in s t th e in c e s s a n t
c o n s ta n t p re s s u re » and was even com pelled t o abandon th e alo n g
ra id in g
th e n o r th e r n lo o p o f th e Yellow R iv e r. p a rtie s
p lu n d e re d
th e
C hinese
On s e v e r a l
commanderles
in
Shanxi» and some a s f a r so u th as th e v a lle y o f th e Wei i n
377 F u r th e r under
p re ssu re
p eo p le
of
w ithdraw and
to
th e
b e tte r.
In 39,
from th e Xiongnu and th e Wuhuan, th e C hinese f r o n t i e r
Yanmen, Dai and Shanggu com m anderies had been p e rm itte d to to a d e fe n c e l i n e s o u th o f th e f o r t i f i e d p a sse s a t Changshan
Ju y o n g .4 2
m ain tain e d
Though
as
d iffic u lt
Grand
p e r io d ,
te rrito ry , w ith
e a s t , th e s i t u a t i o n was l i t t l e
and
a
a tru s te d g e n e ra l
A d m in is tra to r
he
h is
lin e
Wang Ba,
h e ld
no
o f Guangwu, was
o f Shanggu f o r th e whole o f t h i s
more
th a n a frag m en t o f h is nom inal
p o s i t i o n was r a t h e r t h a t o f a g a r r is o n commander
o f d e fe n c e s
th a n
th e
c iv il
a d m in is tr a to r
of
a
commander y .43
O ther e a rlie r not
commanderles
q u o ta tio n ,
ap p e a r
s o u th e rn
M anchuria, from
M ountain (C hi
engagem ent
were e v id e n tly a ls o under c o n s ta n t t h r e a t , but do
to have l o s t so much t e r r i t o r y .
d is tu r b a n c e s Red
fa c in g th e Wuhuan, a s we have se e n from th e
in
45
in
45,
In L iaodong, p re s e n t-d a y
th e Grand A d m in is tra to r Zhai Tong was fa c e d w ith th e X ianbi p e o p le , i n o c c a s io n a l a l l i a n c e w ith th e shari)
group
kept
th e
of
th e
X ia n b i,
at
Wuhuan, le a s t,
though a s u c c e s s f u l under some form o f
c o n t r o l . 44
A lso s ta b ilis e le a s t
th e
th e im p e r ia l governm ent made a s e r io u s a tte m p t to
p o s itio n
from th e Wuhuan.
Who
Calms
Han
im p e r ia l
C laim in g ,
on
th e f r o n t i e r and to h a l t th e r a i d i n g , a t
The g r e a t m i l i t a r y commander Ma Yuan, G en eral
th e Waves, had re tu r n e d v i c t o r i o u s from th e s u b ju g a tio n o f
w ith
te rrito rie s some
in
re a s o n ,
n o r th e r n th a t
th e
Vietnam th re a t
at from
th e th e
end o f 44. n o r th e r n
378 b a r b a r ia n s was a m a tte r o f m ajor co n cern to th e d y n a s ty , and ta k in g a s h is
cue
a
recen t
th re a te n e d
ra id
by
th e
Xlongnu
and Wuhuan w hich a c t u a l l y
th e tombs o f th e Im p e ria l a n c e s to r s n e a r Changan, he asked
t o be g iv e n command o f th e n o r th e r n d e fe n c e s .
By at
th e b eg in n in g o f 45 Ma Yuan had e s ta b lis h e d h is h e a d q u a rte rs
Xlangguo
p r e f e c tu r e I n Zhao kingdom .
In th e autumn o f t h a t y e a r ,
he made a to u r o f I n s p e c tio n alo n g th e f r o n t i e r d e fe n c e s I n th e re g io n o f Dal and Shanggu com m anderles. Dal
commandery,
F elh u
P a ss.
so u g h t of
k ilo m e tr e s
beyond th e d efen ce p o s itio n s a t th e
The enemy had f a i l e d t o m eet him I n b a t t l e , and Ma Yuan
to make a s u r p r i s e r a i d on t h e i r b ase t e r r i t o r y .
th r e e
Wuhuan h is
120
He re a c h e d a s f a r n o r th a s G ao llu I n
th o u san d
c a v a lr y ,
With a fo rc e
he s tr u c k f u r t h e r t o th e n o r th ; b u t th e
l e a r n t o f h i s p la n s , th e y gave way b e fo re him and th e n h a r r ie d
fo rc e
C hinese
as
he
was
f o rc e d t o t u r n b a c k .
Ma Yuan r e tu r n e d t o th e
f r o n t i e r w ith th e lo s s o f p e rh a p s a t h i r d o f h is sm all g ro u p ,
and w ith l i t t l e a c c o m p lis h e d .45
Ma th e
next
Yuan
e v id e n tly rem ained I n g e n e r a l command o f th e n o r th f o r
year
o r s o , b u t from th e end o f 45 th e r e a r e no p a r t i c u l a r
re c o rd s
o f any m ajor r a i d s o r e x p e d itio n s by one s id e o r a n o th e r .
49,
Ma
Yuan
th e
non -C h in ese
on
th a t
s itu a tio n as
a
In
v o lu n te e re d to ta k e command of an Im p e ria l aro y a g a in s t p eo p le o f W ullng, s o u th o f
cam paign.
In h is e a rly s i x t i e s .
th e Y angtse, and he d ie d By t h i s tim e , how ever, th e
on
th e n o r th had changed rem ark ably I n th e C hinese fa v o u r,
re s u lt
o f th e d e a th I n 46 o f th e a n ti-C h in e s e Shanyu Yu, and a
s u c c e s s io n s t r u g g l e t h a t d e v a s ta te d th e Xlongnu s t a t e
379
In h i s d is c u s s io n o f Emperor Guangwu's p o l i c i e s tow ards th e no n C hinese
p eo p le
o f th e n o r t h , B ie le n s t e i n h as em phasised th e f a i l u r e s
and w eaknesses o f th e C hin ese p o s i t i o n , and h as c r i t i c i s e d th e em peror fo r h is d e f e a tis t a ttitu d e * one
p a rtic u la r
th e
Wuhuan,
th a t
The campaign o f Ma Yuan in 45 i s c i t e d a s
exam ple, and i t i s s u g g e s te d t h a t Ma Y uan's a t t a c k on
w ith
" n o th in g
a
fo r c e o f o n ly th r e e thousand c a v a lr y , in d ic a te d
co u ld
be
e x p e c te d
from
th e e n t e r p r i s e , and no r e a l
o f f e n s iv e was p o s s i b l e " .46
In Ma
fa c t,
however,
it
may be arg u e d t h a t Guangwu's p o lic y and
Yuan's a c t i v i t y were n o t so i n e f f e c t u a l a s th e y may have appeared*
F irs tly ,
though
B l e le n s te ln
a p p e a rs
to
in te rp re t
th e in c id e n t a s
i n d ic a t i n g t h a t Ma Yuan was g iv e n o n ly th r e e thousand horsem en f o r h i s e x p e d itio n , a u th o r i t y
i t a p p e a rs from th e d e t a i l s o f th e t e x t s t h a t Ma Yuan had o v er
re s tric tio n
was
h is
command.
who
d e c id e d
though fo rc e of
th e
m ention s e a rc h
Ma
a ll
th e g a r r is o n s i n th e n o r th , and t h a t no s p e c i f i c
p la c e d upon th e number o f tro o p s he c o u ld ta k e u n d er I t was Ma Yuan h im s e lf , n o t th e em peror i n h i s c o u r t ,
how Yuan
many men would accompany him on h i s e x p e d itio n , and m ight
have
been c r i t i c i s e d f o r ta k in g such a sm all
w ith him, th e r e was re a s o n f o r t h a t d e c is io n a lso * Wuhuan th a t and
in Ma
Hou Han shu and th e Wei shu o f Yuan
The Account
Wang Shen
b o th
was p la n n in g a s u r p r i s e a t t a c k - i n e f f e c t , a
d e s tr o y m issio n - and i t i s o b vious t h a t a sm all group o f
fastm o v ln g horsem en would be f a r more e f f e c t i v e th a n a f u l l arm y, w ith lo c a l d e a lin g
le v ie s ,
slow ed
by
a ll
th e ir
impedimenta*
In l a t e r y e a r s ,
w ith th e g r e a t r e b e l l i o n o f th e Q lang, th e C hinese found t h a t
380 ra id s
by
horsem en
d is r u p te d
th e
d e f e a t ,47
and i n th e s i t u a t i o n
45,
a
such
program
gave
enemy
and
a id e d
t h e i r e v e n tu a l
which Ma Yuan found h im se lf f a c in g i n
p e rh a p s th e m ost im m ediate o p p o r tu n ity o f
re g a in in g th e i n i t i a t i v e .
A d m itte d ly , Ma Y uan's one e x p e d itio n was n o t n o ta b ly s u c c e s s f u l, but
in
th e
th o u sa n d h im se lf
y ea r8 .4 8
w hich
h a rd ly
he was o p e r a tin g , th e lo s s o f even a
be re g a rd e d a s d i s a s t r o u s ; and B ie le n s te in
o u t t h a t Ma Yuan may have s u f f e r e d from h o s t i l e
d e te rm in e d
to
e x a g g e ra te
th e
fa ilu re s
of
I t i s v ery p ro b a b le t h a t h i s p o lic y o f r a id in g
c o n tin u e d ,
but
h is l a t e r would
have
th e d i s o r d e r s w hich b ro k e o u t among th e Xiongnu i n 46
a l l a n x ie ty b o th a t m i l i t a r y h e a d q u a rte rs and i n th e im p e r ia l
c a p ita l. a s s o c ia tio n
an
can
p o in te d
c h ro n ic le rs ,
them .
upon
men has
removed
s c a le
W ith in
a
w ith
th e
few
m onths,
th e
Wuhuan
had
abandoned t h e i r
Xiongnu and were a c t i v e l y engaged in a tta c k in g
From th e C hinese p o in t o f v ie w , t h e r e was h a rd ly any purp o se i n
a g g re s s iv e
p o lic y w h ile t h e i r enem ies were c a rv in g one a n o th e r up
i n such a s a t i s f a c t o r y f a s h io n .
The a re
p o litic a l
d e ta ils
o f th e g r e a t d i v i s i o n among th e Xiongnu
d is c u s s e d e lse w h e re i n t h i s w ork, and i t i s n o t n e c e s s a ry to d e a l
w ith
them
s ta te
was
S o u th ern
a g a in .
We
ir r e v o c a b ly Xiongnu,
may o b s e rv e , how ever, t h a t by 50 th e Xiongnu d iv id e d
in to
tw o,
under r i v a l Shanyu.
The
s u p p o r te r s o f th e Shanyu B l, were t r i b u t a r y t o Ban
and a t war w ith th e N o rth ern Xiongnu, who rem ained lo y a l to th e Shanyu Punu.
The S o u th ern Shanyu was o rd e re d t o ta k e up re s id e n c e n e a r M e iji
381 county In Xlhe commandery, where he was s u p e rv is e d by a G eneral o f th e Gentlem en o f th e H ousehold E m issary to th e Xlongnu*
Under t h i s new d is p e n s a tio n » th e Im p e ria l governm ent was a b le to p la n
th e
r e - o c c u p a tlo n
o f th e n o r th e r n commanderles» w hich had been
l o s t to China d u rin g th e tu r b u l e n t y e a rs j u s t p ast* have
seen»
tu r n
a g a in s t
p r e s e n ts
by
had ta k e n a d v a n ta g e o f th e d i v i s io n s among th e Xlongnu to them
of
s im ila r
In
46»
and
Emperor
s i l k to en co u rag e them
fa sh io n »
Zhal
The Wuhuan» a s we
Tong
Guangwu
In t h e i r
a t t h a t tim e s e n t
change o f h e a r t* 49
in
In 49» X lanbl I n th e Liaodong re g io n were p ersu ad ed
to a t t a c k th e Xlongnu» and were rew arded w ith a bounty
f o r ev e ry head t h a t th e y b ro u g h t b a c k .50
The The
y e a r 49 saw th e f u l l r e c o g n itio n o f C hinese Im p e ria l power*
p eo p le o f Wullng In s o u th e rn China had been brought to su rre n d e r»
th e S o u th ern Xlongnu had a c c e p te d a t r i b u t a r y r e la tio n s h ip » th e X lanbl were
In
a llia n c e
from
th e
King
w ith
of
Han a g a in s t th e N o rth ern Xlongnu» and envoys
Fuyu»
r e g io n
of
S u ngari b a s in In
came
a m ajor em bassy from th e v a r io u s gro u p s o f th e Wuhuan» le d
th e
c a ttle le o p a rd s
c h ie fta in and and
w ith t r i b u t e . 51
th e
v is ite d
by
c o u rt
th e
M anchuria» a ls o
th e
In
Haodan o f th e L ia o x l reg io n *
h o rs e s » s a b le s »
to g e th e r re s u lts
w ith
bows
and
At t h i s
tim e th e r e
They b ro u g h t s la v e s » th e
s k in s o f t i g e r s »
o f th e tr a p p in g and h u n tin g f o r which
t h e i r p e o p le and c o u n try w ere w e ll know n.52
382
Hou Han shu 9 0/80
A ccording t o Emperor
Guangwu
g en ero u s one
h e ld
p r e s e n ts
and th e Wei shu o f Wang Shen,
a g r e a t r e c e p tio n ceremony f o r th e s e men» made
In r e t u r n f o r t h e i r o f f e r i n g s , and g ra n te d e i g h t y -
o f th e le a d e r s t i t l e s and I n s i g n i a a s m a rq u ise s, k in g s , lo r d s and
c h ie fta in s .
They
were
enco u rag ed
to b rin g t h e i r p eo p le u n d er th e
p r o te c t i o n and a u t h o r i t y o f Han, and a s th e y d id so th e v a rio u s groups o f Wuhuan w ere s e t t l e d a lo n g th e b o r d e r s , i n s i d e th e l i n e o f th e G reat W all,
from
Shanggu,
L ia o x i i n th e e a s t th ro u g h Y o ubeiplng, Yuyang, Guangyang,
D al,
s e ttle m e n t
Yanmen
and
T aiyuan com m anderies, w ith one a d d i t i o n a l
a t Shuofang, f u r t h e r to th e w e s t, on th e Ordos lo o p o f th e
Yellow R iv e r.
In th e have
d is c u s s io n
s e ttle m e n t had
no
te rrito rie s
of
t h i s i n c i d e n t , B i e le n s te in has rem arked t h a t
o f n in e th o u san d Wuhuan among n in e commanderies would s ig n ific a n t
of
C hina.
im pact
His
on
th e p o p u la tio n o f th e n o r th e r n
ju d g em en t,
how ever,
is
assu m p tio n t h a t o n ly n in e th o u sa n d p e o p le w ere in v o lv e d . numbers
may
not
have
been
so
s m a ll.
based upon th e In f a c t , th e
Hou Han shu sa y s t h a t "th e
c h i e f t a i n Haodan o f L ia o x i and 922 o t h e r men le d t h e i r p eo p le" t o come to n in e
c o u rt;
th o u san d
o r g a n is a tio n e ach
Wang Shen re c o rd s t h a t " th e c h i e f t a i n Haodan and more th a n o th e r s of
in d iv id u a l
co n cep t
of
n in e
th e yi
le d
th e ir
p e o p le " . Given th e lo o s e p o l i t i c a l
Wuhuan, w ith i t s m u ltitu d e o f p e tty c h ie f s o v er and
lu o ,
th e r e i s
n o th in g
im p o ssib le
i n th e
th o u san d le a d e r s o r m ore, each r e p r e s e n tin g a sm all
c la n o r fa m ily group o f p e rh a p s te n o r tw en ty men, women and c h ild r e n . In
such a c a s e , on Wang S h e n '8 f i g u r e s , th e r e co u ld have been as many
383 as
n in e ty
Haodan
or
and
Guangwu's added
a
hundred
h is
th o u san d Wuhuan In v o lv ed In th e embassy o f
a s s o c ia te s .
program
of
C e r ta in ly
e x ten d ed
th is
viould
make
Emperor
s e ttle m e n t more m eaningful» and g iv e
j u s t i f i c a t i o n t o h i s o th e rw is e o v e r-g e n e ro u s g r a n t o f a u t h o r i t y
and I n s i g n i a to e lg h ty -o n e o f th e s e p e t t y r u l e r s .53
The argum ent f o r th e s u r r e n d e r o f a s i g n i f i c a n t number o f Wuhuan ab o u t th e of
th is
tim e I s s tre n g th e n e d by th e f a c t t h a t Emperor Guangwu» on
p ro p o s a l th e
Wuhuan.
m em orial Qlang
In
y e a rs
e a rlie r
Ban
Blao had p re s e n te d a
th e r e - e s ta b lls h m e n t o f th e C o lo n el P r o te c to r o f th e
th e w est o f th e em pire» on th e same l i n e s as In Former Han»
s u p e r v is e
th e
C h in e se .
e n te r in g
S e v e ra l
u rg in g
to
th e
o ffic e r.
n o n -C h in ese p e o p le and keep o rd e r betw een them and
On t h i s o ccasio n » he arg u ed t h a t th e numbers of p eo p le
th e
c o n tro lle d »
th e
o f Ban Blao» r e s t o r e d th e p o s i t i o n o f C o lo n el P r o te c to r
f r o n t i e r u n d e r th e new d is p e n s a tio n were to o many to be as
c u rre n t
p o lic y
had
I t» m erely by a s e n io r c l e r i c a l
The c o u r t a c c e p te d h i s argum ent» and a C o lo n el P r o te c to r o f
Wuhuan was ap p o in ted » w ith h e a d q u a rte rs a t King county In Shanggu
commandery.5 4 g a r r is o n
The P r o te c to r had
under
s u p e r v is io n
h is
a d m in is tr a tiv e o f f i c e s
and a sm all
command» and he was g iv en r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r th e
of th e X lan b l p e o p le a s w e ll a s th e Wuhuan.
On b e h a lf o f
th e Im p e ria l governm ent» he Is s u e d rew ards o r b r ib e s f o r good conduct» and
he
b e h a v io u r
a rra n g e d
th e
c o lle c tio n
and
m aintenance
of
h o sta g e s f o r
384 P erh ap s th e
scen e
th e
Wuhuan
m ost
of
Im p o rta n t
o f a l l » we a r e t o l d t h a t Nlng c i t y was
r e g u la r s e a s o n a l m ark ets f o r exchange o f goods betw een
or
th e X ianbi and th e C h in e se .
In two n o ta b le a r t i c l e s »
th e Mongol s c h o la r Sechin J a g c h id has arg u ed t h a t a c e n t r a l d i f f i c u l t y in
d e a lin g s betw een C hina and h e r n o r th e r n n e ig h b o u rs was th e problem
of
th e
nomads
n e c e s s itie s form
of
who
so u g h t
to
o b ta in
o f l i f e from th e C h in ese.
m ercan talism »
C hinese
th e
lu x u r ie s
and
even th e
In a t r a d i t i o n a l and p r im itiv e
governm ent
so u g h t
to
e s ta b lis h
a
hegemony o v e r t h e i r n e ig h b o u rs by d en y in g them a c c e s s to p ro d u c ts such as
s ilk »
c lo th » wine and r i c e and r e f u s in g to a c c e p t th e goods w hich
th e y o f f e r e d i n exchan g e, h o r s e s , c a t t l e and f u r s , u n d er any but h a rs h term s
of
trib u te .
p re p a re d was
to
a
u se
c o n s ta n t
ex ch an g e s,
and
While i t i s t r u e t h a t im p e ria l governm ents were o f f i c i a l t r i b u t e m is s io n s a s a form o f t r a d e , th e r e p o litic a l
th e y
Involvem ent
f r e q u e n tly
came
and ab o u t
I n te r f e r e n c e only
in
such
as th e r e s u l t o f
m i l i t a r y f o r c e and w a r .55
The argum ent o f S ech in J a g c h id , f o r c e f u l l y e x p re s s e d , p r e s e n ts a d iffe re n t
p e r s p e c tiv e
to
th e
t r a d i t i o n o f S ln o -b a rb a ria n t r i b u t a r y
r e l a t i o n s h i p s d e s c r ib e d so e f f e c t i v e l y p o in t
of
L a te r
Han
X ianbi
by
m a rk e ts , p o litic a l
view ,
though
b e lie v e d
it
p e r m ittin g it and
was
th e r e was th e
From t h i s
i s no q u e s tio n t h a t th e governm ent o f c o n f e r r in g a fa v o u r upon th e Wuhuan and
e s ta b lis h m e n t
n e v e r th e le s s
econom ic
by Yü Y in g -s h ih .5 6
se n se
a ls o by
and m aintenance o f r e g u la r
d is p la y in g
a
m easure
o f good
re c o g n is in g th e needs o f th e n o n -
C hinese p e o p le and p e r m ittin g them th e o p p o r tu n ity to o b ta in what th e y needed w ith o u t th e c o n s ta n t tu m u lt o f r a i d i n g o r r e p r i s a l s .
385 In and
a
s e rie s
w hich of
Jan u ary
1974 th e C h in ese j o u r n a l
o f a r t i c l e s on an E a s te rn Han Tomb w ith Wall P a in tin g s
had been found n e a r H o rin g e r,
th e
tomb
Wenwu p u b lis h e d a r e p o r t
had
e v id e n tly
In n e r M o n g o lia.57
The o ccu p an t
h e ld o f f i c e a s C olonel P r o te c to r o f th e
Wuhuan,
and among th e w a l l- p a in tin g s i l l u s t r a t i n g h is c a r e e r th e r e i s
one
d e t a i l o f th e P r o t e c t o r 's h e a d q u a rte rs a t N ing.
in
se e n
th e
b u ild in g s
d e c is io n s
were
tra v e lle rs
who
d is c u s s e s
th e
belong ed C hinese
to
of
th e
handed came
th e
down,
to
d e ta ils
yamen
th e of
and th e c o u rty a rd w here o f f i c i a l
to g e th e r c ity .
th e
There may be
w ith
The
th e
s c h o la r
m essengers
and
J i n W eiruo, who
d a tin g o f th e tomb, s u g g e s ts t h a t i t
P r o te c to r Gongqi Chou, who was k i l l e d by a ren eg ad e
in 187.58
Even though
he met such an en d , th e s u r v iv a l and
p ro s p e rity
o f h is o f f i c e to th e l a s t y e a r s o f Han i s a t r i b u t e to th e
governm ent
which e s t a b l i s h e d i t and th e a d m in is tr a to r s who c a r r i e d i t
on.
In was
th e
little
o c c a s io n a l Yuyang Emperor a llie s
rem ain in g tr o u b le
from
n ific a n t X ianbi
th e Wuhuan.
D uring th e m id-50s th e r e were
r a id s from th e Red M ountain g ro u p , w hich was based o u ts id e
and Shanggu com m anderles, b u t a t th e b eg in n in g o f th e r e ig n o f Ming, of
in
Zhai
58,
of
Emperors re c o rd s
th e y
w ere
th o ro u g h ly d e fe a te d by th e X ianbi
Tong, th e Grand A d m in is tra to r o f Liaodong, and t h e i r
le a d e r was k i l l e d . 59 re ig n s
y e a rs o f th e r e ig n o f Emperor Guangwu, t h e r e
of
For a lm o st f i f t y y e a r s Ming,
Zhang
c o n flic t
and
w ith
a f t e r t h a t , th ro u g h th e
He, th e r e a r e no f u r t h e r s i g th e
Wuhuan p e o p le n o r w ith th e
386
The Wuhuan and Later Han: The em pire
p ro v id e s a n o tic e a b le
C hinese
e x p e rie n c e d
w e st, In
In
p eo p le
X la n lla n
o f th e Wuhuan I n th e n o r th e a s t o f th e c o n tra s t
d e a lin g
Liang p ro v in c e .
C hinese th e
s e ttle m e n t
w ith th e Qlang tr ib e s p e o p le f u r t h e r
In b o th c a s e s , c o n s id e ra b le numbers o f n o n -
were b ro u g h t t o s e t t l e w ith in th e I m p e ria l f r o n t i e r s : p eo p le
of
th e Qlang
l a r g e l y by f o r c e , fo llo w in g th e
c o n q u e st by Ma Yuan I n th e l a t e 30s; 60 p e a c e fu l and
th e Wuhuan a p p a re n tly In more
c irc u m s ta n c e s , a f t e r th e s u rr e n d e r o f Haodan In th e l a t e 40s
e a r ly
broken
to th e d i f f i c u l t i e s which th e
50s.
by
b e g in n in g C hinese
In L iang p ro v in c e , a b r i e f p e rio d o f peace was soon
fro n tie r of
th e
te rrito ry
m a in ta in e d
th e
wars
and u lti m a t e l y by a g r e a t r e b e l l i o n a t th e
second c e n tu r y , b u t th e Wuhuan p e o p le , b o th w ith in and
peace
beyond but
th e
a ls o
f r o n t i e r s to th e n o r th , n o t o n ly
perform ed
v a lu a b le
s e r v ic e to th e
governm ent o f Han.
On s u rre n d e r tra c tio n
th e
o th e r
of
th e
hand, th e s e ttle m e n t I n th e n o r t h e a s t , a f t e r th e Wuhuan
to Emperor
of I m p e ria l t e r r i t o r y .
Guangwu, d id r e s u l t I n a con
In th e tim e o f Former Han, a c c o rd in g
to th e cen su s and l i s t o f co u n ty u n i t s re c o rd e d f o r th e y e a r 2 AD, th e te rrito ry upper In th is and
of
Y oubelplng
v a lle y
n o r th e r n
and
Yuyang
commanderles e x ten d ed I n to th e
o f th e Luan R iv e r, to th e re g io n o f p re s e n t-d a y Chengde H ebei.
The s e ttle m e n t o f Wuhuan w ith in th e f r o n t i e r s o f
re g io n meant t h a t th e I m p e ria l governm ent had weakened I t s h o ld , many
is tra tio n
c o u n tie s were
w hich
had fo rm e rly m a in ta in e d th e C hinese admin
d is e s ta b lis h e d .
IXirlng
th e
next
c e n tu ry
or so,
387 th is
te rrito ry
was
power»
and
range»
on
second
c e n tu r y ,
a lie n
th e th e
c o u n try ,
e ffe c tiv e ly
removed
from
th e
sway o f C hinese
f r o n t i e r s o f th e em pire were w ithdraw n t o th e W ullng l i n e o f th e p r e s e n t- d a y G reat W all. By th e end of th e th is
form er
c o n tr o lle d
te rrito ry
by
th e
o f China was re c o g n is e d
nomad
p a s to ra l
trib e s
of
as th e
X ia n b i.6 1
The p r ic e
c e s s io n
to
pay
fro n tie r
and
e ffe c tiv e
fo r
o f t e r r i t o r y , how ever, may n o t have seemed a g r e a t
i n exchange f o r th e p o s s i b i l i t y of s t a b i l i t y a lo n g th e th e
m ilita ry
se v e ra l
su p p o rt
g e n e r a tio n s ,
of
th e
Wuhuan.
The p eace was
and th e Wuhuan, i n f a c t , proved
th e m se lv e s v a lu a b le a u x i l i a r i e s .
P erh ap s
th e m ost rem ark ab le exam ple of th e Wuhuan a l l i a n c e w ith
im p e ria l
China was th e m ain ten an ce o f th e Chang R iver Regiment i n th e
N o rth e rn
Army
O ffic ia ls , system
at
com piled
th e c a p i t a l Luoyang. by
Sima
A ccording t o th e T r e a tis e of
Blao and based upon th e a d m in is tr a tiv e
e s t a b l i s h e d i n th e e a r l y y e a rs o f L a te r Han, th e N o rth ern Army
c o n ta in e d f i v e re g im e n ts , each under th e command o f a c o lo n e l. th e in
o th e r th e
was
but
re g im e n ts , th e
s p e c ific a lly
commentary w ith
re g im e n ts , th e Chang R iv e r had two m a jo rs, one o f whom, a s
o th e r
c o lo n e l,
U nlike
to
th is
o th e r ,
was
th e
r e g u la r second-in-com m and to th e
w ith th e t i t l e M ajor o f B a rb a ria n C a v a lry ,
r e s p o n s ib le
fo r
horsem en
of
th e
Wuhuan.
In
p a s s a g e , th e L a te r Han s c h o la r C al Zhl i s q u o ted
th e a d d i t i o n a l In fo rm a tio n t h a t th e reg im en t c o n ta in e d 57 j u n io r
o f f i c e r s and 736 Wuhuan t r o o p e r s . 62
388 The Emperor
Chang Wu
Changan, from
of
and
a
R iv er Former
it
number
Yellow
when
th e
c a p i t a l o f th e em pire was a t
seems m ost p ro b a b le t h a t th e reg im en t to o k i t s name
In of
31 ÀD, a t a tim e when he was a tte m p tin g t o red u ce
men
under
arms
a f t e r h i s d e c is iv e v i c t o r i e s i n th e
P la in and th e end o f th e f i r s t s ta g e o f th e c i v i l w ar, Emperor
Guangwu
had
re g im e n ts . o v er
Han,
had been e s t a b l i s h e d i n th e tim e o f
sm a ll r i v e r , n e a r t h a t c i t y , where i t m a in ta in e d i t s camp and
h e a d q u a r te rs . th e
re g im e n t
o rd e re d
th e
disbandm ent
of
th e Chang R iver and o th e r
In 39, how ever, when th e f i n a l v i c t o r i e s had been a c h ie v e d
Wei Ao and Gongsun Shu, he r e o rg a n iz e d th e N o rth ern Army and r e
e s t a b l i s h e d th e Chang R iv e r re g im e n t a s
one o f i t s co m p o n en ts.63
in
th e c irc u m s ta n c e s o f t h a t tim e , i t i s d o u b tfu l w hether any s i g n i f i c a n t number
of tr u s tw o r th y Wuhuan would have been a v a i l a b l e f o r s e r v ic e i n
th e
v i c i n i t y o f th e im p e r ia l c a p i t a l , and i t was s u r e ly n o t u n t i l th e
end
o f Emperor Guangwu's r e i g n , a f t e r th e s u r r e n d e r o f Haodan and h i s
f e llo w s , t h a t th e reg im en t was o rg a n is e d w ith Wuhuan r e c r u i t s .
The N o rth ern Army i n L a te r Han was th e c e n t r a l s t r a t e g i c r e s e r v e of
th e
e m p ire ,
re g im e n ts most
and
were
pow erful
when
s ta tio n e d m ilita ry
th e y
were
n o t needed f o r cam paigns, th e
i n th e v i c i n i t y o f Luoyang. fo rc e
a v a ila b le
They w ere th e
to th e governm ent, and th e
c o lo n e lc y o f a re g im e n t was a s ig n o f h o n o u r, t r u s t and power. same
to k e n ,
p e rm itte d Gurkhas
th e
to of
n in e te e n th
f a c t t h a t a s i n g l e group o f non-C hinese p eo p le were
e n ro l Nepal
and
By th e
in in
one o f th e s e f i v e re g im e n ts , r a t h e r l i k e th e th e
B r i t i s h and I m p e ria l In d ia n a rm ies o f th e
tw e n tie th c e n t u r i e s . Im p lie s a c o n s id e ra b le and w e l l -
389 e s ta b lis h e d
fa ith
on th e p a r t o f b o th th e C hinese governm ent and i t s
a lie n a llie s *
B e sid e s
th is
Wuhuan
who
had
s c o u ts
and
a llie s
w h ile
a s s o c ia tio n
s e ttle d to
w ith
a lo n g
th e r e g u la r a rm ie s o f Han, th e
th e f r o n t i e r s were a ls o a v a ila b le a s
th e im p e r ia l d e fe n c e fo rc e s*
As e a r ly a s 58,
th e
Red M ountains group was b ein g p u t down w ith th e a id o f th e
in
th e e a s t , Wuhuan a u x i l i a r i e s w ere a id in g C hinese f o r c e s i n
X ianbi
an a t t a c k on th e Shaodang t r i b e o f th e Qlang i n Liang p ro v in c e , and i n s im ila r
fa s h io n
th e y
Xiongnu
le d
by
Dou
76*64
iQ
94,
th r e a te n in g P r o te c to r and
X ianbi
th e
o p e r a tio n s
a g a in s t
th e N o rth ern
Gu i n 73 and to o k p a r t i n a f u r t h e r campaign i n
when
r a id s of
jo in e d
th e
a g a in s t
in d e p e n d e n t th e
Xiongnu
fro n tie r
at
le a d e r Fenghou
Shuofang,
was
th e C olonel
th e Wuhuan, Ren Shang, le d a mixed c o n tin g e n t o f Wuhuan to
d r iv e
him
away,
and
i n 105 a fo rc e o f Wuhuan from
Shanggu to o k p a r t i n th e d e fe n c e o f Liaodong commandery a g a in s t th e Mo p eo p le o f e a s t e r n M anchuria*65
T h is r e ig n out
of in
Emperor
An*
The g r e a t r e b e l l i o n o f th e Q iang, which broke
Liang p ro v in c e i n 107, p u t m assiv e s t r a i n on a l l th e m i l i t a r y
re s o u rc e s gave
tim e o f p eace and a l l i a n c e , how ever, was th r e a te n e d i n th e
of
th e e m p ire , and th e d i s a s t e r s s u f f e r e d by im p e ria l arms
encouragem ent
to
any m a lc o n te n ts who hoped t o g a in p r o f i t from
th e tr o u b le s o f th e C hinese* was w e st,
c o n s id e ra b ly and
fo llo w e d
th e
a ffe c te d Wuhuan
The s i t u a t i o n i n th e n o r th and n o r th e a s t by
p lay ed
th e s u c c e s s e s o f th e r e b e l l i o n i n th e some
ro le
i n th e d is tu r b a n c e s w hich
390 In
109,
S outhern
th e r e
Xiongnu
Y oubeiping, Shanggu,
was
and
a
g e n e r a l a l l i a n c e o f th e X ianbl w ith th e
g roups
of
th e Wuhuan from Yanmen, Yuyang and
who ro s e i n r e b e l l i o n and r a id e d th e commanderies o f D ai,
Zhuo
and Wuyuan.
The r e b e l trib e s m e n a c t u a l l y d e fe a te d th e
commandery tr o o p s i n Wuyuan.commander y , and a f o r c e o f tw enty th o u san d men,
in c lu d in g
b o rd e r had
re g im e n ts
commanderies
to
be
tro u b le .
sent
and
of
th e
N o rth ern Army, m i l i t i a from seven
a c o n tin g e n t o f lo y a l X ianbl from Liaodong,
und er th e command o f a f u l l g e n e ra l to p u t down th e
The Xiongnu w ere b ro u g h t to s u r r e n d e r , b u t th e r e b e l X ianbl
and a number o f th e Wuhuan f l e d n o r th a c r o s s th e b o r d e r .66
From and a
th is
tim e
on, we a r e t o l d t h a t th e Wuhuan a g a in re tu r n e d
c o n tin u e d i n a ll e g i a n c e to Han.
I t i s v ery l i k e l y , how ever, t h a t
number o f th e p e o p le w ere f in d in g t h e i r t r a d i t i o n a l t i e s o f l o y a l t y
grow ing w eaker, and were becoming I n c r e a s in g ly a t t r a c t e d by th e en erg y and
s t r e n g t h o f t h e i r X ianbl c o u s in s .
X ianbl
r a id in g
M anchuria a g a in
to
th e
rav ag ed
th e
C hinese
b o rd er
c o u n try
from
O rdos, and i n 118, when th e Xiongnu le a d e r Fenghou
a tte m p te d to e s t a b l i s h an in d e p e n d e n t kingdom, he was d riv e n to
su rre n d e r th is
p a rtie s
From 115 u n t i l th e e a r ly 130s,
to
China
a p p a re n t
prow ess
of
s u rre n d e re d
th e
by
a c c e s s io n X ianbl
N o rth ern
th e c o n s ta n t a t t a c k s o f th e X ian b l. of
en erg y and power came n o t o n ly from th e
p e o p le
Xiongnu
Much o f
th e m se lv e s and
but
renegade
le a d e r s h ip and th e t r i b a l name o f th e X ia n b l.67
from a l l i e s such a s
Wuhuan who a c c e p te d th e
391 The X ianbi
m a jo r ity
and
exam ple,
of
c o n tin u e d
we
a re
th e to
to ld
Wuhuan, be
how ever,
w illin g
th a t
a llie s
were of
opposed Han.
to th e
In 117, f o r
th e c h i e f o f th e Wuhuan o f L ia o x i named
Y uzhlju was a p e rs o n a l enemy o f th e X ianbi le a d e r L ia n x lu , and le d h is p e o p le
to
c ru s h
f r o n t i e r s .6 8 and
e a r ly
a rra n g in g g a in e d w ith
and
L a te r , 130s,
th e
a g a in s t
power
him
when
d u rin g th e r e ig n
w h ile
ra id s
wide
d e fe a t
X ianbi
C h in a ,69
th e
X ianbi
ra id e d
th o s e
o f Emperor Shun, i n th e 120s
le a d e r th e Wuhuan
Q lz h ljla n o f L ia o x i was c h ie fta in
Rongzhuhui
and r e s p e c t a s a l e a d e r o f th e Wuhuan i n a l l i a n c e
H an.70 By th e e a r l y 130s,
a f t e r a number
o f cam paigns i n w hich
th e Wuhuan had d i s t i n g u i s h e d th e m se lv e s a g a i n s t th e X ia n b i, Rongzhuhui had been awarded th e t i t l e o f C hief Commandant F rien d o f Han. Wuhuan
le a d e r ,
s u b o rd in a te s "who
le a d
Füshuguan,
such th e ir
as
was
Duogul
A nother
made Lord Who Leads H is P eo p le, some and Quyan were made k in g s o r m arq u ises
p e o p le " , and th e y a l s o re c e iv e d rew ards o f s i l k f o r
t h e i r s e r v ic e i n b a t t i e . 71
D e s p ite a tta c k s
of
fro n tie r.
th e th e
a p p a re n t X ianbi
had
re c o rd o f s u c c e s s , how ever, th e c o n s ta n t s e rio u s ly
weakened Han power a lo n g th e
In th e m id d le 130s, when th e X ianbi le a d e r Q lz h ljla n d ie d ,
th e C hinese were r e l i e v e d f o r a tim e from m ajor a tta c k s by h is p e o p le . U n f o r tu n a te ly ,
how ever,
th e Wuhuan now to o k ad v an tag e o f th e r e s p i t e
from th e common enemy, and some o f them tu rn e d a g a in s t th e em p ire .
I r o n i c a l l y , th e fo rm er P r o te c to r Ceng Ye was one o f th e f i r s t to su ffer
from th e ch an g e. For s e v e r a l y e a rs he had commanded th e Wuhuan
392 In
b a ttle
a g a in s t
Rongzhuhul re c e iv e d 130s»
had
th e
X la n b l,
b ro u g h t
such
honour
however»
th e
and
Wuhuan
from th e
It
was
trib e sm e n
under
h is a e g is t h a t
to th e f i e l d and had
governm ent o f Han. 72
By th e m iddle
I t a p p e a rs t h a t Rongzhuhul had l e f t th e scene» and I n
th e
w in te r
and
s e iz e d th e c a r ts » goods and c a t t l e o f t r a v e l l i n g m erch an ts on th e
ro a d s. th e
of
135/136 a number o f Wuhuan ra id e d Yunzhong commandery
Geng
Liao»
Ye» now prom oted from P r o te c to r t o G eneral Who C rosses
w ith
h is
h e a d q u a rte rs l n Wuyuan commandery» to o k a sm a ll
f o rc e o f two th o u san d men to d e a l w ith them . He p u rsu ed th e ro b b e rs to th e
te rrito ry
p re s e n t-d a y
of
Shanan
county»
Togtoh» but a f t e r one s u c c e s s f u l s k irm is h he was b e sie g e d
I n a s m a ll f o r t r e s s named L a n c h l. fo rc e
of
j u s t a c r o s s th e Yellow R iv e r from
a
fu rth e r
The C hin ese q u ic k ly r a i s e d a r e l i e f
th r e e tho u san d men» and a s th e s e re in fo rc e m e n ts
ap proach ed th e Wuhuan w ith d ra w .
Though th e I n c id e n t was n o t p a r t i c u l a r l y s e rio u s » and th e number of
men
th e
In v o lv e d
was n o t v ery la rg e » th e f a c t o f th e d is tu r b a n c e and
I n c o n c lu s iv e
f a s h io n o f I t s e n d in g w ere a s ig n o f f u t u r e tr o u b le
f o r th e Han a d m i n i s t r a t i o n .
F ive y e a rs l a t e r » In 140» when th e second
g re a t
r e b e l l i o n o f th e Qlang p e o p le had b ro ken o u t I n Liang pro v in ce»
th e r e
was
a
re b e llio n
of
th e Wuhuan I n a l l i a n c e w ith th e S o u th ern
X longnu.73
The le a d e r s number
main Wusl
of
le a d e r s h ip and
Chenlu»
of
th e
re b e llio n
came from th e Xiongnu
and a t f i r s t I t a p p e a rs t h a t o n ly a sm all
th e Wuhuan» u n d er th e c h i e f t a i n s A jla n and Qlangqu came to
393 jo in
them .
problem th e
Among
th e r e
a fte r fo rc e s. fin a l
Yuan.
to
ap p e a r
in itia l
to
F o llo w in g
su rre n d e r
These
Wuhuan,
from
Yu p ro v in c e , gave
th e Han g e n e r a l s , b u t th o se o f th e more w e ste rn
d e f e a ts
cam paign
I m p e r ia l f o r c e s d is p a tc h e d t o d e a l w ith th e
a c o n tin g e n t o f lo y a l Wuhuan under th e command o f
Wang
s e r v ic e
commanderies
The
was
P r o te c to r
v a lu a b le
th e
have
c o n tin u e d
t h e i r s u p p o rt o f W usi, even
and heavy l o s s e s a t th e hands of th e im p e ria l
th e a s s a s s i n a t i o n o f Wusi a t th e end o f 143, th e
a g a in s t
th e
rem nants
of
h is fo llo w e rs bro u g h t th e
o f sev en hundred th o u sa n d Wuhuan t o th e Han o f f i c i a l Ha S hi.
f ig u r e
may
c o n s id e r a b le
be
e x a g g e ra te d , but i t i s c l e a r t h a t th e r e had been
su p p o rt
fo r
th e
Xlongnu
r e b e ls
among
th e ir
fe llo w
nomads •
Over The
th e n e x t s e v e r a l y e a r s , t h i s s t a t e o f c o n fu s io n c o n tin u e d .
re b e llio n
fo rw ard
of
th e
p o s itio n s
of
Xlongnu th e
had
Han
cau sed a m ajor r e t r e a t from th e
em p ire:
Xihe
comma ndery
was
now
a d m in is te re d from L is h l c o u n ty , f a r to th e s o u th o f th e form er c a p i t a l at
P ln g d ln g ,
so u th e rn had
th e
w ere
removed in
c a p ita l
c a p ita l
on
th e
e a s te rn
p a r t o f p r e s e n t- d a y S h an x i.
been
Xiayang
and
of
s till
from
th a t
bank
o f th e Yellow R iv er i n th e
The c a p i t a l o f Shang commandery
te rrito ry
a lto g e th e r,
and was now a t
Z u o p in g y i, w h ile on th e n o r th e r n loop o f th e Yellow R iver of
Shuofang
Wuyuan
had been s i m i l a r l y s h i f t e d t o Jiu y u a n , th e
commandery.
m a in ta in e d
Though th e commanderies and c o u n tie s
a s n om inal u n i t s o f l o c a l a d m in is tr a tio n , th e
C hinese p o p u la tio n was c l e a r l y i n d e c l i n e , and was Indeed o n ly h e ld i n th e b o rd e r a r e a s by f o r c e o f la w .74
in im m ediate te rm s ,
and f o r th e
394 f o r e s e e a b le fa llin g ,
f u t u r e , I t was c l e a r t h a t th e g ra s p o f I m p e ria l power was and
th e
n o n -C h in ese
p eo p le
co uld
lo o k
fo r
g re a te r
o p p o rtu n itie s .
D e sp ite th e
d e c lin e
th e
e ffe c t
th e
o b v io u s
s t i l l a p p e a rs c o m p a ra tiv e ly slo w . of
o u tra g e o u s
Im p e r ia l
power
d is tu r b a n c e
a d m in is tr a tio n . who
came
to
s e r v ic e s
of
Huangfu
Oui
C hinese m is fo rtu n e s o f th e 140s, how ever,
On th e
a
was now so s l i g h t t h a t o n ly th e m ost
found a t t e n t i o n
in
th e
re c o rd s
of
th e
th e o th e r hand, th e governm ent o f Emperor Huan ,
th ro n e
number
and
T his c o u ld be becau se
In
of
Zhang
146,
was f o r tu n a te enough to have th e
rem ark ab le
Huan.
m ilita ry
commanders, n o ta b ly
D e sp ite th e weakness o f th e C hinese
m i l i t a r y p o s i t i o n , th e c o n s ta n t t h r e a t from th e Qlang i n th e s o u th and th e
grow ing
power
v ic is s itu d e s r e tir e m e n t
of and
of
th e
fa v o u r b rie f
at
X lanbl co u rt
d is g r a c e ,
i n th e n o r th , n o t to m ention th e w hich
th e
produced o c c a s io n a l fo rc e d
o ffic e rs
of
Han m a in ta in e d a
sem blance o f a u t h o r i t y among th e p e o p le s o f th e n o r t h . 75
For a tta c k s
th e upon
flu rry
of
Wuhuan
from
Xluchuge of
th e
p a rt, I m p e ria l
th e
Wuhuan
p o s itio n s .
p lay ed
a
sm all r o l e In th e
In th e l a t t e r 150s, d u rin g a
re b e llio n s
among th e Xlongnu and r a id s by th e X la n b l, th e
Shuofang
commandery made a p a r t i c u l a r a l l i a n c e w ith th e
(o r
Wuyuan
G eneral
most
Who
Chuge) group o f th e X longnu,76
a tta c k e d th e t e r r i t o r y
commandery, and b u r n t th e g a te s o f th e h e a d q u a rte rs o f th e C ro sses
th e
L ia o .
Zhang
Huan, who was a t t h a t tim e
G en era l o f th e Gentlem en o f th e H ousehold E m issary t o th e Xlongnu, le d
395 th e
tro o p s
persu ad ed
of
th e g a r r i s o n o u t t o f a c e th e enemy» and th e n s e c r e t l y
th e
Wuhuan
C hinese a t t a c k .
Again» to
th e
to
a tta c k
to
tu r n
a g a in s t
t h e i r a l l i e s and a id i n th e
The r e b e l s w ere d e f e a te d and s u r r e n d e r e d .77
i n th e summer o f 166» a f t e r Zhang Huan had been r e c a l l e d
c a p i t a l t o ta k e up a m i n i s t e r i a l appointm ent» th e X ianbl came
Xiongnu
th e f r o n t i e r s i n fo rc e » and th e y were jo in e d by Wuhuan and
s u p p o r te r s .
Zhang
ttia n was h a s t i l y s e n t back to d e a l w ith
them»
w ith an army o f p r o v i n c i a l l e v i e s to g e th e r w ith g a r r is o n tro o p s
from
th e command o f th e G en eral Who C ro ssse s th e L iao and th e C o lo n el
P r o te c to r was
of
th e Wuhuan.
coming»
ex e c u te d
and
th e
b o th
The r e b e l Wuhuan and Xiongnu h eard t h a t he
g roups
r in g le a d e r s
came
of
th e
to s u rr e n d e r and a p o lo g is e . re v o lt,
He
and th e X ia n b i, I s o l a t e d
a g a in , r e t r e a t e d beyond th e f r o n t i e r s . 78
The le s s
Wuhuan
re lia b le
i n t h i s w e ste rn re g io n o f th e f r o n t i e r were c l e a r l y
and
lo y a l
th a n
th ey
had been a g e n e r a tio n e a r l i e r ,
though th e y do n o t a p p e a r to have been a c e n t r a l p o in t o f t r o u b l e , and it
proved
re c a ll fa c t,
them th a t
a g a in s t e a r ly
p o s s ib le to th e
th e 140s
a lth o u g h
e a rlie r,
o c c a s io n
th e ir
o ld
f o r g e n e r a ls such a s Zhang Huan to
a lle g ia n c e .
I t i s h a rd ly s u r p r i s i n g , in
Wuhuan o f Shuofang sh o u ld have been p re p a re d to tu r n
C hin ese: th e w ith d ra w a l o f th e commandery c a p i t a l i n th e d e m o n stra te d
th e y
n o rth w e s te rn
on
appear fro n tie r
to
th e
w eakness o f th e im p e r ia l p o s i t i o n , and
have
s in c e
m a in ta in e d a g e n e ra l peace upon t h a t
th e ir
f i r s t s e ttle m e n t a hundred y e a rs
i t was n o t u n re a s o n a b le t h a t th e Wuhuan sh o u ld lo o k f o r some
396 c o n ta c t
and
a s s o c ia tio n
w ith
th e Xiongnu o r even th e X ianbi now t h a t
th e C hin ese f o r c e s w ere i n r e t r e a t .
In th e ir th e
s im ila r
ra id s
acro ss
Xiongnu
had
in f lu e n c e . enemy.
On
by
d is o r d e r ,
th e
X ianbi
m a in ta in e d
and
in c r e a s e d
e x p e rie n c e
of
th e ir
grow ing
s tre n g th
and
o c c a s io n , as i n 166, th e y m ight j o i n th e more p o w erfu l e a s t,
th e
in
X ia n b i,
You
th e
p ro v in c e , w hich s u f f e r e d e q u a lly from
C hinese
a d m in is tr a tio n
was
i n g e n e ra l
and
th e Wuhuan e v id e n tly began t o form s m a ll s t a t e s o f t h e i r
c h ie fly ,
one would assum e, f o r s e l f - d e f e n c e . On th e one hand, th e
s itu a tio n fo r
as
th e whole o f th e n o r th e rn f r o n t i e r , th e Wuhuan and
d ire c t
F u r th e r
r a id in g
own,
f a s h io n ,
of
th e
tim e ,
m ilita ry
as
fie ld s ,
th e s e n o n -C h in ese a l l i e s o f th e em pire was now u n c e r ta in , power
of
Han
was c l e a r l y i n d e c l i n e .
At th e same
th e r a i d s o f th e X ian b i d ro v e th e C hinese p e a s a n ts from t h e i r th e r e
ap p eared
some
o p p o r tu n ity
fo r
th e
Wuhuan
to make a
p o s i t i o n o f t h e i r own.
By t o ld
th e
th a t
Liaodong
b e g in n in g
r e ig n o f Emperor L ing, i n 168, we a r e
th e fo u r commanderles o f Shanggu, Y oubeiplng, L iao x i and
th e r e
were Wuhuan c h i e f t a i n s who had g a th e re d f o llo w e rs a b o u t
and
n in e
th o u san d
le a d e rs ,
th e
in
them
Q iu llju
of
had
of
ta k e n t i t l e a s k in g s . lu o
g ro u p s ,
L ia o x i,
Supuyan,
w ith of
Y oubeiplng,
had
le s s e r
were
and
a m b itio u s
young
a p p eared th e most p o w e rfu l,
some
th e
Nanlou o f Shanggu, w ith more th a n
fiv e
Dependant
numbers
under
fo llo w ed
th o u sand such g ro u p s. S ta te
by
Two o th e r
o f Liaodong, and Wuyan o f
t h e i r command, b u t a l l o f them
and e n e r g e t i c , and i n t h i s tim e o f d is o r d e r
397
and
Im p e ria l
w eakness
th e y seemed t o o f f e r a c e n tr e o f s e c u r i t y f o r
d efen c e and p o s s ib le f u t u r e pow er.7 9
A few y e a rs l a t e r » i n 177» th e em pire o f Han s u f f e r e d one o f i t s most
h u m ilia tin g
a tta c k s th e
th irty
d e fe a ts .
P ressed by th e c o n tin u a l
th e governm ent o f Emperor Ling d is p a tc h e d an army o f some
th o u san d
c e rta in ly
men»
in c lu d in g
Im p e ria l
a u x ilia rie s
and
alm o st
The cam paign was a t o t a l f a i l u r e » t h r e e q u a r t e r s o f th e
tro o p s
were
lo s t»
re c o v e re d
from
th e
w ith o u t
Xiongnu
a m ajor c o n tin g e n t o f Wuhuan» to a t t a c k th e X ianbi i n t h e i r
c o u n try .
never
d is a s tro u s
o f th e X ianbi l e a d e r T an sh ih u ai» and u rg ed on by a f a c t i o n a t
c o u rt»
own
and
and
th e C hinese p o s itio n s i n th e n o rth
blow .
The r a i d s o f th e X ianbi c o n tin u e d
I n t e r r u p t i o n u n t i l th e d e a th o f T an sh ih u ai i n th e e a r ly 180s»
and were n o t s e r i o u s l y d im in ish e d f o r some y e a rs a f t e r t h a t . 80
In
th e s e
c irc u m sta n c es»
th e p r e s t i g e o f Han had f a l l e n so f a r
among i t s e r s t w h i l e t r i b u t a r i e s and a l l i e s t h a t th e w hole t e r r i t o r y o f th e in
n o r th th e
184» p e tty th e
was now a t r i s k .
a f te r m a th
th e
Chuge
o f th e t e r r i b l e r e b e l l i o n o f th e Yellow Ih rb a n s i n group o f th e Xiongnu were engaged i n alm o st c o n s ta n t
in s u rre c tio n Wuhuan
By th e end o f th e r e ig n o f Emperor Ling»
i n th e Ordos reg io n » and th e s e l f - s t y l e d k in g s o f
lo o k ed o n ly f o r an o p p o r tu n ity to expand t h e i r a c t i v i t i e s
and t h e i r power.
398
The road to White Wolf M ountain:^ D uring th e d e s p e r a te y e a r o f th e Yellow Ih rb a n r e b e l l i o n I n 184, even
though
te rrito ry
In
In te re s t Yellow
one th e
In
th e
Song
of
fo r
c o u r t.
le a d in g were
c e n tr e s o f th e o u tb re a k was d o s e to t h e i r
n o r t h e a s t , 82
as
cause.
th e
th e Wuhuan a p p e a r t o have
th a t
which
ro le ,
no
In 185, a f t e r th e d e s tr u c tio n o f th e
governm ent
tu rn e d
he
be
Its
a tte n tio n
to
th e
g iv e n p e rm is s io n t o le v y t h r e e th o u san d
s e r v ic e a g a in s t th e r e b e l Q lang. In
shown
Liang p ro v in c e I n th e n o rth w e s t, th e g e n e ra l Huangfu
s u g g e ste d
Wuhuan
th e
re b e l
ftirb a n s ,
d is tu rb a n c e s
at
of
it
s u ffic ie n tly
was
th e
s c h o la r
and
A fte r a s p i r i t e d d e b a te
h i s t o r i a n Ylng Shao p la y e d a
a g re e d t h a t n e i t h e r th e Wuhuan n o r th e X ianbl
r e l i a b l e t o s e rv e a s a u x i l i a r i e s o u ts id e t h e i r own
t e r r i t o r y , and th e p la n was s h e lv e d .83
Huangfu Song, how ever, had s m a ll s u c c e s s a g a in s t th e r e b e l s , and In who
th e
autumn o f t h a t y e a r he was re p la c e d by th e g e n e ra l Zhang Wen,
a rra n g e d
Wuhuan from
to
f o r th e r e c r u itm e n t o f t h r e e th o u san d horsem en from th e
s e rv e
a s shock tro o p s f o r h i s arm y.
A c e r t a i n Zhang Chun
Yuyang commandery, who had fo rm e rly h e ld o f f i c e a s C h a n c e llo r o f
Zhongshan, asked
fo r
th e
command
of
th is
d etach m en t.
Zhang Wen,
how ever, gave th e ap p o in tm en t t o th e e n e r g e tic j u n i o r o f f i c i a l Gongsun Zan,
who had a lr e a d y made a name f o r h im s e lf i n cam paigns a g a in s t th e
X ia n b l, b u t was a t t h a t tim e no more th a n th e P r e f e c t o f Zhuo.84
Zhang him
a
s m a ll
Chun
was r e s e n t f u l o f th e s l i g h t , and he g a th e re d around
group o f m a lc o n te n ts , in c lu d in g Zhang J u , a l s o a man o f
399 Yuyang
and
presum ably a member o f th e same c la n , who had a t one tim e
been th e Grand A d m in is tra to r o f T a ish a n . c o n ta c t
w ith
T his C hinese p a r ty th e n made
l o c a l le a d e r s o f th e Wuhuan, n o ta b ly Q lu liju o f L la o x i,
and s t i r r e d up t h e i r re se n tm e n ts and a m b itio n s a g a in s t Han.
The P ro v in ce
in itia l
im p e r ia l
r e c r u itm e n t
fo r
th e
campaign i n Liang
a p p e a rs to have been q u i t e i n e f f e c t i v e , f o r a f t e r th e Wuhuan
had been g a th e re d some tim e a t J l , th e c a p i t a l o f Guangyang commandery and
th e
h e a d q u a rte rs o f
nor
pay from th e governm ent, and th e y d e s e r te d to r e t u r n to t h e i r own
te rrito rie s . w ere
o p e r a tio n s .
grand
th ey re c e iv e d n e i t h e r food
With t h i s s ig n o f In co m p eten ce, th e re n e g a d e s ' argum ents
s tr e n g th e n e d ,
th e l o c a l
You p r o v in c e ,85
With
and
in
th e
summer
of
187,
th e y
began m ajor
th e
f i r s t Im petus o f t h e i r a t t a c k , th e y d e fe a te d
f o r c e s o f Y oubeiplng and Liaodong com m anderies, k i l l i n g th e
a d m in is tra to rs .
They ra id e d th e c i t y o f J l , and th e y d e fe a te d
and k i l l e d th e C o lo n el P r o te c to r
o f th e Wuhuan Gongqi C hou.86
T h e ir
army was s a id to number one hundred th o u sa n d , a l l under th e command o f Zhang
Chun,
and Zhang Ju was p ro c la im e d a s em peror, w ith h i s c a p i t a l
a t F e lru i n L la o x i.87
The day
Hebei
r e b e l s ' t e r r i t o r y was n o t v e ry g r e a t , no more th a n p r e s e n t p ro v in c e
n o r th e a s t o f B e ijin g , to g e th e r w ith th e s t r i p o f
c o a 8 tla n d
ru n n in g
p a r ts
th e e m p ire , u rg in g th e em peror o f Han to q u i t h i s th ro n e i n
of
fa v o u r ex ten d ed
of
th e th e ir
in to
M anchuria, b u t th e y s e n t m essengers to o th e r
new d y n a s ty , and from t h e i r base i n You p ro v in c e th ey a tta c k s
south w ard s a c r o s s th e N orth China P la in .
In
400 th e
fo llo w in g
clansm an,
y e a r , 188, th e c o u rt a t Luoyang a p p o in te d th e Im p e ria l
L iu
Yu,
a s G overnor o f You p ro v in c e , w ith i n s t r u c t i o n s to
end th e d i s tu r b a n c e s .
L iu of
th e
Yu h im s e lf came from Donghal commandery I n th e e a s t e r n p a r t N orth
In s p e c to r
of
non-C hinese how ever,
China You
of
r e p r e s e n te d
of
but
he had se rv e d f o r s e v e r a l y e a rs a s
p ro v in c e and had b een t r u s t e d and re s p e c te d by th e
p e o p le s
a d m in is tr a tio n . D ir e c to r
P la in ,
At
th e
a th e
th e m ajor tim e
Im p e ria l
change of
C lan,
h is a
81s
in
th e
new
a p p o in tm e n t,
system
o f Han l o c a l
a p p o in tm e n t,
U u Yu had been
m i n i s t e r i a l p o s t i n th e c e n t r a l
governm ent,
and
p ro v in c e .
As G overnor, L iu Yu c o n t r o l l e d th e same t e r r i t o r y a s when
he
he
f r o n t i e r . 88
r e t a i n e d t h a t ran k and s a la r y a s Governor o f You
had been In s p e c to r o f You p ro v in c e , b u t he now h e ld d i r e c t t i t u l a r
command
over
a ll
th e
m ilita ry
and
c iv il
a d m in is tr a tio n
of
th e
commanderles i n th e p ro v in c e , and i t was from th e s e y e a rs o f th e r e ig n of
Emperor
Ling
th a t
th e
p ro v in c e s
became th e e f f e c t i v e u n i t s o f
a d m in is tr a tio n i n th e e m p ire .8 9
At a lre a d y
th e begun
a llie s . w ith
a
Gongsun
a
sm a ll
somewhere Zhang
tim e
Chun
fro n tie r.
in
of
L iu
Y u's a p p o in tm e n t, th e C h inese f o r c e s had
c o u n te r - a tta c k Zan,
fo rc e
now
in to
a g a in s t
Zhang
Chun and h i s Wuhuan
a C h ie f Commandant o f C a v a lry , was s e n t You
p ro v in c e , and i n a b a t t l e a t Shimen,
th e Dependent S t a t e o f L iaodong, he c o m p letely d e fe a te d and
drove
him
w ith th e rem nants o f h is army a c ro s s th e
Then Gongsun Zan advanced i n p u r s u i t , b u t he o v e r-re a c h e d
401 h is
su p p ly
lin e s ,
su ffe re d
an a t t a c k from th e f o r c e s o f Q lu llju I n
L ia o x i,
and he was b e se ig e d f o r th e w in te r In a sm all f o r t r e s s c a lle d
G uanzi.
H olding o u t th e r e f o r s e v e r a l m onths, he e v e n tu a lly made h is
escap e,
but
not
b e fo re
more
th a n
h a lf
of
h is
men
had
fa lle n
c a s u a l t y .9 0
The b rie f
a rriv a l
p e rio d
d is c o u ra g e th e
of
o f L iu Yu I n th e s p r in g b ro u g h t a new p o lic y and a peace.
them
Sending
m essengers
among
th e X lanbl to
from th o u g h ts o f r e b e l l i o n , and o f f e r i n g rew ards f o r
heads o f Zhang Chun and Zhang J u , Liu Yu encouraged th e Wuhuan to
re tu rn
to
th e ir a lle g ia n c e .
W ith in a few w eeks, a r e t a i n e r o f Zhang
Chun had k i l l e d him and s e n t I n h is h ead , w h ile Q lu llju and th e Wuhuan re tu r n e d home and s u r r e n d e r e d .
L iu Grand
Yu,
fo r
h is
ach ie v e m en t, was o f f e r e d th e p o s i t i o n o f
Commandant,
th e
h ig h e s t
ap p o in tm en t
In th e Im p e ria l b u re a u
c ra c y .
In
fa c t,
L iu
Yu n e v e r r e tu r n e d t o th e c a p i t a l t o ta k e up t h a t
p o s i t i o n , f o r w ith in a few m onths, a f t e r th e d e a th o f Emperor Ling and th e begun but under says:
s e iz u r e to th e h is
o f power by th e w a rlo rd Dong Zhuo, th e em pire o f Han had
d is in te g ra te . le tte r
of
In 190, U u Yu was honoured a s Grand TXitor,
ap p o in tm en t n e v e r re a c h e d him ; and You p ro v in c e ,
a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , became a haven o f r e f u g e e s .
His b io g rap h y
402 In th e p a s t . You p ro v in c e had t o d e a l w ith th e p e o p le o u ts id e th e f r o n t i e r s . The ex p en ses were e x tre m e ly h eavy, and e v e ry y e a r more th a n two hundred m illio n ca sh was ta k e n from th e t a x a tio n o f Qlng and J1 p ro v in c e s to make up th e d e f i c i t o f You p ro v in c e . At t h i s tim e , a l l co m n u n lcatio n s w ere c u t o f f and th e g r a in t r a n s p o r t co u ld n o t a r r i v e . In th e s e c irc u m s ta n c e s , Liu Yu h e ld it e s s e n tia l t o m a in ta in a l e n i e n t a d m in is tr a tio n . tie encouraged fa rm in g , he opened a p ro sp ero u s m arket w ith th e b a r b a r ia n s in Shanggu, and he m a in ta in e d th e s u p p lie s o f s a l t and ir o n from Yuyang. The p eo p le were c o n te n te d , th e h a r v e s ts w ere good, and a b u s h e l o f g r a i n c o s t only t h i r t y c a s h . More th a n a m illio n p e o p le o f Qlng and Xu p ro v in c e s came t o e sc a p e th e ra v a g e s o f th e Yellow Türb an s. Liu Yu c a re d f o r a l l o f them w ith a warm sym pathy, s e t t l e d them and gave them a means o f l i v e l i h o o d . A ll th e r e fu g e e s f o r g o t th e m is fo rtu n e s o f th e ir e x ile . L iu Yu h im s e lf , a lth o u g h he h e ld th e h ig h e s t ra n k , was by n a tu r e sim p le and m odest. He wore o ld c lo th e s and rope s a n d a ls , and he had o n ly a s i n g l e d is h o f meat a t any m eal. A ll th e men of l o c a l power, who had fo rm e rly d is p la y e d t h e i r lu x u ry and e x tra v a g e n c e , now ch arg ed t h e i r m anner o f b eh av io u r and fo llo w e d h is exam p le.91
T h is co n c e a l
th e
te n s io n s fa c t,
a ffe c tio n a te
of
fa c t
th a t
th e
b o rd e r
how ever,
th e
p ic tu re You were
im m ediate
of
a
fin e
a d m in is tr a to r does n o t
was n o rm ally a d e b to r p ro v in c e , and th e g e n e r a lly e x p e n siv e and w o rry in g . tr o u b le
of
Liu
In
Yu was h is m i l i t a r y
s u b o r d in a te ,
Gongsun Zan.
Gongsun
Zan
was an x io u s to d e s tr o y th e Wuhuan by m i l i t a r y f o r c e , and
he
was
re s e n tfu l
For
a
group but
sh o rt of
by
w a rfa re
193 w ith
a t th e s u c c e s s o f L iu Y u's p o lic y o f p a c i f i c a t i o n .
tim e ,
Yellow
S t i l l s m a rtin g from h i s se tb a c k a t U uanzi,
h is e n e r g ie s were s a t i s f i e d by th e m assacre o f a
Türban
b a n d its a t th e Yellow R iv er i n J1 p ro v in c e ,
h i s a m b itio n s and h o s t i l i t y had grown to a p o in t of open Liu
Yu.
In a s i n g l e d e c is iv e b a t t l e he d e fe a te d th e
403 g o v e rn o r 's
tro o p s»
c a p tu re d
Liu
Yu and h is fa m ily , and p u t them to
d e a th i n J i c i t y on trum ped-up c h a rg e s o f tr e a s o n .
W ithin w h ile
h is
Wuhuan le d
a v ery s h o r t tim e , Gongsun Zan i n tu r n was under a t t a c k , v ic io u s
or
tr e a tm e n t o f enem ies e lim in a te d any chance o f th e
th e C hinese a c c e p tin g h i s r u l e .
by men l o y a l t o L iu Yu, s u p p o rte d by th e Wuhuan c h i e f t a i n Supuyan
from
th e
X ia n b l, s o u th ,
Dependent made
an
of
Yi i n
jo b ,
and
w ith
S ta te o f L iaodong, to g e th e r w ith a c o n tin g e n t o f
a llia n c e
d e fe a te d
c ity
Gongsun
w ith th e g e n try le a d e r Yuan Shao from th e Zan
H e jla n . ^ a
and drove him i n t o a s tro n g h o ld a t th e
In 199 Yuan Shao re tu r n e d t o
combined
In
la r g e ly
ro le h is
th is
p e rio d
son
Louban
was
o f c o n fu s io n , th e v a rio u s groups o f th e Wuhuan and had p la y e d a s i g n i f i c a n t
Q lu llju o f L ia o x l d ie d i n th e e a r l y 190s, and to o
young t o h o ld e f f e c t i v e a u t h o r i t y a s a war
le a d e r , b u t h i s nephew Tadun to o k h i s p la c e . have
been
p ro b a b ly th e
re c o g n ise d
th e
93
m a in ta in e d t h e i r i d e n t i t y ,
i n th e n o r t h e a s t .
fin is h
f o r c e o f C hinese and Wuhuan he d e s tro y e d
Gongsun Z a n 's f o r t r e s s and k i l l e d him .
had
In 195, a l o c a l r e b e l l i o n
by
n e ig h b o u rin g
In d eed , Tadun ap p ears to
g roups o f Wuhuan, and i t was
he who le d th e combined b a r b a r ia n f o r c e s to a id Yuan Shao in
f i n a l b a t t l e s a g a i n s t Gongsun Zan.
A f te r t h a t v i c t o r y , Yuan Shao
gave s e a l s and i n s i g n i a a s Shanyu to th e c h i e f t a i n s Nanlou o f Shanggu, Supuyan Tadun.
94
of
Liaodong
Dependent
S ta te ,
Wuyan o f Y oubelplng and a ls o
Some tim e l a t e r , a t th e i n s t i g a t i o n o f
Nanlou and Supuyan,
404 Q i u l l j u '8 Shanyu
8on
and
Louban,
Tadun
now
became
grown I n s te a d
to a
manhood, re c e iv e d th e s e a l o f k in g ,
b u t he s t i l l h e ld g r e a t
In flu e n c e i n t h e i r c o u n c ils .
The s u c c e s s io n o f m ajo r power i n th e n o r th e a s t from L iu Yu t o Gongsun
Zan t o Yuan Shao c an n o t o b sc u re th e f a c t t h a t th e Wuhuan, th e
X ianbi p a rt
and in
th e
a
endem ic
s ta te
th a t
fig h tin g
among
th e m se lv e s i n t h i s re g io n were f o r th e most
o f p o l i t i c a l and s o c i a l c o n fu s io n .
s k irm is h e s
re c o rd e d
w e ll
C hinese
and
some th e
c iv il
Wuhuan
war
groups
T aihang
betw een were
A part from th e
th e m ajor r i v a l s , i t i s
in v o lv e d
in
b a n d itr y ?nd
M ountains and on th e N orth China P la in ,
to th e s o u th , w h ile v a rio u s I s o l a t e d t e r r i t o r i e s i n You p ro v in c e
had
e ffe c tiv e ly
concerned lim ite d
o n ly
to
a re a .
ta in e d and
w ithdraw n
m a in ta in a modicum o f peace and s e c u r i t y w ith in a
T ian Chou, a C hinese le a d e r i n Wuzhong c o u n ty , m ain
e ffe c tiv e
X ia n b i,
from th e o u s tid e w o rld , w ith t h e i r p eo p le
95
indepen d en ce
and Xlanyu Fu,
w ith
some
l o c a l a l l i a n c e s o f Wuhuan
Grand A d m in is tra to r o f Yuyang lo y a l to
Liu Yu, p r e f e r r e d a nom inal a l l i a n c e w ith th e d i s t a n t w a rlo rd Gao Cao, in
th e c e n tr e o f th e N orth C hina P la in , t o any c lo s e a s s o c i a t i o n w ith
Yuan
Shao.
X ianbi
as
( Wuhuan 193,
Yan a
a C hinese who had liv e d among th e Wuhuan and
boy, and who had ta k e n th e t i t l e o f M ajor t o th e Wuhuan
sim a)
though
Rou,
at he
th e tim e o f th e r e b e l l i o n a c c e p te d
a
com m ission
from
a g a in s t
Yuan Shao i n 199, was
e ffe c tiv e ly
in d e p e n d e n t a lo n g th e n o r th e r n b o r d e r s .
y e a r,
Yuan
when
Shao
moved
s o u th
Gongsun Zan i n
In th e fo llo w in g
to a t ta c k Cao Cao, Yan Rou s e n t
405 m essen g ers t o Cao Cao and a c c e p te d ap p o in tm en t a s C o lo n el P r o te c to r o f th e Wuhuan a t h i s hands in s te a d *
In
th e
mean
tim e ,
s t i l l f u r t h e r t o th e e a s t , and l a r g e ly un
tu rm o il
o f China P ro p e r, th e w a rlo rd Gongsun Du o f
a f f e c te d
by
s o u th e rn
M anchuria,
Grand
th e
96
who
A d m in is tra to r
had b een a p p o in te d t o t h a t re g io n i n 190 a s
of
L iaodong,
was
c a rv in g
fo r
h im se lf
an
In d ep e n d e n t s t a t e , and ex p an d in g th e f r o n t i e r s o f h i s r u l e a g a in s t th e non-C h in ese
s ta te
of
G aogouli/K ogury# i n th e e a s t and th e Wuhuan o f
th e m ountain c o u n try i n th e west*
By th e tim e Gongsun Du d ie d i n 204,
he and h i s son Kang, who su cceeded him , were i n a p o s i t i o n to d e fy any power w ith in re a c h o f them*
As marked
tu rn e d
th e
y e a r, of
it
h is
97
o u t.
e ffe c tiv e
Yuan S h a o 's c o n q u e st o f Gongsun Zan i n 199
h ig h
p o in t
o f h i s su ccess*
In th e fo llo w in g
g r e a t army was d r a m a tic a lly d e f e a te d by th e s m a lle r f o r c e s
Cao
Cao
a t th e b a t t l e o f Guandu, j u s t so u th o f th e Yellow R iv e r,
in
202
Yuan
and
Shao
died*
His
th r e e s o n s . Tan, Xi and Shang,
q u a r r e l l e d among th e m s e lv e s , and Cao Cao was a b le to ta k e ad v an tag e o f th e ir
d is s e n t i o n s
fo rm e rly
und er
and
Yuan
r i v a l r y t o conquer th e whole o f th e t e r r i t o r y S h a o 's c o n tro l*
By 205, Yuan Tan was d e a d , and
Yuan Xi and Yuan Shang had ta k e n re fu g e among th e Wuhuan*
It as
th e
among
was power
in of
th e s e
y e a rs a t th e b e g in n in g o f th e t h i r d c e n tu r y ,
Yuan Shao was weakened and ru in e d by th e d iv is io n s
h i s sons and th e cam paigns o f Cao Cao, t h a t th e Wuhuan o b ta in e d
406
Map 12:
Cao C ao 's Approach to th e N o rth e a st 206-207
407 a
tem p o rary u n ity and a p p a re n t s t r e n g t h under th e m i l i t a r y le a d e r s h ip
of
Tadun.
Yuan
Though Supuyan, Wuyan and Louban, e n fe o ffe d a s Shanyu by
Shao,
e v id e n tly
independence» accept
th e
o u tra n k e d
energy
him and co u ld e a s i l y m a in ta in t h e i r
and Im a g in a tio n o f Tadun p ersu ad ed them to
h is l e a d e r s h ip , and th e r e were rum ours t h a t he had p la n s f o r a
hegemony Xlongnu
o v er in
th e n o r th e r n t r i b e s com parable t o t h a t o f Modun o f th e
th e
past
or
T an sh lh u al
of
th e
X ianbl In more re c e n t
tim e s .
In
fa c t,
Tadun
had
th e ir
c o n tr o l
t h i s was m ost u n l i k e l y .
The a l l i a n c e o f Wuhuan u n d er
fir m s u p p o rt and c e r t a i n l y no c lo s e a l l i a n c e among th e QQ X ianbl p e o p le Im m ediately to t h e i r n o r th and w e s t, 7 and th e a r e a o f
defend ed th e
no
by
of
of th e ir
hundred
th o u sa n d ,
Tadun
Wuhuan
th e
p o te n tia l
pock et
f o llo w e r s ,
and
of
a
of
te rrito ry
Tadun
had g a in e d command o f a combined
and he la u n ch ed r a i d s t o th e so u th I n claim ed su p
cau se
an
N e v e rth e le s s , w ith
fo r c e w hich was s a id t o number some two o r th r e e
of
fig u re h e a d s
were
I n th e n o r t h e a s t ,
th e two Yuan b r o t h e r s , accom panied by a c o n s id e ra b le
C hinese
p o rt
o n ly
r i v e r c r o s s in g s and m ountain p a s s e s .
a rriv a l
number
was
th e
Yuan c l a n .
Yuan Shang and Yuan XI were
f o r d is tu r b a n c e I n th e n o r th , and th e r a i d s of
Im m ediate
cau se
of
tr o u b le and annoyance.
Cao Cao
d eterm in e d t o e lim in a te them .
From
th e
p re p a ra tio n s ,
autumn o f 206 th ro u g h th e s p r in g o f 207, Cao Cao made most
n o ta b ly
by d ig g in g two c a n a ls , th e P ln g lu Trench
and th e Quanzhou T ren ch , to b r in g s u p p lie s by w a te r from th e r e g io n o f
408 p re s e n t- d a y th e
c e n t r a l H ebel
to th e t e r r i t o r y
o f th e n o r t h e a s t . 1®® In
summer he came to ta k e p e rs o n a l command o f th e cam paign, w ith h i s
b a se
camp
a t th e c i t y o f Y1 I n H e jia n , and he advanced from th e r e t o
Wuzhong.
The alo n g
o b v io u s
th e
summer
c o a s ta l
lin e
of
a tta c k
a g a in s t th e Wuhuan p o s i t i o n s la y
p l a i n s o u th o f th e m ountains I n to L la o x l, b u t th e
r a i n s o f th e monsoon p u t th e r i v e r s o f t h i s r e g io n I n to s p a te ,
flo o d e d th e m arshland I n th e lo w -ly in g a r e a s a lo n g th e s e a , and tu rn e d th e ro ad s i n t o mud.
The enemy h e ld e v e ry c r o s s in g p la c e , and th e army
co u ld make no p r o g r e s s .
It
was a t t h i s p o in t t h a t Cao Cao ask ed th e a d v ic e o f th e l o c a l
C hinese le a d e r T lan Chou, who had m a in ta in e d h i s independence f o r many y e a rs
i n th e re g io n o f Wuzhong, b u t had come t o j o i n Cao Cao when h i s
main
fo r c e
from
T adun's
groups
of
c o u n try .
drew n e a r .
th e
fo rc e s, Wuhuan
T lan Chou had s u f f e r e d some a t ta c k s and r a i d s b u t he had m a in ta in e d good c o n ta c ts w ith o th e r and
th e
X la n b l, and he had knowledge o f th e
His a d v ic e t o Cao Cao was a s f o l l o w s :1®1
The ro ad a lo n g th e c o a s t i s alw ays flo o d e d i n summer and autum n. I t i s to o deep f o r h o rs e s and c a r t s , b u t to o sh a llo w on th e o th e r hand f o r b o a ts o r b a r g e s . These c o n d itio n s have lo n g been a d i f f i c u l t y f o r t h i s r e g io n . In th e p a s t , how ever, when th e c a p i t a l o f [Y o u -]b eip in g commandery was a t P ing g an g , 2 th e r e was a road which went o u t by L ulong103 and on t o L lu c h e n g .l ü ^ S ince th e Jlanw u p e r io d , two hundred y e a rs a g o , th e ro ad h as f a l l e n i n t o r u i n , b u t th e r e i s s t i l l th e rem nants o f a tr a c k w hich you can fo llo w .
409
Map 13:
Gao C ao's Route t o White Wolf M ountain 207
410 Now th e enemy commanders a r e c e r t a i n t h a t a m ajor a n y such a s y o u r8 w i l l have to a t t a c k them d i r e c t from Wuzhong, and th e y w i l l be s u re t h a t s in c e you ca n n o t advance a g a in s t them now you w i l l be fo rc e d to r e t r e a t . They w i l l f e e l s e c u r e , and w i l l r e l a x t h e i r p r e p a r a tio n s . However, I f you t u r n y o u r army a s i d e , go o u t th ro u g h th e Lulong p a ss I n to th e g o rg es o f th e Botan r e g i o n , 06 th e n you w i l l f in d y o u r s e lf I n t e r r i t o r y w hich I s u ndefended. The road th e r e I s d o s e and c o n v e n ie n t, you w i l l be a b le to a t t a c k them w here th e y l e a s t e x p e c t i t , and you can ta k e T ad u n 's head w ith o u t f i g h t i n g even a s in g l e b a t t l e .
Cao
Gao
a c c e p te d
th e
p la n ,
and
embarked on one o f th e m ost
rem ark ab le m i l i t a r y
a d v e n tu re s o f h i s c a r e e r .
he
th e m oun tain s
tu rn e d
I n to
th ro u g h
t o th e n o r th ,
th e upp er v a lle y o f th e Luan R iv e r.
a c ro s s
Leaving th e p l a i n , 108
and c ro s s e d o v er
He marched h i s f o r c e s e a s t ,
t e r r i t o r y w hich was now re c o g n is e d a s th e g ra z in g la n d s o f th e
X i a n b i ,* ^
and
th e n
d o in g
he
tu rn e d
so,
advanced
on
r e - e n te r e d th e
th e m ountains
fla n k
from
th e n o r th .
In
o f T ad u n's d e fe n s iv e p o s i t i o n , and
a l i n e to th e s e a w hich would d iv id e th e enemy t e r r i t o r y
I n to tw o.
In
th e
autum n.
In
th e
e ig h th
C hinese
month,
as
Gao
Gao
approached th ro u g h th e m ountain c o u n try beyond th e f r o n t i e r s o f L ia o x i commandery,
Tadun
w ithdraw in g
h is
commander arm ies
b ro u g h t
and
h is
tro o p s
from
them
fe llo w s th e ir
r e a l i s e d t h e i r d a n g e r. p re p a re d
H a s tily
p o s i t i o n s , th e Wuhuan
n o r th t o oppose Cao Cao's a d v an ces.
Ih e two
met In th e neighbourhood o f W hite Wolf M ountain (B olang S han),
on th e h e a d w a te rs o f th e D alln g R i v e r .* ^
The
b a ttle
was
a
sh o rt one.
w ith th e baggage w e ll to th e r e a r ,
Gao Cao's fo rc e was lig h ta rm e d ,
b u t he had been e x p e c tin g a sudden
411 e n c o u n te r
and he was p re p a re d f o r th e o p p o r tu n ity .
e v id e n tly
a r r iv e d
fo rm a tio n ,
and
in
I n s te a d ,
and
proved
a tta c k
le d
tim e ,
Tadun
men,
and
a r e a w ith o u t th e tim e to draw up a p ro p e r
th e y d id n o t a rra n g e any d e fe n c e by h arassm en t i n th e
g o rg e s . th e y
th e
The Wuhuan f o r c e s
by
th e y a p p e a r t o have drawn up i n i l l - o r d e r e d m ass, d e s p e r a te ly
Cao
C ao 's
v u ln e r a b le
g e n e ra l
to th e s w if t and e f f e c t i v e
Zhang L ia o .
W ithin a v e ry s h o r t
was d e f e a te d and k i l l e d , a lo n g w ith g r e a t numbers o f h i s
i t i s s a id t h a t more th a n two hundred thousand o f th e enemy
s u r r e n d e r e d .111
W ith
t h i s one engagem ent, Gao Cao had broken th e back o f Wuhuan
re s is ta n c e . Wuhuan
Yuan
le a d e rs ,
p r o te c t i o n march
from
to
of
h im s e lf
Shang, to g e th e r w ith th e s u r v iv in g
Gongsun
Gongsun
Kang i n L iaodong, and Cao Cao c o n tin u e d h i s
T here h is
he
h a l t e d , making c l e a r t h a t he had no
s u c c e ss
w ith an a t t a c k a g a in s t Gongsun
Kang, f o r h i s p a r t , p r e f e r r e d t o se e k Cao C ao 's
th a n to j o i n an a l l i a n c e w ith h i s d e fe a te d en em ies.
a fte r
a rre s te d
Yuan
Supuyan, Louban, Wuyan and o t h e r s , f l e d e a s t t o seek
fo llo w in g
and
f r ie n d s h ip days
and
L iucheng.
in te n tio n Kang;
XI
th e
Yuan
b r o th e r s
and
Supuyan
a r r iv e d ,
A few
Gongsun Kang
them , k i l l e d them , and s e n t t h e i r heads t o Cao Cao.
Cao Cao
claim ed th e c r e d i t f o r t h i s s u c c e s s , f o r once th e t h r e a t o f a
d i r e c t a t t a c k was removed from Gongsun Kang, th e Yuan b r o th e r s were no more
th a n
in te rn a l
an
em b arrassm en t,
and
th e y
t h r e a t to h i s l o c a l a u t h o r i t y .
112
m ight
even
prove t o be an
And Gongsun Kang
had no
re a s o n t o keep a se m i-In d e p e n d e n t Wuhuan c h i e f t a i n i n o p e r a tio n i n h i s
412 fro n tie rs ,
when
he co u ld hope t h a t th e m urder o f Supuyan m ight le a v e
th e way open f o r h i s own ta k e o v e r o f th e t r lb e s p e o p le to th e west*
At
th e
n e c e s s ity , co n q u e st
same
fo r of
tim e ,
Cao
Gao
was
s u r e ly making a v i r t u e from
he and h i s army were i n no c o n d itio n to embark on th e
s o u th e rn
M anchuria.
As he w ithdrew from L iucheng, th e
flo o d s o f summer had g iv e n way to an e a r l y w in te r , b i t t e r l y c o ld , w ith no
d r in k a b le w a te r on th e s u r f a c e f o r a hundred k ilo m e tr e s .
The army
was s h o r t o f fo o d , and th e y k i l l e d t h e i r h o rs e s f o r m eat, w h ile i t was claim ed th ey
found
8t i l l th e
th a t
th e men had t o d ig w e lls th r e e hundred f e e t deep b e fo re w a te r .
M oreover, Cao C ao 's p o s i t i o n i n China P ro p er was
i n d an g er from a s e r i o u s a t t a c k by one o f h i s w a rlo rd r i v a l s i n s o u th ,
and i t was Im p o rta n t t h a t he sh o u ld r e t u r n s w i f t l y to h i s
c a p ita l. arn y
In
th e e le v e n th m onth, how ever, a t th e end o f 207, a s th e
r e tu r n e d
Shanggu
and
b ro u g h t
to P u fu lu
th e ir
c o n g ra tu la tio n s . hope
th e N orth China P l a i n , he was g re e te d by Nanlou o f Dai
commandery,
s u b o r d in a te
c h ie fta in s
113
J
of
W ith th e
le a d e r s to
of th e Wuhuan who
o ffe r
d e s t r u c t i o n o f Tadun,
homage
and
th e s h o r t - l i v e d
o f an In d ep en d en t Wuhuan c o n fe d e ra c y was en d ed , and th e r e was no
fu rth e r
a tte m p t
at
s e r io u s o p p o s itio n t o Cao C ao 's a u t h o r i t y i n th e
n o r th .
It dangerous ask ed The
fo r
was
re c o g n is e d , even by Cao Cao, t h a t th e .c a m p a ig n had been
and r i s k y . th e
c o u n s e llo r s
names were
A fte r h i s s u c c e s s f u l r e t u r n , i t i s s a id t h a t he o f a l l th o s e who had a d v is e d a g a in s t th e p la n . w o rrie d
th a t
th e y
would
be
c r i t i c i s e d and
413 p u n ish ed
fo r
th e ir
i l l - j u d g e d w a rn in g s, b u t i n f a c t Gao Gao g ra n te d
them r i c h re w a rd s, s a y in g : When 1 w ent o u t , I was ta k in g a c o n s id e ra b le r i s k i n th e hope o f a good r e s u l t . A lthough e v e ry th in g tu rn e d o u t w e ll, I r e a l i s e t h a t f o r tu n e was on my s i d e , and a p o lic y such a s t h i s sh o u ld n o t be fo llo w e d to o o f t e n . The a d v ic e t h a t you gave was s e n s i b l e and s a f e , and i t i s f o r t h a t a d v ic e 1 am rew ard in g you now. Should a n o th e r such o c c a s io n o ccu r in th e f u t u r e , p le a s e do n o t h e s i t a t e t o warn me i n th e same way. ^
One
fu rth e r
p o in t ab o u t t h i s campaign o f Cao Cao rem ains t o be
o b se rv e d .
It
d u rin g
a n x i e t i e s o f h i s r e t u r n , t h a t Gao Gao composed one o f h is
most
th e
was
c e le b r a te d
at
t h i s tim e , b e fo re h i s march to th e n o r th and
poems.
To th e rhythm o f "Going o u t on f o o t from th e
Xia
G a te ", he s e t a c y c le o f v e r s e s , lin k e d w ith a c h o ru s , d e s c r ib in g
h is
v a r ie d
i n tr o d u c t i o n ,
em otions he
in
th e
in d ic a te s
c o u rse h is
of
th e
u n c e r ta in ty
cam paign.
In a b r i e f
o v e r th e a t t a c k to th e
n o r th , and i n th e lin k e d s ta n z a s w hich fo llo w he t e l l s f i r s t o f how he clim bed
th e
g re a t
c liff
lo o k in g
out
o v er th e G ulf o f B o h ai, and th e n d e s c r ib e s th e h a rs h n e s s
o f w in te r i n th e n o r t h .
at
J le s h i,
n e a r p re s e n t-tia y Qinhuangdao,
He c o n c lu d e s w ith p h ilo s o p h ic a l and p o l i t i c a l
optim ism , a lm o st a c a l l t o arms a g a i n s t th e f a t e s . I.
E ast 1 clim b th e J l e s h i c ra g To gaze on t h e sweep o f th e s e a . How to s s e d and tr o u b le d th e w a te r s . How t a l l and s t a r k th e m ou n tain p e a k s . The t r e e s grow crowded t o g e t h e r , Every p l a n t f l o u r i s h i n g and g re e n . The autumn wind s ig h s and s in g s And th e g r e a t waves b re a k and s u rg e . The c o u rs e s o f th e sun and moon Seem t o r i s e from th e w aves; The M ilky Way i n sp le n d o u r and b r i l l i a n c e Seems t o r i s e from th e s e a . F o rtu n e In d eed i s come, And s in g in g e x p r e s s e s o u r h o p e s.
414 II.
The t e n t h month» th e f i r s t o f th e w in te r» And th e w inds from th e n o r th come I n f i t f u l g u s t s ; The a i r o f Heaven I s b i t i n g cold» W ith heavy f r o s t s and d r i v i n g s l e e t . The cocks o f th e w ild e r n e s s crow t o th e dawn» The w ild g e e s e f l y t o t h e n o rth » The v u ltu r e s have gone I n t o h id in g And th e b e a r s a r e s e t t l e d i n t h e i r c a v e s . The work w ith sp a d e s and h o es I s ended» The fa rm e rs have h a r v e s te d and th r e s h e d th e g r a in . In n k e e p e rs s e t up t h e i r t a b l e s To welcome t h e m erc h a n ts a lo n g t h e i r ro a d . F o rtu n e In d eed I s come» And s in g in g e x p r e s s e s o u r h o p e s.
III.
The la n d s and h o u ses a r e n o t th e same» N orth o f th e r i v e r I t i s f i e r c e l y c o ld . Ic e d r i f t s f l o a t down th e stre a m s And th e b o a ts f i n d i t h a rd t o go on. The ground i s h a r d e r th a n a spade» Weeds a r e e s t a b l i s h e d i n th e f i e ld s » The w a te r i s gone and flo w s no lo n g e r And th e I c e I s f ir m enough t o w a lk . The s c h o la r s a r e i n h id in g and d i s t r e s s , The b ra v e men c a r e l i t t l e f o r th e la w s; Always i n my h e a r t a r e s ig h in g and sorrow » Many g r i e f s and sym pathy f o r t h e i r p l i g h t . F o rtu n e In d eed i s come» And s in g in g e x p r e s s e s o u r h o p e s.
IV.
The But The But
s a c re d t o r t o i s e had a v e ry lo n g l i f e » s t i l l re a c h e d th e end o f h i s d a y s. s o a r in g d rag o n can r i d e on th e m ists» he ends a s d u s t and a s h e s .
The s w if t s te e d i n o ld age r e s t s i n h i s s ta b le » But 8 t i l l th i n k s o f a th o u sa n d l i ; When a b ra v e man come t o h i s e v en in g y ears» S tro n g h e a r t re m a in s t h e same. The tim e o f o u r l i f e and d e a th Is more th a n t h e whim o f Heaven. I f a man i s i n harmony w ith h im s e lf He may l i v e f o r lo n g y e a r s . F o rtu n e In d eed i s come» And s in g in g e x p r e s s e s o u r h o p e s.
415
P o stsc rip t: the Wuhuan and the s ta te o f Wei: W ith
th e
su rre n d e re d rem arks
d e fe a t
were
th a t
o f Tadun, g r e a t numbers o f th e Wuhuan who had
b ro u g h t
th e ir
back
horsem en
to s e ttle
i n China» and
Sanguo zhi
became t h e f i n e s t c a v a lry f o r c e i n th e
e m p ir e .11^
F u r th e r t o th e w est» th e r e was a s h o r t p e r io d o f d i s t u r
bance
th e
among
th e y
were
f i r s t re s to re d
Q i a n , a n d a tta c k e d
Wuhuan o f Dai
then»
commandery and Shanggu a b o u t 216» b u t
to
when
o rd e r
th e y
a g a in
by th e Grand A d m in is tra to r P ei caused
tro u b le »
th e y w ere
and d e f e a te d by Gao Zhang» a so n o f Gao Gao» i n b a t t l e n o r th
o f th e Sanggan R iv e r i n 218.
By
th is
time»
however»
th e
whole
s i t u a t i o n o f th e n o r th e r n
f r o n t i e r had changed» and th e Wuhuan were no more th a n m a rg in a l a c t o r s upon
th e
though Cao
s ta g e . In 216» Cao Cao to o k t h e t i t l e o f King o f Wei»
he
s t i l l p a id
and
nom inal r e s p e c t t o th e e n t i r e o f Han» h i s son
Pi co n firm ed t h e end o f t h a t d y n a s ty by ta k in g th e im p e r ia l t i t l e
f o r h im s e lf f i v e y e a r s l a t e r .
A lso i n 216» Gao Gao to o k th e Shanyu o f
th e Xiongnu a s a perm anent h o s ta g e i n t o h i s c a p i t a l a t Te» and d iv id e d th e t e r r i t o r y o f th e Xiongnu i n t o f i v e s e p a r a te re g io n s» s u p e rv is e d by a
C hinese
o ffic ia l.
vacuum
beyond
fille d
by
s h ip
of
fe d e ra c y from
th e
At th e n o r th e r n
same tim e» however»
fro n tie rs
th e p o l i t i c a l
o f China was g r a d u a lly b e in g
th e grow ing power o f th e X lanbl» n o ta b ly u n d e r th e l e a d e r th e w hich
c h ie fta in o c c u p ie d
Kèblneng» th e
who e v e n tu a lly e s t a b l i s h e d a con
fo rm er la n d s o f th e Xiongnu» s p re a d in g
th e Qrdos lo o p o f th e Yellow R iv er e a s tw a rd s t o th e G reat Xlngan
M ountains and th e h e a d w a te rs o f t h e L ia o R iver. 120
416 In
th e s e
im p o rta n c e .
Some
re b e llio n
have
w e ste rn
th e Wuhuan p e o p le s t e a d i l y l o s t
i n Dai commander y , c o n tin u e d i n o c c a s io n a l
d is tu r b a n c e
d u rin g
th e
e a r ly
had ta k e n
y e a rs
of
th e
Mel
re fu g e w ith t h e i r le a d e r s
a f t e r th e d e f e a t a t W hite Wolf M ountain: a few o f th e s e
jo in e d
fro n tie r,
change,
O th e rs , o f c o u r s e ,
M anchuria
may
of
g ro u p s ,
and
d y n a s ty .121 in
d ecad es
th e
p e o p le
of
Koguryo, on Gongsun K ang's e a s t e r n
and fo u g h t a g a i n s t him t h e r e . A nother p a r t y rem ained on th e b o rd e rs
conquered
th e
of
L iaodong,
and
when
Ghanqlu
J ia n a tta c k e d and
Gongsun t e r r i t o r i e s f o r t h e em pire o f Wei i n 237, some
f i v e th o u san d o f th e s e Wuhuan from L la o x i and Y oubelplng came t o o f f e r t h e i r su b m issio n . 1 ^2 2
F or an
th e m ost p a r t , how ever, t h e Wuhuan c e a se d t o be o b se rv e d a s
In d ep en d en t
them,
as
we
p e o p le have
a s 8 im ilia te d
among
of
seen, th e
th e n o r th e r n f r o n t i e r s o f C hina. w ere
s e ttle d
C hinese
in
th e m s e lv e s .
C hina The
Many o f
P ro p e r, and w ere g r e a t m a jo r ity ,
how ever, w ere in c o r p o r a te d i n th e power o f th e X lan b l and o t h e r t r i b a l a s s o c ia tio n s , have
p o s tu la te d
f u lf ilm e n t even had
and th e p ro c e s s o f a tta c h m e n t and a s s i m i l a t i o n w hich we
th e been
in
fo r th e
th e th ird .
firs t
W ith t h e i r d e f e a t a t W hite Wolf M ountain,
s m a lle s t hope o f Wuhuan p o l i t i c a l Independence and i d e n t i t y d e s tr o y e d ,
and th e s c a t t e r e d t r i b e s were dom inated by more
p o w erfu l and s u c c e s s f u l n e ig h b o u rs . th e as
and second c e n t u r i e s AD re a c h e d i t s
From t h i s tim e o n , th e h i s t o r y o f
Wuhuan on th e n o r th e r n f r o n t i e r s o f China would be c o n tin u e d o n ly a
p a rt
of
th e
fo llo w e d th e m .12*1
X ian b i c o n f e d e r a c ie s and th e g r e a t em p ires w hich
C H APTER 1 0
THE CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF FAILURE
The lo s s
end
of
th e L a te r Han d y n a sty was accom panied by a d ra m a tic
o f C hinese a u t h o r i t y on th e n o r th e r n f r o n t i e r s .
power and
of
th e
th e
g a in s
Wuhuan was d e s tro y e d by th e g r e a t cam paign o f Cao Cao»
em pire
e lim in a te d
A dm ittedly» th e
of
th e
N o rth ern
Shanyu
of
th e
Xiongnu had been
by th e triu m p h s o f Dou Xian and h i s c o lle a g u e s .
were
Yet th e s e
more th a n c a n c e lle d by th e em ergence o f th e X ianbi p eo p le
a s a dom inant» u n ru ly and u n c o n tr o lla b le power on th e M ongolian s te p p e and
in
th e
fu rth e r
At th e same tim e»
to th e w e s t, though th e r e b e l l i o n s o f th e Qlang t r i b e s i n th e
second two
n o r th e r n t e r r i t o r i e s o f China P ro p e r.
c e n tu ry were p u t down w ith m i l i t a r y f o r c e , th e f i n a l r e s u l t o f
c e n tu rie s
im p e r ia l
p o lic y
was
th a t
th e g r e a t e r p a r t o f t h e i r
t e r r i t o r y was removed from th e c o n tr o l o f any C hinese governm ent.
The as
a
u ltim a te
fa ilu re
wel
and
f a i l u r e o f th e Han em p ire i n th e n o r th may be se e n
of by
a u t h o r i t y , th e co n c e p t d e s c rib e d by th e C hinese a s L uttw ak,
i n h i s work on
The Grand Strategy o f the
Roman Empire, a s " s u a s io n " .*
A dopting s itu a tio n em pire
of
sh o u ld
L u ttw ak vs L a te r
b a s ic
Han,
possess
c o n c e p t,
and
a p p ly in g
it
to
th e
th e C hinese need i n th e n o r th was t h a t th e
a d e q u a te pow er, and a ls o t h a t th e n o n -C hinese
418
p e o p le s sh o u ld p e rc e iv e and a c c e p t th e dom inance w hich t h a t power gave to
th e
Han
governm ent
to
h o ld
Its e lf w ith
be
sw ay,
It
was
In o rd e r f o r th e a u t h o r i t y o f
of c o u rs e n e c e s s a ry t h a t th e Han sh o u ld
s tr o n g ; I t was e q u a lly e s s e n t i a l , how ever, t h a t th e p eo p le
whom
s tr e n g t h
and a rm ie s o f Han.
th e
and
Han
governm ent
sh o u ld
be
In
was
d e a lin g sh o u ld be aw are o f t h a t
a p o s i t i o n where th e y were com pelled to
accept I t .
In
d e a lin g
w ith
th e Q lang, and t o a la r g e e x te n t a ls o w ith th e
Wuhuan, th e problem f o r th e Han governm ent was f a i r l y s tr a ig h tf o r w a r d : th e
v a rio u s
trib e s
and
p e o p le s sh o u ld be d e f e a te d and c o l l e c t e d by
f o rc e o f arm s, and th e n s e t t l e d I n a r e a s c l e a r l y c o n tr o lle d by C hinese governm ent
o ffic ia ls
w ith
obv io u s
w henever th e y m ight be r e q u ir e d . o th e r
lo c a l
C hinese
to
m ilita ry
re s o u rc e s
I t was th e du ty o f th e P r o te c to r and
to e n s u re t h a t th e no n -C h in ese I n h a b ita n ts o f
Im p e ria l t e r r i t o r y sh o u ld f in d I t u n d e s ir a b le to r e b e l :
o ffic ia ls
m a in ta in e d
s u ffic ie n tly p ro te s t;
o ffic ia ls
access
th is
to le ra b le
th a t
p o lic y
some
by making l i f e u n d er C hinese sway
th e ir
s u b je c ts
had no s tr o n g cau se t o
o th e r s u n f o r tu n a te ly p r e f e r r e d t o m a in ta in awe by th e t h r e a t
o f d r a s t i c punishm ent f o r any d i s tu r b a n c e , no m a tte r how j u s t i f i e d .
The Chinese of
problem s fro n tie rs ,
d e a lin g
em p ire . e x a c e rb a te d
of
a d m in is te r in g
th e
Qlang o r th e Wuhuan w ith in
how ever, were n o t rem arkably d i f f e r e n t from th o s e
w ith C h in ese s u b j e c t s th e m se lv e s I n th e h e a r tla n d s o f th e There by
were
c e rta in ly
d iffe re n c e s
problem s
of
ra c ia l
In te g ra tio n ,
o f lan g u ag e and cu sto m s, and t h e r e seems
419 sm a ll q u e s tio n t h a t th e C h in ese a t t i t u d e was o f te n one o f in to le ra n c e » s u s p ic io n
and
" m e rc a n tilis t" of
tra d e
th e ir
re s tric tio n ;
we
have
rem arked
a lr e a d y
upon
th e
a t t i t u d e w hich so u g h t to c h a n n el and r e s t r i c t th e flow
to
th e
n o n -C h in e se .
2
These p eoples»
however» w h atever
re s e n tm e n ts m ight be» w ere i n c o n s ta n t c o n ta c t w ith th e e f f e c t
iv e n e s s
of
C hinese
power»
and
th e y
conseq u en ces o f t r o u b le f o r th e m s e lv e s .
co u ld
w eigh up th e c o s ts and
I t was only i n tim e s o f g r e a t
d i s t r e s s and p a r t i c u l a r C hinese w eakness t h a t th e chances o f r e b e l l i o n ap p eare d t o o f f e r th e b e t t e r c h o ic e .
In
d e a lin g w ith th e Xlongnu» however» th e C hinese governm ent was
a tte m p tin g
to
In f lu e n c e
th e
c o n tro l. be th e
o p e r a te i t s power o v e r a c o n s id e ra b le d is ta n c e » and to b e h a v io u r
o f p e o p le who w ere by no means u n d er d i r e c t
Even a f t e r th e s e ttle m e n t o f th e S outhern Xlongnu» who co u ld
c o n s id e re d Wuhuan»
to
have
th e r e
was
o ccu p ied
th e v a s s a l s t a t u s o f th e Qlang and
s till
N o rth ern Xlongnu s t a t e o u ts id e th e
a
fro n tie r.
In
such c irc u m sta n c es» however» a s I have s u g g e ste d e a r l i e r » th e
e x is te n c e was To
o f a c o h e re n t» o r d e r ly and even pow erful s t a t e i n th e n o r th
n o t n e c e s s a r i l y a d is a d v a n ta g e t o re tu rn
th e i n t e r e s t s
o f th e e m p ire .^
to th e o r i g i n a l fo rm u la tio n o f th e co n cep t o f a u t h o r i t y o r
"su asio n "»
th e
governm ent
o f a Shanyu
a t l e a s t had th e c a p a c ity to
re c o g n is e th e t h r e a t w hich th e C hinese m i l i t a r y power c o u ld r e p r e s e n t . So
lo n g
su c c e ssfu l
as
C hinese campaign
arm ie s w ere c a p a b le o f en g ag in g i n a d e c is iv e ly -
or
even one w hich co u ld i n f l i c t g r e a t damage
420 upon
th e
Xlongnu
a p p r e c ia te d C hinese
s ta te
th a t
fa c t,
governm ent
fu n c tio n s
w hich
d e p re d a tio n s
th e y
wanted
a
and so lo n g as th e r u l e r s o f th e Xlongnu would
them
b a r b a r ia n
to .
te n d t o behave v ery much a s th e And
one
o f th e most u s e f u l
r u l e r co u ld perfo rm was to c o n tr o l th e
o f h i s young w a r r io r s a g a in s t th e s e t t l e d t e r r i t o r i e s o f
th e C hinese em p ire .
In s im p le s t te rm s , th e I d e a l s i t u a t i o n f o r th e C hinese governm ent was
to
s ta te
have th a t
re s p e c tfu l
th e
Xlongnu r u l e r s u f f i c i e n t l y po w erfu l w ith in h i s own
h i s o r d e r s would be e n fo rc e d and obeyed, b u t s u f f i c i e n t l y o f C hinese c a p a c ity to do him damage t h a t he would command
h i s p e o p le n o t t o provoke them by mls c h i e f -m aking a lo n g th e f r o n t i e r .
From t h i s p o in t o f view , th e s i t u a t i o n betw een th e Im p e ria l c o u rt and
th e Shanyu
In th e c lo s in g y e a r s
and
th e p e rio d
a fte r
th e
o f Former Han was alm o st I d e a l ,
d i v i s i o n o f th e Xlongnu was e s s e n t i a l l y
s a tis fa c to ry ;
though
It
th e
Shanyu
a s an a l l y w ith in th e C hinese b o rd e rs was found
on
S ou th ern
w i l l be r e c a l l e d t h a t th e v ery e x is te n c e o f
o c c a s io n t o p u t I n h i b i t i o n s
c o u rs e ,
th e
c o n tin u e d
p re ssu re
on I m p e r ia l p o l i c y . from
a
In th e end, o f
th e S o uthern Xlongnu, and th e
p o l i t i c a l I n t e r e s t s o f th e Dou f a c t i o n , cau sed th e d e s p a tc h o f th e Han arm ies In 89, and th e u t t e r d e s t r u c t i o n o f th e N o rth ern Xlongnu s t a t e .
The vacuum fille d
of
power
le ft
In
M ongolia, how ever, c o u ld n o t be
by th e C hinese n o r by t h e i r S o u th ern Xlongnu p u p p e t.
I n s te a d ,
th e t r i b e s o f th e X la n b l, a lr e a d y e s t a b l i s h e d on th e s te p p e I n r i v a l r y
421 to
th e
w eakness
of
th e N o rth e rn Xiongnu, w ere a b le t o e x te n d t h e i r
dom inion w ith o u t g r e a t d i f f i c u l t y . v ic to r y
o v er
W ithin a few y e a rs o f th e d e c is iv e
th e N o rth e rn Shanyu, th e C hinese w ere fa c e d w ith a new,
and s i g n i f i c a n t l y more tro u b leso m e n e ig h b o u r.
The
b a s ic
m ilita ry never
problem
s tre n g th ,
m atched
w ith th e X lanbl was n o t so much t h e i r a c t u a l
fo r
th e
at
fo rc e s
l e a s t i n th e s e e a r ly s ta g e s t h e i r arm ies th a t
th e
Xiongnu had p u t I n to th e f i e l d
d u rin g th e f i r s t y e a rs o f L a te r Han, b u t th e v e ry In c o h e re n ce o f t h e i r p o litic a l
sy stem .
a u th o r i t y
among
or
be
th e upon th e ir
th e ir
th e r e
was
no
one p e rso n o f
by th e m i l i t a r y power o f C hina; and even i f some o f
le a d e r s were w o rrie d ab o u t th e e f f e c t o f a C hinese a t t a c k p e o p le ,
fig h tin g
in v itin g
lite ra lly ,
th e X lanbl p e o p le who was i n a p o s itio n t o re c o g n is e
Im p ressed
X lanbl
Q u ite
men
none o f them had th e p o l i t i c a l power to r e s t r a i n from
making
ra id s
and
in c u r s io n s a g a in s t th e
and c o m p a ra tiv e ly p ro sp e ro u s la n d s o f Han.
In th e p r im itiv e
8ta g e o f p o l i t i c a l developm ent o f th e X lanbl i n th e second c e n tu ry AD, when not
le a d e r s h ip i n war was th e c h ie f so u rc e o f power, th e man who was p re p a re d
to
go
to
war
was u n lik e ly to hold h i s a u t h o r i t y f o r
lo n g .
In d is c u s s in g th e f r o n t i e r s o f th e Roman em p ire, one may c o n tr a s t th e w hich th e could
c iv ilis e d co u ld
c lie n t
o f th e e a s t , such a s Judea and P o n tu s ,
r e c o g n is e and re sp o n d t o Roman power and a u t h o r i t y , w ith
In tra c ta b le f in d
s ta te s
no
problem s e ffe c tiv e
of
th e
a u th o rity
German f r o n t i e r , where th e Romans among th e t r i b e s w ith whom th e y
422 m ight
t r e a t T h e
th e m se lv e s: and
were
Han C hinese
d i f f i c u l t y upon
th e y d e s tro y e d th e p o t e n t i a l c l i e n t s t a t e o f th e X longnu, fa c e d
aa
a
re s u lt
w ith
th r e a te n in g power o f th e Xianbl* th a t
b ro u g h t t h a t v e ry
th e
In c o h e re n t
b u t c o n s ta n tly
In t h i s s e n s e . I t may w e ll be arg u ed
th e d e s t r u c t i o n o f th e N o rth ern Xlongnu was a s h o r t- te r m triu m p h
b u t a lo n g -te rm d i s a s t e r f o r th e em pire o f Han*
The
d iffic u ltie s
of
th e
e m p ire , how ever, were based upon more
th a n a p o s s ib ly m ista k e n s tr a te g y * not to
In th e m ost g e n e r a l te rm s . I t does
a p p e a r t h a t th e governm ent o f th e L a te r Han d y n asty was e v e r a b le o rg a n is e
f o r I t s e l f th e e f f e c t i v e c o n tr o l o f re s o u rc e s w ith in I t s
te rrito ry ;
th e
re g is tra tio n
m onopolies
su ffe re d
and
g e n e r a lly
y i e l d from la n d and o th e r ta x e s o r
from
th e
I n te r v e n tio n
from s p e c i a l
I n t e r e s t s a t c o u r t and I n th e p r o v in c e s , and th e em peror n ev er a p p e a rs t o have a c q u ire d an a d e q u a te s h a re o f th e w e a lth o f th e em pire*^
S t i l l more t o th e p o i n t , th e f o r c e o f Han governm ent I n th e n o r th was
weakened
by
th e
lo s s
of
C hinese p o p u la tio n from th e tim e s o f
tr o u b le s a t th e b e g in n in g o f th e d y n a sty and by th e c o n tin u a l of
th e
need th e ir
numbers
o f C hinese c i t i z e n s on th e f r o n tie r *
e r o s io n
The c o n tin u in g
f o r l e g i s l a t i o n to b in d s u b je c ts I n th e n o r th e r n commanderles to n a tiv e
te rrito ry
b e a rs e v id e n c e t h a t th e problem o f southw ard
Im m ig ratio n was w e ll r e c o g n is e d , and th e cen su s s tu d ie s o f B ie le n s t e i n have
shown
th a t
th e
g e n e r a lly
I n e f f e c tiv e *
th e m se lv e s
la c k e d
th e
problem was in su rm o u n ta b le and th e l e g i s l a t i o n As
a
re s u lt,
th e
n o r th e r n
te rrito rie s
manpower and m a t e r i a l t o m a in ta in th e C hinese
p o s i t i o n w ith o u t c o n tin u in g su p p o rt and subsidy*
423 T h is
problem o f p o p u la tio n , o f c o u rs e , was begun, r e in f o r c e d and
compounded
by
governm ent
and
p e a c e fu l to
m ilita ry
p e o p le
deploym ent
m a in ta in
lik e ly
th e
th a t
some
I n s e c u r i t y o f th e r e g io n .
needed
of
In
What th e Han
th e n o r th e rn commanderles was th e
c i v i l i a n s , and a l o c a l p ro d u c tio n s u f f i c i e n t
p r o p o r tio n
of
th e l o c a l d e fe n c e n e e d s.
I t seems
t h i s had been a c h ie v e d In th e l a t t e r p a r t o f Former Han;
b u t th e r e I s no q u e s tio n t h a t th e C hin ese o c c u p a tio n o f th e ground had been q u i t e d is r u p te d by th e w a rfa re a t th e b eg in n in g o f L a te r Han, and th e
em pire n e v e r re c o v e re d from t h a t s e tb a c k .
Han
was a b le to d r iv e p e o p le back to th e n o r th , and I n th e absen ce of
an
ad e q u a te
s e ttle d
p o s itio n ,
th o s e
No governm ent o f L a te r
few p eo p le who rem ained found
th em selv es more and more exposed t o th e d e p re d a tio n s of t h e i r en em ies, w h eth er from o u ts id e o r w ith in th e b o rd e rs o f th e em p ire.
So th e C hinese p e o p le , n a t u r a l l y enough, were r e l u c t a n t to rem ain In Duan
th e
n o r th .
Jio n g
te rrito ry fa te
to of
which
Even th e lo y a l g e n e r a l Zhang Huan, i n h i s l e t t e r to p le a d
th a t
Dunhuang, he
compared
he
spoke
m ight n o t be s e n t back t o h i s n a tiv e i n th e m ost d e s p e ra te to n e s a g a in s t a
to r u in and d e a th .^
And g r e a t numbers o f
l e s s e r c i t i z e n s v o te d s u c c e s s f u lly w ith t h e i r f e e t , and e scap ed t o th e co m p arativ e s e c u r i t y o f la n d s f u r t h e r s o u th .
The th e
e f f e c t upon th e Han p o s i t i o n , o f c o u rs e , was c u m u la tiv e :
non -C h in ese
a m b itio n s
as
p e o p le saw th e numbers o f s e t t l e r s d e c l i n e , so t h e i r
expanded:
th e X ian b l i n th e n o r th became more a g g r e s s iv e ,
th e Q lang, XIongnu and Wuhuan, w ith in th e f r o n t i e r s , found l e s s re a so n
424 to
resp ect
e a s ily
a
because
th e
a u th o rity
of
th e l o c a l C h in ese.
Too o f te n and to o
s m a ll d is tu r b a n c e c o u ld d ev elo p i n t o a m ajor u p r is in g , j u s t th e r e
was no e f f e c t i v e C hinese m i l i t i a c lo s e a t hand and th e
main r e g u l a r army was to o f a r away t o s e rv e a s an Im m ediate t h r e a t .
In
m ilita ry
te rm s ,
su c c e ssfu l
in
d is a s tr o u s
e x p e d itio n
how ever, n o rth
th e ir
can
in
c e n tu ry
ÀD,
th e
th e
C hinese
arm ies
were
tim e o f Emperor Guangwu t o th e
T an sh ih u a l
in
177.
This
re c o rd ,
th e f a c t t h a t w hat th e C h inese s e t t l e r s i n th e
w anted
th e
c o u rs e ,
from
a g a in s t
o b scu re
re a lly
a g a in ,
w ars
of
was
la tte r
not
s ta g e s
e ffe c tiv e
d e fe n c e
accom panied th e em peror.
v ic to ry ,
b ut p e a c e .
To c i t e Luttw ak
of th e Roman e m p ire, d u rin g th e t h i r d re p o se d
in
th e
fie ld
army
w hich
Such a f i e l d army co u ld e v e n tu a lly I n t e r c e p t
and d e f e a t an In v a d in g enemy; b u t t h a t v ic to r y would be won o n ly a f t e r th e
enemy had I n f l i c t e d enormous damage upon th e p e o p le , p ro p e rty and
te rrito ry
of
th e
em pire
its e lf.
The
e f f e c t s o f such a s t r a t e g y
" re le n tle s s ly
ero d ed th e l o g i s t i c b a se o f th e em pire and r e l e n t l e s s l y Q d im in ish e d th e w orth o f th e Im p e ria l s t r u c t u r e to i t s s u b j e c t s " .
In d eed , th e r u l e r s o f th e Han d y n a sty were f o r th e m ost p a r t even le s s
w e ll
equip p ed
th a n
were
th o s e
g eared
fo r
n a tio n s : o ne.
th e
of
to comprehend th e n a tu re o f th e m i l i t a r y problem im p e r ia l
c o n q u e s t,
Rome.
d o m in atio n
Rome, a f t e r a l l , was a s o c ie ty and
governm ent
of d iffe re n t
i t was a m i l i t a r i s t i c power b u t a ls o a rem arkably t o l e r a n t
The C h in ese, we have o b s e rv e d , found i t d i f f i c u l t to co n te m p la te
d e a lin g s
w ith
a lie n
p e o p le s on even te rm s ; and a lth o u g h th e em peror
425 u ltim a te ly
owed
h is
su ccee d in g
em perors
power of
to
Han
h is
were
a u t h o r ity n ev er
o v e r h i s a rm ie s , th e
e x p ected to command in th e
fie ld .
M oreover, a c h ie v e
w h ile
honour
re c e iv e d
th e
and
g e n e r a ls
p o litic a l
com parable
tr e a tm e n t.
o f a n c ie n t G reece and Rome co u ld
power,
th e
commanders o f Han seldom
A p art from Dou X ian, who was alw ays
a p o l i t i c a l f i g u r e r a t h e r th a n a m i l i t a r y o n e, and Duan J io n g , who was awarded
a
triu m p h a f t e r h i s m assacre o f th e Q lang, m i l i t a r y men w ere
n o t g iv en g r e a t a t t e n t i o n a t th e c a p i t a l . Z hal Ren
Can, w ere e x e c u te d f o r t h e i r f a i l u r e s on cam paign; some, such a s Shang,
were
s u c c e s s .^ a c h ie v e w ere
Some, such a s Zhal Tong and
O th e rs , su ch a s Zhang Huan, a q u ie t r e t i r e m e n t .
p a rtic u la r
g e n e ra ls
p u n ish ed f o r o th e r o f f e n c e s , d e s p ite t h e i r m i l i t a r y
of
m ight be f o r t u n a t e
enough to
For th e m ost p a r t , how ever, u n le s s th e r e
e x tra n e o u s
re a s o n s ,
such a s fa m ily o r f a c t i o n , th e
L a te r Han had rem ark ab ly sm a ll in f lu e n c e i n th e p o l i c i e s
o f t h e i r governm ent.
The
p a rt
p la y e d
by Zhang Huan i n th e eu n u ch s' coup o f 168 i s a
d ra m a tic d e m o n s tra tio n o f la c k o f com m unication betw een th e p a r t i e s a t c o u r t and men i n th e f i e l d , ^ th e
absen ce
a u th o rity f a m ilie s th e y of
and of
of
b u t one may n o te i n more g e n e r a l term s
u n d e rs ta n d in g th o s e
L a te r
had lo n g been
Han
who
th e c e n t r a l b u re a u c rac y
th o se
who
c o n tr o lle d th e a rm ie s .
came
s e ttle d
betw een
o rig in a lly in
at
th e
p o litic a l
Though some g r e a t
from th e f r o n t i e r r e g io n s ,
c a p ita l,
Luoyang
h e ld
was
and
th e g r e a t e r p a r t
c o n tr o lle d
by
men
of
426 w ealth y
g e n try
q u e s tio n e d of
th e
f a m ilie s
w h eth er
problem ,
from
th e
c e n tra l
p r o v in c e s .
I t may be
th e s e h ig h o f f i c i a l s r e a l l y u n d e rsto o d th e n a tu r e or
th e
p re ssu re s
and d i s t r e s s which p eo p le m ight
s u f f e r from t h e i r p o l i c i e s .
The
s itu a tio n
re b e llio n
may
u p ro o te d
from
and
s e rv e
H ang
d u rin g
and
a f t e r th e Qlang
We a r e t o l d how th e p eo p le were
t h e i r homes a s p a r t o f a s c o r c h e d - e a r th p o lic y I n 111,
In
129,
g iv e n
to
enco u rag e
e a rlie r
p ro v in c e
a s an exam ple.
la te r,
w ere
In
In
h o m e s .^
y e a rs a f t e r th e d e f e a t o f th e r e b e l l i o n , o r d e r s th e
form er I n h a b ita n ts t o r e t u r n t o t h e i r
One m ight wonder what
th e re fu g e e s had been do in g
th e mean tim e , and how many o f them w ere a n x io u s t o p u t th em selv es
once
more a t th e mercy o f t h e i r u n f r ie n d ly n e ig h b o u rs, t o r e b u ild th e
hom esteads h e a d s.
w hich
th e
im p e r ia l
governm ent
had d e s tro y e d o v e r t h e i r
One p o in t I n fa v o u r o f t h i s program , we a r e t o l d , was t h a t th e
governm ent
e x p e c te d
it
would
be sav ed some c o s t o f su b sid y f o r th e
poor re g io n s o f th e n o rth w e s t.
From th e p o in t o f view o f th e d y n a sty I t s e l f , I t I s p o s s ib le t h a t th is
q u e s tio n o f su b s id y o r ,
i n more g e n e r a l te rm s ,
th e f in a n c e s o f
th e
em pire a s a w hole a s d e te rm in e d betw een one p ro v in c e and a n o th e r,
was
th e
most
s i g n i f i c a n t o f a l l th e problem s w hich stemmed from th e
d i f f i c u l t i e s on th e n o r th e r n f r o n t i e r .
If,
as
co m p a ra tiv e ly
has
been
lim ite d
In
su g g e s te d ,
th e
c o u rt
of
L a te r
Han
was
th e rev e n u e s which i t c o u ld c a l l upon from
427 th e
em pire
m erely
as
a
a
w hole,
c o n tin u in g
p re ssu re
upon
th e
th e n th e problem o f a f i n a n c i a l d r a i n , n o t
but
even
an
I n c r e a s in g
one,
p u t v ery g r e a t
s t a b i l i t y o f th e governm ent i t s e l f .
We know t h a t
th e c o u rt o f th e S o u th e rn Shanyu was m a in ta in e d w ith h ig h s u b v e n tio n s , and
we
have
m assive
a ls o l e a r n t t h a t You p ro v in c e I n th e n o r th e a s t re c e iv e d
su b sid y
from th e two p ro v in c e s o f Qing and Xu, n e ig h b o u rs to
You
on
th e
s o u th .
been
e s ta b lis h e d
th a t
th e y
12
Both
th e s e
commitments,
how ever,
had
a t th e b e g in n in g o f th e d y n a s ty , and one may assume
were
to
some
d e g re e
c a te r e d
fo r
In
th e
tra d itio n a l
b u d g e ta ry s t r u c t u r e o f th e em p ire.
On
th e
Dowager
o th e r
nee
Deng
hand,
embarked
in v o lv in g
not
of
governm ent,
her
tra in in g . th e a ls o
13
p o s s ib le
by
a
d e lib e ra te
r e d u c tio n
grounds
th a t
of
but
in
d o u b t,
a ls o ,
e x p e n d itu re
p o lic y
c o n s e r v a tiv e
o f econouy,
a t th e b e g in n in g
m ilita ry
th is
th e end o f th e
p o lic y
was
and
adopted on
C onfucianism ; b u t i t i s
r e ig n
of
Emperor
He,
th e
was b e g in n in g to f e e l th e s t r a i n o f th e in c r e a s in g c o s t o f
a d m in is tr a tio n su g g e ste d
L a te r
a
a r e t o l d t h a t th e re g e n t Em press-
fru g a lity
To some e x t e n t no
governm ent
th e
upon
only p e r s o n a l
p h ilo s o p h ic a l
m ilita ry
we
and
th a t
a lth o u g h
su ccess,
W estern Han,
e n te rp ris e s
su b v e n tio n
put
cam paigns
of
In d eed , i t may be
Dou
Xian
and Ban C h ao 's r e c o n s tr u c tio n o f
Regions th e
th e
f o r th e Xiongnu.
was
one
im m ediate a
had
been a
Han dom inance i n
o f th e g r e a t im p e ria l ach iev em en ts o f and
co n seq u en t
n o ti c e a b l e
p re c a r io u s ly - b a la n c e d im p e r ia l b u d g e t.
s tra in
c o s ts upon
of a
th e s e
two
lim ite d
and
428 From th e
th e o u tb re a k o f th e g r e a t Qlang r e b e l l i o n I n 107» moreover»
s itu a tio n
became
c ritic a l*
The c o s t o f th e war o f s u p p re s s io n
was i t s e l f a m ajo r d r a i n upon th e im p e r ia l revenues» b u t w hat was v ery lik e ly
more
p ro sp e ro u s c e n tra l it
s e r io u s re g io n ,
was
th e
tra n s itio n
of
Liang p ro v in c e from a
making a n e t c o n tr i b u t i o n t o th e r e s o u rc e s o f th e
governm ent,
to
d e b to r
s t a t u s a s a r e s u l t o f th e b a t t e r i n g s
re c e iv e d from endem ic r e b e l l i o n and w a rfa re th ro u g h th e f i r s t h a lf
o f th e second cen tu ry *
L iang
p ro v in c e ,
ex p an sio n
in
A sia
th e
and
The
th e
e a s te rn
Wei,
a fte r
a ll,
had
been
th e
a re a of su c c e ssfu l
tim e o f Former Han, p ro v id in g th e r o u te to c e n t r a l
S ilk Road, and th e f la n k p o s i t i o n a g a in s t th e Xlongnu* p a rt
o f th e p ro v in c e , m oreover, ab o u t th e v a lle y o f th e
had form ed p a r t o f th e key econom ic a r e a o f th e "Land W ith in th e
P asses",
th e
b e g in n in g was
s tra te g ic
of
L a te r
b ase
fo r
Qln
and Former Han*
Even a t th e
Han, though th e l o s s o f dom inance o f t h i s re g io n
r e f l e c t e d i n th e t r a n s f e r o f c a p i t a l from Changan to Luoyang, th e
t e r r i t o r y was s t i l l s t r a t e g i c a l l y and eco n o m ically im p o rtan t*
For is s u e
th e lo n g e r te rm , th ro u g h th e second c e n tu ry AD, th e p o in t a t
is
o n e s:
not
one t o be e x p re s s e d i n a b s o lu te te rm s , b u t i n r e l a t i v e
if
we
can a c c e p t t h a t Liang p ro v in c e had been a s i g n i f i c a n t
c o n tr i b u t o r
to
th e
th e of
c e n tra l
governm ent f in a n c e s a t th e b e g in n in g o f
d y n a s ty ; th e n th e l o s s o f rev en u e from Liang p ro v in c e a s a r e s u l t th e
su ffe re d
d is tu r b a n c e s a
w ith th e Qlang m eant e i t h e r t h a t th e governm ent
s ig n ific a n t
d e c lin e i n i t s a v a ila b le re v e n u e s , o r i t was
429 com pelled
to
p ro v in c e s . th e
recoup It
lo s s e s
by I n c r e a s in g demands upon o th e r
i s l i k e l y t h a t b o th th e s e th in g s to o k p lace» so t h a t
governm ent
became
th o s e
of
L a te r Han n o t o n ly s u f f e r e d f in a n c ia lly » b u t a ls o
in c r e a s in g ly
u n p o p u lar
among
th e
g e n try
and p e o p le o f th e
e a s te r n p r o v i n c e s .1*
We
do
not
judgem ent»
have th e m a t e r i a l t o make a p ro p e r and a u t h o r i t a t i v e
and
th e r e
is
no q u e s tio n t h a t th e f i n a n c i a l problem s o f
L a te r Han» e x p re s s e d i n embezzlement» c o rru p tio n » th e s a l e o f o f f ic e s » and
p ro te s ts
s ib ility c e n tu ry
th e p ro v in c e s» were compounded by a la c k o f re sp o n
among th o s e who c o n t r o l l e d th e governm ent th ro u g h th e second AD.
im p e r ia l
However» i t may be su g g e ste d t h a t some o f th e s t o r i e s o f
fin a n c ia l
p ro v in c e s
of
a tte m p ts d e c lin e
in
of
th e th e
of
f a i l u r e s » and some o f th e te n s io n s i n th e s e t t l e d e a s t e r n p a r t o f th e em pire» may be a s c r ib e d to th e c e n tra l
Liang
p ro v in c e
governm ent
to
recoup i t s lo s s e s from th e
by in c r e a s in g p re s s u r e f o r funds» i n one
form o r an o th er» a g a i n s t th o s e h i t h e r t o u n a f f e c te d t e r r i t o r i e s .
A ccep tin g th e th e
n o r th e r n
te rrito rie s
C hinese p e o p le s and
th e
its e lf»
c irc u m s ta n c e s
w ith
p o litic a l th e
d e lib e ra te
and
q u e s tio n p o lic y
whom
d is c u s s e d
o f China» th e n a tu r e o f th e v a r io u s n o n th e
in p e rla l
econom ic re m a in s:
i n th e
above» th e geography o f
ap p ro ach
governm ent
s tru c tu re to what of
th e
of
had th e
e x te n t im p e r ia l
th e problem s r a i s e d by t h e i r n o n -C h in ese n e ig h b o u rs?
can
to
d eal»
Han
em pire
we f in d a
governm ent to
430 . The answ er w hich any p e rso n g iv e s t o a q u e s tio n su ch a s t h i s w i l l depend
v ery
la rg e ly
upon I n d iv id u a l o p in io n ab o u t th e n a tu r e o f th e
Im p e r ia l governm ent; one I s I n e v ita b ly b eg g ing th e q u e s tio n o f how f a r a
Han
governm ent, o r In d eed any governm ent I n t r a d i t i o n a l C hina, was
c a p a b le o f c o - o r d in a tin g a d e l i b e r a t e p o l i c y .
À se c o n d ary p o lic y
on
th e
su g g e ste d
In
d i f f i c u l t y . I n c o n s id e r in g th e e f f e c tiv e n e s s o f Han n o r th e r n
th is
fro n tie r.
c h a p te r ,
of
d iv i s i o n
t h a t one may f i n d , a s 1 have
t h a t th e most e f f e c t i v e p o lic y may w e ll
have been one o f I n a c t i v i t y . p o lic y
Is
On t h i s I n t e r p r e t a t i o n , th e c o n s e rv a tiv e
Emperor Ghangwu, who d id n o t se e k t o ta k e ad v an tag e o f th e of
c o n q u e s t,
th e
Is
Xlongnu
to
by
la u n c h in g a m ajor m i l i t a r y cam paign o f
be p r e f e r r e d to t h a t o f th e a m b itio u s Dou X ian; and
however th e governm ent o f Emperor L ing m ight have d e c id e d t o d e a l w ith th e
v ery
g reat
q u e s tio n
problem
posed
by
T a n s h lh u a i,
th e r e
seems l i t t l e
t h a t th e e x p e d itio n o f 177 was th e w o rst p o s s ib le a tte m p t a t
a s o lu tio n .
I t I s a r g u a b le , th e n , t h a t even I f a r u l e r o f th e Han d y n a sty had been of
a b le Former
have
Han
fo llo w ed
Emperor
Wu was
c o n q u e s t, The
to m o b ilis e r e s o u rc e s com parable to th o s e w hich Emperor Wu
but
had th e
h e ld u n d e r h i s c o n t r o l , he would v ery l i k e l y n o t same
p o lic ie s
re c o rd e d
In
as
h is to ry
t h a t e n e r g e tic a n c e s to r . not
For
only f o r h i s triu m p h s o f
a l s o f o r th e c o s ts w hich he I n f l i c t e d upon th e e m p ire .
memory o f th e g lo r io u s cam paigns o f Huo Qublng was m atched by th e
re c o rd
of
th e
d e b a te
of
th e D isc u ssio n s on S a lt and I r o n , and th e
431 p h ilo so p h y more
a
c o n tin u a tio n
la tte r
p a rt
p reced e d th e
o f governm ent I n th e L a te r Han p e rio d was I n many r e s p e c ts
of
It,
of
th e
c a u tio u s
and re s e rv e d ap p ro ach o f th e
Former Han th a n o f th e e x p an sio n and sp le n d o u r w hich
and
e m p ir e .^
w hich was b e lie v e d t o have done so much to e x h a u st
Given th e h i s t o r i c a l background
and th e a t t i t u d e s o f
th e tim e , a d e l i b e r a t e p o lic y o f a g g r e s s iv e e x p a n sio n was no rm ally n o t on th e ag en d a.
By and l a r g e , one h a s th e f e e l i n g t h a t th e s ta te sm e n o f L a te r Han looked upon t h e i r em pire a s In d eed a r e s t o r a t i o n o f th e form er C hinese 8tä te .
It
may
a n o th e r ,
to
e s t a b l i s h and m a in ta in a " n a tu r a l" f r o n t i e r I n th e n o r th
and
n o rth w e s t,
te rrito ry to
to
th a t
w hich
ju s tify
seem
be arg u ed t h a t th e y w ere co n cern ed , by one means o r
th e y e x p e c te d t o m a in ta in c o n tr o l o v e r th e
had been h e ld by Former Han.
th e ir
have
Is,
c o n tin u in g
been
o c c u p a tio n
c o rre s p o n d in g ly
They so u g h t p re c e d e n ts
o f th e g r o u n d , ^
re lu c ta n t
to
embark
and th e y on m ajor
cam paigns o f e x p a n sio n .
I t I s , I t h i n k , s i g n i f i c a n t t h a t th e two g r e a t cam paigns o f L a te r Han beyond th e b o rd e rs i n th e n o r t h , th e triu m p h o f Dou Xian I n 8 9 -9 1 , and
th e
d i s a s t e r o f XIa Yu and T ian Yan I n 177, w ere b o th d e c id e d a s
th e r e s u l t o f p a r t i c u l a r p o l i t i c s a t th e c o u r t: app o in tm en t re la tiv e s g re a t
b ecau se by
of
h i s m embership o f th e fa m ily o f th e Im p e ria l
m a rria g e ,
and we a r e t o l d t h a t th e eunuch Wang Fu used
I n flu e n c e
somewhat
Dou Xian re c e iv e d h i s
a b o r tiv e
I n s u p p o rt e x p e d itio n
o f T ian Y a n .^ of
73
In s i m i l a r f a s h io n , th e
a p p e a rs to have been sp o n so red
432 p r im a r ily th e
by th e Geng and Dou f a m i l i e s , and th e d e c is io n to u n d e rta k e
campaign
a p p e a rs
In flu e n c e a t c o u rt*
In of
th e s e
L a te r Han
m ilita ry th re a t
as a r e s u lt of th e ir p o litic a l
th e
was th e
i t would a p p e a r t h a t th e norm al p o lic y
fro n tie r
ta k e n more e s ta b lis h e d
was
a
c o n s e rv a tiv e
o n e, and
r e a d i l y i n re sp o n se t o a p e rc e iv e d p o s itio n
th a n
w ith th e p u rpose o f
The governm ent d id In d eed go t o g r e a t tr o u b le and expense i n
p u ttin g
and
been
18
tow ards
a g a in s t
J io n g
have
c irc u m s ta n c e s ,
a c tio n
change*
to
down
th e
a g a in s t a p p lie d
re g a rd e d
g re a t
Qlang u p r i s i n g s ,
and th e c a n p alg n s o f Duan
th e X la n lla n i n th e l a t e 160s w ere a model o f f e r o c i t y pow er:
b u t a l l th e s e were ta k e n i n d e fe n c e o f what was
a s I m p e r ia l t e r r i t o r y , and th e enemy w ere re g a rd e d , n o t a s a
d iffe re n t
p eo p le w ith
th e r i g h t
t o in d e p en d en ce, b u t a s
a w illfu l
r e b e ls a g a i n s t p ro p e r C hin ese a u t h o r i t y ,
These th a t
l a s t p a ra g ra p h s have
b ased
upon
th e
assu m p tio n
th e Han governm ent was g e n e r a lly i n a p o s i t i o n t o ta k e a c tio n on
th e problem s o f th e f r o n t i e r * to
been
b e lie v e
th e
th a t
re s o u rc e s as
which
would
group
e sp o u sin g
we
em pire
fo r
any such p u rp o se .
Not o n ly were
se e k to p re v e n t th e a l l o c a t i o n o f m ajor re s o u rc e s t o any
of
of
s ta tu s
im p e r ia l
th e
have o b se rv e d , p o l i t i c a l p r e s s u r e s from r i v a l f a c t i o n s
in e rtia th e
th e governm ent o f t e n found d i f f i c u l t y i n m o b ilis in g
of
th e re ,
In f a c t , how ever, th e r e i s e v e ry re a so n
a
a
"fo rw ard " p o l i c y , so to o t h e r e was th e i n e v i t a b l e
b u re a u c ra c y which was g e a re d r a t h e r t o th e m aintenance
power*
quo
th a n
Since
to th e
th e m ajor
r e g u la r
and
a c tiv e e x e r tio n
of
re v e n u e -p ro d u cin g re g io n s o f th e
433 em pire
were
f r o n tie r » drawn
in
and
th e
la rg e ly
s u rp ris in g
c e n tra l
a
s c h o la r-o ffic ia ls
from
th a t
China»
th o s e
an
c o n s id e ra b le who
governed
p ro sp e ro u s»
a g g re s s iv e
d is ta n c e from th e th e s t a t e w ere
se c u re re g io n s» i t i s n o t
In itia tiv e
put
fo rw ard
and
even
ad opted a t c o u r t would s t i l l have n o ta b le problem s o f im p le m e n ta tio n .
Moreover»
u n lik e
th e
governm ent
of
Former Han i n th e tim e o f
Emperor Wu, th e L a te r Han dynasty» a f t e r th e f i r s t h a lf - c e n tu r y o r s o , p ro v id e d to
no s tr o n g r u l e r s f o r th e em p ire.
ov erth ro w
Uiough Emperor He was a b le
th e power o f th e Dou fa m ily i n 92, he was o n ly f o u r te e n
a t th e tim e , and he d ie d when he was tw e n ty -se v e n . came
to
th e th ro n e a s an a d u lt a n d , more im p o rta n t s t i l l , no em peror
rem ained upon th e th ro n e f o r more th a n tw en ty y e a r s . s ta n c e s , of
e s ta b lis h in g
a dom inant c o n t r o l o f th e governm ent o r s e t t i n g up a
c o h e re n t p o lic y ; and th e re c o rd s t h a t we have o f Emperor An
Emperor
Shun
do
d e c is iv e c h a r a c t e r . Empress-Dowager but
her
not
i n d i c a t e t h a t th e y w ere men o f s tr o n g and
In many r e s p e c t s , one m ight arg u e t h a t th e re g e n t
nee Deng was th e m ost e f f e c t i v e r u l e r o f t h a t p e r io d ,
c o n s t i t u t i o n a l p o s i t i o n was n a t u r a l l y weaker th a n t h a t o f an
e s ta b lis h e d was
In th e s e circum
no em peror o f th e second c e n tu ry AD had th e r e a l p o s s i b i l i t y
lo n g -te rm and
No r u l e r a f t e r him
fa c e d
em peror, w ith
th e
and f o r th e w hole o f h e r tim e i n governm ent sh e m assive Qlang r e b e l l i o n and th e problem s o f i t s
a f te r m a th .
By
th e
la tte r
c e n t r a l governm ent
p a r t o f th e second c e n tu r y , th e a t t e n t i o n o f th e was a lm o st c o n s ta n tly d i s t r a c t e d
by th e I n t r i g u e s
434 of
c o u r t and th e problem s o f f a c t i o n a l i s m .
m a rria g e 150s,
The p o w erfu l r e l a t i v e - b y -
L iang J i , who c o n t r o l l e d th e governm ent th ro u g h th e 140s and
a p p e a rs
alw ays
to
have
been
p o l i t i c s th a n w ith f o r e ig n p o l i c y . th a t
Emperor
th e
q u e s tio n
more
concerned
w ith d o m estic
T here is » perhaps» some in d i c a t i o n
tfcian i n th e l a t e 160s was b e g in n in g t o pay a t t e n t i o n t o of
th e n o r th e r n f r o n t i e r - th e cam paigns o f Duan Jio n g
were ta k e n on h i s i n i t i a t i v e - b u t he d ie d s h o r t l y a fte rw a rd s» h i s successor
Emperor
and th e a f f a i r s
Ling
of
never
e s ta b lis h e d
a p e rs o n a l a u th o r ity »
th e b o rd e rs» a s we have rem arked a lre a d y » were o f
m inim al c o n c e rn t o th e p o l i t i c a l r i v a l r i e s a t th e c a p i t a l .
One
m ight
dynasty»
fo r
c o n tr o l
say» m ost
th e r e f o r e » t h a t th e governm ent o f th e L a te r Han of
s u ffic ie n t
th e
p e rio d
re so u rc e s
to
n o n -C h in ese p e o p le s
o f th e n o r th .
c o n s id e rin g
s tra te g ic a l
th e
s tr o n g
p re s s u re s »
which
p re v e n te d
of
d e te rm in e any p o lic y a g a in s t th e In p r a c tic e » however» even w ith o u t
q u e s tio n s them selves»
p h ilo s o p h ic a l» th e
i t s e x is te n c e » d id i n th e o ry
governm ent
a d m in is tr a tiv e from
doing
v ery
th e r e and
were
p erso n al»
much more th a n
r e a c tin g t o c irc u m s ta n c e s .
And
i t m ust be re c o g n is e d t h a t th e c irc u m sta n c e s w ere rem arkably
in tra c ta b le . d e s tro y e d
I have arg u ed t h a t th e g r e a t campaign by w hich Dou Xian
th e
s ta te
of
th e
N o rth ern
Xlongnu
was
n o t an unmixed
b le s s in g f o r th e C hinese p o s i t i o n i n th e n o r th ; and th e d i f f i c u l t y was compounded not
by th e f a c t t h a t th e governm ent o f th e S o u th ern Shanyu was
c a p a b le
successor
of
e s ta b lis h in g
on th e s te p p e .
Its e lf
as
an
e ffe c tiv e
and t r u s t e d
The ta k e o v e r by th e X lanbl» however» though
435 a c c e le r a t e d ca se
by
w ith o u t
of
th e
were
th e
a c tiv itie s
s p e c ific
o f Dou Xian» was coming a b o u t I n any
a c tio n
by
Han»
C hinese t o h a l t th e p r o c e s s .
p e rh a p s
opponent
u nlucky
as
to
be
T anshihuai»
but
fa c e d th e
and i t was beyond th e power One may f e e l t h a t th e C hinese
so X lanbi
soon
w ith such a com petent
people» even u n d er l e s s e r
w a rle a d e rs , were c e r t a i n to p r e s e n t a pro b lem .
G iven
such
p ro b lem s,
how ever,
one
must
s till
r e tu r n t o th e
e s s e n t i a l w eakness o f th e C hinese c o n tr o l on th e g ro u n d . R eg ard less o f th e
c o n q u e sts
of
such
g e n e r a ls
as Ma Yuan and Duan J lo n g , and th e
g a l l a n t r e a rg u a rd a c tio n s o f Zhang Huan and Huangfu G ui, th e L a te r Han governm ent d efen ce
co u ld
based
never
r e ly
upon
th e
p re se n c e
o f a v ia b le l o c a l
upon s e t t l e d Han C hin ese: l i f e a t th e f r o n t i e r was to o
u n c e r ta in , and C hin ese c o n t r o l was m a in ta in e d o n ly by s o l d i e r s who had been
re c ru ite d
rem ain .
and c o n s c r ip te d , and by c i v i l i a n s who were o rd e re d to
The ce n su s f i g u r e s r e c o r d a c o n s i s te n t and d an g erous d e c lin e
In Han C hinese c o lo n i s a t i o n and s e ttle m e n t I n th e n o r t h .
M oreover, in e ffe c tiv e
th e
In
governm ent
g a in in g
and
of
h o ld in g
C hinese s u b je c t p e o p le , th e Q lang. In
fo rm al
Han th e
showed
20
its e lf
rem arkably
lo y a lty o f I t s m ajor n o n -
The X iongnu, of c o u rs e , m a in ta in e d
term s a s e p a r a te s t a t e , and th e Wuhuan, who had n ev er been
in d e p e n d e n tly p o w e rfu l, w ere p re p a re d t o s e rv e in th e r e g u la r im p e r ia l army.
Yet no such re c o rd can be found f o r th e Q lang, and i t i s s u r e ly
rem ark ab le p la c e
th a t
alm o st
th e
se v e n ty
g r e a t r i s i n g o f th e E a s te rn Q lang, i n 107, took y e a rs
a fte r
th e s e ttle m e n t by Ma Yuan i n th e
A36 The
n o rth w e s t L ittle to
le n ie n t
P r o te c to r
Deng Xun was a b le to e n l i s t th e
Yuezhi i n t o th e L oyal A u x ilia r y , b u t no c i v i l g o v ern o r a p p e a rs
have
been
a b le
to
ease
th e re s e n tm e n ts and s t i l l th e se n se o f
a l i e n a t i o n among th e Qlang p e o p le l i v i n g w ith in th e im p e r ia l f r o n t i e r .
T his i s a sad r e c o r d , and i t g iv e s b i t e to th e c r i t i c i s m s o f Wang Fu
and Huangfu Gui c o n c e rn in g th e c r u e l t y and r a p a c i t y o f th e C hinese
lo c a l a d m in is tr a to r s and m i l i t a r y men.
The p e n a l t i e s f o r t h i s f a i l u r e
of
governm ent w ere s e v e r e , f o r a lth o u g h th e Qlang w ere n o t s u c c e s s f u l
in
th e ir
s tra in
m ajor u p r i s i n g s , th e d i s r u p t i o n which th e y caused p u t g r e a t
upon
th e
d y n a sty
Its e lf,
and
th is
u ltim a te ly
fo rc e d th e
abandonment o f th e n o rth w e s t by C hinese a u t h o r i t y .
C o n sid e rin g u n f a ir
to
T here
were
a ll
th e
c irc u m s ta n c e s ,
c ritic is e
th e
Han
v ery
m isjudgem ent s u ffic ie n t
or to
governm ent. h o ld fo r
th e
g re a t
On
exam ple,
governm ent
pro b lem s,
some
i n te n s e
it
may
w e ll be
f o r f a i l u r e i n th e n o r th . of
m isconduct by th e C h in ese. put
lin e
however,
them
dev elo p ed th ro u g h
And th e c o s ts were h ig h ,
s t r a i n on th e re s o u rc e s a v a i l a b l e t o th e
th e o th e r han d , by and l a r g e , th e r u l e r s o f Han d id o f th e f r o n t i e r , and th e breakdown i n L iang p ro v in c e ,
came
o n ly
when th e c e n t r a l power had been d r a s t i c a l l y
weakened by th e r e b e l l i o n o f th e Yellow Türbans i n 184.
The fa c to rs . between
fa ll
of
th e
In c lu d in g eunuchs
and
d y n a sty
th e
s tr u g g le
its e lf fo r
came
as
dominance
th e r e s u l t o f many of
a weak em peror
im p e r ia l r e l a t i v e s and a l o s s o f c o n fid e n c e and
437 se n se
of
p ro s p e rity
im m ediate d 'e t a t th e
cau se
at
of
among
th e
c o lla p s e
was
th e c a p i t a l i n 189.
fro n tie r
c o n s ta n t
may
have
s tra in
upon
le a d e r s i n th e p r o v in c e s , w h ile th e a d i s a s t r o u s and d e s t r u c t i v e coup
A g ain st th e s e e v e n ts , th e problem s o f
a p p eared th e
m a rg in a l,
r e s o u rc e s
p r o s p e r i t y o f th e em pire a s a w hole. of
th e
of
but th e
th e y d id produce a governm ent
and
th e
To t h i s e x t e n t , th e d i f f i c u l t i e s
Han governm ent i n th e n o r th and n o rth w e st c o n tr ib u te d n o ta b ly
t o th e w eakness and d e s t r u c t i o n o f th e d y n a sty i t s e l f .
F i n a l l y , how ever, a s an e n v o i to t h i s h i s t o r y , one may r e c a l l and pay
t r i b u t e to th o s e o r d in a r y c i t i z e n s o f Han, who so u g h t to c o lo n is e
th e
b o rd e r
riv a lle d
la n d s ,
them
tra d itio n a l, own
fo r and
a m b itio n s fo r
one
E ith e r
p a rty ,
th e
non-C h in ese
th e
b e n e fits
of
p eo p le
th a t
of
la n d .
th e s te p p e who T h e ir enm ity was
i n many r e s p e c ts I n e v i t a b l e , f o r each group had i t s
and
su c c e s s
and
e x p e c ta tio n s was
la rg e ly
how ever,
of
a g ric u ltu re
or
p a s tu ra g e , and
a c h ie v e d a t th e expense o f th e o t h e r .
co u ld
have
been
s a tis fie d
by
p e a c e fu l
o c c u p a tio n s
and
n a tu r e
and
p o l i t i c a l s t r u g g l e t h a t k e p t th e b o rd e rs In s e c u re and th e
p eo p le
u n su re o f p r o t e c t i o n .
th e w ith
w eakness th a t
of
t r a d e ; and i t was th e sad f a c t o f en v iro n m en t, human
In th e e n d , th e f a l l o f th e Xlongnu and
Han came from t h e i r f a i l u r e to su p p ly
s e c u rity
t h e i r p eo p le
which th e y needed and hoped f o r , and which i t i s
th e u lt i m a t e d u ty o f governm ent t o p ro v id e .
CHRONOLOGY OF THE NORTHERN FRONTIER IN THE FIRST TWO CENTURIES AD
1-6
Emperor P ing o f Former Han (dom inance o f Wang Mang)
2
T re a ty o f Four A r t i c l e s betw een Han and th e Xlongnu
5
Wang Mang esta b lish es Xihai commandery by the Koko Nor
6-9
Regency o f Wang Mang
7
re b ellio n o f Qiang in Xihai commandery put down
c. 7
war betw een Wuhuan and Xlongnu
9-23
Government o f Wang Mang (X ln D ynasty)
9
Wang Mang changes th e s e a l o f th e Xlongnu Shanyu Zhi
10
b re a c h betw een Wang Mang and th e Xlongnu
11
c o n s c r ip tio n o f Wuhuan a g a i n s t th e Xlongnu by Wang Mang
13
a c c e s s io n o f th e Xlongnu Shanyu Xian
18
a c c e s s io n o f th e Xlongnu Shanyu Yu
c. 18
m utiny o f th e Wuhuan a g a in s t Wang Mang
23-25
The G engshl Emperor o f L a te r Han
25-57
Emperor Guangwu o f L a te r Han
29-37
Lu Fang w a rlo rd I n Wuyuan, a l l i e d t o th e Xlongnu
33
Emperor Guangwu appoints Lai Xi as Governor o f Liang Province; death o f Wei Ao, warlord o f the northwest
34
rebellion o f the Xianliem Qiang in Jincheng and Longxi
35-37
settlem en t o f Jincheng and Longxi by Ma Yuan
39
fo rm al Han w ith d ra w a l from th e n o rth e rn commanderles
45
Ma Yuan I n th e n o r th ; d e f e a t o f X lanbl r a id s In Liaodong by Zhal Tong
46
d e a th o f th e Shanyu Yu; Wuhuan tu r n a g a in s t th e Xlongnu
440 49
Zhai Tong, Grand A d m in is tra to r o f Liaodong, e n l i s t s th e X lanbi a s a l l i e s a g a i n s t th e Xiongnu; em bassy t o Han le d by th e c h i e f t a i n Haodan o f th e Wuhuan; e s ta b lis h m e n t o f th e o f f i c e o f th e C o lo n el P r o te c to r o f th e Wuhuan a t Ning i n Shanggu; s e p a r a t i s t movement o f P rin c e Bi o f th e Xiongnu
50
Han r e c o g n itio n o f Bi a s S o u th ern Shanyu o f th e Xiongnu; r e s t o r a t i o n o f th e n o r th e r n com m anderies.
57-75
Emperor Ming
57-59
raidin g by Dianyu o f the Shaodang Qiang
58
d e f e a t o f th e Bed M ountain Wuhuan by X lanbi a l l i e s o f Han
65
Wu Tang e s t a b l i s h e d a s f i r s t G en eral Who C ro sses th e L iao
73
e x p e d itio n a g a in s t th e N o rth ern Xiongnu
75-88
Emperor Chang
76
appointment o f Wu Tang as Protector o f the Qiang
77-87
raiding by Miyu o f the Shaodang Qiang
84
b r i e f p e r io d o f tr a d e w ith th e N o rth ern Xiongnu
87
X lanbi d e f e a t and k i l l th e Shanyu o f th e N o rth ern Xiongnu
88-106
Emperor He (8 8 -9 2 reg en cy o f th e Empress-Dowager n ee Dou)
89-91
d e s t r u c t i o n o f th e N o rth ern Xiongnu i n th e cam paigns o f Dou Xian
89-92
appointment o f Deng Xun as P rotector o f the Qiang
92-98
fro n tie r warfare with Mi tang o f the Shaodang Qiang
94
d e a th o f th e Shanyu Anguo o f th e S o u th ern Xiongnu; a c c e s s io n o f th e Shanyu S h iz l; d e f e c tio n o f Fenghou
97
b e g in n in g o f X lanbi r a i d s i n th e n o rth
106
Emperor Shang (re g e n c y o f th e Empress-Dowager n ee Deng)
106-125
Emperor An (106-121 reg en cy o f th e Empress-Dowager n ee Deng)
106
X lanbi r a i d Yuyang and k i l l th e Grand A d m in is tra to r
107-118
Great East Qiang Rebellion
441 107
w ith d ra w a l from W estern R eg io n s; reb ellio n o f Xianllan Qiang; Long Road cut
108
Deng Zhi defeated in Hanyang, re ca lled
109
Qiang ra id s reach the c a p ita l commanderie s
109-110
r e v o l t o f S o u th ern Xiongnu
110
establishm ent o f m ilita r y bases a t Changan, Yong
110-111
f iv e ccmmandery c a p ita ls s h ifte d
112
death o f Qiang c h iefta in Dianlian
113-114
Hou Ba, Ha Xian defeat Xianllan Qiang
116
Deng Zun, Ren Zhang defeat Xianllan Qiang
117
X ianbi r a i d i n g i n L la o x l; assassination o f Xianlian c h i e f t a i n s ; Ren Shang d e c is iv e ly d e fe a ts Xianlian
119
X ianbi r a i d 8
120
o f f i c e o f P r o te c to r - G e n e ra l o f th e W estern R egions r e e s ta b lis h e d
124
r e b e l l i o n o f S o u th e rn Xiongnu Azu
126-144
Eaperor Shun (fro n 132, supremacy o f th e Liang con sort cla n )
126
X ian b i r a i d s a g a i n s t S o u th e rn Xiongnu
129
commander y c a p ita ls resto red , r e s e ttle m e n t program begins
140-144
second major Qiang re b ellio n
140
r e b e l l i o n o f S outh ern Xiongnu; Judong Qiang burn Long
Pass, ra id Wei v a lle y 141
Ha Xian defeated and k i ll e d by Judong Qiang; comaandery c a p ita ls evacuated
143
Zhao Chong d efea ts Shaohe, Shaodang Qiang
144
Eaperor Chong (regency o f th e E gress-D ow ager nee U aa g )
145
Eaperor Zhi (Liang regency)
146
E ^ eror Bien (u n til 159, Liang regency)
442 156
renewed X ianbl r a i d i n g ( le d by T a n sh ih u a i? )
c.1 5 6
Zhang Huan d iv id e s and d e f e a t s r i s i n g o f Xiuchuge Xiongnu and th e Wuhuan o f Shuofang
158/159
X ianbl r a i d d e f e a te d by Zhang Huan and Xiongnu a u x ilia rie s
159-161
appointment o f Duan Jiong as Protector o f Qiang
161
rebellion o f the Qiang and mutiny o f the Loyal A u xiliary ; Duan Jiong dism issed rebellion of the Xianlian and other Qiang tr ib e s put
162
down by Huangfu Gui 162-166
ap p o in tm en t o f Zhang Huan a s G en eral Who C ro sses th e L iao
163
restoration o f Duan Jiong as P rotector o f the Qiang
166
Zhang Huan a p p o in te d t o th e c a p i t a l ; r e b e l l i o n and r a i d i n g o f X ia n b l, Wuhuan, Xiongnu and Q iang; Zhang Ilian r e t u r n s and r e b e l Xiongnu s u r r e n d e r
167
renew ed rebellion o f the Xianlian Qiang
168-169
Duan Jiong1s campaigns against the Xianlian Qiang
168-189
Emperor Ling (168 regency o f th e E^>ress-Dowager nee Dou)
168-181
X ianbl r a id in g by th e governm ent o f T an sh ih u ai
c . 168
"k in g s" o f th e Wuhuan i n Shanggu, Y oubeiplng, L ia o x i and Liaodong
184
( th e r e b e l l i o n o f th e Yellow T u rb a n s); th e Liangzhou
rebellion 185
repulse o f the Liangzhou reb els a t Meiyang
187
repulse o f the Liangzhou reb els at Chencang; d e s e r tio n o f Wuhuan c o n s c r ip ts and b e g in n in g o f th e r e b e l l i o n o f Zhang Chun i n th e n o r th e a s t
188
L iu Yu a p p o in te d G overnor o f You p ro v in c e ; a s s a s s i n a t i o n o f Zhang Chun and s u r re n d e r o f h i s Wuhuan a l l i e s ; r e b e l l i o n o f th e Xiuchuge X iongnu, m urder o f th e Shanyu Qiangqu and th e banishm ent o f th e Shanyu Yufuluo
189
year o f th e th ree emperors (se iz u r e o f power by Dong Zhuo)
189-
220
Emperor Xian (196-220 in th e power o f Gao Cao)
190-
195
Emperor Xian a t Changan
443 193
Gongsun Zan k i l l s Liu Yu and s e iz e s You p ro v in c e
199
Yuan Shao k i l l s Gongsun Zan and o c c u p ie s You p ro v in c e ; Tadun le a d e r o f th e Wuhuan
200
( d e f e a t o f Yuan Shao by Cao Cao a t th e b a t t l e o f Guandu)
205
Yuan XL and Yuan Shang ta k e re fu g e w ith th e Wuhuan under Tadun
207
d e f e a t and d e s t r u c t i o n o f Tadunvs f o r c e s by Cao Cao a t th e b a t t l e o f White Wolf M ountain
211
v ic to r y o f Cao Cao a t the b a ttle o f Huayin and h is settlem en t o f Liang province
216
Cao Cao e s t a b l i s h e s th e f i v e d iv is io n s o f th e Xiongnu i n th e n o r th
N O TE S TO CHAPTER 1
The c h ie f so u rc e o f in fo rm a tio n on th e a d m in is tr a tiv e s t r u c t u r e o f th e L a te r Han em pire i s th e T r e a tis e o f O f f i c i a l s ( boguan zhi 'If 1* ) i n HHS 114/24 to 118/2 8 . L ocal a d m in is tr a tiv e o f f i c e s a r e d is c u s s e d a t th e end o f HHS 117/27, 3613-15 d e a lin g w ith th e C olonel D ir e c to r o f R e ta in e r s ( s i l i x iao w ei) and h i s s u b o rd in a te s i n th e re g io n o f th e c a p i t a l , and i n HHS 118/28, 3617-26, w hich d e a ls w ith th e a d m in is tr a tio n o f th e p ro v in c e s o f th e r e s t o f th e e m p ire . The m ajor a d m in is tr a tiv e t e r r i t o r i e s o f Former Han, f o r th e p e rio d a b o u t 2 AD, a r e l i s t e d i n th e T r e a tis e o f Geography ( d i l i z h i ^ ) i n HS 28A-B; th o s e o f L a te r Han, ab o u t 140 AD, a r e i n th e T r e a tis e o f A d m in is tra tiv e G eography ( junguo zhi J&f îS| ) in HHS 1 0 9 /1 9 -1 1 3 /2 3 . Hie m ost im p o rta n t work i n a W estern lan g u ag e on th e a d m in is tr a tio n o f th e Han p e rio d i s B ie le n s te in , The Bureaucracy o f Han Times> and i n C hinese Yen Keng-wang,
History o f the Regional and Local Administration in Chinai Part I, The Ch ' in and Han Dynasties ; t h i s i s p u b lis h e d i n two volum es and w i l l be c i t e d a s Administration 1 and I I . T here i s a l s o im p o rta n t m a t e r i a l and d is c u s s io n i n Dubs, Much e a r l i e r work h as been su p e rse d e d by B i e l e n s t e i n 's p u b l i c a t io n , b u t 1 s h a l l have o c c a s io n to r e f e r to th r e e a r t i c l e s : de C resp lg n y , "The R e c ru itm e n t System o f th e I m p e ria l B ureaucracy o f th e L a te Han" ( c i t e d a s " R e c ru itm e n t" ), "An O u tlin e o f th e Local A d m in is tra tio n o f th e L a te Han Empire (" L o c a l A d m in is tra tio n ) and " I n s p e c tio n and S u r v e illa n c e O f f i c i a l s under th e Two Han D y n a s tie s ( " I n s p e c tio n and S u r v e i l l a n c e " ) .
HFHD and Loewe, RHA.
On th e shi & " b u s h e l" a s a m easure o f s a l a r y and hence o f r a n k , s e e B i e l e n s t e i n , B u reau cracy , 4 and 125-131. On th e developm ent o f th e shuguo i n th e Han p e r io d , s e e Loewe, RHA I , 6 1-64, and B i e l e n s t e i n , B u reau cracy , 109 and 189 n o te 138; a l s o n o te 4 below . On th e dao, s e e B i e l e n s t e i n , B u reau cracy , 99-100. In i d e n t i f y i n g th e a p p a r e n tly fo llo w s th e th e e ig h te e n th c e n tu ry th e c o u n ty - le v e l u n i t s t h e i r name.
dao o f th e Han p e r io d , B ie le n s te in commentary o f Qi Shaonan i$7 o f t o HSBZ 28B /2, 49 a, who l i s t s o u t w hich have th e c h a r a c te r dao i n
T h is a p p ro a c h , how ever, seems somewhat s u p e r f i c i a l . For exam ple, one o f th e dao-named c o u n tie s o f Former Han, I d e n t i f i e d by Ql Shaonan, i s Gudao i n Wudu commandery ( HHS 11 5 /2 3 , 3 5 1 8 ). Very p ro b a b ly how ever, Gudao o b ta in e d i t s name from th e f a c t t h a t th e co u n ty la y on th e tr a c k o f th e n o r th e r n s e c t i o n o f th e Linked Cloud Road th ro u g h th e Q in lin g Shan. D uring th e Qin and e a r ly Han p e r io d , t h i s
446 n o te s
to
C h a p te r 1
(notes to page 3) (3 )
s e c t i o n o f r o u te was bypassed by th e new c o n s tr u c tio n o f th e Baoye Road: and t h e name "Old Road" would have b een an a p p r o p r ia te one f o r an a d m in is tr a tiv e u n i t I n t h a t reg io n * T here I s no n e c e s s a ry re a s o n t h a t th e c h a r a c te r dao h e re h as th e m eaning o f "march" (s e e p*14 b e lo w ). A gain, i n a number o f c a s e s , co u n ty u n i t s w ith th e c h a r a c t e r dao i n t h e i r names a p p e a r I n a v e ry s i m i l a r en v iro n m en t t o o t h e r s w ith o u t th e d e s ig n a tio n . Ih e s i n g l e exam ple o f Yldao I t i L i n Nan commander y , i n b o th Former and L a te r Han, begs th e q u e s tio n w h e th e r t h i s one co u n ty was p a r t i c u l a r l y n o te d f o r th e number o f no n -C h in ese p e o p le , when 1 t s n e ig h b o u r, Y llin g , was e v id e n tly n o t i n su ch a s p e c i a l c a s e ( HHS 112/2 2 , 3 4 8 0 ). S im ila r ly , I t i s s u r p r i s i n g t h a t th e c h i e f c o u n ty o f Longxl commandery sh o u ld have been a dao-named c o u n ty , Dlkdao rjK-iJL , when o th e r t e r r i t o r i e s , c l o s e r t o th e f r o n t i e r and presum ably w ith s i m i l a r p r o p o r tio n s o f n o n -C h in ese p e o p le s , were n o t th u s in d i c a t e d a s m arch es. (HHS 113/23, 3516; on th e r e n d e rin g o f th e p ro n u n c ia tio n o f , s e e n o te 8 to C hapter 2) • I t seems more p ro b a b le t h a t th e e x is te n c e o f th e c h a r a c te r
dao i n th e name o f a co u n ty u n i t shows no more th a n t h a t th e p la c e co n cern ed may have been a t one tim e a m arch; i t does n o t i n d i c a t e t h a t th e p la c e h e ld t h a t c u r r e n t s t a t u s . An o b v io u s analo g y may be s e e n i n th e number o f c o u n tie s o f Former Han whose names in c lu d e d th e i n d i c a t i o n xiang Jfrp " d i s t r i c t " : a s B i e l e n s t e i n , RHD I I I , 143-144, h as p o in te d o u t, th e s e were e v id e n tly new c o u n tie s , based upon th e su b co u n ty d i s t r i c t u n i t s , w hich w ere r a i s e d i n s t a t u s a s a r e s u l t o f a d m i n i s t r a t i v e e x p a n s io n . Ihe econom ising Emperor Guangwu a b o lis h e d f o r ty - o n e o f th e f o r t y - s i x Former Han c o u n tie s whose names had c o n ta in e d th e xiang c h a r a c t e r . I would a rg u e , t h e r e f o r e , t h a t th e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f Q1 Shaonan c a n n o t be u sed to i d e n t i f y th e s i t u a t i o n o r th e numbers o f th e m arches o f Form er o r L a te r Han. Ih e r e l a t i o n s h i p o f name t o f u n c tio n i s n o t f u l l y r e l i a b l e , and th e a d m i n is tr a tiv e a rra n g e m en ts would n o t have made a g r e a t d eal of sen se. On th e same arg u m en t, j u s t a s some p la c e s w ith daonames may n o t have been "m arch es", o th e r p la c e s w ith o u t th e d e s ig n a tio n c o u ld have b een a d m in is te re d a s m arch es. In "L ocal A d m in is tr a tio n " , 61, f o r exam ple, I su g g e ste d t h a t s in c e th e d ep en d en t s t a t e s a t commandery l e v e l w ere in v o lv e d i n th e a d m in is tr a tio n o f a r e a s w here th e r e were " s u rre n d e re d n o n -C h in ese p e o p le s" (z h u manyi xiangzhe i Ik. Jfr • HHS 118/2 8 , 3621) and s in c e we a r e a ls o t o l d t h a t m arches w ere co u n ty u n i t s w hich "governed n on -C h in ese" ( z h u manyi ^ : HHS 1 1 8 /2 8 , 3 6 2 3 ), i t seems p ro b a b le t h a t a l l th e u n i t s u n d e r th e d ep en d en t s t a t e s w ere c l a s s i f i e d a s m arches. ( I t may be t h a t t h i s argum ent a p p lie s l e a s t s u c c e s s f u lly t o th e D ependent S t a t e o f L iaodong, i n You p ro v in c e , f o r w h ile th e sum m aries a t th e end o f th e e n t r i e s
447 n o te s
to
c h a p te r
1
(n o te s
to
page
3)
f o r Y1 p ro v in c e and L iang p ro v in c e I n th e T r e a t i s e o f A lm ln ls tr a tlv e G eography, HHS 11 3 /2 3, 3516 and 3521, b o th r e f e r t o m arches among th e c o u n ty - le v e l u n i t s , th e summary f o r You p ro v in c e , a t HHS 1 13/23, 3530, does n o t . The sum m aries, how ever, a r e n o t t o t a l l y r e l i a b l e . ) I t would a p p e a r , th e n , t h a t th e sy stem o f dao m arches was u se d c h i e f l y I n th e w e s te rn and n o r th e a s te r n p ro v in c e s o f Y1 and L ian g , and I t r e p r e s e n te d a s l i g h t l y more co n cern ed a p p ro a c h to th e p re s e n c e o f a s i g n i f i c a n t number o f n o n -C h in ese p e o p le I n th e co u n ty u n i t co n c e rn e d . As Yen Keng-wang h a s rem arked, how ever, though th e term in o lo g y m ight v a r y , th e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e a rra n g e m en ts f o r xian, dao, houguo and th e o t h e r c o u n ty - le v e l u n i t s fo llo w e d e s s e n t i a l l y th e same p a t t e r n (Yen, Administration I , 4 3 ). The d i s t i n c t i o n , t h e r e f o r e , was n o t p a r t i c u l a r l y Im p o rta n t. 4.
B i e l e n s t e i n , B u reau cracy , 109 and 189-190 n o te s 138-142, d is c u s s e s d ep en d en t s t a t e s and l i s t s th o s e re c o rd e d f o r Former and I * t e r Han. In Former Han, and f o r th e f i r s t p e r io d o f L a te r Han, d ep en d en t s t a t e s a p p e a r a s m i l i t a r y d i s t r i c t s , headed by a C hief Commandant, which were r e s p o n s ib le t o th e r e g u l a r c i v i l commandery a d m in is tr a tio n . In t h i s , th e y were com parable to th e m i l i t a r y d i s t r i c t s (d u w ei bu ) w hich w ere e s t a b l i s h e d b o th i n Former Han and I n t e t e r Han among v a rio u s commanderies w ith in th e em p ire. The d ep e n d e n t s t a t e s , how ever, w ere d is tin g u is h e d by t h e i r p a r t i c u l a r co n cern w ith n o n -C h in ese p e o p le I n th e r e g io n o f th e f r o n t i e r . A d ep en d en t s t a t e , t h e r e f o r e , c o u ld In c lu d e a number o f co u n ty u n i t s , and had more e x te n s iv e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y th a n a m arch (dao; on w hich s e e n o te 3 a b o v e ). On th e o th e r hand, u n t i l th e b e g in n in g o f th e second c e n tu ry AD, each d ep endent s t ä t e was s u b o rd in a te d t o a commandery a d m in is tr a tio n . D uring th e r e ig n o f Emperor An, how ever, e a r l y I n th e second c e n tu ry AD, s i x d ep en d en t s t a t e s w ere g iv e n th e s t a t u s o f com m anderies. These were th e Dependent S ta te s o f Guanghan, Shu Commandery and J la n w e i i n Yi p ro v in c e , o f Zhangye and Juyan i n Zhangye (w hich c o n ta in e d o n ly th e s i n g l e c o u n ty u n i t o f Ju y an i t s e l f ) i n L iang p ro v in c e , and o f Liaodong i n You p ro v in c e . The f i r s t th r e e and th e la st-n a m e d w ere s e t up on th e b a s i s o f m i l i t a r y d i s t r i c t s w ith in com m anderies, and I t a p p e a rs t h a t Juyan I n Zhangye may a ls o have been i n t h a t c a te g o r y . The D ependent S ta te o f Zhangye, how ever, whose s u b o rd in a te " c o u n tie s " o r " c i t i e s " ( cheng a r e a c t u a l l y named a f t e r m i l i t a r y o f f i c i a l s ( s e e n o te 38 b e lo w ), had e x i s t e d a s a d ep en d ent s t a t e b e f o r e , and th e change t h a t was made was t o g iv e i t s a d m in is tr a tio n e q u a l ra n k w ith a commandery. On h i s n o te 142, B ie l e n s t e i n s u g g e s ts t h a t th e c h ie f commandants o f th e s e s i x d ep en d en t s t a t e s were s t i l l s u b o rd in a te d t o th e g ra n d a d m i n i s t r a to r s o f th e n e ig h b o u rin g commandery. I have a rg u e d , i n "L ocal A d m in is tra tio n " , 61, t h a t th e e f f e c t o f Emperor A n 's re -a rra n g e m e n ts was t o make
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them a d m i n i s t r a t i v e l y s e p a r a t e , b u t B ie le n s te in , who c i t e s th e T r e a tis e o f O f f i c i a l s from HHSJJ 118/28, 4b-6b ( HHS 118 /2 8 , 3621: and s e e a l s o HHS 118/28, 3619; HHSJJ 118/28 3a - b ) , does n o t f in d th e e v id e n c e c o n v in c in g on t h a t p o i n t . However, 1 n o te t h a t a t th e end o f th e T r e a tis e of A d m in is tra tiv e G eography, i n HHS 113/23, 3533 ( HHSJJ 113/23, 3 1 a ), we a r e t o l d t h a t th e governm ent o f Emperor An o rd e re d th e s i x d ep en d en t s t a t e s sh o u ld be g iv en a d m in is tr a tiv e s t a t u s e q u iv a le n t t o t h a t o f a commandery (b ie lin g bi jun #*] p ) . Three o f th o s e a p p o in tm e n ts a r e re c o rd e d i n th e A n n als, HHS 5, 206 (D ependent S ta te o f J ia n w e i: 107 AD), 211 (D ependent S ta te o f Guanghan: 108) and 237 (D ependent S ta te o f Shu Commandery: 123), w h ile HHS 8 6 /7 6 , 2857, d e s c r ib in g th e e s ta b lis h m e n t o f th e Dependent S ta te o f Shu Commandery, sa y s s p e c i f i c a l l y t h a t th e C hief Commandant c o n tr o lle d f o u r xian co u n ty u n i t s " l i k e a Grand A d m in is tra to r" ( r u taishou to* ) . See a l s o , and c i . , th e in d iv id u a l e n t r i e s i n HHS 113/23, 3514-15, 3521 and 3530. M oreover, i t i s c l e a r t h a t th e T r e a tis e o f A d m in is tra tiv e Geography c o n s i s t e n t l y l i s t s and c o u n ts th o s e s i x d ep en d ent s t a t e s i n th e c a te g o ry o f junguo "commanderies and kingdom s". From t h i s e v id e n c e , i t i s w e ll a rg u a b le t h a t th e p assag e i n HHS 118/28, 3621 ( HHSJJ 11 8 /2 8 , 5 b ), w hich d e s c r ib e s how th e c h ie f commandants o f depen dent s t a t e s zh i min b i jun >6 " ru le d th e p eo p le l i k e a commandery a d m in is tr a tio n " , c a r r i e d th e u n d e rs ta n d in g t h a t th ey were e f f e c t i v e heads o f a l o c a l governm ent, and n o t s u b o rd in a te t o th e n e ig h b o u rin g c i v i l a d m in is tr a tio n . See a l s o Yen, Administration 1, 160 and 164-165. Not a l l d ep en d en t s t a t e s , how ever, o p e ra te d a t t h i s commandery l e v e l o f a u t h o r i t y . Some, such a s th e Dependent S ta te o f Xihe and th e D ependent S t a te o f Shang Commandery (on th e s e two t e r r i t o r i e s , s e e n o te 1 t o C hapter 7) and th e D ependent S ta te o f Anding ( s e e n o te 1 t o C h ap ter 8 ) , d id n o t have th e s t a t u s o f a commandery a d m in is tr a tio n , and were in d e e d s u b o rd in a te d t o a commandery, a s i n th e system i n h e r i t e d from Former Han. T hese, n e i t h e r commanderles n o r c o u n tie s , were th e r e f o r e n o t n e c e s s a r ily re c o rd e d i n th e T r e a tis e o f A d m in is tra tiv e G eography. The a d m in is tr a tiv e s i z e o f a d ep endent s t a t e c o u ld v a ry . We have a lr e a d y n o te d t h a t th e Dependent S ta te o f Juyan i n Zhangye com prised o n ly th e s i n g l e county u n i t o f Juyan. I t a p p e a rs l i k e l y t h a t th e Dependent S ta te o f Anding lik e w is e In c lu d e d o n ly th e h e a d q u a rte rs c i t y o f S anshul i n t h a t commandery. In Shang commandery, th e county u n it c a lle d Q lu ci D ependent S ta te (Qiuci shuguo ft ) was most p ro b a b ly th e h e a d q u a rte rs o f th e Dependent S ta te o f Shang Commandery: i t may have been th e only co unty u n i t i n th e Dependent S t a t e , o r th e Dependent S ta te may have In c lu d e d a t l e a s t a ls o th e co u n ty u n i t c a l l e d Houguan, whose s i t e i s
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now unknown ( s e e a l s o n o te 38 b e lo w ). The D ependent S ta te o f Xihe p ro b a b ly had r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r a l l th e t e r r i t o r y o f th e commandery w ith in th e Ordos lo o p o f th e Yellow R iv e r. B esid es th e Dependent S ta te o f Juyan i n Zhangye, th e o th e r f i v e d ep en d en t s t a t e s e s t a b l i s h e d a t commandery l e v e l i n th e tim e o f Emperor An a r e known t o have in c lu d e d two o r more co u n ty u n i t s . In th e sy stem o f d ep en d en t s t a t e s o f th e L a te r Han p e r io d , one may o b se rv e some s i m i l a r i t y to th e co n cep t o f th e bao " p r o t e c t o r a t e " , p o s tu la te d by Loewe, RHA I , 64 and RHA I I , 201-203, where Former Han may have e s ta b lis h e d a lo o s e a u t h o r i t y o v e r an in te r m e d ia te zone p r i o r t o th e fo rm a l a rra n g e m en ts o f a commandery. I t sh o u ld be o b se rv e d , how ever, t h a t though th e te rm in o lo g y o f th e T r e a tis e o f A d m in is tra tiv e Geography and o th e r t e x t s o f L a te r Han s u g g e s ts t h a t th e dep en d en t s t a t e s were a r e a s o f ex p a n sio n on th e em pire to c o n tr o l n o n -C hinese p e o p le s who had " s u rre n d e re d " t o Han, th e y w ere i n r e a l i t y a s ig n o f th e w eakening o f th e e n t i r e 's a u t h o r i t y on th e f r i n g e s o f i t s t e r r i t o r y . For th e m ost p a r t , th e e s ta b lis h m e n t o f a d ep en d en t s t a t e a d m in is tr a tio n i n L a te r Han was made i n t e r r i t o r y w hich had fo rm e rly been u n d e r th e r e g u la r commandery /c o u n ty sy ste m ; to t h i s e x t e n t , th e need f o r a more m i l i t a r y a d m in is tr a tio n sh o u ld be ta k e n a s a s ig n o f w eakness and even p o t e n t i a l r e t r e a t r a t h e r th a n one o f s t r e n g t h and e x p a n sio n . 5.
For f u r t h e r d is c u s s io n , s e e Yen, Adm inistration I , 154-75, and Loewe, RHA I , 61 and 7 4 -7 6 . On th e camps a t Yong and L iyang, s e e p .5 0 and 253 below .
6.
Loewe, RHA I , 7 6 -7 7 .
7.
On t h e e s t a b l i s h a e n t o f th e command o f th e G en eral Who C ro sses th e LLao, s e e p p .2 5 2 -2 5 3 below .
8.
A s i m i l a r co m b in atio n o f c i v i l and m i l i t a r y a u t h o r i t y may be o b serv ed i n th e Roman r e p u b lic and e n t i r e . Both c o n s u ls and p r a e t o r s , a t th e head o f th e c i v i l governm ent, w ere e x p e c te d to be c a p a b le o f h o ld in g m i l i t a r y command (o c c a s io n a lly w ith d i s a s t r o u s r e s u l t s , a s a t Cannae i n 216 BC). Gaius J u l i u s C a e sa r, who was c e le b r a te d a s one o f th e g r e a t e s t g e n e r a ls o f th e a n c ie n t w o rld , o b ta in e d h i s f i r s t m i l i t a r y command a s g o v ern o r o f F u rth e r Spain i n 61 BC, a p o s t w hich he was g r a n te d a f t e r h i s term a s p r a e to r i n Rome. He was th e n i n h i s l a t e t h i r t i e s , and had no s i g n i f i c a n t m i l i t a r y e x p e rie n c e up t o t h a t tim e . HLs ap p o in tm en t t o th e p ro v in c e s o f C is a lp in e and T ra n s a lp in e G aul, and th e g r e a t cam paigns w hich fo llo w e d i n th e t e n y e a rs 59 t o 49 BC, were b ased upon h i s term a s c o n s u l i n 60 BC.
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T h is t o p i c h a s been d is c u s s e d i n de C re sp ig n y , " I n s p e c tio n and S u r v e illa n c e " ; se e a ls o Yen, A d m in istra tio n I , 269315.
10.
HHS 8 , 357, HHS 7 5 /6 5 , 2431; p a r a l l e l p a ssa g e i n ZZTJ 59, 1887-90, t r a n s l a t e d by de C re sp ig n y , Last o f the Han, 37-3 8 ; a l s o de C re sp ig n y , " I n s p e c tio n and S u r v e illa n c e " , 67.
11.
e .g . SJ 88 , 2565-66 ( th e B iography o f Meng H a n ) , and SJ 110, 2886 ( t h e Account o f th e X iongnu); W atson, RGH I I , 160, De G ro o t, Hunnen, 4 1 -4 6 .
12.
Loewe, RHA I , 49-50 and 59-60, a l s o Zhang W elhua, Han shi lun j i 9 309-328, Chang Chunshu, "On th e d a tin g and developm ent o f th e f o u r p r e f e c t u r e s o f H o-hsl i n th e Former Han p e r io d " , and th e a r t i c l e s by Liu Guanghua.
13.
On th e Han o c c u p a tio n o f Ju y an , s e e Hou R en zh i, "A n cien t C ity R u in s", 2 -4 , and Loewe, RHA, passim •
14.
HS 54, 2451-55; Loewe, "Campaigns o f Han W u -ti", 119-122, De G ro o t, Hunnen, 164-170; c f • SJ 109, 2877-78; W atson, RGH I I , 153-154.
15.
The e a r l i e s t modern map o f th e G reat W all o f Han i n th e n o rth w e s t a p p e a rs i n th e en d p ap ers to S te in , Ruins o f Desert Cathay I .
16.
T h is r e g io n o f p re s e n t- d a y M inqin f t has been I d e n t i f i e d a s th e c o u n try o f th e Xluchu f ( a ls o tr a n s c r ib e d a s X iu tu , s e e n o te 3 t o C h ap ter 8) and Kunxie ft-. ^“P t r i b e s o f th e X iongnu, who s u rre n d e re d to Han i n 121 BC. See HS 6 , 176; Dubs, HFHD I I , 62; SJ 110, 2909 and HS 94A, 3769; W atson, RGH I I , 181, De G ro o t, Hunnen, 126.
17.
At th e p r e s e n t c i t y o f Lanzhou t h e r e i s a p a r k , fo rm e rly th e s i t e o f a B uddhist te m p le , c a l l e d Wuquan gongyuan , th e Park o f th e F iv e S p rin g s . Legend h as i t t h a t th e f iv e s o u rc e s o f w a te r were broken open by th e c e le b r a te d g e n e ra l o f Emperor Wu, Huo Qubing, s t r i k i n g h i s sword upon th e h ills id e .
18.
On th e e s ta b lis h m e n t and developm ent o f th e f o r t i f i c a t i o n s based upon L la n ju , s e e HS 96A, 3873, and HS 61, 2694; Hulsewe and Loewe, China in Central Asia , 75 and 219. A p a r a l l e l re c o rd t o HS 61 a p p e a rs i n SJ 123 ( t r a n s l a t e d by W atson, RGH I I , 264-289, and by De G ro o t, Westlande Chinas9 but on th e co m p arativ e a u t h o r ity o f th e two s o u r c e s , s e e Loewe' 8 I n tr o d u c tio n t o China in Central A sia, 3 -3 9 . On th e s i t e o f th e f o r t r e s s o f L la n ju , I am g u id ed by th e d is c o v e r ie s and I n t e r p r e t a t i o n s i n th e r e c e n t a r t i c l e by Xie Fangyu.
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On th e e s ta b lis h m e n t o f L ia n ju , se e a ls o p .6 1 below . I t may be o b serv ed t h a t I have fo llo w ed a d i f f e r e n t a u t h o r i t y f o r th e p ro n u n c ia tio n o f th e place-nam e which Hulsewé and Loewe re n d e r a s L ing-chu (s e e n o te 14 to C hapter 2 ). 19.
Huang Shui i s th e c u r r e n t name f o r t h i s r i v e r , b ein g th e same t i t l e by which i t was known i n th e Han p e r io d . However, to a v o id c o n fu s io n w ith th e Huang He -J t or Yellow R iv e r, I d e s c r ib e th e Huang Shui h e r e a f t e r by th e a l t e r n a t i v e modern name o f th e X ining R iv e r.
20.
The roadw orks o f Qin and Han i n t h i s re g io n a re d e s c rib e d by Needham, Science and C iv ilis a tio n IV :3 , 19-24, w ith accom panying F ig u re 711; Needham's d e s c r ip tio n i s based upon th e r e s e a r c h o f Lo Ju n g -p an g . A nother m ost u s e f u l a n a ly s is i s p ro v id e d by Tom Chung Yee, A Study o f the Land Communications o f Han Dynasty , 1-14, w ith map f a c in g p .6 2 . See a ls o th e a r t i c l e by Yen Kéng-wang, and th e r e p o r t o f th e S haanxi P r o v in c ia l I n s t i t u t e o f A rchaeology, from 1964. Among th e le s s e r - u s e d ro a d s o f t h i s re g io n , we may n o te th e Ziwu Dao if “N o rth -S o u th Road", c o n s tr u c te d a t th e o r d e rs o f Wang Mang i n 5 AD (ifS 99A, 4076; Dubs, HFHD I I I , 2 1 2 ), w hich le d i n t o th e ra n g e s s o u th o f Changan and th e n to th e Han v a l l e y . The p a s s e s were h ig h and s te e p , b u t i t p ro v id e d an a l t e r n a t i v e t o th e Baoye w hich c o u ld be used i n tim e o f em ergency, and i t was s t i l l i n u se a s a c o u r ie r r o u te d u rin g th e Tang d y n a s ty (Needham, Science and C iv ilis a tio n IV :3, 22, and Tom, Land Communicationsf 151 9 ). T his ro a d was u se d m ost n o ta b ly when th e Baoye Road was o u t o f o p e r a tio n due to th e Qlang r e b e l l i o n s o f th e e a r l y f i r s t c e n tu ry AD: se e p p .1 0 3 and 115 below .
21.
Needham, Science and C iv ilis a tio n IV :3, 15 and 17; Tom, Land Communications, 7 2-82, and s e e a l s o Yen Keng-wang, “ Two P o st Roads from Changan to Liang Chou". T here i s g e n e r a l ag reem en t t h a t th e Long P ass may be i d e n t i f i e d w ith th e Dazhen P a s s , w hich l i e s betw een th e Qianyang zJf R iv e r o f p r e s e n t-d a y e a s t e r n S haanxi and th e N iutou if R iv er o f Gansu. The e a s t e r n ap p ro ach to th e p a s s was known i n Han tim e s a s th e Long Slope ( B i e l e n s t e i n , RHD I I , 1 1 5 ). On th e w e s t, th e ro a d d escen d ed th ro u g h th e c i t y o f Lueyang co u n ty i n TLanshui/H anyang, w hich la y n e a r p re s e n t-d a y Q ingshul i n Gansu (Tom, Land Communications, 7 4 ). There i s some u n c e r t a i n t y , how ever, ab o u t th e r o u te o f th e Long Road t o th e s o u th o f th e Yellow R iv e r. Needham, Science and C iv ilisa tio n IV :3, 17 and F ig u re 711, h a s th e Long Road f o llo w in g th e m odem ra ilw a y l i n e , th ro u g h D ingxi , t o a p p ro ach Lanzhou from th e e a s t . In t h i s , he i s e v id e n tly fo llo w in g t h e r e s e a r c h e s o f Lo Jun g -p an g .
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Tom, Land Communications, 77 and map f a c in g p .9 4 , s u g g e s ts t h a t th e Long Road c ro s s e d from th e Wei v a lle y to th e Tao, p a s s in g th ro u g h D ikdao, th e c a p i t a l o f Longxi commander y , and th e n fo llo w e d th e Tao R iver down to th e r e g io n o f p r e s e n t- d a y Lanzhou. Yen Keng-wang, "TVo P o st R oads", 51-54 and Map a t p .9 0 , o b s e rv e s t h a t a main r o u te o f Tang fo llo w e d t h i s l i n e . T here i s n o t a g r e a t d e a l t o choose betw een th e two i n t r e p r e t a t i o n s , b u t i t seems l i k e l y t h a t th e c a p i t a l o f Longxi commandery would have been u s e f u lly lin k e d by a d i r e c t m ajor ro a d t o th e Wei R iv er i n th e e a s t and to th e Yellow R iv e r i n th e n o r t h , and I t h e r e f o r e a c c e p t th e v e r s io n o f Tom and Yen. 22.
HS 28B, 1644; b u t c f . SJ 129, 3262; W atson, RGH I I , 485 and Swann, Food and Money in Ancient China9 439. For a mdern c o n s id e r a tio n o f t h e a n c ie n t t e r r a i n , s e e Shi N la n h a i's a r t i c l e o f 1981.
23.
On th e n a tu r e o f t h i s form o f d ep en d en t s t a t e , s e e n o te 4 above and a l s o p .3 0 below . On A iding Dependent S ta te , se e a l s o p . 320.
24.
In 141, th e c a p i t a l o f B e id i was s h i f t e d s t i l l f u r t h e r t o th e s o u th : s e e p .3 1 0 below .
25.
The m ajo r fo o d g r a i n s o f n o r t h C hina i n th e Han p e rio d w ere th e two v a r i e t i e s o f m i l l e t , th e s p ik e d m i l l e t Hang > i d e n t i f i e d a s S etaria i ta l ic a Beauv. v a r . maxima A1, and th e p a n lc le d o r g lu tin o u s m i l l e t shu ^ , Panicum
miliaceixn. T here a r e a l s o r e f e r e n c e s to j i > th e e a r l i e r m i l l e t o f th e Zhou p e r io d , t e n t a t i v e l y i d e n t i f i e d a s th e s m a lle r e a r e d lo w e r - y ie ld S eta ria i t a l i c a Beauv. v a r . germanica T r i n . , and i n th e n o rth w e s t t o men , p ro b a b ly a s p e c ie s o f r e d m i l l e t . See Chang ( e d . ) , Food in Chinese Culture, 2 6 -2 7 , and Loewe, RHA I I , 322. B a rle y , da mai , Hordeun vulgare L . , and w h e a t, xiao mai \)\ ^ , Triticum turgidum L . , were a ls o common, though th e two g r a i n s w ere n o t alw ays d is tin g u is h e d and were som etim es d e s c r ib e d sim p ly a s m ai. Soybeans ( Glycine max L. M e r r .) and o th e r legum es were a l s o commonly u s e d . I t may be n o te d , how ever, t h a t gaoliang £7 , Andropogan sorghum v a r . vu lgaris , th e h a rd y , c o a rs e g r a in w hich became a s t a p l e f o r th e poor o f n o r th China i n modern tim e s , d oes n o t a p p e a r t o have been c u l t i v a t e d u n t i l a b o u t th e t w e l f t h c e n tu ry AD: Chang ( e d . ) . Food in Chinese Culture , 27, 147 and 197.
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See a l s o th e e s s a y by Yu', "Han C h in a", I n C hang's c o l l e c t i o n , e s p e c i a l l y p p .7 0 -7 4 , and Hsii, Han Agriculture , e s p e c i a l l y p p .8 1 -8 6 . 26.
See, f o r exam ple, B l e l e n s t e l n , "An I n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f th e P o r te n ts i n th e Ts 'ie n -H a n -s h u " .
27«
Zhu Kezhen, Zhongguo j in wuqian ni an l a i qihou bianqian de chubu yanjiu ; E n g lish v e r s io n i n Scientia Sinica (1973)* See a l s o h i s c o l l e c t e d w o rk s, Zhu Kezhen kepu chuangzuo xuanji •
28.
P e rs o n a l co tn m in icatio n from P r o f e s s o r Huang Shengzhang, o f th e C hinese Academy o f th e S c ie n c e s , v i s i t o r to C anberra i n 1983. J e n k in s , " C lim a tic C y cles and th e R ise o f C h ln g g is Khan", h a s p u t fo rw ard th e p r o p o s itio n t h a t th e Mongol d r iv e f o r c o n q u e st i n th e t h i r t e e n t h c e n tu ry was in f lu e n c e d by a n o ta b le drop i n th e y e a r - t o - y e a r v a r i a t i o n s i n th e mean a n n u a l te m p e ra tu re i n N orth C hina and M ongolia from a b o u t 1100 AD. In h i s words (p .2 2 6 ) " t h e i r e n th u sia sm f o r th e t a s k o f c o n q u e st may w e ll have b een f u e l l e d by a c l i m a t i c d e f e a t a t th e ir back s". The argum ent i s im p re s s iv e . I t sh o u ld be o b se rv e d , how ever, t h a t J e n k in s ' d a t a , w hich u s e s th e work o f Zhu Kezhen, shows no change i n t h e p e r io d o f th e Han d y n a sty w hich i s i n any way com parable to t h a t o f th e tw e lf th and t h i r t e e n t h c e n t u r i e s ( c f • h i s F ig u re 1 on p .2 2 3 ) .
29.
G eographers o f China have f r e q u e n tly d is c u s s e d t h i s q u e s tio n o f m a rg in a l a g r i c u l t u r e and p a s t u r e . See, f o r exam ple, C re sse y , Land o f the 500 M illion9 256-257, and L a ttlm o re , Inner Asian F rontiers , 25, 31-32 and 3 7 -39, and "G e o g ra p h ic a l F a c to r " . The 1981 a r t i c l e o f Shi NLanhal d is c u s s e s th e a l t e r n a t i o n o f f o r e s t , p a s tu r e and a g r i c u l t u r e on th e lo e s s p la te a u i n h i s t o r i c tim e s , and draw s a t t e n t i o n t o th e problem s o f e r o s io n and dow nstream f lo o d in g o f th e Yellow R iv er w hich te n d t o fo llo w p e rio d s o f a g r i c u l t u r a l c o l o n i s a t io n . A s i m i l a r s i t u a t i o n , w here m a rg in a l a g r i c u l t u r e may be d r a s t i c a l l y a f f e c t e d when o v e r-a m b itio u s c o lo n is a tio n i s fo llo w e d by a p e r io d o f d ro u g h t, may be o b se rv e d i n many r e g io n s o f A u s t r a l i a . See, f o r exam ple, W illia m s, The Making o f the South A ustralian Landscape, 39-49 and 5 4 55.
30.
The A nnals o f th e F i r s t Emperor o f Qln, l n SJ 6 , 256; C havannes, MH I I , 174, and th e Account o f th e Xlongnu i n SJ 110, 2886; W atson, RGH I I , 160 ( p a r a l l e l p a ssa g e i n HS 94A, 3 7 4 8 ), b o th sa y t h a t th e r o a d , c a l l e d Zhi dao JL i n SJ 110 and HS 94A, r a n from Jiu y u a n to Yunyang • SJ 6 d a te s th e c o n s tr u c tio n t o th e y e a r 212 BC. The B iography o f Meng T la n , i n SJ 88 , 2566-67,
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sa y s t h a t th e em peror had b een m aking a to u r o f h i s n o r th e r n dom inions and w ished t o r e t u r n d i r e c t t o h i s c a p ita l» so th e ro a d was b u i l t s t r a i g h t from Jlu y u a n t o Ganquan -tTjJL • The Jlu y u a n commandery o f Qln o c cu p ied t e r r i t o r y w hich was l a t e r Wuyuan commandery o f Han» and th e c i t y named Jlu y u a n became th e c a p i t a l o f th e Han commandery. I t was c e r t a i n l y I n th e v i c i n i t y o f Baotou» n o r th o f th e Ordos lo o p o f th e Yellow R iv e r. The q u e s tio n o f th e s o u th e rn te rm in u s o f th e road» however» and o f I t s ro u te» I s a l i t t l e more com plex. The L a te r Han s c h o la r Xu Guang, q u o ted I n th e J i j i e commentary t o SC 6 » s t a t e s t h a t th e ro a d r a n from Jlu y u an t o Ganquan ( th u s f o llo w in g th e In fo rm a tio n from SC 88) , and th e Zhengyi commentary to th e p a ssa g e I n SC 88 o b se rv e s t h a t th e Ganquan r e f e r r e d t o I n t h e m ain t e x t was a p a la c e I n Yongzhou *1 ( i . e . Yong p r o v in c e . I n t h i s c o n te x t a r e f e r e n c e t o t h e Land W ith in t h e P a s s e s ; c f • n o te 56 to C hapter 3 ). The Zhengyi commentary t o SJ 110 q u o te s th e Guadi zhi t i m e s ' by Wei W angtai o f th e s e v e n th c e n tu r y , w hich s a y s t h a t t h e F o r e s t L ig h t P a la c e (L lnguang Gong % ) o f QLn was I n Yunyang, and t h a t th e p a la c e was renamed Sw eetw ater S p rin g (Ganquan) by th e Han (se e a l s o th e q u o ta tio n from th e Guadi zhi I n th e Zhengyi commentary t o SJ 110, 2901, a t 2 9 0 2 ). A nother p a ssa g e o f th e Guadi z h i , q u o ted In th e same commentary t o SJ 110, 2886, s a y s t h a t th e o ld ro a d o f Qln ra n a lo n g th e r id g e o f th e Zlwu Shan, 45 l i w est o f th e co u n ty o f H uachl ^ I n Jln g sh o u . H ia c h i c o u n ty o f th e Tang p e rio d was I n th e v a l l e y o f th e Luo R iver I n S h aan x i, and th e Zlwu ra n g e l i e s a lo n g th e b o rd e r o f modern Shaanxi and Gansu p r o v in c e s : c f • HSBZ 94A, 5 a. Ganquan p a la c e I n Yunyang c o u n ty became t h e summer r e s id e n c e o f th e em perors o f Han: s e e , f o r exam ple, Loewe, C r is is and C o n flict , 169. At th e p r e s e n t d a y , t h e r e I s a co u n ty c a l l e d Ganquan on th e Luo R iv e r, b u t th e name was n o t a s s o c ia te d w ith t h a t r e g io n I n th e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e geo g raphy o f Qln and Han; Needham, Science and C iv ilis a tio n IV :3, 14 and F ig u re 711, t h e r e f o r e a p p e a rs t o be m is ta k e n I n a s s o c i a t i n g th e D ire c t Road w ith th e s i t e o f modern Ganquan I n th e Luo v a lle y • From th e l i t e r a r y e v id e n c e , t h e r e f o r e , th e D ir e c t Road c ro s s e d th e Ordos r e g io n to th e s o u th , th e n fo llo w e d th e h ig h ground o f th e Zlwu ra n g e on t h e p r e s e n t Shaanxi-G ansu b o rd e r and dropped down t o th e Wei v a l l e y a t Yunyang co u n ty o f Han, now Chunhua I n S h a a n x i. From t h e r e th e ro a d n a t u r a l l y c o n tin u e d t o th e Qln c a p i t a l a t X lanyang. T his e v id e n c e h as
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been co n firm ed by th e e x p lo r a tio n s o f modern C hinese a rc h a e o lo g y , and a d e s c r i p t i o n o f th e rem ains o f th e D ire c t Road o f Qin was p u b lis h e d by S h i N lan h ai i n 1975. F i n a l l y , w ith re g a rd t o th e d is ta n c e o f th e D ire c t Road, w hich i s r e p o r te d i n SJ 88 a s b e in g 1800 l i , i t may be n o te d t h a t th e s h o r t e s t l i n e betw een modern Baotou and X ianyang i s some 650 k ilo m e tr e s o r a b o u t 400 m ile s . 31.
Needham, Science and C iv ilis a tio n 1V:3, 16 and F ig u re 711; Tom, Land Communications, 8 3 -9 4 . The map o f N orth C hina and M ongolia, i n The Times A tlas o f China, 2 and 3, shows a m otor ro a d from Xianyang t o Baotou a lo n g t h i s r o u te .
32.
See P r o fe s s o r H ou's two a r t i c l e s on th e a rc h a e o lo g y o f th e U lan Buh d e s e r t , p r i n t e d i n h i s L ishi d i l i xue de lilu n yu sh ijia n , 69-94 and 9 5 -1 2 4 , p a r t i c u l a r l y th e maps p r in te d on p p .7 7 and 97; a l s o h i s p a p e r "A n c ien t C ity R u in s" , 6- 8 .
33.
The Chushen ze ^ i s d e s c r ib e d i n SJZ 3, 36. On th e p r o n u n c ia tio n o f th e c h a r a c t e r , s e e n o te 3 to C hapter 8 .
34.
5C 110, 2906, HS 94A, 3766-67; W atson, RGH I I , 178-179, De G fo o t, Hunnen, 108, a l s o HS 6 , 170; Dubs, HFHD I I , 51-52. T here a r e a number o f d i f f e r e n t i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s o f th e c o u rse o f th e G reat W all o f Qin and Han. The i n t e r p r e t a t i o n h e r e i s b ased upon a d v ic e from C hinese s c h o la r s i n a number o f i n s t i t u t i o n s , in c lu d in g th e museums o f Gansu a t Lanzhou and o f In n e r M ongolia a t H uhhot. The g e n e r a l c o n sen su s i s su p p o rte d by th e work o f Zhang W elhua, Changcheng kao, p a r t i c u l a r l y h i s maps o f th e Qin and Han G reat W a lls, and a ls o by th e h i s t o r i c a l a t l a s , Zhongguo l is h i d itu j i I I . On th e Gaoque P ass vt? SfcfljW , w hich la y i n th e Lang Shan ran g e o f th e Yin M ountains, n o r th o f p re s e n t-d a y L inhe ML t*l i n I n n e r M ongolia, s e e De G ro o t, Hunnen, 3 4 35, and Zhang W eihua, Changcheng kao, 106. Tang X laofeng, o f t h e A rc h a e o lo g ic a l S e c tio n o f th e H is to ry D epartm ent, In n e r M ongolian U n iv e r s ity , w r itin g on th e n o r th e r n s e c t i o n o f th e Qln-Han W all i n 1977, I d e n t i f i e s th e Gaoque Pass w ith S h ila n z h i Gap 36 & ** i n th e Lang M o un tain s. I t a p p e a rs from th e stu d y o f s i t e s on th e ground t h a t th e Wall o f Han la y f u r t h e r n o r th th a n t h a t o f Q in, and Han I m p e r ia l c o n t r o l e x te n d e d w e ll a c r o s s th e w a te rsh e d o f th e Yin m o u n ta in s, w ith o u tly in g w a tc h to w e rs.
35.
T here i s one p a ssa g e i n t h e A nnals o f th e F i r s t Emperor o f Q in, SJ 6 , 253, w hich t e l l s how i n th e t h i r t y - t h i r d y e a r o f h i s r e ig n (214 BC), th e em peror o rd e re d th e c o lo n is a tio n o f th e t e r r i t o r y from Yiizhong sfö vf e a stw a rd s a lo n g th e Yellow R iv e r a s f a r a s th e Yin Shan; and g o es on t o sa y \ V S )
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-r xsf? 2 ï• We a r e th e n t o l d how Meng T ian was s e n t to occupy th e la n d s n o r th o f th e lo o p o f th e Yellow River* T his t e x t i s t r a n s l a t e d by C havannes, MH II» 168» and De Groot» Hunnen» 40* I t may be n o te d t h a t th e r e i s some u n c e r t a i n t y w h e th e r t h e number o f xian d e s c rib e d i n t h i s p a ssa g e sh o u ld be 44 o r 34* On t h i s a u t h o r i t y , some s c h o la r s have s t a t e d t h a t th e G reat W all o f Qin e x te n d e d a lo n g th e whole Ordos lo o p o f th e Yellow R iv e r, and Needham, Science and C iv ilis a tio n IV :3 , F ig u re 711, fo llo w s t h a t t r a d i t i o n * The t e x t and i t s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n , how ever, i s n o t e n t i r e l y c l e a r . F i r s t l y , though th e modern B e ijin g e d i t i o n p u n c tu a te s th e p a ssa g e q u o te d above w ith a comma betw een th e c h a r a c te r s j| £ and fA i , so t h a t th e l a t t e r c la u s e would be u n d e rsto o d a s Chavannes h a s re n d e re d i t : " I l c o n s t r u i s i t un mur au b o rd du f le u v e pour s e r v i r de b a r r i è r e " , i t would be p o s s ib le to re a d i t w ith th e p au se a f t e r th e c h a r a c te r , w ith th e u n d e rs ta n d in g g iv e n by De G root: "•••um m auerte K r e is s tä d te . Am Ü b e rla u f d e s Huang^ho e r r i c h t e t e man G re n z b e fe stig u n g e n ." F u rth e rm o re , i n h is d is c u s s io n of th e p a s s a g e , Zhang Weihua, Changcheng kaoy 132-133, though a c c e p tin g th e B e ijin g e d i t i o n p u n c tu a tio n , y e t a rg u e s t h a t th e c o lo n is a tio n w orks in c lu d e d o n ly th e c o n s tr u c tio n of w a lle d s e ttle m e n ts and n o t th e e s ta b lis h m e n t o f a c o n tin u o u s b a r r i e r . He i n t e r p r e t s th e t e x t a s d e s c r ib in g th e a rran g em en t o f s t r a t e g i c p o s t s , to d efen d th e l i n e o f th e Yellow R iv e r, and s t a t e s s p e c i f i c a l l y t h a t th e s e sh o u ld n o t be re g a rd e d a s h av in g form ed p a r t o f th e G reat Wall (se e a ls o h is map f a c in g p *136) • On th e b a s i s o f t h i s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n , i t seems m ost p ro b a b le t h a t th e o r i g i n a l n o r th e r n f r o n t i e r s o f th e Qin s t a t e , ro u g h ly fo llo w in g th e l i n e o f th e Ming W all a t th e p r e s e n t day so u th o f th e O rdos, were m a in ta in e d u n t i l 215 BC. In t h a t y e a r , th e g e n e r a l Meng T ian was s e n t t o d r iv e th e Xiongnu from th e Ordos r e g io n , and he e s t a b l i s h e d f r o n t i e r p o s itio n s and th e n o rth e rn e x te n s io n o f th e G reat Wall beyond th e n o r th e r n lo o p o f th e Yellow R iver ( SJ 6 , 252; C havannes, MH I I , 167, a l s o SJ 88 , 2565-66, and SJ 110, 2886; W atson, rgh I I , 16 0 ). In th e fo llo w in g y e a r , 214, o r d e r s w ere g iv e n f o r th e se c o n d ary c o lo n is a tio n and th e e s ta b lis h m e n t o f f r o n t i e r p o s ts a lo n g th e Yellow R iv er a t th e w est o f th e O rdos, b u t th e m ain work o f f o r t i f i c a t i o n c o n tin u e d i n th e n o r t h , and th e e s s e n t i a l c o m p letio n o f t h i s work was s i g n a l l e d by th e e m p e ro r's to u r o f in s p e c tio n i n 212 and th e c o n s tr u c tio n o f th e D ire c t Road (se e n o te 27 a b o v e )• R e g a rd le s s o f t h e s t a t u s o f t h e Qin c o lo n is in g w orks alo n g th e Yellow R iv er w est o f th e O rdos, i t seems c l e a r t h a t th e s e ttle m e n ts w ere l o s t when th e Xiongnu r e tu r n e d t o th e re g io n a f t e r th e f a l l o f th e Qin e m p ire, and th e Han d y n asty d id n o t a tte m p t any m ajo r r e c o n s t r u c tio n o r c o n s tr u c tio n o f a G reat W all d e fe n c e in t h a t a r e a .
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Needham, Science and C iv ilis a tio n IV :3 , 272 and F ig u re 859, s u g g e s ts t h a t th e complex o f I r r i g a t i o n works a b o u t p r e s e n t- d a y Zhongwei ^ and Y inchuan in NLngxla were o r i g i n a l l y founded by Meng H a n , and he i d e n t i f i e s t h i s w ith th e c o n s t r u c t i o n program o rd e re d i n 215. However, though th e r e may be a Qin/Han o r i g i n to th e works i n t h i s a r e a , th e m ajo r p e r io d o f e a r l y c o n s tr u c tio n was a p p a r e n tly th e Tang (p e rs o n a l com m unication from P ro fe s s o r Huang Shengzhang). M oreover, i t seems c l e a r from th e t e x t s t h a t Meng TLan was p r im a r ily r e s p o n s ib le f o r th e s e ttle m e n t o f th e f a r n o r t h , beyond th e Ordos lo o p . 36.
Hou R en zhi, "A ncient C ity R u in s" , 8 -1 1 , based upon h is a r t i c l e d is c u s s in g t h e H ongllu R iv e r $rf and th e Mu Us D e s e rt, i n h i s Lishi d i l i xue de lilu n yu sh ijia n 9 4 7 -5 9 , p a r t i c u l a r l y th e maps on p p .4 8 and 49. The b io g ra p h y o f H elian Bobo -vi. (381-425) i s i n JS 130. He p ro c la im e d h im s e lf King o f Xia i n 407, and founded th e c i t y of Tongwan Dfa as h is c a p i t a l in 413. The r u i n s , known l o c a l l y a s th e W hite C ity (B ai Cheng ) a r e on th e n o r th bank of th e H ongllu R iv er (M ongolian: S alaw u su ), w hich i s an u p p e r t r i b u t a r y o f th e Wuding R iv er # ^ , some t h i r t y k ilo m e tre s w est o f Hengshan i n S h aan x i. See a l s o SJZ 3, 176-18a. T his was th e re g io n o f th e Sheyan M arshes, scen e o f Duan J i o n g 's campaign o f 168: p.137 b elow .
37.
See p p . 18-19 ab o v e .
38.
The c o u n ty o f Houguan *4 i n Shang commandery was e s t a b l i s h e d u n d er L a te r Han. The name may be t r a n s l a t e d a s " o f f i c e o f th e c a p ta in " o r "company" : hou was a m i l i t a r y t i t l e u sed in arm ie s on campaign o r s ta t i o n e d a t th e c a p i t a l , and among g a r r i s o n tro o p s on th e f r o n t i e r ( HHS 1 1 4 /2 4 , 3864, HHS 1 1 7 /2 7 , 3612, and a ls o Loewe, RHA I , 76 and 9 6 ); houguan "conpany" c o u ld be th e name o f a m i l i t a r y u n i t on g a r r is o n d u ty , l a r g e r th a n a hou " p la to o n " (Loewe, RHA I , 7 6 ). T here a r e s e v e r a l o t h e r i n s ta n c e s w here m i l i t a r y t i t l e s a r e s i m i l a r l y u sed a s th e names o f co unty u n i t s i n o u tly in g re g io n s o f th e em p ire: Houguan was th e name o f t h e le a d in g u n i t o f th e Zhangye Dependent s t a t e (s e e p. 10 a b o v e ), th e o th e r fo u r b e in g Zuoql ^ "C av alry on th e L e f t" , Q ianren "M lllenarlan/C om m ander o f a Thousand", Sima guan #3 A Ÿ " O ffic e o f th e M ajor" and Q ian ren guan 4 " O ffic e o f th e M llle n a rla n " ( HHS 1 1 3 /2 3 , 3521; on th e l i s t i n g o f th e s e o f f i c e s , I fo llo w th e re a d in g o f Qi Shaonan i n HHSJJ 113A/23A, 40a and th e arran g em en t o f th e B e ijin g puncu ated e d itio n : c f. B ie le n s t e i n . B u reau cracy , who p r e f e r s t o re a d them a s fo u r u n i t s ) ;
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th e name o f Zuoqi a l s o a p p e a rs a s a c o u n ty u n i t u n d er Wuwei commandery ( HHS 1 1 3 /2 3 , 3 5 2 0 ); Houcheng was th e name o f a co u n ty I n Liaodong o f Former Han and I n Xiiantu u n d er L a te r Han ( HHS 28B, 1626; HHS 113/23, 3529; HHSJJ 113B/23B, 24b); houguan a ls o a p p e a rs i n th e name o f th e co unty Dong houguan on th e c o a s t o f modern F u jia n n e a r Fuzhou; I t was th e n u n d er K u a ljl commandery In Yang p ro v in c e (HHS 112/22, 3488, amended In th e com m entaries to HHSJJ 11 2 /2 2 , 4 7 a -b ; a l s o B l e l e n s t e l n , "The C hinese C o lo n is a tio n o f F u k ie n ", 10 3 ). A ll o f th e s e , a s i t may be s e e n , w ere f r o n t i e r t e r r i t o r i e s , and I t seems p ro b a b le t h a t th e u se o f such t i t l e s im p lie d a m i l i t a r y In v o lv em ent i n a d m in is tr a tio n ; i n some ways t h i s may be compared t o th e c o u n ty - le v e l dependent s t a t e s o f Anding and Q lu c i. See ab ove, and n o te 4. 39.
We a r e t o l d by HHS 1 0 9 /1 9 , 3385, t h a t a l l th e c o u n tie s w hich a p p e a r I n t h e T r e a t i s e o f Geography o f Han shu b u t w hich a r e n o t l i s t e d i n th e T r e a tis e o f A d m in is tra tiv e Geography o f Hou Han shu w ere d i s e s t a b l i s h e d by Emperor GUangwu. In p a r t i c u l a r , HHS IB, 49, c i t e s an e d i c t o f 30 AD i n w hich Guangvu o rd e re d t h i s r a t i o n a l i s a t i o n o f l o c a l governm ent u n i t s . As B i e l e n s t e i n , RHD I I I , 141-144, p o in ts o u t , n o t a l l th e c o u n tie s were d i s e s t a b l i s h e d in 30 AD, and in f a c t n o t a l l w ere d i s e s t a b l i s h e d i n t h e r e i g n o f Guangtu, b u t th e r e i s no q u e s tio n t h a t he was th e i n s t i g a t o r o f th e p o lic y .
40.
In 166 BC, f o r exam ple, Xlongnu r a i d i n g p a r t i e s a g a in s t th e Han governm ent o f Emperor Wen reach ed a s f a r a s th e Ganquan p a la c e , i n th e Wei v a l l e y l e s s th a n a hundred k ilo m e tr e s from Changan (SJ 110, 2901 and HS 94A, 3761; W atson, RGH I I , 172-173, De G ro o t, Hunnen, 8 3 ).
41.
SJ 110, 2885 and HS 94A, 3747-48; W atson, RGH I I , 159, De G ro o t, Hunnen, 3 4 -3 6 . The r e i g n o f King W illing o f Zhao X4^ i s d e s c r ib e d i n th e H isto ry o f th e House o f Zhao i n SJ 43, 1803-12; C havannes, MH V, 6 5 -8 7 . King Wullng came to th e th ro n e i n 326 BC, and i n 299 he a b d ic a te d i n fa v o u r o f h i s so n , ta k in g th e t i t l e zhufu , " F a th e r o f th e R u le r" . He c o n tin u e d , how ever, to ta k e a le a d in g r o l e i n th e governm ent u n t i l h i s d e a th i n 295. T here i s some u n c e r t a i n t y a s t o th e d a te o f th e c o n q u e st o f th e n o r th w e s t, b u t Zhang W eihua, Changcheng kao9 103, a rg u e s t h a t th e work was co m p leted a f t e r 300 BC.
42.
See, f o r exam ple, Loewe, "Campaigns o f Han W u -ti" , 69-74 and 111-112, w here Xlongnu r a i d s a g a i n s t th e n o r th e r n com m anderles a r e l i s t e d y e a r by y e a r .
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Tom, Land Communications, map f a c in g p .1 7 2 . Needham, Science and C iv ilisa tio n IV :3, 16 and F ig u re 711, shows th e main Im p e ria l highway le a d in g n o r th o f T aiyuan and th ro u g h Dal commandery I n th e Sanggan v a l l e y . I p r e f e r Tom's arg u m en t, a t p .1 1 5 , where he s u g g e s ts t h a t th e Im p e ria l highway fo llo w ed th e more d i r e c t r o u te th ro u g h th e m ountains e a s t o f T aiy u an , by th e J ln g x ln g p a ss ^ In th e co unty o f t h a t name (In Changshan commande r y : HS 28A, 2576, HHS 110/20, 3434; on th e p ro n u n c ia tio n o f th e second c h a r a c te r o f th e name, s e e Ylng S h ao 's commentary t o HS 28A). The S h l t a l r a i l r o a d now fo llo w s t h a t r o u te , from Yucl ififr >X. s o u th o f T aiyuan 3k- % I n Shanxi to S hlzhlazhuang 7Ç* j£l n H ebei.
44.
On th e changes o f co u n ty a d m in is tr a tio n s and th u s o f commandery b o rd e rs In t h i s r e g io n , compare HS 28B, 1620-21; HSBZ 28B/1, 25a-26a w ith HHS 113/23, 3525; HHSJJ 113B/23B, 8b - l i b .
45.
SJ 110, 2883-85, and HS 94A, 3747; W atson, RGH I I , 158 and 159, De G ro o t, Hunnen, 22 and 24. The p e o p le known a s Loufan 1 1 $ % were a s s o c ia te d w ith th e F o re s t B a rb a ria n s (L lnhu ^ ^ $ 7 ] ) and a county named Loufan was m a in ta in e d u n d e r Yanmen commandery d u rin g b o th Former and L a te r Han ( HS 28B, 1621; HHS 113/23, 3525). The a n c ie n t s i t e I s now In th e v i c i n i t y o f Nlngwu df ^ I n S hanxi.
46.
On th e Dal F o re s t , se e De G ro o t, Hunnen, 5 9-60, and p .1 7 8 below , and n o te 15 to C h ap ter 5. The a n c ie n t c i t y o f Mayl was n e a r p r e s e n t- d a y Shuoxlan fljjfv. In S hanxi.
47.
A lthough th e Dahel R iv e r a b o u t Huhhot and th e Sanggan ab o u t Datong were b o th under th e c o n tr o l o f Former and L a te r Han, I t does n o t a p p e a r t h a t th e a r e a o f p re s e n t-tia y J in ln g £ ^ was h e ld by county a d m in is tr a tio n d u rin g L a te r Han. No county In th e l i s t s o f th e t r e a t i s e s can be I d e n t i f i e d w ith th e t e r r i t o r y o f J i n l n g , and th e r e c o n s tr u c tio n of th e modern a t l a s Zhongguo l is h i d itu j i I I , Maps 59-60 shows th e G reat Wall ru n n in g a lo n g th e r id g e s so u th w est o f J in ln g and a c r o s s th e l i n e o f h i l l s w hich s e p a r a te s t h a t r e g io n from th e main v a lle y o f th e Sanggan R iver ab out D atong. ( I n t h i s r e s p e c t , th e W all o f Han a p p e a rs to have ru n to th e s o u th o f th e l i n e e s t a b l i s h e d by th e s t a t e o f Zhao ab o u t 300 BC. Cf. Zhang W elhua, Changcheng kao, 108, and n o te 41 a b o v e .) From t h i s p o i n t , f o r some d is ta n c e to th e e a s t , th e G reat W all o f Han a p p e a rs t o have fo llo w e d th e l i n e o f th e p r e s e n t day Wall o f th e Ming d y n a s ty .
48.
See p p .243-246 below .
49.
Zhang W elhua, Changcheng kao9 shows th e G reat W all o f Han so u th o f th e p r e s e n t- d a y s i t e o f Z hangjlakou , In t h i s , he e v id e n tly a c c e p ts th e p r i n c i p l e t h a t th e W all o f Han
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fo llo w ed th e W all o f Qin, w hich I n t u r n fo llo w e d th e same l i n e a s th e Wall o f th e s t a t e o f Yan : s e e h i s maps f o llo w in g p p .1 2 8 , 136 and 158, and t e x t a t p p . l 34-135. I f , how ever, a s modern I n t e r p r e t a t i o n s would s u g g e s t, th e c i t y o f Nlng la y n o rth w e s t o f p re s e n t-d a y Xuanhua , and t h e r e f o r e i n th e v i c i n i t y o f Z hangjiakou ( s e e , f o r exam ple, th e commentary o f Wang X ian q lan t o HSBZ 28B/1, 4 4 b -4 5 a ), th e n i t would have been s u r p r i s i n g f o r th e Han governm ent t o m a in ta in i t s d e fe n c e l i n e on th e open c o u n try r a t h e r th a n on th e h i l l s lo p e s a s th e Ming d id i n l a t e r tim e s , and i t w ould c e r t a i n l y be m ost u n lik e ly t h a t an Im p o rta n t c i t y would be l e f t o u ts id e th e p r o te c tio n o f th e b a rrie r. 50«
On th e d e fe n c e a rra n g e m en ts f o r t h i s re g io n d u rin g th e e a r ly p a r t o f L a te r Han, s e e p p . 222-225 below .
51.
On th e re a rra n g e m e n t o f c o u n tie s betw een th e com m anderies, compare HS 28B, 1622-23; HSBZ 28B/1, 3 8 a-4 6 a, w ith HHS 113/23 3526-28; HHSJJ 113B/23B , 12b-17b. Guangyang was a kingdom a t th e end o f Former Han. Emperor Guan^ru a b o lis h e d i t , and th e t e r r i t o r y was ta k e n o v er by Shanggu commander y . I t was r e s to r e d a s a commandery i n 65 AD, and i t s c h i e f c o u n ty , J i , was a l s o th e head q u a r t e r s o f th e I n s p e c to r o f You p ro v in c e . See HS 28B, 1634, and HHS 113/23, 3527.
52.
Compare HS 28B, 1623-24; HSBZ 28B /1, 4 6 a-51a, w ith HHS 113/23, 3528-29; HHSJJ 113B/23B, 16b-18b.
53.
The s e t t i n g up o f th e commande r y - l e v e l Dependent S ta te o f Liaodong to o k p la c e i n two s t a g e s . In 106 (b e in g th e t w e lf th month o f th e s i x t e e n t h y e a r o f th e Yongyuan r e ig n p e r io d o f Emperor He) , th e Han governm ent r e - e s t a b l i s h e d th e o f f i c e o f th e C hief Commandant o f th e W estern D iv is io n o f Liaodong commandery: HHS 4, 193, and HHS 113/23, 3529, commentary o f Liu Zhao. Some tim e l a t e r , d u rin g th e r e ig n o f Emperor An, th e Dependent S ta te o f Liaodong was e s t a b l i s h e d , "w ith in d ep en d en t a u t h o r i t y o v e r s i x c i t i e s " (Jbie lin g liu cheng $1 & +&Ü ): HHS 11 3 /2 3 , 3530; HHSJJ 113B/23B, 2 2a-23b. The A nnals o f t h e r e ig n o f Emperor An, i n HHS 5, do n o t c o n ta in any r e f e r e n c e to t h i s e s ta b lis h m e n t, so i t i s n o t p o s s ib le t o d a te th e arra n g e m en t more p r e c i s e l y . On th e s t a t u s o f a d ep en d en t s t a t e a t commandery l e v e l , see n o te 4 above.
HS 28B, 1626, n o te s t h a t th e h e a d q u a rte rs o f th e C hief Commandant of th e W estern D iv is io n o f Liaodong commandery a t th e tim e of Form er Han was i n Wulu c o u n ty . I t does n o t a p p e a r, how ever, t h a t Wulu was in c lu d e d i n th e t e r r i t o r y o f th e D ependent S t a t e u n d e r L a te r Han ( s e e , e .g . th e commentary o f th e Qing s c h o la r Hui Dong i n HHSJJ
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113/23, 2 1 b -2 2 a ). The h e a d q u a r te rs o f th e Dependent S ta te were a t C hangli g , w hich had been J i a o l i county i n L ia o x i under Former Han ( HS 28B, 1625, and HHSJJ 113B/23B, 2 1 a -b ). E v id e n tly , C hangli and r e l a t e d t e r r i t o r i e s had e i t h e r b een in c o r p o r a te d i n t o Liaodong commandery b e fo re th e e s ta b lis h m e n t o f th e W estern D iv is io n i n 106, o r e l s e th e b o rd e rs w ere r e - a r r a n g e d when th e Dependent S t a t e was e s ta b lis h e d . The D ependent S t a t e o f Liaodong a c t u a l l y c o n ta in e d th r e e c o u n tie s w hich had been und er Liaodong d u rin g Former Han. F u li (m ista k e n ly e n te r e d i n th e HHS T r e a tis e a s Wulu JjL > s e e th e commentary o f ftii Dong c i t e d a b o v e ), XLandu and Fang ^ ; and t h r e e c o u n tie s fo rm e rly u n d er L ia o x i commandery: C hangli & ( m is w ritte n a s C hangliao jg s e e th e commentary o f Hui Dong), B in tu ^ and Hihe ijL& f . T here i s n o t a g r e a t d e a l o f d i f f i c u l t y i n d e te rm in in g th e t e r r i t o r y w hich was c o n t r o l l e d by th e th r e e form er c o u n tie s o f L iaodong, b u t t h e r e i s c o n s id e r a b le u n c e r ta in ty o v e r th e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f th e re g io n w hich was governed by th e w e s te rn p a r t o f th e D ependent S ta t e . The t e x t o f th e HHS T r e a tis e a t t h i s e n tr y i s , a s may be s e e n from th e amendments a lre a d y d is c u s s e d above, c o n s id e r a b ly c o r r u p te d . B esid es th e m is w ritin g o f Wulu f o r F u ll and o f C h an g liao f o r C h a n g li, we a r e t o l d t h a t L a te r Han C hangli was known a s T L anliao i n Former Han: and t h i s a n n o ta tio n sh o u ld a ls o be c o r r e c te d to re a d J i a o l i • M oreover, a lth o u g h a l l o th e r com m andery-level dependent s t a t e s i n th e T r e a t i s e have a r e c o r d o f cen su s p o p u la tio n f i g u r e s , th e y a r e m issin g f o r Liaodong Dependent S ta te (as B i e l e n s t e l n , "C en su s", 159, p o in ts o u t, th e f i g u r e s f o r Liaodong commandery, where th e number o f in d iv id u a ls i s g iv en a s e x a c tly th e same a s f o r L ia o x i commandery, m ust a l s o be re g a rd e d a s u n u s a b le ) . The problem o f n o m e n c la tu re h a s been l a r g e ly s o r te d o u t by C hinese com m entators, and t h e i r a n a ly s is i s p re s e rv e d i n HHSJJ• The g e o g r a p h ic a l i d e n t i f i c a t i o n , how ever, i s a l s o c o n fu sed by v a ry in g a n a ly s e s o f th e t e x t o f SJZ 14, 21 a23b, w hich d e a ls w ith th e c o u rs e o f th e Bo la n g R iv e r ^ 41L : t h i s t e x t h a s been commented upon by Yang S houjing and Xiong H uizhen l n SJZS 14, 54 a-6 0 a. The argum ents a r e com plex, and a f u l l d is c u s s io n and t r a n s l a t i o n o f th e m a t e r i a l would occupy a g r e a t many p a g e s , so 1 o f f e r h e re o n ly a s e r i e s o f n o t e s , w ith an e x p la n a tio n o f my own c o n c lu s io n s . The s i t e o f th e c i t y o f Fang i s re a so n a b ly w e ll e s t a b l i s h e d a s b e in g c lo s e to th e Han tim e c o u rse o f th e LLao R iv e r ( SJZ 14, 2 1 a ): i t was p ro b a b ly i n th e re g io n o f p re s e n t- d a y H alcheng in L ia o n in g . The o th e r two c i t i e s fo rm e rly u n d e r Liaodong commandery, F u li and X ia n tu , a ls o a p p e a r to have been i n th e r e g io n o f th e a l l u v i a l p la in n e a r th e mouth o f th e L ia o , n o r th and n o rth w e s t o f p re s e n t-d a y
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Yingjcou (w hich I s s i t e d a s th e m odem h i s t o r i c a l a t l a s Zhongguo l i s h i d i t u j i I I , Maps 6 1 -6 2 , s u g g e s ts , on t e r r i t o r y beyond th e c o a s t l i n e o f th e Han p e rio d : th e 8l l t a t l o n o f th e d e l t a re g io n o f th e Liao R iver h a s e x ten d ed th e la n d some d i s t a n c e t o th e s o u th i n th e l a s t two th o u san d y e a rs). SJZ 14, 20a, a f t e r th e r e f e r e n c e t o Fang, th e n p ro ceed s to d e s c r ib e th e c o u rse o f th e Bolang R iv e r, w hich jo in e d th e L iao R iv e r from t h e w e st j u s t below t h a t c i t y . A lthough t h e r e h a s been some d e b a te on th e m a tte r , th e r e seems no re a s o n to q u e s tio n th e i d e n t i f i c a t i o n w ith th e p re s e n t- d a y D alin g R iv er ( SJZS 14, 5 4 a -b ). The r i v e r flow ed p a s t th e c i t y o f C h a n g ll, and a lth o u g h i t i s d i f f i c u l t t o be p r e c is e ab o u t th e d e t a i l s o f th e c o u rs e and th e v a rio u s t r i b u t a r i e s , i t would a p p e a r t h a t C h an g ll may b e s t be p la c e d i n th e r e g io n o f p r e s e n t- d a y Chaoyang • This would mean t h a t th e D ependent S t a t e o f Liaodong e x te n d e d from th e e s tu a r y o f th e LLao R iv er up th e c o u rse o f th e Bolang R iver i n t o th e h i l l c o u n try n o r th o f th e p r e s e n t- d a y Song L ing ra n g e . This seems to make g e o g ra p h ic a l and m i l i t a r y s e n s e , w ith th e commandery o f L ia o x l e s t a b l i s h e d a lo n g th e w e s te rn s h o re o f th e Gulf o f L iaodong, th e commandery o f Liaodong concern ed w ith th e m ain lo w er c o u rs e o f th e L iao R iv e r, th e Liaodong p e n in s u la and th e r o u te e a s tw a rd s tow ards L elang commandery i n K orea, and w ith th e D ependent S t a te o f Liaodong ta k in g r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r a somewhat i s o l a t e d v a lle y i n th e n o rth w e s t. T h is r e c o n s t r u c t i o n , how ever, d o es n o t a g re e w ith th e modern h i s t o r i c a l a t l a s zhongguo l i s h i d itu j i I I , Maps 6 1 62 (w hich fo llo w on from Maps 2 7 -2 8 , d e a lin g w ith Former H an). T h ere, th e Dependent S ta te o f Liaodong i s shown a s b e in g c o n fin e d t o t h e lo w er r e a c h e s o f th e L iao and th e B o lan g /D elin g R iv e r, and L ia o x l commandery i s shown w ith t e r r i t o r y e x te n d e d o v e r th e Song L ing ra n g e i n t o th e v a lle y o f th e B olang. In t h i s , th e a t l a s i s i n g e n e r a l agreem ent w ith Yang S h o u jln g 's L id a i yu di tu , b u t I am n o t co n v in ced t h a t th e arran g em en t shown makes a g r e a t d e a l o f se n se on th e ground, and I b e lie v e t h e e v id e n c e , a s we have i t a t p r e s e n t, can be f a i r l y i n t e r p r e t e d to s u p p o rt my h y p o th e s is . A c r i t i c a l p o in t i n th e argum ent c o n c e rn s th e s i t e o f th e a n c ie n t c i t y o f Llucheng , w hich was a co u n ty i n L ia o x l d u rin g Form er Han b u t w hich had l o s t t h a t s t a t u s u n d er L a te r Han, though i t c e r t a i n l y c o n tin u e d a s a c e n tr e o f p o p u la tio n . The s i t e o f L lucheng, i n t u r n , i s bound up w ith th e p o s it i o n i n g o f Yangle , w hich was th e c a p i t a l o f L ia o x l commandery i n L a te r Han. SJZ 14, 17a, m entions Yangle among th e complex o f r i v e r s ( t h e modern Luan R iv e r and i t s t r i b u t a r i e s ) ab o u t F e lru , w hich was a co u n ty i n Han d y n asty L iao x l commandery, whose s i t e i s n e a r t o p r e s e n t-d a y Q ianan i n H ebei. However, Yang S h o u jln g , i n SJZS 14, 416, r e f e r s t o th e B iography o f Zhao Bao jÖL^L, , i n HHS 8 1 /7 1 , 2692-93.
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Zhao Bao was a man from G anllng , I n th e N orth China P l a i n , who was a p p o in te d Grand A d m in is tra to r o f L lao x i i n th e tim e o f Emperor L in g . A f te r he had been some tim e In t h a t p o s t, he i n v i t e d h i s m o th er, h i s w ife and h i s c h i l d r e n to j o i n him . On th e ro a d , how ever, th e y p a sse d th ro u g h th e town o f L lucheng, and th e r e th e y were c a p tu re d by a r a id in g p a r ty o f th e X la n b i. The X lanbl a tte m p te d to u se them a s b a rg a in in g c o u n te rs a g a in s t Zhao Bao, b u t Zhao Bao o rd e re d h i s tro o p s t o a t t a c k n o n e th e le s s , and h i s fam ily was k i l l e d . Though he was awarded a m a rq u lsa te f o r h is l o y a l t y t o Han, Zhao Bao d ie d o f g r i e f . H is b io g rap h y I s In th e c h a p te r k e p t f o r th o s e men o f Remarkable Conduct (d u xing 43 ) . The s to r y may n o t n e c e s s a r i l y be t r u e , b u t th e background i s p o s s i b l e : X lanbl r a id s were re a c h in g deep I n to L lao x i commandery d u rin g th e tim e o f Emperor L ing. Yang S h o ujlng p o in ts o u t, m oreover, t h a t th e a r e a o f Llucheng was i n modern s o u th w e s te rn L ia o n in g , and t h a t I f Zhao B a o '8 fa m ily was to t r a v e l th ro u g h Llucheng t o re a c h h i s c a p i t a l a t Y angle, th e n Yangle m ust have been I n th e n o r t h e a s te r n p a r t o f th e commandery. He s u g g e s ts , t h e r e f o r e , t h a t th e Yangle r e f e r r e d t o l n SJZ i s a c i t y o f a l a t e r d a t e , and t h a t Yangle o f th e Han p e rio d was i n th e neighbourhood o f p r e s e n t-d a y J in z h o u . L lucheng i t s e l f , how ever, p r e s e n ts a problem o f I n t e r p r e t a t i o n . There I s sm a ll q u e s tio n t h a t Yang S houjlng i s c o r r e c t I n s t a t i n g t h a t th e town was In s o u th w e ste rn L ia o n in g , b u t he and o th e r C hinese s c h o la r s th e n p la c e i t i n th e v a lle y o f th e B o la n g /D a lln g R iv e r. In th e sad s t o r y o f Zhao Bao and h is fa m ily , th e r e I s a lr e a d y c au se f o r q u e s tio n in g t h i s I n t e r p r e t a t i o n : i f th e p a r ty was t r a v e l l i n g from G anllng to Y angle, th e l o g i c a l r o u te would fo llo w th e c o a s t l i n e , a s on th e p r e s e n t r a i l r o u te to M anchuria from B e ijin g . I t i s d i f f i c u l t to Im agine why such a group o f c i v i l i a n s sh o u ld choose t o c r o s s th e Song Ling ra n g e , i n t o th e v a lle y o f th e B o la n g /D alln g , and th e n p ro ceed th ro u g h t h a t rugged and d an gerous co u n try to Y angle, which was i t s e l f c e r t a i n l y somewhere n e a r th e c o a s t. T h eir c a p tu r e may b e t t e r be e x p la in e d by a r a i d i n d e p th from th e X lanbi r a t h e r th a n by a s u g g e s tio n t h a t th e y th em selv es had d e l i b e r a t e l y c o u rte d t r o u b le by a d e to u r th ro u g h th e n o rth e rn b o rd e rs. A gain, a t th e tim e o f Cao C ao 's cam paign a g a i n s t th e Wuhuan I n 207, we a r e t o l d t h a t he clim bed Bolang Shan "W hite Wolf M ountain" and lo o k ed tow ards L lucheng, some two hundred l i away (on t h i s campaign s e e a ls o p p .408-411 b e lo w ). T his h as been I n t e r p r e t e d a s ev id e n c e t h a t L lucheng was i n th e B o lan g /D alln g v a l l e y . However, s in c e we know t h a t Cao Cao was o r i g i n a l l y se e k in g t o a t t a c k th e enemy p o s itio n s on th e c o a s t , he co u ld e q u a lly w e ll have been lo o k in g a c ro s s th e Song Ling ra n g e tow ards th e s e a , r a t h e r th a n down th e r i v e r . W hite Wolf M ountain can be i d e n t i f i e d a s a p a r t o f th e H uangjln S h a n -fr jir s o u th o f p re s e n t-d a y Lingyuan
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i n L ia o n in g , and th e modern c i t y o f Xlngcheng , on th e s h o re s o f th e Gulf o f L iaodong, i s ab o u t 100 k ilo m e tre s (a p p ro x im a te ly 200 Han l i ) due e a s t o f th e H uangjln Shan. À t h i r d p o in t w hich must be c o n s id e re d i s t h a t HS 28B, 1625» s t a t e s t h a t L iucheng was th e s i t e o f th e h e a d q u a rte rs o f th e C hief Commandant o f th e W estern D iv isio n o f LLaoxl commandery, w h ile J i a o l i , renam ed C h an g li i n L a te r Han, was th e h e a d q u a r te rs o f th e C hief Commandant o f th e E a s te rn D iv is io n . T his would seem t o im ply t h a t L iucheng sh o u ld be s i t u a t e d i n th e w e s te rn p a r t o f L ia o x i commandery and J i a o l i to th e e a s t . However, i t would n o t have been im p o s s ib le f o r th e c i t y o f L iucheng, s i t u a t e d on o r n e a r th e c o a s t , to a c t a s th e h e a d q u a r te rs f o r a m i l i t a r y re g io n w hich e x te n d e d i n t o th e h i l l c o u n try i n th e w e ste rn p a r t o f th e commandery, w h ile J i a o l i / C h a n g l i , s i t u a t e d on th e B o lan g /D alln g R iv e r, was re s p o n s ib le f o r th e re g io n to th e e a s t .
SJZ 14, 22b, r e f e r s t o t h e B olang R iv e r, a f t e r p a s s in g C h a n g li, a l s o p a s s in g Long Shan "Dragon M ountain", and th e s u b - t e x t a t t h i s p o in t t e l l s how Murong Huang , r u l e r o f th e s t a t e o f Former Yan 3 k , s e t t l e d th e re g io n " n o r th o f L iucheng and s o u th o f Dragon M ountain", b u i l t h im s e lf a c a p i t a l w hich he c a l l e d Dragon C ity (Longcheng -jfc, ^ ) and renam ed L iucheng xian a s Longcheng. Manshu rekish i c h iri I , 133-135, ta k e s t h i s a s e v id e n c e t h a t L iucheng o f Han was so u th w e st o f Chaoyang and, by i m p llc a tio n , c lo s e to th e B o lan g /D allng R iv e r. I t sh o u ld be o b se rv e d , how ever, t h a t i t i s th e m ountain w hich i s d e s c r ib e d a s b e in g n e a r th e r i v e r , and Liucheng comes i n t o th e g e o g ra p h ic a l d e s c r i p t i o n o n ly i n d i r e c t l y . The a r e a o f ( r e - e s t a b l i s h e d ) LLucheng xian i n th e f o u r th c e n tu r y , a t th e tim e o f Murong Huang, may have co v ered some o f th e same ground a s th e c o u n ty o f Formed Han, b u t th e s i t e s o f th e c i t i e s w ere n o t n e c e s s a r i l y i d e n t i c a l . (See a l s o S c h re ib e r, "Former Yen", 4 5 7 .) I t i s my i n t e r p r e t a t i o n , t h e r e f o r e , t h a t th e c o u n ty o f Liucheng i n Former Han was q u i t e c lo s e to th e sh o re o f th e Gulf o f L iaodong, somewhere so u th w e st o f p r e s e n t- d a y J i n x i , and t h i s p la c e m e n t, I n o t e , i s a ls o made by th e Diming da cidain 9 6 3 3 .3 . The co u n ty /m arch o f J i a o l i / C h a n g l i was on th e B o lan g /D alln g R iv e r, p ro b a b ly i n th e re g io n o f p r e s e n t day Chaoyang (an d n o t , a s Yang S h o u jln g 's Lidai yudi tu and Zhongguo lis h i ditu j i would s u g g e s t, on th e lo w er re a c h e s o f th e D a lln g R iv e r i n th e v i c i n i t y o f Jin z h o u o r Y ix ian Mi » • Ttoo f i n a l , i s o l a t e d p o in ts may be n o te d . F i r s t l y , th e p r e s e n t- d a y c i t y c a l l e d C h a n g li, n e a r th e c o a s t i n e a s t e r n H ebei, ca n have no c o n n e c tio n b u t th e name w ith th e C h an g li o f L a te r Han. Second, th e Han p r e f e c tu r e o f Llnyu 0X , w hich i s shown by Zhongguo l i s h i d itu j i I I , Maps 27-28 a s b e in g i n th e neighbourhood o f Chaoyang d u rin g Former Han and i n Maps 61-62 a s b e in g w e st o f Shanhaiguan d u rin g L a te r Han, sh o u ld p ro b a b ly be p la c e d i n th e v i c i n i t y o f Y ixian and
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Jinzhou» n e a r Han d y n a s ty Y angle ( s e e SJZ 14, 23a; SJZS 14, 5 8 b -5 9 b )• 54«
For a su rv e y o f th e Han em p ire I n t h i s re g io n , s e e G a rd in e r, The Early History o f Korea9 and o th e r w orks.
55.
Zhongguo gudai b ei fang gezu jia n sh i ( h e r a f t e r Gezu jia n s h i), 3 2 -3 3 .
56.
On th e s e m o u n tain s and t r i b a l nam es, s e e n o te 12 t o C h ap ter 7 and n o te 8 to C hapter 9.
57.
On t h e I d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f th e T ia n Shan o f th e Han p e rio d w ith th e B arkttl Tagh ( to be d is tin g u is h e d from th e g r e a t ra n g e o f w e s te rn X in jia n g , known a s T lan Shan I n modem t i m e s ) , s e e th e commentary o f th e Qlng s c h o la r Shen Qlnhan ÿ ttI t o HHSJJ 23/ 13, 11a. On th e r e g io n o f Ylwu, e v id e n tly a l s o known a s Ylwulu 4? ^ , s e e p p .260-261 and 273-275 below , and n o te 69 to C h a p te r 6 .
58.
Lat tim o ré . Inner Asian F rontiers , 72. On th e developm ent o f th e Xlongnu em pire a s a t y p i c a l c y c le o f th e s te p p e , s e e h i s p p .523-526.
59.
We a r e f o r t u n a t e enough t o have a d e t a i l e d re c o r d o f an e a r ly modern cam paign I n t h i s r e g io n . In 1696, th e Kangxi Emperor o f Qlng l e d a cam paign i n p e rs o n a g a in s t a r e b e l khan o f O uter M ongolia. His r o u te fo llo w e d a l i n e some two hundred k ilo m e tr e s e a s t o f th e m odem ra ilw a y betw een J in in g and Ulaan B a a ta r, and i n a s e r i e s o f l e t t e r s t o h i s s o n , th e Crown P rin c e In Ceng, he d e s c r ib e d th e t e r r a i n th e th e p ro g re s s o f th e arm y. The l e t t e r s , w r itte n In Manchu, a r e p re s e rv e d a t th e N a tio n a l P a la c e Museum i n T a ip e i, and have been p u b lis h e d i n Secret Palace Memorials o f the K'ang-hsi Period , 8 and 9 . They w ere d is c u s s e d i n a p a p e r p re s e n te d by P ro fe s s o r HLdehiro Ckada t o th e I n te r n a tio n a l C h 'in g A rc h iv e s Symposium, T a ip e i, 1978. In t h i s s e r i e s o f l e t t e r s , th e Kangxi Emperor d e s c r ib e s th e g r a s s and o c c a s io n a l san d d u n e s, and th e d e s e r t h i l l s o f mixed s to n e s and s a n d . Water i n t h i s re g io n can be found no more th a n a c o u p le o f f e e t below th e ground, f o r th o s e who know w here to lo o k f o r i t , and th e an im als e a t e i t h e r th e f r e s h g r a s s o f th e c u r r e n t s p r in g o r th e o ld g r a s s from th e p re v io u s y e a r . F u r th e r n o r t h , a s th e armor ap p roached th e K eru len R iv e r, e a s t o f th e Orhon, th e t e r r a i n and th e fo d d e r im proved, and a lth o u g h th e army i t s e l f was a t one tim e i n some a n x ie ty o v e r i t s r a t i o n s u p p ly , th e y were a b le t o ta k e w ith them s t o r e s f o r e ig h ty d ay s cam paigning on baggage c a r t s drawn by oxen. The cam paign co n clu d ed w ith a d e c is iv e v ic to r y o v e r th e r e b e l s , won by a s u b o r d in a te g e n e r a l n e a r p re s e n t-d a y N a la lk h , e a s t o f Ulaan B a a ta r.
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The w hole cam paign l a s t e d a lm o s t one hundred d a y s , from m id -A p ril t o e a r l y J u ly . I t seems re a s o n a b le t o a ssu n e t h a t th e men, h o rs e s and oxen o f th e p r e - i n d u s t r i a l Qing d y n asty were com parable to th o s e o f Han, and t h a t th e g e o g ra p h ic a l c o n d itio n s w ere a l s o s i m i l a r . In th e s e c irc u m s ta n c e s , we may a ls o o b ta in some e x t r a p o l a t i o n s on th e sp eed and ra n g e o f a C h inese arny o p e r a tin g I n th e s te p p e . We a r e t o l d t h a t th e Qlng tr o o p s m arched from s u n r is e to noon, w ith th e second h a l f o f th e day d ev o ted to making camp and c o o k in g . At one p o i n t , t h e arny was 170 l i , ab o u t 80 k ilo m e t r e s , from th e K ërulen R iv e r, b e in g two days march aw ay. Thus I t w ould a p p e a r t h a t a C hinese a n y o f t h a t p e rio d c o u ld e x p e c t to t r a v e l up t o 40 k ilo m e tr e s I n a d a y . By co m p ariso n , e s tim â te s s u g g e s t t h a t Roman le g io n s marched lo n g - d is ta n c e a t a r a t e o f ab o u t 22 k ilo m e tr e s a d a y , b u t c o u ld move a t 35 k ilo m e tr e s a day I n s p e c i a l c irc u m s ta n c e s ( I u ttw a k , Grand S tr a te g y o f th e Roman Empiref 81 and 212 n o te 75) • These f ig u r e s In f a c t m atch up q u ite w e l l . For a s h o r t p e r io d , we may a c c e p t t h a t a C hinese army co u ld move up to 40 k ilo m e tr e s a d a y . Such a sp e e d , how ever, c o u ld n o t be m a in ta in e d . F i r s t l y , a s Iu ttw a k o b s e rv e s , s e v e r a l days movement a t su ch sp e e d would e x h a u s t th e tr o o p s . S econdly, a m a tte r w hich a p p lie d even more f o r c e f u l l y to C hinese a rm ies on th e s te p p e th a n t o Roman le g io n s o f te n moving w ith in th e f r o n t i e r s o f t h e i r own c o u n tr y , th e r e was th e l i m i t a t i o n o f s u p p lie s w hich m ust be drawn by slow-m oving o xen. The Kangxi E m p ero r's army sp e n t some tim e camped a t a m id -p o in t o f th e s te p p e , t o w a it f o r r e a r e le m e n ts and food s u p p lie s , and a ls o f o r th e advance of a second army by a more w e ste rn r o u t e . The a r r i v a l o f th e r i c e c a r t s was a m a tte r o f c o n s id e r a b le c o n c e rn , and th e f i n a l advance was d e la y e d u n t i l th e y w ere a t hand. I t would a p p e a r, th e n , t h a t a C hinese arny o p e r a tin g on th e s te p p e co u ld move a s f a s t a s 35-40 k ilo m e tre s a day f o r a s h o r t p e r io d . Ih e norm al r a t e o f p r o g r e s s , how ever, was p ro b a b ly a b o u t 20 k ilo m e tr e s p e r day. And a l l s t r a t e g y was l i m i t e d by th e re q u ire m e n t n o t to g e t to o f a r s e p a r a te d from th e su p p ly t r a i n s , w hich c e r t a i n l y t r a v e l l e d no f a s t e r th a n 20 k ilo m e tr e s a d a y . F or a modern a n a l y s i s o f th e movement o f Former Han a rm ie s a c r o s s th e s te p p e , w ith p a r t i c u l a r c o n s id e r a tio n o f th e le n g th o f cam paigns and t h e sp e ed o f m arch, s e e th e 1959 a r t i c l e o f th e Ja p a n e se s c h o la r Yoneda K e n jlro . I may be n o te d , how ever, t h a t th e g r e a t cam paigns by th e Mongols C hlnggls Khan and K u b lla l Khan fo llo w e d a d i f f e r e n t r o u te a t a d i f f e r e n t sp e e d . From a b a se a t Orhon, th e Mongol l e a d e r s to o k t h e i r a rm ie s f i r s t e a s tw a rd s , t o th e f o r e s t
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The r e a s o n f o r t h i s m anoeuvre was t h a t th e f o r c e s o f th e M ongols, d e s tin e d t o co nquer f i r s t th e Ju rch en J i n and th e n th e S o u th ern Song, w ere f a r l a r g e r th a n any army th a t th e C hinese e v e r c a re d to p u t in t o th e f i e l d a g a in s t th e n o r th , and t h e i r num bers w ere o f t e n s w o lle n by d e p e n d e n ts, w ith s p a re h o rs e s f o r re m o u n ts, and accom panying h e r d s . Where th e t e r r i t o r y betw een t h e Ordos and Eds i n Gol i n th e s o u th , and th e Orhon i n th e n o r t h , w i l l s u p p o rt th e movement o f a s many a s 3 0 ,0 0 0 i n an a r n y , a s i g n i f i c a n t l y l a r g e r f o r c e w ould be s e r i o u s l y h in d e re d by th e in h o s p i t a b le t e r r a i n . (A dvice from Dr Ig o r de R a c h e w iltz , C a n b e rra .) 60.
On th e N o rth ern Arny, s e e HHS 1 17/27, 2612-13, and B le l e n s t e in , Bureaucracy, 114-118.
61.
HHS 1 1 5 /2 5 , 3574-76; B l e l e n s t e i n , B ureaucracy, 2 4 -2 5 . The G entlem en o f th e H ousehold w ere s u b o rd in a te t o th e S u p e rin te n d a n t o f th e Im p e ria l H ousehold ( guanglu xun ) , t h e m i n i s t e r r e s p o n s ib le f o r g u a rd in g and e s c o r t i n g th e em peror i n th e p u b lic a r e a s o f th e p a la c e and when th e r u l e r was on t o u r .
62.
The c o n s c r ip t g u a rd s ( weishl ) were s u b o rd in a te to th e Commandant of th e Guards (w eiw ei t f l U i ) , a l s o a m i n i s t e r . The o f f i c e o f th e Commandant o f th e Guards i s d e s c rib e d i n HHS 1 1 5 /2 5 , 3579-81; B le le n s te in , Bureaucracy, 3 1 -3 4 , a l s o 114.
63.
T here i s some u n c e r t a i n t y a s t o w hich month o f au tu n n th e a n n u a l e x e r c i s e and i n s p e c tio n ( dushi Jf? t^ î ) was h e ld , and i t may som etim es have ta k e n p la c e i n w in te r . See B l e l e n s t e i n , 358-359, and Yen, Administration I , 93 and 151.
64.
HHS 1A, 51. The te rm minwu ft& ~ i n th e t e x t s .
65.
B l e l e n s t e i n , B u reau cracy , 114, and 191 n o te 2.
66 .
The m ajor e x c e p tio n to t h i s s ta te m e n t took p la c e i n 107, a t th e tim e o f th e em ergency o f th e f i r s t g r e a t r e b e l l i o n o f th e Q lang, when th e G eneral o f C h a rio ts and C avalry Deng 7h± was s e n t t o Hanyang i n command o f 5 0,000 men. In c lu d in g n o t o n ly th e f i v e re g im e n ts o f th e N o rth ern Arny, b u t a ls o commandery tr o o p 8 from th e r e g io n o f Changan and Luoyang, Runan, Nanyang, Y lngchuan, T aiyuan and Shangdang. The c a n p a lg n , how ever, was n o ta b ly u n s u c c e s s f u l. See p p .9 4 -9 6 b elow .
67.
HHS 118/28, 3622.
d o es n o t a p p e a r a g a in
This t e x t o f Ylng S hao, to which B le le n s te in d o es n o t r e f e r , c a s t s a d i f f e r e n t l i g h t on th e a s s e r t i o n t h a t b o th th e Form er and L a te r Han d y n a s tie s had m i l i t a r y c o n s c r ip tio n ( B u reau cracy , 1 1 4 ). So, In d e e d , th e y d id , b u t th e d i f f e r e n c e a p p e a rs t o be t h a t w here Former Han had ta k e n c a r e to m a in ta in a t r a i n e d m i l i t i a th ro u g h o u t th e e n t i r e , th e L a te r Han governm ent r e l i e d upon th e emergency c a l l - u p o f men
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w ith v e ry l i m i t e d t r a i n i n g . As Yen, Adm inistration I , 97, h as r i g h t l y o b s e rv e d , th e r e was a form o f c o n s c r ip tio n In L a te r Han, and l o c a l tr o o p s w ere som etim es u se d , b u t th e y were o f v e ry l i t t l e u s e . See a l s o p p .8 7 -8 8 and 94-95 below .
68.
On t h e r e c r u itm e n t p o lic y o f L a te r Han, s e e th e Im p o rta n t a r t i c l e by He Changquan, Dong Han gengyu shuyu zhidu de f e iz h i, and a ls o Sun Y utang, Dong Han bingzhi de yanbian.
69.
On th e form o f c o n s c r ip tio n o f Former Han, and th e v a r io u s form s o f co m m itatlo n , s e e Loewe, RHA I , 162-164, where he t r a n s l a t e s th e p r i n c i p a l p a ssa g e s d e a lin g w ith th e t o p i c from Han t e x t s . See a l s o t h e s e c t i o n on gengfu i n DHHY 31, 4 5 5 -5 6 .
70.
On th e Encampment a t L iyang, s e e B le le n s te ln , Bureaucracy, 118-119, and a ls o p .2 5 3 below and n o te 42 to C hapter 6 . On th e g a r r i s o n s a t Yong and a t Changan, s e e B l e le n s te ln ,
Bureaucracy, 118-119; a ls o p .1 0 0 below , and n o te 40 to C h ap ter 3. 71.
Loewe, RHA I , 9 1 -1 2 6 .
72.
Loewe, RHA 1, 90. B le le n s te ln , RHD I I I , 118, fo llo w in g Lao Kan, h a s a rg u ed t h a t Juyan was abandoned f o r some y e a rs a f t e r 46 AD. See, how ever, p p .2 5 4 -2 5 6 below .
73.
Loewe, RHA I , 9 0 -9 1 .
NOTES TO CHAPTER 2 The Account o f th e Qlang o f th e West (Xi Qiang liezhuan yéff j£j '♦‘J w hich m ost v i s i t o r s s e e when th e y a r e ta k e n t o view t h e G re a t W all. The F eihu "F ly in g Fox" P a s s , s t i l l known by t h a t name, i s n o r th o f p r e s e n t- d a y L aiyuan i n H ebei. In Han t e x t s , i t i s a l s o r e f e r r e d to a s th e Changshan P a ss. Lu Fang was i n G ao liu betw een 40 and 42. For a few m onths i n 40 he a p p e a rs t o have so u g h t to n e g o tia te a s u r r e n d e r to Han, b u t he abandoned t h i s ap p ro ach and r e tu r n e d t o a l l i a n c e w ith th e Xiongnu by th e end o f th e y e a r . The in c id e n t i s d is c u s s e d i n B i e l e n s t e l n , RHD I I I , 113-114.
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11.
HHS 18, 7 2 -7 3 ; B i e l e n s t e i n , RHD I I I , 114.
12.
On Wuhuan a c t i v i t i e s i n t h i s p e r io d , se e p p .376-377 below .
13.
On Ma Y uan's d e a lin g s w ith th e Q iang, s e e p p .6 8 -7 5 above.
14.
The a p p e a ra n ce o f th e em b assies was c e r t a i n l y a s ig n o f th e re v iv e d p r e s t i g e o f th e governm ent o f L a te r Han, b u t th e y were n o t s u c c e s s f u l i n p e rs u a d in g Emperor Gdangwu t o g r a n t them h i s p a tro n a g e . On th e c o n tr a r y , he re f u s e d t h e i r r e q u e s t t o pay t r i b u t e and le a v e h o s ta g e s and tu rn e d them away w ith o u t s u p p o r t. From t h i s tim e , f o r th e n e x t f i f t e e n y e a r s , th e c i t y s t a t e s o f c e n t r a l A sia were dom inated by th e l o c a l a u t h o r i t y o f Suoju > o r Yarkand. See G a rd in e r, "Yarkand i n th e F i r s t C entury A .D .", 51 and passim .
15.
HHS 2 4 /1 4 , 842 ( t h e B iography o f Ma Yuan); on th e s k irm is h w ith th e Wuhuan and th e f u r t h e r a t t a c k s a g a in s t C hinese t e r r i t o r y , s e e a l s o HHS IB, 73, HHS 9 0 /8 0 , 2982 ( th e Account o f th e Wuhuan), B i e l e n s t e l n , RHD I I I , 115-116, and p p .378-379 below .
16.
HHS 8 9 /7 9 , 2939 and 2941-42. The t i t l e w hich Bi h e ld u n d e r th e Shanyu Yu was Y u jian IIJML R izhu King o f th e R ig h t, and i t p r e s e n ts some p o in ts w hich d e s e rv e a t t e n t i o n . The p r o n u n c ia tio n o f th e c h a r a c te r I n th e p h ra s e i s g iv e n a s e q u iv a le n t t o yu i n th e commentary o f Yan Shigu t o HS 94A, 3788-89, and w ith th e Wangle s p e l l i n g o f ^ 3 yu i n th e commentary o f Li XLan t o HHS 8 9 /7 9 , 2939-40. Though th e norm al p r o n u n c ia tio n i s ao, GSR 1045a n o te s t h a t i t can be u sed a s a lo a n f o r th e re a d in g yu, and th e com m entators a p p e a r to a g re e t h a t t h i s i s th e c a se h e r e . The s i g n i f i c a n c e o f th e p h ra s e i s d is c u s s e d by P r l t s a k , "24 T a - c h 'e n " , (A ppendix 1 ), 199-200, b u t th e b e s t i n t e r p r e t a t i o n he can o f f e r i s t h a t i t was a supernum ary h o n o r if ic added on o c c a s io n to th e s u b s ta n tiv e t i t l e s o f n o b i l i t y , and H sleh J la n n , " P o l i t i c a l O r g a n is a tio n " , 238-239, p o in ts o u t (n o te 2 to 239) t h a t th e p r e f i x a p p e a rs co n n ected t o th e r u l i n g f a m ily . See a l s o Lin Gan, Xiongnu sh i9 42. Y u jia n was th e name o f s u b o r d in a te s t a t e o f K an g ju ^L .^ (S am arkand): HS 96A, 3894; Hulsewe and Loewe, China in Central Asia , 131. De G ro o t, Hunnen9 202, i d e n t i f i e s Y ujian a l s o w ith th e Orhon R iv e r. In t h i s c o n te x t, how ever, Y u jia n does n o t seem t o be a placenam e. The s i g n i f i c a n c e o f th e Rizhu Kings h as been d is c u s s e d above, p .1 7 7 and n o te 9 t o C h a p te r 5. I t may be o b serv ed h e r e , fo llo w in g P r l t s a k i n h i s Appendix 2, 201, t h a t Bi was
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s t y l e d R izhu King o f th e R ig h t n o t b ecau se o f th e g e o g ra p h ic a l p o s i t i o n o f h i s t e r r i t o r y b u t b ecause o f h is ra n k I n th e h e i r a r c h y . The Xlongnu I d e n t i f i e d th e w est a s r i g h t and th e e a s t as l e f t ( SC 110, 2891; W atson, RGH I I , 163; and De G ro o t, Hunnen, 58; HS 94A, 3751). B l's t e r r i t o r y , how ever, la y alo n g th e e a s te r n f r o n t i e r o f th e em p ire . At t h i s u p p e r l e v e l o f th e n o b i l i t y , among th e Im p e ria l c l a n , t h e r e f o r e , th e d i r e c t i o n names e v id e n tly r e f e r r e d to g ra d e s o f ran k r a t h e r th a n to g e o g ra p h ic a l p o s i t i o n , and B l 's d e s ig n a tio n "of th e R ight" I d e n t i f i e d him a s h o ld in g th e j u n i o r ra n k o f th e R izhu K ings. 17.
We have rem arked e a r l i e r (n o te 16 to C hapter 5) on th e C hinese u se o f th e term s y i and lu o f o r d e s c r ib in g sm a ll fa m ily and c la n groups among th e nomad p e o p le s . The term bu 4 ? " d iv is io n " used h e re e v id e n tly r e f e r s t o a l a r g e r u n i t , p ro b a b ly a f u l l t r i b a l community. The numbers o f p e o p le i n a Jbu, how ever, can n o t be ju d g e d : th e v a rio u s r e f e r e n c e s i n th e t e x t s I n d i c a t e a wide v a r i e t y .
18.
HHS 8 9 /7 9 , 2942; B i e l e n s t e i n , RHD I I I , 116-119. Dongguan Hanji g iv e s th e d a te o f B l's ta k in g th e t i t l e a s e q u iv a le n t to 25 Jan u ary 49.
19.
HHS 8 9 /7 9 , 2942.
20.
HHS 1 9 /9 , 715-16 ( th e B iography o f Geng Guo).
21.
HHS 2 0 /1 0 , 745 ( th e B iography o f Zhai Tong). Zhai Tong, whose p e rs o n a l name a ls o a p p e a rs a s Yong , was a nephew o f Zhai Zun, one o f Emperor Guangwu's e a r ly s u p p o r te r s : Zhai Z u n 's b io g ra p h y i s i n HHS 2 0 /1 0 , 728-44.
22.
On th e Wuhuan a s s o c i a t i o n a t t h i s tim e , see p p .380-381 below
23.
B ie le n s t e i n , RHD I I I , 126 n o te 1, d is c u s s e s th e s to r y t h a t envoys o f Wang Mang had p ersu ad ed th e Shanyu Zhi to perfo rm th e kowtow, b u t d is c o u n ts i t s r e l i a b i l i t y . On p p . 120-121 B ie le n s te in d e s c r ib e s th e ceremony and th e g i f t s , and rem arks t h a t I t was p ro b ab ly on t h i s o c c a s io n th e Shanyu Bi re c e iv e d h i s s e a l from th e Han governm ent.
24.
In th e C hinese t e x t s d e s c r ib in g th e fo rm a l Xlongnu h e ir a r c h y we a r e to l d o f o n ly two Gudu M arq u ises. On th e o th e r h an d , th e f u t u r e S o u th e rn Shanyu Bl had fo rm e rly two Gudu M arquises a l l o c a t e d to s u p e r v is e h i s a c t i v i t i e s , and th e r e i s now a r e f e r e n c e t o f i v e Gudu M arq u ises. I t a p p e a rs t h a t th e e s ta b lis h m e n t was q u i t e f l e x i b l e and co u ld be r e a d i l y e n la rg e d a t need .
25.
HHS 8 9 /7 9 , 2944-45. The f i f t y men o f th e body-guard were chosen from among r e p r ie v e d c o n v ic ts , o r c r im in a ls w ith su spended s e n te n c e s ( shixing ) a common s o u rc e o f m i l i t a r y r e c r u i t s i n L a te r Han.
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26.
B i e l e n s t e i n , RHD 111, 122 and 129; YU, Trade and Expansion, 4 9 -5 1 , and c i t i n g th e B iography o f Yuan An i n HHS 4 5 /3 5 , 1521.
27.
HHS 9 0 /8 0 , 2986; S c h r e ib e r , " H s ie n -p i" , 171.
28.
HHS 6 5 /5 5 , 2148 (th e B iography o f Duan Jio n g ) c o n ta in s h i s m em orial o f 167 p ro p o sin g th e e x te r m in a tio n cam paign a g a in s t th e Q lang, w hich in c lu d e s h i s s ta te m e n ts o f p a s t ex p en ses and h i s e s tim a te f o r th e p la n n e d o p e r a t io n s . The f i n a l a c c o u n ts o f th e cam paign a r e g iv e n on p .3 1 5 3 . See p p . 135-136, 140 and 142 above.
29.
HHS 2 6 /1 6 , 914 ( t h e
30.
HHS 2, 96; B i e l e n s t e i n , RHD I I I , 128.
31.
Hie f i g u r e s a r e ta k e n from th e T r e a t i s e o f Geography HS 28B, 1616-23, and th e T r e a tis e o f A d m in is tra tiv e Geography HHS 113/23, 3528, 3524-26 and 3519-20.
32.
On th e d e c re a s e o f p o p u la tio n and th e a b o l i t i o n o f c o u n tie s by Emperor Guangwu, s e e B l e l e n s t e i n , RHD I I I . 140-144 and 174-175, Maps 19 and 20.
33.
HHS 8 9 /7 9 , 2953-54;
34.
HHS 8 9 /7 9 , 2945-48; HHS 1 8 /8 , 695-696 ( th e Biography o f Zang Gong). The d e b a te i s d is c u s s e d by B l e le n s te in , RHD I I I , 122-125 and 126-128.
35.
On t h i s p o l i c y , s e e p p .4 8 -5 0 above.
36.
HHS 8 9 /7 9 , 2946.
37.
HHS8 9 /7 9 , 2946-48; B l e l e n s t e i n , RHD I I I , 124-125. The B iography o f Ban B lao , f a t h e r o f th e h i s t o r i a n Ban GU, a u th o r o f Han shu, i s i n HHS 40A/4QA, 1323-30.
38.
HHS 8 9 /7 9 , 2948. From t h i s tim e o n , where th e p h ra se ruodi had a p p e a re d i n t h e t i t l e o f e a c h Shanyu s in c e th e
B iography o f Zhao X i).
B i e l e n s t e i n , RHD I I I ,
129.
f i r s t tfcihanxle Shanyu, t h e r e i s now o n ly th e s i n g l e s y l l a b l e d i : i t s s i g n i f i c a n c e , r e f l e c t i n g th e C h in ese xiao " f i l i a l " , i s presum ably r e t a i n e d . (See n o te 33 to C hapter 5 .) 39.
HHS 8 9 /7 9 , 2949.
40.
HHS 8 9 /7 9 , 2949. Hie o f f i c e o f G e n eral Who C ro sse s th e Liao had been e s t a b l i s h e d f o r a s h o r t tim e d u rin g th e Former Han p e r io d , when Fan Mingyou was s e n t t o a t t a c k th e Wuhuan i n Liaodong i n 77 BC ( HS 7, 229-230; Dubs, HFHD I I . 168171, s e e a l s o p .3 7 0 b e lo w ), b u t th e L a te r Han t i t l e was r e l a t e d o n ly i n name. Though th e Liao R iver flow s th ro u g h M anchuria, th e m i l i t a r y command had v e ry l i t t l e t o do w ith t h a t r e g io n . As th e s i t e o f th e h e a d q u a rte rs would i n d i c a t e .
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th e commander'8 c h ie f m i l i t a r y r e s p o n s i b i l i t y la y i n th e re g io n n o r th and n o r th e a s t o f th e Ordos loop o f th e Yellow R iv e r. The p e rs o n a l name o f Wu Tang a ls o a p p e a rs i n th e t e x t s a s Chang ( HHS 2, 110-111, commentary o f Li X ian, and HHJ 10, 85a, i n th e e n tr y f o r Yongplng ac ^ 16: 73 AD). The name a ls o a p p e a rs a s Shang (s e e GSR 7 2 5 ). 41.
Geng G uo's m em orial i s q u o te d i n h i s b io g rap h y i n HHS 1 9 /9 , 715-16, and th e b io g ra p h y s t a t e s s p e c i f i c a l l y t h a t th e e s ta b lis h m e n t o f 65 fo llo w e d th e l i n e s o f h i s a d v ic e . See a ls o B i e l e n s t e i n , rhd 111, 127-128.
42.
HHS 8 9 /7 9 , 2949, d e s c r ib in g th e e s ta b lis h m e n t o f th e command o f th e G en eral Who C rosses th e Liao i n 65: th e p a ssa g e from Hanguan y i i s q u o te d i n Li X ia n 's commentary to t h i s p a s s a g e . The same t e x t a ls o a p p ears i n th e commentary o f Li Xian t o HHS 2 3 /1 3 , 814, and i n th e commentary o f Liu Zhao t o HHS 114/24, 3559. The main t e x t o f HHS 8 9 /7 9 , sayd t h a t Wu Tang was to ta k e command o f th e "T ig e r Tooth" (huya ^f ) tro o p s o f L iyang and s e t h i s camp a t Manbo. 1 i n t e r p r e t "T ig e r Tooth" tro o p s as b ein g th o s e o f advanced t r a i n i n g a t th e Liyang encampment. There seems no c o n n e c tio n w ith th e tro o p s o f th e T ig e r Tooth C hief Commandant a t Changan, which we a r e t o l d was s e t up o nly i n 110 ( c f . th e anachronism re g a rd in g th e Encampment a t Yong, d is c u s s e d in n o te 40 to C hapter 3 .)
43.
See p p .50-52 above, and B l e l e n s t e l n , RHD 111, 118, c i t i n g HHS IB, 75.
44.
Lao K an's a r t i c l e o f 1944, Chii-yen Han-chien k'ao cheng ]% "ft % f t » was fo llo w e d by h i s Chii-yen Han-chien k'ao-shih shih-wen chlh pu 3L i , Shanghai 1949; a second e d i t i o n o f th e two a r t i c l e s was p u b lish e d a s Chii-yen Han-chien k'ao-shih chih pu ^ , T a ip e i, 1960, and r e p r i n t e d i n Lao Kan hsiieh-shu lun-wen Chi fjL m tit 3L , ? , -t. , T a ip e i 1976, 247454, in c lu d in g a supplem ent o f c o r r e c t i o n s , p u -c h e n g $ f& . . On t h i s b ib lio g r a p h y , s e e Loewe, RHA 1, 169-173. On th e d a te s o f th e s t r i p s found a t Ju y an , see a ls o Loewe, RHA 1 , and 11, 360. Lao K an's d is c u s s io n , c i t e d by B le le n s te ln , i s a t p p .2 5 0 -2 5 2 . Of th e d a te d s t r i p s found i n th e 1930s, th e from th e Former Han p e r io d , w ith th e main s e r i e s i n th e e a r ly y e a r s o f th e Jlanw u p e rio d , Loewe, RHA 11, 361, d is c u s s e s a ls o two which a r e and 98 AD, and a n o th e r w hich may be d a te d 40, 73
m a jo r ity a r e p e te r in g o u t ab o u t 30 AD. d a te d 89 o r 104 AD.
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S ubsequent d i s c o v e r i e s , r e p o r te d i n Wenwu 1978.1, 143, do n o t a p p e a r t o have e x te n d e d th e ran g e o f d a te s a lr e a d y e s ta b lis h e d . F or a d v ic e on t h i s q u e s tio n 1 am g r a t e f u l f o r p e rs o n a l com m unication from P r o f e s s o r Hulsewé, whose a r t i c l e , "Hantim e Documents" g iv e s a su rv e y o f p u b lic a tio n s and a d is c u s s io n o f th e m a te r ia l a v a i l a b l e up to th e m id-1950s. 45.
C havannes, Documents chinois découverts par Aurel Stein, p a r t i c u l a r l y p p . i l l and v i l ; i n f a c t , th e f i r s t d a te d docum ents found and i d e n t i f i e d by S te in i n h i s e x p e d itio n o f 1906-08, a t th e tow er n o r th o f Dunhuang which he numbered a s XXVI, were from 50 AD, Jianw u 26: S te in , Ruins o f Desert Cathay I I , 52 -5 3 , and C havannes, Documents, 122 (N os. 563 and 5 6 4 ).
46.
See p .9 ab o v e.
47.
See p p .383-385 below .
48.
HHS 8 8 /7 8 , 2924-26; G a rd in e r, "Yarkand i n th e F i r s t C entury A .D .", 5 7-60.
49.
HHS 8 9 /7 9 , 2949. Even a llo w in g f o r e x a g g e ra tio n , one may o b se rv e t h a t th e G reat W all d e fe n c e s i n t h i s re g io n can n o t have been p a r t i c u l a r l y e f f e c t i v e a g a in s t th e s e r a id s a t t h i s tim e .
50.
The B iography o f Geng Bing
51.
The B iography o f Dou Gu i s i n HHS 2 3 /1 3 , 809-812; th e whole c h a p te r i s d ev o ted t o th e b io g r a p h ie s o f Dou Rong and h i s clansm en. Dou L in , a member o f th e c la n , had been d ism isse d f o r d e c e p tio n o f th e c o u r t on h i s d e a lin g s w ith th e Q iang, and h i s d i f f i c u l t y had g iv e n Emperor Ming an ex cu se to remove th e fa m ily from power. (HHS 2 3 /1 3 , 808, HHS 8 9 /7 9 , 8 7 /7 7 , 2880-81, and s e e p .8 4 a b o v e ). B i e le n s te in , RHD IV, 113-114, i n d is c u s s io n o f th e f a c tio n a lis m o f th e e a r ly y e a rs o f L a te r Han, s e e s th e Dou fa m ily a s p r o ta g o n is ts o f a " s o f t" p o lic y tow ards th e X iongnu. As he o b s e rv e s , how ever, t h e i r p o s i t i o n changed in th e n e x t g e n e r a tio n .
52.
The cam paign i s d e s c r ib e d i n HHS 2 3 /1 3 , 810, and HHS 2 0 /1 0 , 746.
53.
HHS 1 9 /9 , 717.
54.
The B iography o f Ban Chao i s i n HHS 4 7 /3 7 , 1571. I t has been t r a n s l a t e d by C havannes, " T ro is g é n é ra u x ", 216-245.
55.
HHS 113/13, 3278, in c lu d in g commentary q u o tin g th e Gujin zhu £ o f Fu Wuji IfL J&IsS o f th e f i r s t c e n tu r y .
i s i n HHS 1 9 /9 ,
716-18.
521 n o te s
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56.
HHS 8 9 /7 9 , 2950.
57.
HHS 4 5 /3 5 , 1518-19.
58.
HHS 8 9 /7 9 , 2951, re a d i n a c c o rd a n c e w ith th e commentary o f Liu Bin SQ o f G aogouli/K oguryo. He was presum ably p la y in g a p a r t i n th e s e o p e r a tio n s . (On Bogu, se e th e Account o f G aogouli i n SGZ 30, 843-847 a t 845, and HHS 8 5 /7 5 , 281315 a t 2815; f o r d is c u s s io n o f th e problem s o f th e s e t e x t s , s e e G a rd in e r, "The Hou-Hart-Shu a s a s o u rc e f o r th e e a r ly e x p a n sio n o f Koguryo", 1 8 1 -1 8 5 .) 7.
The B iography o f Dou Wu i s i n HHS 6 9 /5 9 , 2239-45. The a c c o u n t o f th e coup o f 168, a s i n HHS 6 9 /5 9 , 2241-44, i s t r a n s l a t e d by C h 'u , Han Social S tr u c tu r e , 485-490, and i t i s d is c u s s e d by de C re sp ig n y , " P r o s c r ip tio n " , 3 0 -3 3 , and B i e l e n s t e i n , Lo-yang9 95-98. The r o l e o f Zhang Huan i n th e i n c i d e n t , and h i s su b se q u e n t r e g r e t s . I s d e s c r ib e d i n h i s b io g ra p h y , HHS 6 5 /5 5 , 2140.
8.
Some f u r t h e r d is c u s s io n o f t h i s p o in t a p p e a rs i n de C re sp ig n y , " P r o s c r i p ti o n " , 25 n o te 30.
9
HHS 6 5 /5 5 , 2140,
533 n o te s
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10«
On t h i s d e b a te , s e e p p .139-140 ab o v e, and MHS 6 5 /5 5 , 215051.
11.
HHS 7 8 /6 8 , 2525 (fro m th e B iography o f th e eunuch Cao J i e ) , and HHS 8 , 333; de C resp lg n y , " P r o s c r ip tio n " , 33.
12.
The t e x t o f th e l e t t e r I s p re s e rv e d I n HHS 6 5 /5 5 , 2142.
13.
On T a n s h ih u a l, s e e I n f u r t h e r d e t a i l G ard in er and de C re s p lg n y , " T a n - s h lh - h u a i" •
14.
The s t o r y o f T a n sh ih u a l I s t o l d l n SGZ 30, 8 3 7 -3 8 , commentary q u o tin g th e Wei shu of Wang Shen, and HHS 9 0 /8 0 , 2989-94; S c h r e ib e r , " I f e ie n - p i" , 184-186 and f f . On th e t e x t h i s t o r y , s e e G a rd in e r and de C re sp lg n y , " T 'a n - s h ih h u a l " , 9 -2 4 .
15.
G a rd in e r and de C re sp lg n y , " T 'a n - s h ih - h u a i" , 14 and 40, a ls o SGZ 30, 836 and 838.
16.
HHS 7, 302, HHS 9 0 /8 0 , 2989.
17.
HHS 7, 304, 312, 317.
18.
See p .3 2 5 -3 2 6 above.
19.
HHS 9 0 /8 0 , 2990, HHS 8, 329, 331, 333, 334, 335, 336, 338, 339, 342, 343, 344, 346.
20.
B oth th e d a te and th e d i s t a n c e s g iv e n f o r T a n s h ih u a l's em pire I n th e Wei shu of Wang Shen and th e Account o f th e X lanbl a p p e a r t o be e x a g g e ra te d . SGZ 30, 837 commentary and HHS 9 0 /8 0 , 2989, b o th Imply t h a t T a n s h ih u a l's domain had a lr e a d y re a c h e d I t s b ro ad e x t e n t by th e m iddle 150s, b e fo re h i s f i r s t m ajor r a i d a g a i n s t th e C hinese f r o n t i e r . This I s m ost u n l i k e l y , and I t I s f a r more p ro b a b le t h a t h i s power grew g r a d u a lly th ro u g h th e tw enty o r more y e a rs of h i s le a d e r s h ip I n w ar. A gain, th e d i s t a n c e s d e s c r ib e d I n th e t e x t s , r e l a t e d t o th e map o f A sia , would sp re a d th e em pire o f T an sh ih u al over an Im p o s s ib le a r e a . Die d i s t a n c e from th e Ordos t o Lake B a ik a l, f o r exam ple. I s some 1,600 k ilo m e tr e s ; th e n o r t h s o u th e x t e n t d e s c r ib e d by th e t e x t would be tw ic e t h a t f a r and would have p la c e d T a n s h ih u a l's n o rth e rn f r o n t i e r I n s id e th e A r c tic c i r c l e . S i m ila r ly , an em p ire w hich ex te n d e d 6 ,000 k ilo m e tr e s w estw ards from th e Korean p e n in s u la would have g iv e n T a n sh ih u a l dom inion o v e r th e A ra l Sea. The d e s c r i p t i o n e v id e n tly r e f l e c t s th e p a t r i o t i c e x a g g e ra tio n o f a X lanbl In fo rm a n t r a t h e r th a n a r e a l p o l i t i c a l g eo g rap h y .
534 n o te s to
C h a p te r
21.
SGZ 30, 837-38, commentary q u o tin g th e Wei shu of Wang s h e n ; HHS 9 0 /8 0 , 2989-90. W hile th e h e lr a r c h y o f bu 4? and y i I s s i m i l a r t o t h a t d e s c r ib e d f o r th e Xlongnu on v a rio u s o c c a s io n s , th e u n i t s th e m se lv es a r e o b v io u sly much la rg e r: c f . p p.179 and 232-233 above, n o te 16 to C h ap ter 5 and n o te 17 to C hapter 6.
22.
SGZ 30, 838, commentary q u o tin g th e Wei shu of Wang Shen; th e p u n c tu a tio n of th e l i s t I s r e i n t e r p r e t e d by G ard in er and de C re sp ig n y , " T 'a n - s h ih - h u a i" , 42.
23.
On th e d e s c e n t o f th e Murong c la n o f th e Former Yan Jflj s e e JS 108, 2803, and S c h r e ib e r , "Form er Yen", 391-395.
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On th e a n c e s to r T h iy in o f th e Tùoba c l a n , s e e WS 1 ,2 , and Boodberg, "Language o f th e T 'o - p a W ei", 180. T h iy in was a p p a r e n tly a nicknam e, meaning "b o rin g th ro u g h " , and was aw arded t o th e two a n c e s to r s o f th e c la n who a t one tim e o r a n o th e r le d t h e i r p e o p le southw ard to new t e r r i t o r i e s . In t h i s c o n te x t, Boodberg d is c u s s e s th e "Gog and Magog Complex" by w hich th e eponymous fo u n d e rs o f nomad co n q u ero rs a r e o f te n a s c r ib e d th e ach iev em en t o f b re a k in g th ro u g h some m ountainous o b s ta c le to le a d t h e i r p e o p le I n to a more p ro sp e ro u s f u t u r e . 24.
See p p .1 2 7 and 137-140 above.
25.
HHS 9 0 /8 0 , 2990; HHS 8, 336.
26.
The d e b a te , and th e su b se q u e n t cam paigns, a r e d e s c rib e d I n HHS 9 0 /8 0 , 2990-94; S c h r e ib e r , " H s ie n -p i" , 190-200.
27.
The B iography o f C al Kong I s l n HHS 60B/5QB, 1979-2013. At th e tim e , Cal Kong h e ld o n ly th e j u n io r ra n k o f G entlem anC o n s u lta n t a t c o u r t , b u t he was r e c o g n is e d a s th e le a d in g s c h o la r o f h i s tim e . His b io g ra p h y makes no r e f e r e n c e to t h i s d e b a te , b u t th e t e x t o f h i s m em orial I s I n HHS 9 0 /8 0 , 2990-93.
28.
HHS 7, HHS 9 0 /8 0 , 2993. E a r l i e r , HHS 9 0 /8 0 , 2990, seems t o I n d i c a t e t h a t th e p ro p o s a l o f Xia Yu was made In th e autumn o f 177, a s re s p o n s e t o th e X lanbl a t t a c k s on th e th r e e n o r th e r n p ro v in c e s I n th e summer o f t h a t y e a r . However, a lm o st c e r t a i n l y t h e d e b a te and th e p la n n in g f o r th e cam paign e x te n d e d o v e r some m onths, and th e autumn d a te g iv e n f o r Xla Y u's p ro p o s a l m erely a n t i c i p a t e s th e f i n a l d e c is io n .
29.
HHS 9 0 /8 0 , 2993-94. D e sp ite t h i s re c o rd o f d i s a s t e r , Xla Yu was em ployed l a t e r a s C o lo n e l P r o te c to r o f th e Qlang a t th e tim e o f th e r e b e l l i o n i n Liang p ro v in c e I n 185 (se e p .1 4 9 a b o v e ), and i n 195 he was a s u b o rd in a te commander u n d er th e g e n e r a l Guo Si , who a tte m p te d to p re v e n t th e em peror from le a v in g Changan: ZZTJ 61, 1966; de C re sp ig n y , Last o f the Han9 128-129; b ased on HHJ 28, 229b; and se e p .3 5 0 below .
535 n o t e s t o C h a p te r 8
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N othing more I s h e a rd o f T lan Yan, b u t Zang Min, th e o th e r commander, was th e f a t h e r o f Zang Hong ^ » whose b io g ra p h y I s l n SGZ 7, and th e commentary to SGZ 7, 231, q u o te s from th e Hou Han Shu o f Xle Cheng 01? , w hich d e s c r ib e s him a s one o f th e m ost v a lu e d s e r v a n ts o f Han. The t e x t Ig n o re s th e campaign a g a in s t T a n sh lh u a l, b u t em phasises Zang M in 's g r e a t know ledge o f th e W estern R eg io n s. At an e a r l i e r s ta g e o f h i s c a r e e r he had been In s p e c to r o f Yang P ro v in c e , a b o u t th e mouth o f th e Y angzl, and th e Grand A d m in is tra to r o f Danyang commandery I n th e p ro v in c e . He l a t e r s e rv e d a s C o lo n e l o f th e Chang R iv e r Regiment (w hich In c lu d e d Wuhuan c a v a lr y : s e e p .3 8 9 -3 9 0 b e lo w ), and f i n a l l y a s Grand A d m in is tra to r o f T aiy u an . H is s o n , Zang Hong, was one o f th e ro m a n tic and t r a g i c h e ro e s o f th e c i v i l war a t th e end o f Han: s e e ZZTJ 61, 1975-77; de C re sp lg n y , Last o f Han9 138-141. 30.
The d e s c r i p t i o n o f th e s u c c e s s io n t o T an sh lh u al I s g iv e n I n th e Wei shu o f Wang Shen, I n SGZ 30, 838 com m entary. The c h a r a c te r s f o r th e name o f K iiltou a r e IX , and th o s e f o r H u a lto u , r e f e r r e d t o a few columns e a r l i e r , a r e 4fc A • Hie p r e s e n t t e x t o f th e wei shu o f Wang Shen h as u sed d i f f e r e n t c h a r a c t e r s , and GSR 569 f and i d i s tin g u is h e s th e A rch aic and A ncient p r o n u n c ia tio n s , b u t th e s i m i l a r i t y I s s trik in g .
31.
The r i v a l r y o f Budugen and Keblneng I s d e s c rib e d I n th e m ain t e x t o f SGZ 30, 8 3 5 -3 6 , and K éb ln en g 's c a r e e r a f t e r h i s o v erth ro w o f Budugen I s I n th e m ain t e x t o f SGZ 30, 838-39.
32.
HHS 8 9 /7 9 , 2964.
33.
HHS 8, 355.
34.
On th e Bobo V a lle y b a n d i t s , s e e HHS 8 , 355. The Wei shu o f Wang Shen, q u o ted I n commentary t o SGZ 1, 9, sa y s t h a t th e c h i e f t a i n Y ufuluo, so n o f Qlangqu and h i s s u c c e s s o r a s Shanyu (se e b e lo w ), le d tro o p s to th e a id of Han d u rin g th e Zhongplng Sfp e rio d (1 8 4 -1 8 9 ). The P a r a l l e l A nnals o f th e Xlongnu Liu Yuan, who claim ed d e s c e n t from Modun and th e S o u th e rn Shanyu B1 th ro u g h Y ufu lo , s u g g e s ts t h a t Y ufulo to o k p a r t I n o p e r a tio n s a g a in s t th e Yellow Türbans ( JS 101, 2645; and s e e a l s o n o te 49 b e lo w ). The a c c o u n t o f th e Xlongnu I n HHS 89/79 makes no r e f e r e n c e t o Xlongnu Invo lv em en t I n t h e f i g h t i n g a g a i n s t th e Yellow R irb an s u n d er Zhang Jue d u rin g th e g r e a t cam paigns o f 184, b u t I t I s p o s s i b l e t h a t Y ufuluo d id a t one tim e command f o r c e s I n s u p p o rt o f th e Han a g a i n s t th e "Yellow Türbans" o f th e Bobo V a lle y .
536 n o t e s t o C h a p te r 8
35.
See p p .398-399 b elow .
36.
HHS 8 9 /7 9 , 2964, and HHS 8 , 355. XLluo c l a n , e v id e n tly d e s c e n d a n ts f i r s t S o u th e rn Shanyu B l, who had d y n a s tic t i t l e (p .2 3 4 a b o v e ), s e e Sanxlng t o ZZTJ 59, 1889.
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On th e I d e n t i t y o f th e from a c a d e t l i n e o f th e X iluo a s p a r t o f h i s th e commentary o f Hu
HHS 8 , 355, s t a t e s t h a t Qlangqu was o v erthrow n by a r e b e l l i o n o f th e L e ft D iv is io n o f th e XLongnu: I t seems p o s s ib le t h a t th e c h a r a c t e r ^ I s a m is ta k e . On th e o th e r han d , we a r e t o l d t h a t Y ufuluo had been th e Worthy King o f th e R ig h t when he su cceed ed h i s a s s a s s in a te d f a t h e r . The Worthy King o f th e L e f t, whose name I s n o t g iv e n , had been g iv e n command o f th e c o n tin g e n t t o be s e n t a g a in s t th e Wuhuan. Since th e Worthy King o f th e L e ft was th e h e i r a p p a re n t t o th e Shanyu, I t seems p o s s ib le t h a t he had sh a re d Q langquvs f a t e , p e rh a p s th ro u g h a m utiny o f d is c o n te n te d c o n s c rip ts . Wang X la n g la n , I n commentary t o HHSJJ 23H, 6b, s u g g e s ts t h a t a b o u t t h i s tim e th e county o f M e ljl, r e s id e n c e o f th e S o u th e rn Shanyu and th e E m issa ry , was s h i f t e d t o th e re g io n o f p r e s e n t- d a y Fenyang I n Shanxi. T his move would p a r a l l e l th e r e t r e a t o f th e c a p i t a l o f Xihe commandery I n th e e a r l y 140s (s e e p.311 a b o v e ); c e r t a i n l y I f Yufuluo co u ld n o t m a in ta in a u t h o r i t y I n th e Xiongnu c a p i t a l , th e fo rm er co u n ty o f M e ljl was th o ro u g h ly removed from Han c o n tro l. 37.
On t h e governm ent o f th e Empress-Dowager and h e r b r o th e r He J i n , w hich c u lm in a te d I n a blo o d y b u t a b o r tiv e coup d 'e t a t , s e e ZZTJ 59, 1894-1902; de C re sp lg n y , Last o f the Han, 4 4 -5 4 . The B iography o f He J i n i s i n HHS 6 9 /5 9 , 2246-53, and t h a t o f th e Empress-Dowager nee He i s l n HHS 10B, 4 49-50.
38.
SGZ 8, 251.
39.
SGZ 1 ,9 . On th e B lack M ountain b a n d i t s , s e e HHS 7 1 /6 1 , 2310, and SGZ 8, 261-62.
40.
SGZ 1, 10.
41.
HHS 8 9 /7 9 , 2965.
42.
The e s c a p e o f Emperor X ian from Changan i s d e s c r ib e d I n ZZTJ 61, 1964-69 and 1980-81; de C resp lg n y , Last o f the Han, 127-133 and 144-146.
43.
HHS 9, 380; SGZ 1, 1 3-14; ZZTJ 61, 1983-85; de C re sp lg n y , L ast o f the Han, 148-151.
44.
HHS 8 9 /7 9 , 2965.
537 n o te s
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45.
HHS74A/64A, 2382.
46.
SGZ 9, 271; s e e a l s o p .1 6 4
47.
SGZ 1, 45.
48.
HHS8 9 /7 9 , 2965 (b e in g th e l a s t e n tr y I n th e A ccount o f th e Xiongnu o f Hou Han shu); SGZ 1, 47; JS 97, 2 5 4 ^
49.
U chlda, "F iv e T r ib e s " , and Boodberg, "rltoo N o tes", 292. The second o f B oodberg's "N otes" p r e s e n ts a d e t a i l e d and Im a g in a tiv e s t o r y o f th e p o s s ib le r e l a t i o n s h i p s and in h e r i t a n c e o f th e le a d in g gro u p s o f th e Xiongnu from th e tim e o f Q langqu, in c lu d in g th e e v id e n c e t h a t Q ubi, and p o s s ib ly a ls o Q langqu, th e Shanyu who was a s s a s s in a te d i n 188, was l a r g e l y o f C h in ese d e s c e n t ( p p .2 9 3 -2 9 9 ).
50.
Hie P a r a l l e l A nnals o f Liu Yuan, i n JS 101, 2645, re c o rd h i s c la im t o be th e g ran d so n o f th e fo rm er Shanyu Y ufuluo and th e son o f l i u Bao, b u t th e modern s c h o la r Tang Changru h as a rg u e d , i n h i s Wei Jin nanbei chao sh i luncong 396-403, t h a t Liu Yuan was i n f a c t a d e sc e n d an t o f th e Chuge c la n , and was s e e k in g o n ly t o l e g i t i m i s e h i s r i s e t o power by a f a l s e c la im to d e s c e n t from th e a n c ie n t Im p e ria l lin e a g e . See a ls o n o te s 3 and 34 above.
ab o v e.
JS 101 d e s c r ib e s L iu Yuan by h i s s t y l e , a s L iu Y uanhai & **f* . Hie c h a r a c te r Yuan was th e same a s th e p e rs o n a l name o f Li Yuan, f i r s t em peror o f th e Tang d y n a s ty , and th e c o m p ile rs o f th e h i s t o r y t h e r e f o r e av o id ed th e tab o o ( JS 101, 2 644).
N O TE S TO CHAPTER 9
The name o f th e Wuhuan p eo p le may be w r itte n w ith th e C hin ese c h a r a c te r s 3h t i * o r Ä A j ; I t n o rm ally a p p e a rs as l n HHS and a s l n SKC and I t s com m entary. The c h a r a c te r tu I s pronounced I n Modern M andarin a s wan• However, K a rlg re n r e c o n s tr u c ts th e A rc h a ic and A n c le n tp ro n u n c la tlo n o f th e c h a r a c te r s ( GSR 164f) and t u ( GSR 163a) a s I d e n t i c a l , and rem arks t h a t th e modern sound wan f o r tu " I s I r r e g u l a r , we sh o u ld e x p e c t a huan." In t r a n s c r i p t i o n , t h e r e f o r e . I t seems most a p p r o p r ia te t o u s e th e r e n d i t i o n Wuhuan» On th e Wei shu o f Wang Shen, w hich was com piled from o f f i c i a l s o u rc e s a b o u t 255, s e e G a rd in e r and de C re sp lg n y , " T 'a n - s h ih - h u a i" , n o te 1. The s e c t io n on th e Wuhuan I s p re s e rv e d I n th e commentary t o SGZ 30 (Wei 30) , 832-33. See G a rd in e r, "The Rou-Han-shu a s a Source f o r th e E a rly E xpansion o f K oguryo," 186. For th e analogy w ith th e can p alg n o f Cao Cao I n 207, I am a g a in In d e b te d to a p e r s o n a l co m n u n lc a tlo n from Dr G a rd in e r. G a rd in e r and de C re sp lg n y , " T a n - s h ih -h u a i" , 9 -1 0 . G a rd in e r and de C re sp lg n y , " T a n -s h ih -h u a i" , 13 and 16-24, and pp.33 0 -3 3 1 abo v e. S c h r e ib e r , " H s ie n - p i" , 147-162. An e a r l i e r t r a n s l a t i o n was p r e s e n te d by P a rk e r, "The H is to ry o f th e Wu-wan o r Wu-hwan Tunguses o f th e F i r s t C e n tu ry ; Follow ed by T h at o f T h e ir Kinsmen th e S le n -p l" I n China Review XX. S h l r a t o r l , Tôko minzoku led, a l s o T o r i l , "E tudes a rc h é o lo g iq u e s e t e th n o lo g iq u e s " . Cf . YU, Trade and Expansion, 106-107, n o te 67. C lau so n , "T u rk , Mongol, T üngus", 105-119, a rg u e s t h a t th e Wuhuan were a T u rk ish p e o p le , and i n Turkish and Mongolian S tu dies , 19 f o o tn o te , he rem arks t h a t "w h atev er th e 1\mg Hu were e t h n i c a l l y , th e y were c e r t a i n l y n o t TUngus". P u lle y b la n k , "The C h in ese and t h e i r n e ig h b o u rs " . S e c tio n 12, d e v e lo p in g from e v id e n c e and argum ents p re s e n te d by P e l l i o t and L i g e t i , s u g g e s ts t h a t th e TUng Hu w ere p r o to Mongol. However, S c h r e ib e r , "Form er Yen", 389-390, d is c u s s e s th e (p e rh a p s a p o c ry p h a l) s t o r y re c o rd e d i n Shishuo xinyu 27 (C , 7 7 a ); M ather, A New Account o f Tales o f the World 443, t h a t Sima Shao w] % £ 3 , Emperor Ming B)j o f J i n , (r e ig n e d 323-325) , whose m other was a X ia n b i, had l i g h t c o lo u re d h a i r and f o r t h i s re a s o n co u ld be m istak en f o r a X ianbi h im s e lf . As S c h r e ib e r re m a rk s, t h i s re c o rd te n d s to a rg u e a g a i n s t a c o n n e c tio n betw een th e X ianbi and th e M ongols, s in c e b la c k h a i r I s n o rm ally c o n s id e re d a r a c i a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f th e Mongols. See a ls o M aenchen-H elfen, World o f the Runs, 373-374.
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S c h r e ib e r, " H s ie n - p i" , 148-149, n o te 5 The m ou n tain named Wuhuan I s t r a d i t i o n a l l y I d e n t i f i e d w ith th e W ullao f a I f f o r fa ran g e o f th e G reat Xlngan M o u n tain s, on th e f r o n t i e r s o f M anchuria and M ongolia, a t th e n o r th e r n h e a d w a te rs o f th e Liao R iv e r, n e a r 45°N» 119oE. F or an an alo g y to S h l r a t o r l 's s u g g e s tio n o f "w ise" a s a p r i n c e l y t i t l e among n o r th e r n p e o p le s , we may n o te th e W orthy Kings (x iem wang) among th e Xlongnu o f th e Han p e rio d (se e p p . 176-177 a b o v e ). I t sh o u ld be n o te d , how ever, t h a t S h l r a t o r l 's e ty m o lo g ie s , w h ile Im a g in a tiv e , a r e a l s o s u s p e c t. C lau son , "A p ro p o s du m a n u s c rit P e l l l o t t i b é t a i n 1283", 21, h a s su g g e s te d t h a t wuhuan was a C hinese t r a n s c r i p t i o n o f th e T U rkish name Oguz, and th e s u g g e s tio n I s re p e a te d I n " D irk , Mongol, T\m gus", 117. In Turkish and Mongolian S tu d ie s , 20 f o o tn o te , how ever, he o b se rv e s t h a t P ro fe s s o r P u lle y b la n k h a s a d v is e d him t h i s I s Im p o s s ib le . F or h i s own p a r t , P u lle y b la n k h as arg u ed t h a t th e name o f th e Wuhuan may be I d e n t i f i e d w ith t h a t o f th e p e o p le known I n Europe a s A v ars. See h i s a r t i c l e "The C o n so n an tal System o f Old C h in ese, P a rt I I , " 258-259, and "The C hinese and t h e i r N eig h b o u rs", 453-454. Boodberg, "Two N o te s", 306-307, a rg u e s a f u r t h e r p r o p o s itio n : t h a t wuhuan may r e p r e s e n t an " A lta ic " term f o r th e o f f s p r i n g o f a m ixed m a rria g e , and hence th e t r i b a l name e s s e n t i a l l y means " c o n f e d e r a tio n " . As he re m a rk s, th e com m ingling o f p e o p le s I s th e b ig moment I n th e h i s t o r i c a l l i f e o f th e s te p p e , and I t I s th e fo rm a tio n o f th e c o n fe d e rac y o f u n ite d t r i b e s , r a t h e r th a n th e l o c a t i o n and " o r i g i n a l home" o f t h i s o r t h a t group o f nomads, w hich I s o f th e m ajo r Im p o rta n c e .
9.
In Ja n u a ry 1974 th e C h in ese j o u r n a l Wenwu p u b lis h e d a r e p o r t on an E a s te rn Han tomb d is c o v e re d n e a r H o rln g e r, I n n e r M ongolia. Among th e p a in tin g s on th e w a lls o f th e tom b, th e r e a r e s e v e r a l sc e n e s w hich show th e l i f e and costum e o f th e Wuhuan p e o p le , and th e s c h o la r Wu Kongceng h a s p r e s e n te d an a r t i c l e (p p .2 4 -3 0 ) w hich d is c u s s e s th e c lo t h i n g and custom s a s th e y a r e shewn I n th e s e contem porary Illu s tra tio n s . Based upon h i s s tu d y o f one s c e n e , Wu p o in ts o u t (p .2 6 ) t h a t th e Wuhuan shaved th e whole o f th e h e a d , e x c e p tin g o n ly a to p - k n o t, o r s h o r t queue a t th e to p . He o b se rv e s t h a t th e Wuhuan a r e shown a s b a re -h e a d e d , b u t on th e p a r t i c u l a r o c c a s io n I l l u s t r a t e d I n th e p a i n t i n g t h i s was e v id e n tly d e sig n e d t o show s u b s e rv ie n c e to th e a u t h o r i t y o f th e C hinese governm ent. Die Guangzhi o f Guo Ylgong f p f a J r o f J in (p re s e rv e d I n Yuhan shanfang j i y i shu 74) rem arks t h a t th e Wuhan and t h e Xlongnu co v ered t h e i r heads
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w ith wooden cap s p a in te d r e d , and Wu s u g g e s ts t h a t t h i s h ead g ear was p ro b a b ly made o f b lr c h b a r k . Wu goes on t o p o in t o u t t h a t th e custom o f sh a v in g th e head o f a l l h a i r e x c e p t th e to p -k n o t c l e a r l y d i s tin g u is h e s th e Wuhuan (an d , by e x te n s io n , th e r e l a t e d X lan b l, who a r e s a id to have fo llo w e d much th e same custom s) from th e K ltan p e o p le , fo u n d e rs o f th e L iao d y n a sty I n th e te n t h c e n tu r y . The K lta n s a r e d e s c r ib e d a s sh a v in g th e crown o f th e head ( l i k e th e to n s u r e o f a W estern monk) b u t le a v in g th e h a i r o f th e r e s t o f th e head to grow lo n g . The two h a i r - s t y l e s , o f th e W uhuan/Xlanbl on th e one hand and o f th e K lta n s on th e o t h e r , a r e e v id e n tly d e sig n e d f o r o p p o s ite e f f e c t ; and I f th e custom s w ere so d i f f e r e n t th e n I t I s m ost u n lik e ly t h a t th e p e o p le s had a c lo s e r e l a t i o n s h i p o r d e s c e n t. S c h r e ib e r , "Former Yen", 390, a rg u e s , how ever, t h a t th e r e a r e s e v e r a l r e f e r e n c e s to th e Murong r u l e r s o f t h a t X lanbl 8 t ä t e w e a rin g t h e i r h a i r lo n g . The fa m ily name Murong, In d e e d , I s s a id by t r a d i t i o n t o have come from a v a r i a n t p ro n u n c ia tio n o f th e p h ra s e buyao, w hich was g iv e n th e c h i e f t a i n Mohuba 1 , a le a d e r o f th e X lanbl I n th e f i r s t h a l f o f th e t h i r d c e n tu r y , b ecau se he adm ired and ad o p ted a t a l l , f u l l , h a i r s t y l e (s e e n o te 10 f o llo w in g ) . In th e s e c irc u m s ta n c e s I t may be t h a t a t l e a s t one group o f th e X lanbl had changed t h e i r manner o f h a l r - d r e s s l n g d u rin g th e c o u rs e o f th e t h i r d c e n tu r y . On th e b a s i s o f such e v id e n c e , S c h r e ib e r , "Former Yen", f o o tn o te 38, r e j e c t s th e s ta te m e n ts o f E b e rh a rd , TobaReich Nordchinasy 356, and S h l r a t o r i , "Queue". These s c h o l a r s , how ever, were presum ably b a sin g t h e i r rem arks to some e x t e n t upon th e p r e s e n t p a s s a g e , w hich S c h re ib e r h im s e lf h a s t r a n s l a t e d , w ith o u t comment, I n h is " H s ie n -p l" , 151, and th e y a r e , on th e w hole, s u p p o rte d by th e e v id e n c e o f th e H o rln g er p a i n t i n g s . From th e somewhat c o n tr a d ic to r y I n fo rm a tio n , how ever, I t may be t h a t a t l e a s t th e Murong c la n o f th e X lanbl had changed t h e i r manner o f h a l r - d r e s s l n g d u rin g th e c o u rs e o f th e t h i r d c e n tu r y . 10.
The d e s c r i p t i o n h e re com pares th e h e a d -d re s s o f Wuhuan m a tro n s, th e name o f which I s tr a n s c r ib e d by th e c h a r a c te r s goujue , w ith th e fo rm a l women's c o i f f u r e I n China known a s guan buyao (fiel shu) o r gul buyao (HHS 9 0 /8 0 ). The commentary o f LI Xian to th e p a ssa g e I n HHS 90/80 n o te s t h a t th e c h a r a c te r gul may a ls o be w r i t t e n a s , and goes on to r e f e r to th e T r e a t i s e o f C a rria g e s and C lo th in g (yufu zh l ) o f Xu Han shu (HHS 120/30, 3 676). The name o f th e s t y l e I s e x p la in e d by L iu XI o f Han, I n Shi mlng 4, 35b: th e h a i r was d re s s e d h ig h and hung w ith s t r i n g s o f p e a r ls t h a t tre m b le d ( yao) a t e v e ry s te p (bu) th e w e a re r to o k . An I l l u s t r a t i o n o f th e s t y l e I s o f f e r e d by Chang Mo-yuan, Hanchao fuzhuang tuyang z ll l a o 9 122 f ig u r e 68.
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P u lle y b la n k , "The C h in ese and t h e i r N eighbours I n P r e h i s t o r i c T im es", S e c tio n 12, s u g g e s ts t h a t th e p h ra se t r a n s c r i b e d a s goujue ( o r jujue) r e p r e s e n ts th e M ongolian work kökul , and he I d e n t i f i e s I t w ith th e M ongolian h e a d - d r e s s f o r women, a t a l l horned c a p , w hich was sp re a d o v e r A sia th ro u g h th e co n q u e sts o f Genghis Khan, becom ing p o p u la r I n l a t e M edieval Europe u n d er th e name o f hennin, and I n C hina, w here I t was known a s th e gugu (and by o t h e r t r a n s c r i p t i o n s ) . JS 108, 2803, a t th e b e g in n in g o f th e P a r a l l e l Annals o f th e Murong p e o p le o f th e X la n b l, e x p la in s th e name o f th e c la n a s a s o u b r iq u e t b ased upon th e c h i e f t a i n Mohuba's a d o p tio n o f th e buyao h a i r s t y l e a b o u t th e m id d le o f th e t h i r d c e n tu r y . He saw th e h a i r s t y l e d u rin g h i s d e a lin g s w ith th e p e o p le o f Yan jfe and Dai -f-V i n th e n o r th e a s t o f China P ro p e r: th e s e may have been t r u e C hinese o r p o s s ib ly Wuhuan. See n o te 9 p re c e d in g .
HHS 90/80 and o th e r s o u r c e s , s t a t e s p e c i f i c a l l y t h a t th e X lanbl d i f f e r e d from th e Wuhuan i n t h i s one r e s p e c t: X lanbl m atrons d id n o t grow t h e i r h a i r , b u t shaved t h e i r heads l i k e t h e i r m en fo lk . If i t i s t r u e t h a t Murong Mohuba ad o p te d t h i s s t y l e f o r h im s e lf , th e r e was a t l e a s t no s e x i s t i m p lic a tio n from th e X lan b l t r a d i t i o n . As S c h r e ib e r , "Former Yen", 393-393, p o in ts o u t, how ever, th e r e i s a l s o a s t o r y t h a t th e p h ra se murong was chosen a s a m o tto : t h a t th e c h i e f t a i n p roposed to em ulate (mu) th e b r i g h t a p p e a ra n c e ( rong ) o f th e T hree L u m in a rie s, th e s u n , th e moon and c o n s t e l l a t i o n s . M oreover, s in c e th e name Murong a p p e a rs among th e l i s t o f s u b o rd in a te le a d e r s to T an sh ih u ai i n th e second h a l f o f th e second c e n tu r y , o v e r f i f t y y e a r s b e fo re Mohuba was su p posed t o have been th e cau se o f th e nicknam e b e in g c o in e d , i t i s h ard to d e c id e w hich o f th e v a r io u s r a m i f i c a t i o n s o f th e d i f f e r e n t t r a d i t i o n s may be u s e f u l l y a c c e p te d . 11.
The i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f th e c h a r a c t e r yi a s a s tr in g e d arro w i s su g g e s te d by S c h r e ib e r , " H s ie n -p i" , 149 n o te 6, b ased on C ouvreur, D ictionnaire classiqu e •
12.
A b r i e f p a ssa g e on t h i s p o in t i n th e Wei shu o f Wang Shen h as been a so u rc e o f some c o n fu s io n . The t e x t q u o ted i n th e commentary to SGZ 30, 832 (ig n o rin g th e p u n c tu a tio n , on w hich s e e b e lo w ), re a d s a s fo llo w s :
jfc. is & * p i i f * tfl Taiping yulan 844, l a , h as a v e ry s i m i l a r p a s s a g e , a s c r ib e d t o th e Wei lue o f Yu Huan o f th e t h i r d c e n tu r y , w hich d i f f e r s o n ly by th e o m issio n o f th e c h a r a c te r mi ^ The b a s ic t r a n s l a t i o n o f th e p a ssa g e may be ta k e n a s :
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[The Wuhuan] can make w h ite w ine [from th e dongqiang p la n t? ] b u t th e y do n o t know how to p re p a re ' s t a r t e r ' For fe rm e n tin g g r a in ( n i e mi or sim p ly n ie ) th e y alw ays lo o k to C hina. The B e ijin g p u n c tu a te d e d i t i o n o f SGZ has an a l t e r n a t i v e re a d in g f o r t h i s p a s s a g e , w ith th e p u n c tu a tio n b e fo re th e c h a r a c t e r mi• T his would g iv e a re n d e rin g : . . . t h e y do n o t know how t o p re p a re y e a s t fe rm e n ta tio n f o r th e ' s t a r t e r ' . For r i c e [and f o r o th e r c ro p s a p a r t from th e m i l l e t and th e dongqiang] th e y alw ays lo o k to C hina. T h is i n t e r p r e t a t i o n i s fo llo w e d by S c h re ib e r, " H s ie n -p i" , 153, b u t i n th e l i g h t o f th e p a r a l l e l p a ssa g e qu o ted by Taiping yulan, th e re a d in g seems im p ro b ab le. We a r e t o l d , th e n , t h a t th e Wuhuan co u ld make a w h ite wine a s w e ll a s th e kum iss m entioned ab ove. They d id n o t, how ever, know how to p re p a re ' s t a r t e r ' . In h i s e s s a y on Han C hina i n Food in Chinese Culture , a t 6 8 -6 9 , Y ln g -sh lh Yu n o te s t h a t th e Han C hinese e v id e n tly re c o g n is e d two a l c o h o l i c b e v e ra g e s: l i a ! and j i u • Li was a w h ite d r in k , which co u ld a p p a r e n tly be made o v e r n ig h t, and w hich d id n o t r e q u ir e a g r e a t d e a l o f Inoculum , o r ' s t a r t e r ' ( e . g . Yan Shigu commentary t o HS 36, 1 9 1 3 -1 4 ). In d eed , s in c e te m p e ra tu re i s o f m ajor im p o rtan ce f o r f e r m e n ta tio n , a low o v e rn ig h t te n p e r a tu r e and l i t t l e s t a r t e r would s u g g e s t t h a t l i was v i r t u a l l y n o n a l c h o l i c (P e rs o n a l com m unication from P ro fe s s o r John A. M llb u rn , U n iv e r s ity o f New E n g la n d ). Ih e p r e p a r a tio n complex and to o k a c e r t a i n l y s tr o n g e r seems t o have been
o f J iu , how ever, was c o n s id e ra b ly more lo n g e r tim e . I t was a c l e a r d r in k , and th a n l i . Among th e Han C h in ese, jiu a more p o p u la r d rin k th a n l i .
For such a d r in k a s J i u , a good ' s t a r t e r ' would be n e c e s s a ry i n o r d e r t o e n s u re th e developm ent o f th e a p p r o p r ia te b a c t e r i a l a c tio n and p re v e n t th e a c c id e n ta l p ro d u c tio n o f unw anted compounds w ith u n d e s ir a b le s i d e e f f e c t s . While th e m an u factu re o f a m ild ly a lc o h o lic d rin k would be w ith in th e t e c h n i c a l c a p a c ity o f th e Wuhuan, i t i s q u i t e p o s s ib le t h a t th e C hinese co u ld have found a m arket f o r a p u r e r , r e l i a b l e ' s t a r t e r ' w hich would encourage and c o n tr o l th e lo n g e r-te rm f e rm e n ta tio n p ro c e s s i n th e p r e p a r a tio n o f a s tr o n g e r d r i n k . I t would seem , th e n , t h a t th e "w hite w ine" made by th e Wuhuan was p ro b a b ly a form o f l i , and t h i s and kum iss were t h e i r l o c a l d r i n k s . Since th e y r e l i e d upon o n ly a s h o r t p e r io d o f f e r m e n ta tio n , th e q u a n tity and q u a l i t y o f th e ' s t a r t e r ' were n o t m a tte rs o f m ajor c o n c e rn . The Wuhuan h ad , how ever, a c q u ire d a t a s t e f o r th e C hinese J i u w ine, and th e y were an x io u s t o Im port th e fe rm e n tin g r i c e to be used a s a ' s t a r t e r ' i n th e p r e p a r a tio n o f t h i s b ev erag e. See a l s o YÜ, Trade and Expansion, 107.
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13.
HHS 8 7 /7 7 , 2869.
14.
For a co m p a ra tiv e s tu d y , s e e T r y j a r s k i , "The Dog i n th e T \irkic A rea"; q u o tin g a t p.301 Roux, Faune e t flo re sa crées , 142 and 209. A s i m i l a r p a t t e r n o f ceremony has been re c o rd e d among In d o n e sia n p e o p le s , e s p e c i a l l y th e Amara8i o f Timor: s e e K ru y t, "De hond i n de g e esten w ev eld d e r In d o n e s ie n s " , 580-581.
15.
For th e c l a s s i c d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h i s a s p e c t o f C hinese b e l i e f s c o n c e rn in g th e d e a d , se e Chavannes, Le T 'a i chan9 398-400.
16.
S im ila r la c k o f r e s p e c t f o r th e aged was o b serv ed among th e Xiongnu: SJ 110, 2879, and HS 94A, 3743; W atson, RGH I I , 156, and De G ro o t, Hunnen, 3.
17.
The phrase used here in Wei shu and in HHS 9 0 /8 0 , 2979, i s dunju f t t t ( Wei shu, r e v e r se order in HHS), w hich i s p ro b a b ly a d e ro g a to ry te rm , c o n tr a s tin g th e c a s u a l and u n co u th Wuhuan p o s i t i o n w ith th e fo rm a l s i t t i n g o r k n e e lin g o f th e C h in ese.
18.
In a n th ro p o lo g y , t h i s i s re g a rd e d a s a c l a s s i c exchange o f goods on th e o c c a s io n o f m a rria g e : li v e s t o c k a s th e b r i d e p r i c e and h o u seh o ld goods f o r th e dowry. A r e l a t e d form o f m a rria g e i s d e s c rib e d i n th e Account o f th e p e o p le o f G aogoull i n SKC 30, 844. There i t i s s a id t h a t when a g i r l becomes o f m a rria g e a b le a g e , h e r p a r e n ts b u ild a h u t f o r h e r b e h in d th e fa m ily d w e llin g . When a s u i t o r comes, he a s k s p e rm is s io n to s h a re h e r q u a r t e r s , and a f t e r two o r th r e e tim e s h i s r e q u e s t i s g r a n te d . He th e n p re p a re s th e b r id e p r i c e , b u t i t i s n o t u n t i l th e co u p le have b o rn e a c h i l d , and t h a t c h i l d i s f u l l grown t o a d u l t hood, t h a t th e husband ta k e s h i s w ife back t o h i s own home. T h is form o f u x o r i l o c a l r e s id e n c e i s d e s c rib e d disapprov*in g ly by th e C hinese a s "a v ery lewd custom" ( q l su yin ). S im ila r p a t t e r n s o f b r i d e - s e r v i c e a r e w e ll known e ls e w h e re , how ever, and a c e le b r a te d exam ple i n W estern t r a d i t i o n i s t h a t o f Ja c o b , who worked f o r h i s f a t h e r - i n - l a w Laban as a s e r v a n t , f i r s t f o r sev en y e a rs to e a rn th e hand o f L eah, and th e n a n o th e r sev en f o r R ebecca, th e woman he r e a l l y w anted ( Genesis 2 9 ).
19.
A s i m i l a r custom was a l s o d e s c r ib e d among th e Xiongnu: SJ 110, 2879, and HHS 94A, 3743; W atson, RGH I I , 156 and de G ro o t, Hunnen, 3. Cf. Deuteronomy 25, 5 -1 0 ; Ruth 3 , 13 and 4, 3 -1 4 .
20.
F or a th e o ry on th e econom ic and h i s t o r i c a l s i g n i f i c a n c e o f th e p o s i t i o n o f women among th e nomad p a s t o r a l p e o p le s o f M anchuria and M ongolia, s e e L a ttlm o re , Inner Asian F rontiers , 111-112 and 293-295.
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21.
On th e y i and l u o g ro u p s d e s c r ib e d by th e C h inese among th e n o r th e r n p e o p le s , s e e p .1 7 9 above and n o te 16 t o C hapter 5.
22«
À s i m i l a r custom was o b se rv e d among t h e Q iang. In th e l a t t e r p a r t o f th e f i r s t c e n tu ry BC, f o r exam ple, th e Yan t r i b e changed i t s name t o Shaodang i n honour of a w a rle a d e r: s e e p p .65-66 and 78 ab o v e.
23.
SJ 110, 2 89, and HS 94A, 3750; W atso n ,, RGH I I , 161-162, De G ro o t, Hunnen, 5 1 -5 2 .
24.
For a su rv e y o f t h i s m i l i t a r y p o lic y and i t s ach ievem ents see Loewe, "Campaigns o f Han W u -tl".
25.
HHS 9 0 /8 0 , 2981.
26.
The t i t l e o f G eneral Who C ro sse s th e L iao [R iv er] (d u Liao jiangjun ^ fl:} JJL ) was e v id e n tly g iv en to Fan Mingy ou f o r t h i s p a r t i c u l a r cam paign, w hich was In d eed u n d e rta k e n i n th e g e n e r a l a r e a o f th e Liao R iv e r, i n th e n o r th e a s t o f China P ro p e r. In L a te r Han, th e p o s t was e s ta b lis h e d w ith command o f a g a r r is o n i n Wuyan commandery to c o n tr o l th e Xiongnu in th e re g io n o f th e Ordos lo o p o f th e Yellow R iv e r. On t h i s d ev elo p m en t, se e p p .252-253 and 85-86 ab o v e.
27.
The cam paign i s m entioned i n th e A nnals o f Emperor Zhao, HS 7, 229-30; Dubs, HERD I I , 168-171. A more d e t a i l e d a c c o u n t o f th e d is c u s s io n a t c o u r t i s g iv e n i n HS 94A, 3784; De G ro o t, Hunnen, 190-192. C u rio u s ly , w h ile HHS 9 0 /8 0 , 2981, d a te s t h i s i n c id e n t by th e r e ig n o f Emperor Zhao o f Han, th e Wei shu of Wang Shen, i n a p a r a l l e l p a s s a g e , r e f e r s to i s a s ta k in g p la c e i n th e tim e of Xiongnu Shanyu Huyand i $ £ î • There i s no d is c re p a n c y f o r th e d a te o f 78 BC, b u t th e d a tin g sy stem i s d i f f e r e n t .
28.
e . g . HS 7 ,2 3 2 ; Dubs, HFHD I I , 178.
29.
HHS 9 0 /8 0 , 2981.
30.
HS 94A, 3787; De G ro o t, Hunnen, 199.
31.
HS 94A, 3790; De G ro o t, Hunnen, 207.
32.
See p p .199-200 above.
33.
See p p .201-203 above.
34.
See p p .203-204 ab o v e.
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35.
HS 99B, 4121: Dabs, HFHD I I , 305-306. A ccording t o t h i s t e x t , th e h e a d q u a r te rs o f Zhuang Yu were in Dal commander y , though HHS 9 0 /8 0 ,2 9 8 1 , d e s c r ib in g th e r o l e o f th e Wuhan, say s t h a t th e b ase was i n Yuyang. His command e v id e n tly ex ten d ed e a stw a rd s to M anchuria ( s e e HS 99B, 4130; Dubs, HFHD I I I , 3 2 5 ).
36
HHS 9 0 /8 0 , 2981. A lthough Yu, Trade and Expansion in Han China9 8 4 -8 5 , s u g g e s ts t h a t t h i s in s ta n c e o f h o s ta g e s ta k e n from th e Wuhan may i n d i c a t e a g e n e r a l r u l e o f demanding h o s ta g e s from n on-C hinese tr o o p s , i t would seem t h a t th e exam ple t h a t Wang Mang’s p o lic y (and th e o th e r exam ple t h a t Yü p r e s e n t s , o f Cao Cao d e a lin g w ith th e Xiongnu i n 207) i s to o p a r t i c u l a r to be th e b a s is f o r assum ing a g e n e r a l r u l e . C e r ta in ly , i n t h i s in s t a n c e , th e p o lic y f a i l e d .
37.
HS 94B, 3826; and s e e ab o v e, p p .208-209 and 215-216. C f . B i e l e n s t e i n , RHD I I I , 96.
38.
HHS 9 0 /8 0 , 2982. A lthough th e t e x t re a d s a s i f “W hite M ountains" (ß o shan ^ ) was an a c t u a l p la c e , i t i s p o s s ib le t h a t i t was no more th a n th e name o f a p a r t i c u l a r group o f th e Wuhan. We re a d l a t e r o f a group c a l l e d a f t e r th e Bed M ountains ( Chi shan)9 w hich has a lre a d y been d e s c rib e d a s th e home o f th e dead in Wuhan r e l i g i o n (pp.377 below and 363 a b o v e ).
39.
HHS 1 9 /9 , 705.
40.
HHS 1 8 /8 , 679; th e s e Wuhan a r e d e s c r ib e d a s t u j i Shock c a v a lr y •
41.
HHS 2 0 /1 0 , 737.
42.
B ie le n s te in , rhd I I I , 113; and
43.
The Biography o f Wang Ba i s
44.
The B iography o f Z hai Tong i s i n HHS 2 0 /1 0 , 744-46. See a ls o G ard in er and de C resp ig n y , " T 'a n - s h i h - h u a i" , 4, and p.291 above.
45.
HHS 2 4 /1 4 , 842 ( t h e B iography o f Ma Yuan); a ls o p .2 2 6 above.
46.
B i e l e n s t e i n , RHD I I I , 115.
47.
See p p . 108-109 above.
48.
B i e l e n s t e i n , RHD I I I , 72.
49.
HHS 9 0 /8 0 , 2982.
50.
HHS 2 0 /1 0 , 745, and s e e pp. 236 and 291 ab o v e.
p .2 2 4 above. in HHS 20 /1 0 ,
734-38.
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51.
HHS 77. A d e s c r i p t i o n o f Fuyu, w hich la y n o r th o f Xuantu commander y , i n th e e a s t e r n p a r t o f p r e s e n t-d a y Manchuria» i s c o n ta in e d i n th e A ccount o f th e E a s te r n B a rb a ria n s l n HHS 8 5 /7 5 , 2810-12, and SGZ 30, 833 com m entary.
52
HHS 9 0 /8 0 , 2982; Wei shu o f Wang Shen i n SGZ 30, 833 commentary. HHS IB, 76 and 77, h as two s e p a r a te r e f e r e n c e s to v i s i t s to th e im p e r ia l c o u r t by le a d e r s o f th e Wuhan i n t h i s y e a r . This may be th e r e s u l t o f sim p le d ltto g r a p h y , b u t th e Kaoyi o f Sima Guang t o ZZTJ 44, 1413, s u g g e s ts t h a t th e f i r s t v i s i t , i n th e s p r in g , was made by th e le a d e r s a lo n e , w h ile on th e second o c c a s io n th e y were accom panied by t h e i r f o llo w e r s . The Bona e d i t i o n o f SGZ g iv e s th e second c h a r a c te r o f th e name o f Wuhan le a d e r a s JL ju , b u t HHS 90/80 and ZZTJ 44 have jgL dan• Cf • S c h re ib e r " H s ie n - p i" , 157.
53.
B i e l e n s t e i n , RHD 111, 130. Of c o u rs e , i f th e f i g u r e o f Wuhan le a d e r s was only 922, a s
HHS 90/8 0 would I n d i c a t e , th e n a l l e s tim a te s must be d iv id e d by te n . I t would be my i n c l i n a t i o n , how ever, to a c c e p t th e round number o f n in e tho u san d g iv e n by Wang Shen, and t o I n t e r p r e t th e 922 o f HHS 90/80 e i t h e r a s a more a c c u r a te f i g u r e , p erh ap s 9 ,0 2 2 , w ith th e c h a r a c te r m is w ritte n a s "Ö , o r p e rh a p s a s a s ta te m e n t o f th e number who a c t u a l l y came t o th e c a p i t a l , w h ile th e r e s t o f th e n in e tho u san d p e tty le a d e r s rem ained i n camp n e a r th e f r o n t i e r . 54.
On th e e a r l i e r m em orial, s e e HHS 87111, 2878, and p p .8 2 -8 3 above. On th e new ap p o in tm en t o f a P r o te c to r o f th e Wuhan, se e HHS 9 0 /8 0 , 2982.
55.
S ech in J a g c h id , "T rad e, Peace and W ar", and " O b je c tiv e s o f W arfare".
56.
Yu, Trade and Expansion, 188, r e f e r s s p e c i f i c a l l y to th e p e rv a s iv e n e s s o f th e t r i b u t a r y sy stem as a d o m in atin g f a c t o r i n th e domain o f f o r e ig n r e l a t i o n s " , and goes on to rem ark t h a t a lm o st a l l k in d s o f S ln o -b a rb a rla n econom ic r e l a t i o n s were h a rn e s s e d i n one way o r a n o th e r t o t h i s sy stem , even such a p p a r e n tly n o n tr ib u ta r y form s a s th e s i l k t r a d e .
57.
The In n e r M ongolia A rc h e o lo g ic a l Team and th e Museum o f th e In n e r M ongolia Autonomous R egion, "An Im p o rtan t E a s te rn Han Tomb w ith W all P a in tin g s Found a t H o lin g o l, In n e r M ongolia". Supplem entary a r t i c l e s a r e c o n tr ib u te d by Wu Rongceng on l i f e i n E a s te rn Han s o c i e t y a s r e f l e c t e d i n th e w a ll p o in tin g s (s e e a ls o n o te 9 a b o v e );b y Luo Zhiwen on some o f th e a n c ie n t b u ild in g s i n th e p a i n t i n g s , in c lu d in g th e h e a d q u a r te rs o f th e P r o te c to r a t Nlng and th e Juyong P a ss; Huang Shengzhang on some h i s t o r i c a l and g e o g ra p h ic a l problem s ; and J i n Welnuo on th e d a tin g o f th e tomb.
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F u r th e r i l l u s t r a t i o n s a r e p u b lis h e d i n Han-Tang bihua ^ ’’M urals from th e Han to th e Tang D ynasty", B e ijin g , 1974. 58.
T his i d e n t i f i c a t i o n how ever, i s now i n d o u b t: p e rs o n a l com m unication from P ro fe s s o r ü ian g Shengzhang.
59.
HHS 2, 99; HHS 2 0 /1 0 , 745, HHS 9 0 /8 0 , 2985-86; SGZ 30, 837, commentary q u o tin g th e Wei shu o f Wang Shen. Wang Shen adds th e in f o r m a tio n t h a t th e le a d e r o f th e Red M ountain group was Q inzhiben 4X, a man o f Yuyang commandery ; commandery; HHS 9 0 /8 0 w r i t e s th e name a s Xin z h ib e n . The w r itin g o f th e two v a r i a n t c h a r a c te r s i s v e ry c l o s e , and th e a n c ie n t p r o n u n c ia tio n was a l s o s i m i l a r : se e GSR 652 f and 653j . B i e l e n s t e i n , RHD I I I , 131, te n d s t o i n t e r p r e t t h i s s e r i e s o f r a i d s a s a s ig n t h a t th e Wuhan were s t i l l h o s t i l e ; i t seems more a p p r o p r ia te to r e g a r d th e Red M ountain group a s an i s o l a t e d e x c e p tio n to th e g e n e r a l p a c i f i c a t i o n w hich had been a c h ie v e d by th e s e ttle m e n t u n d e r Guangwu.
60.
See p p .73-74 above.
61.
See th e r e p o r t o f T ia n Chou t o Cao Cao i n 207, t r a n s l a t e d below on p .4 0 8 . A lthough i t a p p e a rs t h a t th e m a jo r ity o f c o u n tie s a lo n g th e n o r th e r n f r o n t i e r were d i s e s t a b l i s h e d i n th e tim e of Emperor Guangwu ( HHS 109/19, 3 3 8 5 ), we a r e t o l d i n th e commentary o f Yan Shigu to HS 28B, 1624, q u o tin g th e second c e n tru y s c h o la r Ying Shao, t h a t th e co u n ty o f Huayan i n Yuyang, w hich had been lo c a te d s o u th o f Chengde, had i t s name changed to Yan ÿfc by Emperor Ming, I t would seem t h a t t h i s one p la c e , a t l e a s t , r e t a i n e d i t s s t a t u s a s a co u n ty f o r a few y e a rs a f t e r th e end o f th e r e ig n o f Guangwu.
62.
HHS 117/2 7 , 3612-13, and s e e p .4 5 ab o v e.
63.
HHS IB, 53 and 66.
64.
HHS 2 2 /1 2 , 786; HHS 2 3 /1 3 , 810: HHS 8 9 /7 9 , 2949. p p.259 and 264 abo v e.
65.
HHS 8 9 /7 9 , 2956; HHS 101/11, 3238.
See a ls o
For a h e l p f u l p r e s e n t a t i o n o f d a ta on L a te r Han cam paigns u s in g n o n -C h in ese a u x i l i a r i e s , s e e H slng I - t ' i e n , "The B a rb a ria n S o ld ie r s i n th e L a te r Han D ynasty". 66.
SGZ 30, 883, commentary q u o tin g th e Weishu o f Wang Shen; c f. HHS 9 0 /8 0 , 2983.
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67.
O bserve, f o r exam ple, th e s i t u a t i o n I n 87, a f t e r th e X ianbl d e f e a t o f th e N o rth ern XLongnu changed a lle g ia n c e and were c o n s id e re d t h e r e a f t e r a s trib e s m e n o f th e X ian b l: HHS 9 0 /8 0 , 2986, and ab o v e, p .2 9 5 . I t I s v e ry l i k e l y t h a t th o se Wuhan who had n o t a c c e p te d th e s u z e r a in ty o f Han and had rem ained beyond th e f r o n t i e r s had a ls o been I n c o rp o ra te d g r a d u a lly I n t o th e ra n k s o f th e X ia n b l.
68.
HHS 9 0 /8 0 , 2987; S c h r e ib e r , " H s ie n - p i" , 176.
69.
On th e c a r e e r o f Q lz h ljla n , s e e p p .299-303 above.
70.
On Rongzhuhul, se e n o te 31 to C hapter 7.
71.
On th e t r a n s l a t i o n o f th e p r e f i x shuaizhong Jt. , s e e n o te 20 to C hapter 7. The s p e c i a l t i t l e had been awarded by th e C hinese on e a r l i e r o c c a s io n s t o n o ta b le Wuhan l e a d e r s , and HHS 9 0 /8 0 , 2988, o b se rv e s t h a t some Wuhan a t t h i s tim e were made c h i e f s o r e l d e r s (zhang^K) Who Lead T h e ir P e o p le , so th e p r e f i x was e v id e n tly an a c c o la d e o f honour w hich m ight be g ra n te d t o a c h i e f t a i n o f any g ra d e . In th e tim e o f Emperor Guangwu, when Haodan and h is fe llo w s came t o pay t r i b u t e , we a r e t o l d t h a t th e y were g iv e n t i t l e s a s m a rq u ise s, k in g s , lo r d s and e l d e r s ( ) , presum ably I n t h a t o r d e r o f rank ( HHS 9 0 /8 0 , 2982) The p reced en ce o f m arquis o v e r a k in g among th e s e n o r th e r n b a r b a r ia n s i s n o t e n t i r e l y s u r p r i s i n g , f o r th e Han governm ent on o th e r o c c a sio n s used th e s e a l o f m arquis a s a s ig n o f s p e c i a l l n p e r i a l fa v o u r to a b a r b a r ia n c h i e f t a i n , i n d i c a t i n g h i s p a r t i c u l a r l o y a lty to Han, w h ile th e s e a l o f a k in g m erely re c o g n ise d a c h i e f t a i n 's p o s i t i o n among h i s own p e o p le . In 114, f o r exam ple, th e c h i e f t a i n Haoduo 5: , le a d e r o f th e D angjian t r i b e o f th e Q lang, s u rre n d e re d t o Han and was g ra n te d th e t i t l e o f m arquis ( HHS 87/ 7 7 , 2889, and p.1 0 7 a b o v e ). Compare a ls o th e custom i n n in e te e n th c e n tu ry A u s t r a l i a o f r e c o g n is in g th e p e t t y c h i e f t a i n s o f t r i b e s o f A b o rig in e s w ith such t i t l e s a s "King B illy " and "Queen T ru g a n in i" . By th e second c e n tu r y , how ever. I t a p p e a rs t h a t th e p o s itio n o f King among th e Wuhan was re c o g n is e d as b e in g h ig h e r th a n t h a t o f m a rq u is, w h ile th e ap p o in tm en t o f Fushuguan a s Lord ( ju n ) % Who Leads h i s People was p ro b a b ly a mark o f ran k h ig h e r th a n a k in g , a lm o st com parable t o R ongzhuhul's p o s i t i o n a s C h ief Commandant• On th e o th e r hand, how ever, r e g a r d le s s o f C hinese id e a s o f s y s te m a tiz a tio n , I t I s most u n lik e ly t h a t th e Wuhan had a ch iev ed any s o p h i s t i c a t e d o r perm anent p o l i t i c a l s t r u c t u r e . T h e ir community was e v id e n tly s t i l l a rra n g e d around a number o f c h i e f t a i n s , each r e ly in g p r im a r ily on h i s p e rs o n a l c a p a c i t i e s fo r le a d e rs h ip .
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72.
Geng Ye was a member o f th e g r e a t f a m ily , and a son o f Geng Bu , who had been k i l l e d i n th e u n s u c c e s s fu l a t t a c k on th e r e b e l Qiang i n 115 ( s e e p .1 0 8 a b o v e ). He i s m entioned i n HHS 1 9 /9 , 724.
73.
HHS 8 9 /7 9 , 2960; HHS 9 0 /8 0 , 2983, and s e e p p .306-313 ab o v e.
74.
On th e Han r e g u l a t i o n f o r b id d in g p e o p le o f th e b o rd e r r e g io n s from moving to l i v e i n th e in n e r commanderies o f th e e m p ire , s e e th e B iography o f Zhang Huan, HHS 6 5 /5 5 , 2140, and p.327 ab o v e.
75.
The b io g r a p h ie s o f Huangfu Gui and Zhang Huan a r e i n HHS 6 5 /5 5 , 2129-37 and 2138-45. See a ls o p p .318-329 ab o v e.
76.
On th e X iuchuge, o r Chuge, t r i b e o f th e X iongnu, s e e n o te 3 to C hapter 8.
77.
HHS 6 5 /5 5 , 2139, and p p .318-319 above.
78.
HHS 6 5 /5 5 , 2139-40, and p p .323-324 ab o v e.
79.
HHS 9 0 /8 0 , 2984. In th e n e x t p a ra g ra p h i t i s re c o rd e d t h a t Q iu liju d ie d i n th e e a r l y 190s, w h ile th e o th e r th r e e w ere a c t i v e f o r some y e a r s more. The name o f Supuyan may a ls o be w r itte n as Supuwan/huan o r Sufuw an/huan ( SGZ 1, 29, and SGZ 30, 8 3 5 ). Here I fo llo w th e re a d in g o f HHS 9 0 /8 0 , w hich a g re e s w ith SGZ 30, 834. Though we a r e n o t g iv e n f u r t h e r d e t a i l s o f th e t i t l e s ta k e n by Nanlou and Q i u l i j u , Supuyan i s som etim es known as King Qiao uOj 3, , th e "S ev ere" k in g , and Wuyan c a l l e d h im se lf th e Hanlu \ k in g , hanlu b e in g p erh ap s a t r a n s c r i p t i o n o f a Wuhan term , p o s s ib ly a t i t l e a k in to Shanyu o r "khan".
80.
On t h i s cam paign and i t s a f te r m a th , se e pp.340-342 ab o v e, and G a rd in e r and de C re sp ig n y , " T 'a n - s h ih - h u a i" , 37-39.
81.
Much o f th e h i s t o r y o f t h i s p e rio d i s d e s c rib e d i n ZZTJ, t r a n s l a t e d i n de C re sp ig n y , Last o f the Han. U nless i t i s n e c e s s a ry f o r s p e c i f i c p o i n t s , I s h a l l n o t r e f e r to each e n tiy i n ZZTJ o r i n Last o f the Han, w hich l a t t e r h a s a d e t a i l e d in d e x .
82.
A lthough th e m ajo r a c t i v i t y o f th e Yellow IXxrbans to o k p la c e i n th e c e n tr e and so u th o f th e N orth China P la in , t h e r e was one gro u p o f Yellow T urbans i n Guangjang commandery who d e f e a te d and k i l l e d th e l o c a l Grand A d m in is tra to r and th e I n s p e c to r o f You p ro v in c e (HHS 8 , 3 4 9 ).
83.
HHS 4 8 /3 8 , 1609-10 (th e B iography o f Ying Shao). The B iography o f Huangfu Song i s i n HHS 71/61, 2299-2307. On th e r e b e l l i o n in Liang p ro v in c e , s e e p p .! 4 6 f f . ab ove.
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84.
T here a r e b io g r a p h ie s o f Gongsun Zan I n HUS 7 3 /6 3 , 235766, and SGZ 8, 239-47. The s t o r y o f Zhang C hun's u n s u c c e s s fu l a p p l i c a t i o n f o r command o f th e Wuhuan c o n tin g e n t i s t o l d p a r t i c u l a r l y i n th e Hou Han j i o f Tuan Hong, 25, 203b.
85.
J i c i t y i s now s o u th o f Daxlng th e m u n ic ip a lity o f B e ijin g .
86.
As we have n o te d ab o v e, i t h a s been su g g e s te d by th e C hinese s c h o la r J i n Wèinuo t h a t th e tomb found r e c e n tly a t H orlnger may be t h a t o f Gongqi Chou. See p .3 8 7 above and n o te 58.
87.
F e iru i s now n o r th o f Lulong
88.
The b io g ra p h y o f L iu Yu i s i n HHS 73 /6 3 , 2253-57•
89.
On th e o f f i c e o f mu ( 3*- : re n d e re d by Dubs and Loewe a s "S h ep h erd ” ) i n t h e tim e o f Form er Han, s e e Dubs, HFHD I I I , 12-13, and Loewe, C risis and C on flict , 263-264. On th e o f f i c e u n d er L a te r Han, s e e de C re sp lg n y , " L ocal A d m in is tr a tio n " , 5 8 -5 9 , Last o f the Han, 37-38 and 38283, and " I n s p e c tio n and S u r v e illa n c e " , 64-67.
90.
I t seems m ost p ro b a b le t h a t b o th Shlmen and Ghanzl were i n th e m ou ntain c o u n try o f th e S o n g lin g ra n g e , a lo n g th e D alin g R iv e r, n o r th and e a s t o f p r e s e n t- d a y Jin z h o u in L ia o n in g .
91.
HHS 7 3 /6 3 , 2354; th e p a r a l l e l p assage ln ZZTJ 59, 1916, i s tr a n s la te d in Last o f the Han, 70 -7 1 .
i n th e t e r r i t o r y o f
i n H ebei.
The r e f e r e n c e t o t h e m ark et i n Shanggu commandery presum ably i n d i c a t e s t h a t LLu Yu m a in ta in e d th e m arket a t Ning, w hich had b een h e ld r e g u l a r l y d u rin g L a te r Han u n d er th e P r o t e c t o r 's a d m in is tr a tio n (s e e pp.386-387 a b o v e ). TVo o f th e n in e c o u n tie s o f Yuyang commandery, Yuyang th e c a p i t a l and Quanzhou c lo s e t o p r e s e n t-d a y T ia n jin , a r e n o te d i n t h e T r e a t i s e o f A d m in is tra tiv e Geography o f L a te r Han a s b e in g a r e a s f o r th e p ro d u c tio n o f ir o n ( HHS 113/23B, 3528. In th e T r e a t i s e o f Geography o f Former Han, how ever, HS 28B, 1624, Quanzhou i s s a id to have had an o f f i c e f o r s a l t p ro d u c tio n , and s in c e i t was n e a r th e f l a t s e a s h o re o f th e Gulf o f Z h l l i , i t i s l i k e l y t h a t th e r e f e r e n c e t o i r o n i n th e L a te r Han T r e a tis e i s m is w r itte n fo r s a lt. From th e r e c o rd s o f Han shu and th e m in e ra l I n d u s tr y o f th e p r e s e n t d a y , i t i s e v id e n t t h a t th e r e were o th e r s o u rc e s o f s a l t and i r o n i n t h e n o r th w e s t, b u t Yuyang a p p e a rs t o have been th e m ost im p o rta n t t o Liu Yu a t t h i s tim e .
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As t o t h e su b sid y from Qlng and Xu p ro v in ces» o f more th a n two hundred m illio n c a sh p e r y e a r , t h i s p ro b a b ly r e p r e s e n t s a c o n tin u a tio n o f th e lev y e s t a b l i s h e d i n th e e a r l y y e a rs o f L a te r Han to p ro v id e f o r th e su b sid y o f 270 m i l l i o n c a s h t o t h e X ia n b i. See p p .291-292 above, and n o te 17 to C hapter 7. Though th e X ian b i w ere no lo n g e r am enable t o s u b s id y , no m a tte r how l a r g e , i t a p p e a rs t h a t th e an n u al le v y on QLng and Xu p ro v in c e s had b een m a in ta in e d th ro u g h o u t th e d y n a s ty , and th e money was presum ably used f o r th e m i l i t a r y c o s ts o f f r o n t i e r d e fe n c e , f o r th e e x p en ses ( in c lu d in g b r ib e s and s u b s id ie s to b a r b a r ia n s ) o f th e C olonel P r o te c to r o f th e Wuhuan, and f o r th e g e n e r a l m ain ten an ce o f th e im p o v erish ed n o r th e r n p ro v in c e . 92.
Yi c i t y la y n o rth w e s t o f X iungxian tfc i n H eb ei, on th e N orth China P la in s o u th o f B e ijin g and w est o f T L an jln .
93.
The b io g r a p h ie s o f Yuan Shao and t h e so n s who succeed ed to h i s power a r e i n HHS 74A/64A and 74B/64B, 2373-2425, and SGZ 6, 188-207.
94.
The t e x t o f th e p ro c la m a tio n by Yuan Shao t o th e th r e e Wuhuan le a d e r s i s p re s e rv e d i n a fragm ent o f th e Haxmo yingxiong j i ^ "R ecord o f th e H eroes and L eaders a t th e End o f Han" by Wang Can SL (1 7 7 -2 1 7 ), w hich i s p re s e rv e d i n th e commentary t o SGZ 30, 834-35. In t h a t t e x t , th e l e a d e r s a r e d e s c rib e d a s "Kings Who "Lead T h e ir P eople" ( shuaizhong wangi s e e n o te 71 a b o v e ). The le a d e r o f th e Wuhuan o f Liaodong Dependent S ta te , how ever, i s c a l l e d Songxia V Ï, 'Tn , e v id e n tly an a l t e r n a t i v e name o r t i t l e f o r Supuyan, and th e le a d e r o f th e Wuhuan o f Y ubeiping i s c a l l e d Hanlu Wei r e f e r e n c e to W uyan's r o y a l s t y l e o f Hanlu (se e n o te 79 a b o v e )•
95.
The B iography o f T ia n Chou i s i n SGZ 11, 340-345. Wuzhong co u n ty la y a t th e f o o t o f th e W ullng M ountains, n e a r J lx ia n i n H ebei.
96.
On Xianyu Fu and Yan Rou, s e e HHS 73 /6 3 , 2363-65, and SGZ 8, 243-47.
97.
The b io g r a p h ie s o f Gongsun Du and h i s s u c c e s s o rs a r e i n SGZ 8, 252-61, and th e e a r l y h i s t o r y o f t h e i r s t a t e i s d is c u s s e d by G a rd in e r, "The Kung-sun W arlo rd s". I t i s u n l i k e l y t h a t Gongsun Du, who was a n a tiv e o f Liaodong commandery, was a c lo s e r e l a t i v e o f Gongsun Zan, who was a man o f L la o x l. The surname Gongsun a p p e a rs t o have b een a common one i n th e n o r t h e a s t o f C hina a t t h i s p e rio d (G a rd in e r, "The Kung-sun W arlo rd s", 65, 93 n o te 9, 95 n o te 1 4 ).
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98.
SGZ 30, 831.
99.
I t may be o b se rv e d , f o r exam ple, t h a t Cao C a o 's a l l y Yan Rou had a c o n s id e r a b le fo llo w in g o f X lanbl and Wuhuan ( SGZ 30, 8 3 5 ).
100.
The B iography o f Dong Zhao ^ * i n SGZ J4, 439, sa y s t h a t Dong Zhao was p u t i n ch a rg e o f th e c o n s tr u c tio n o f th e two c a n a l s , and he was l a t e r aw arded a m a rq u is a te f o r h i s ac h ie v e m en t. The r e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f r i v e r c o u rs e s and c a n a l r o u te s i n th e N orth China P la in a t t h i s p e rio d i s made im p o ssib ly c o m p lic a te d , n o t o n ly by th e p a ssa g e o f tim e and th e n a t u r a l changes o f c o u rse o f th e Yellow R iver and o th e r s tre a m s , b u t a l s o by th e c o n s tr u c tio n o f th e Grand C anal o f th e Ming and Qlng p e r io d s . Two a sse ssm e n ts a r e p re s e n te d by Yang S h o u jln g , Lidai yudl tu , and th e modern C hinese a t l a s Zhongguo lis h i d itu j i I I I , Maps 7-8 and 9 -1 0 . W ith r e g a r d t o th e Quanzhou T rench ^ , th e r e i s some c o n fu s io n , b u t no r e a l d is a g re e m e n t. In Han tim e s , th e s e a c o a s t was c lo s e t o modern T ia n j in , and th e co u n ty c i t y o f Quanzhou was somewhat to th e n o rth w e st o f p r e s e n t-d a y T ia n jin . A ccording t o SGZ 1, 28 ( SGZJJ 1, 6 4 b ), th e Quanzhou Trench was d e sig n e d to co n n ect th e mouth o f th e Ju R iv e r 'M w ith th e Lu R iv e r , so t h a t s u p p lie s co u ld be c a r r i e d a s f a r a s th e s e a .
SJZ 14, 4b-5a ( SJZS 14, 1 0 a - l l a ) , sa y s t h a t th e Lu R iver was form ed from th e ju n c tio n o f th e Gu R iver w ith th e S hiyu R iv e r ^ below Gunu co u n ty ( n e a r Shunyi i n p r e s e n t- d a y B e ijin g M u n ic ip a lity ) , th e n flow ed th ro u g h th e Si C hannel ^ w est o f Yongnu (n e a r Wuqing jjti» i n T ia n jin M u n ic ip a lity ) t o th e e a s t o f Quanzhou, w here i t jo in e d th e Qing R iv e r >