Northern Frontier: The Policies and Strategy of the Later Han Empire 0867844108, 9780867844108

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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