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16 NATIONS
Southern Huns became sedentary people after they were relocated to northern Chinese prefectures where they multiplied into millions to pose a threat to Jinn Dynasty (AD 265-316) in the 3-4th centuries. The impact of the nomads on northern China had been compared to that felt by Rome. We could probably sense the influx of the sinicized barbarians by calculating a rough figure for the Huns. General Cao Cao (Ts'ao Ts'ao) re-organized thirty thousand Hun tribes in today's Shanxi-Shaanxi provinces during the 2nd century AD. We could estimate the Huns to be having 50 persons per tribe, to yield about 1.5 million. As to the Chinese population, it had been in a state of fluctuating towards the peak of 50 million every dynastic cycle, with every dynastic change costing a loss of half the population at a minimum. In AD 280, China's population was estimated to be 16.16 million in total. Two very good examples remain to achieve a more accurate estimation of the figures. One example would be Emperor Fu Jian's order to disseminate his Di[1] nomads among posts in northern China, and another example would be the extermination of Jiehu. Emperor Fu Jian, after a revolt of his kinsmen, decided to disperse his tribesmen across various military posts, and altogether 15,000 households were driven out of the capital. As to the Jiehu, Shi Min, an adopted son of Jiehu's Posterior Zhao, had at one time killed about 200,000 Jiehu. By the end of Ts'ao Wei Dynasty, the title of 'marshal' for Hunnic governor was changed to 'duwei'. Leftside Tribe 'duwei' was allowed to control 10,000 households and they dwelled in Cishi County, Taiyuan; Leftside Tribe, 6,000 households, Qixian County; Southside Tribe, 3,000 households, Puzi County; Northside Tribe, 4,000 households, Xingxin County; and Central Tribe, 6,000 households, Daling County. (Here, we could added up the households to derive a total of 29,000 for the five Hunnic tribal groups. Using 4 persons per household, those Huns would number 116,000 heads.) After Jinn Dynasty was founded in AD 265, the Huns outside of the border suffered flooding, and hence 20,000 more households of Huns from Saini and Heinan were relocated to Yiyang, west of the Yellow River Bend. In AD 284, 29,300 Huns, led by Hutai Ah'hou, submitted to Jinn Chinese. The second year, another group of Huns, 11,500 Huns in total, came to Jinn China. History of Jinn Dynasty recorded that altogether 19 Hunnic tribal affiliations came to China. Among them, the Tuge (or Zhuge) tribal affiliation was the most elite, and the Hunnic 'chanyu' would be selected out of this group. The Huns enjoyed 4 big family names, Huyan, Po, Lan, and Qiao. Huyan could assume the title of leftside or rightside 'sun chasing kings', Po the title of leftside or rightside 'juqu', Lan leftside or rightside 'danghu', and Qiao leftside or rightside 'duhou'. Around 295s AD, the Huns began to rebel against Jinn Chinese authorities, killing officials and looting. Replacing the Hunnic Han & Zhao Dynasty would be Posterior Zhao of the Jiehu nomads. Jiehu, according to History of Toba Wei Dynasty, obtained its name from the localities of Shangdang-Wuxiang-Jieshi in today's Shanxi Province. They were recorded to be an alternative tribe of the Huns. They should belong to those Southern Huns who had been dwelling in northern China during Han-Wei-Jinn times. I could not find a particular reason why ancient Chinese classified Jiehu as a separate entity of the five nomadic groups ravaging China. There must have existed some difference between the Huns and the Jiehu. The only difference on record, between the Jiehu and the Huns, probably lie in the high nose bridge. When Shi Min, an adopted son of Shi Le, killed about 200,000 Jiehu nomads, he was recorded to have closed down the four gates of the Jiehu capital and then sorted out the Jiehu on basis of high nose bridge. Ran Min further ordered governor-generals across northern China to exterminate their Jiehu officers and soldiers. In addition to the Huns, another group of people, Xianbei, would come into play. The Xianbei were the northern branch of the Donghu (or Tung Hu, the Eastern Hu), a proto-Tunguz group mentioned in Chinese histories. Xianbei and Wuhuan would be those people who fled to the two mountains, by the names of Xianbei and Wuhuan, when their ancestors accused Hunnic founder Modu of patricide and got defeated by Modu. By the first century, two major subdivisions of the Donghu had developed: the Xianbei in the north and the Wuhuan in the south. Apparently, Xianbei and Wuhuan people were located much to the center of Mongolia and northern China in earlier times. They lived to the east of the Huns. They were later relocated to today's Manchuria by Han Emperor Wudi for segregation from the Huns, and hence they inherited the ancient name of Donghu, in my opinion. Xianbei could be differentiated into i) Greater Xianbei under Budugeng, ii) Lesser Xianbei under Kebineng, and iii) Manchurian Xianbei. (An alternative school of thought stated that Xianbei people were comprised of the Chinese coolie who fled from Qin Emperor Shihuangdi's order to build the Great Wall at the northern borders.) The Huns suffered setbacks under constant Han Chinese attacks, and they split into Southern Huns and Northern Huns, with Southern Huns subject to Chinese. The weakened Huns provided a vaccum for the Xianbei (or Hsien-pei in Wade-Giles) to move in in the middle of 1st century AD. The Xianbei expanded their territories, and they took over most of the northern territories held by the Huns previously. The Xianbei mixed up with the Huns. The Hunnic Xia Dynasty, established by Helian Bobo, was said to be of a mingle nature, called 'Tie Fu'. The Tie Fu Huns were born of Xianbei mother and Hunnic Father. The Xianbei and the Wuhuan used mounted archers in warfare, and they had been good mercenaries for the Han Chinese and the Wei Chinese. Among General Ts'ao Ts'ao columns of army against the Shu State during the three Kingdoms Period (AD 220-280), many happened to be the Xianbei nomads wearing stirups. Later, in General Liu Yu's armies, Xianbei warriors using long spears called 'shuo' could be found as well. There appeared a Xianbei chieftan called Tanshikui (reign AD 156-181) who established a Xianbei alliance by absorbing dozens of thousands of Huns. The Tanshikui alliance disintegrated after the death of Tanshikui. (The later Khitans were said to be descendants of Tanshikui Xianbei.) By the time of Three Kingdoms Period (AD 220-280), the Wuhuan nomads had taken control of today's Hebei Province and Peking areas. Ts'ao Ts'ao broke a new Xianbei alliance by sending an assasin to kill a Xianbei chieftan called Kebi'neng. Warlord Yuan Shao campaigned against the Wuhuans and controlled three prefectures of Wuhuan nomads. After Ts'ao Ts'ao defeated Yuan Shao, Yuan's two sons, Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi fled to seek refuge with the Wuhuans. Ts'ao Ts'ao campaigned against the Wuhuan, killed a chieftan called Tadun (with same last character as Hunnic Chanyu Modu), and took over the control of southern Manchuria. (The later Xi people were said to be descendants of Tadun Wuhuan.) The demise of Han Dynasty saw Xianbei and Wuhuan taking over the old territories from the Huns in the northern borders as well as invading into Korea Peninsula. Chen Shou comented that Ke'bineng Xianbei had at one time covered the territoties from the Liao River of Manchuria in the east to Yunzhong/Wuyuan in the west. Xianbei had prospered after Cao Cao conquered their kinsmen, i.e., Wuhuan. Wuhuan was absorbed by both Cao Cao and Xianbei, and its name disappeared thereafter, only to re-emerge in 10th century war with Khitans. Several Wuhuan chieftans enjoyed the conferral of a title called Da Ren, namely, 'high-ranking person'. They included Qiuliju (Liaoxi Wuhuan Da Ren, with 5000 households), Nanlou (Shanggu Wuhuan Da Ren, with 9000 households), Supuyan (Liaodong Wuhuan Da Ren, with thousands of households) and Wuyan (You-beiping Wuhuan Da Ren, with 800 households), were controlled by a Han Chinese rebel governor called Zhang Chun of Zhongshan Prefecture. Han Emperor Lingdi (r. 168-189) assigned Liu Yu as governor-general of Youzhou (Beijing) and Liu Yu hired some nomads to have Zhang Chun killed. After the death of Chieftan Louban, an adopted son called Tadun (Tadu) took over the chieftan post. Tadun assisted Yuan Shao in the wars on Gongsun Zan. At one time during the Three Kingdoms time period, Yuan Shao had pacified three prefectures of Wuhuan and heavily recruited them as mercenary cavalry. Yuan Shao privately conferred the title of 'Chanyu' on Wuhuan chieftans in the name of Han court. When the son of Wuhuan Chieftan Qiuliju grew up, he would compete with Tadun for power. A Chinese by the name of Yan Rou (who enjoyed trust among Wuhuan-Xianbei for his spending childhood years with the barbarians) would kill the Chinese 'xiaowei' (colonel) in charge of Wuhuan and ursurped the post. Yuan Shao retained Yan Rou as the 'Wuhuan Colonel'. Cao Cao later defeated Tadu (Tadun) who offered asylum to two sons of Yuan Shao. Cao Cao won over Yan Rou when he campained against Wuhuan in AD 206. Wuhuan chieftans were all decaptitated when they fled to Liaodong (east Liaoning Province) for asylum. Over 10,000 Wuhuan households under Yan Rou would relocate to China under the order of Cao Cao. Wuhuan people would serve Cao Cao as mercenary cavalry. Two Xianbei tribal groups came into play, and this will include the Lesser Xianbei under Ke'bineng and Greater Xianbei under Budugeng and his brother Fuluohan. This is in addition to Manchurian Xianbei. Ke'bineng heavily employed Chinese defectors and utilized Chinese weaponry and language. Ke'bineng had at one time assisted Cao Cao in cracking down on Tian Ying Rebellion, but he also rebelled against Cao Cao and Cao Wei several times. Cao Cao once sent Marquis Yanling to defeat Ke'bineng and cause him flee outside of Chinese border. In AD 219, Ke'bineng sent an emissary, with tributes of horses, to last Han Emperor Xiandi who was under Cao Cao protection. Cao Wei Emperor Wendi conferred Ke'bineng the title of King of Fuyi (attached loyalty). Beginning from AD 221, several times, Ke'bineng repatriated Cao Wei Chinese back to Chinese territories. Ke'bineng rebelled against Cao Wei Chinese again because Tian Yu interferred in Ke'bineng wars with both Eastern Xienbei under Suli and Xianbei Chieftan under Budugeng. Ke'bineng complained about this to General Xianyu Fu, mentioning the fact that his brother was killed by Budugeng. Ke'bineng said he was recommended for the post by Yan Rou, he was grateful to Chinese and he did not want to rebel against Chinese simply because Tian Yu was giving him troubles. Ke'bineng boasted of over 100,000 cavalry. A Wuhuan chieftan at Dai Prefecture, by the name of Nengchendi, surrendered to Budugeng but also asked for protection from Ke'bineng. When the two Xianbei chiftans converged for controling the Wuhuan, Ke'bineng killed Fuluohan and took over the Xianbei people led by Fuluohan's son, Xie-guini. Hence, two Xianbei tribes warred with each other. Cao Wei Emperor Wendi (Cao Pi) conferred Tian Yu the post of Wuhuan Captain with extra authority over Xianbei people, and Tian Yu had his office situated at Changping (near Beijing). Ke'bineng would defeat all tribes including Wuhuan, extending their territories from Yunzhong & Wuyuan north of Shanxi border all the way to Manchuria. Ke'bineng defeated two Chinese generals, Tian Yu and Bi Gui. The other chieftan, Budugeng, relocated to Taiyuan and Yanmen with his over 10,000 households. Budugeng further sent a messenger to his niece Xie-guini and caused Xie-guini defect from Ke'bineng. By AD 224, Budugeng sought vassalage with Cao Wei Emepror Wendi. In AD 228, Tian Yu's emissary to Xianbei was killed by Ke'bineng's son-in-law. Hence, Tian Yu dispatched Pudou (Western Xianbei Chieftan ) and Xie-guini to attack Ke'bineng as a retaliation. When Ke'bineng encircled Tian Yu with 30,000 cavalry, Governor-General of Shanggu, Yan Zhi (Yan Rou's brother), went to see Ke'bineng and pursuaded Ke'bineng into a ceasefire. Later, the new governor-general of Youzhou, Wang Xiong, was conferred the post of Wuhuan Colonel. Ke'bineng, several times, expressed loyalty to Wang Xiong. In AD 233, Ke'bineng won back Budugeng by means of an inter-marriage. Budugeng ordered Xie-guini to go back and serve under Ke'bineng, pillaging Chinese prefecture of Bingzhou. General Qin Lang counter-attacked, and Xie-guini surrendered and was conferred the title of King of Guiyi (i.e., returning loyalty) and the land of Bingzhou. Later, Budugeng was killed by Ke'bineng. Ke'bineng ordered his son go to Loufan to fight the wars with General Su Shang and Dong Bi (both under Governor Bi Gui of Bingzhou) and killed the two. During Qinglong Era, about 235 AD, Cao Wei Emperor Mingdi (Cao Rui) took the advice of Wang Xiong and had Ke'bineng assasinated by soneone called Han Long. The brother of Ke'bineng was selected as the chieftan. In southern Manchuria, Eastern XIanbei enjoyed more head-count than Ke'bineng Xianbei. There would exist chieftans like Suli, Mijia and Jueji in Liaoxi (western Liaoning Prov), Youbeiping (northwest of Beijing) and Yuyang. Jueji's son was conferred the title of King Qinhan (befrieding Han), and Suli's brother, Chengluegui, succeeded the King title, too. The Xianbei nomad, with major tribes of Murong, Yuwen, Duan, would establish many short-lived successive Yan statelets along the Chinese frontier and in northern China. Ultimately, the Toba (T'o-pa in Wade-Giles), a subgroup of the Xianbei, who migrated to modern China's Shanxi Province, would reunite China under Toba Wei Dynasty. In AD 443, the barbarians who took over Toba's old territories, upper Heilongjiang River and northern Xing'an Ridge, came to see Toba Wei Emperor (Toba Tao) and told him that they found Toba ancestor's stone house, called 'Ga Xian Dong'. Toba Tao sent a minister called Li Chang to the stone house which was carved out of a natural cavern. In 1980s, this cavern was discovered as well as the inscriptions left by Li Chang. Toba Xianbei was said to be a group of people who dwelled to the northeatern-most of all Xianbei, near today's northern segment of Da Xing'an Ridge. The Eastern Xianbei would include tribes like Yuwen, Murong and Duan, while the Western Xianbei would include Qifu & Tufa (to mutate into Tubo in Chinese and Tibet in English). The early Eastern Xianbei people were closely allied with the Koguryo people in the areas of today's Manchurian-Korean border. The Xianbei people were said to be related to the Tungus, the same as later Malgal (ancestors of later Jurchens), Puyo, Koguryo, Po'hai (Parhae), Khitans, and Jurchens. Do note that ancient statelet of Sushen, bordering the Japan Sea, had long existed at Zhou times. By the end of the fourth century, the region between the Huai River and the Gobi, including much of modern Xinjiang, was dominated by the Toba. The word "To" means earth and "Ba" means descendants in northern Chinese dialect. Toba nomads are said to be a branch of the Xianbei nomads, the proto-Tunguz people. According to History Of Toba Wei Dynasty, the Tobas claimed heritage from the junior son of the Yellow Emperor. The Yellow Emperor was said to represent the virtue of 'earth', one of the five forms of materials in ancient Chinese metaphysics. Further, it is claimed that the Tobas were not recorded in Chinese history because the ancestors of Tobas did not want to join the ranks of the Huns etc in pillaging China. Toba Xianbei, who claimed heritage from Huangdi, did not consider themselves the same barbarians as other Xianbei. While Toba looked down upon Huns, Turks and etc, they did not demonize their Xianbei compatriots. According to History Of Toba Wei Dynasty, Toba people moved out of the Xing'an Ridge; their ancestors left the forest for the Huron Lake; and then, with guidance of a semi-ox semi-horse animal, they walked out of the marshlands and came to the territories between the Yingshan Mountain and the Yanshan Mountain. In earlier times of Western Jinn Dynasty, Tobas were befriended by a a Chinese border general called Liu Kun whose strategy was to "fight the aliens via the aliens". Liu Kun had requested with Western Jinn emperor for the authorization to have the Tobas settle down in today's Yanmenguan Pass, an area called the Dai prefecture in Qin Empire's times. Liu even sent his son to the Tobas as a hostage. After the death of Liu Kun in the hands of Liu's Xianbei ally in today's Beijing area, the Tobas would assert themselves over the other nomads. Between A.D. 338 and 376, in the Shanxi area, the Toba established control over the region as the Northern Wei Dynasty. Taking advantage of wars which weakened the Xianbei, the Qiangs and the Chinese, respectively, namely, 1) the northern expedition by General Liu Yu on both Xianbei and Qiang, and 2) the war waged by Hunnic Xia (AD 407-431) on Liu Yu's Chinese in Xi'an, the Tobas turned out to be the last beneficiary in northern China. General Liu Yu of Jinn Dynasty first attacked the Xianbei in today's Jiangsu-Shandong provinces, and then attacked the Qiangic nomads in today's Luoyang-Xi'an areas. However, General Liu was eager to return to Nanking to usurp the Jinn Dynasty, and his army in Luoyang-Xi'an areas were defeated by the Hunnic Xia. The Hunnic Xia, however, would soon be replaced by the Tobas who had steadily built up their power base in today's Shanxi-Hebei areas. The Hunnic Xia had once requested aid from another Hunnic people, the Ruruans in the Altai Mountains, but the Tobas had been able to defeat them both. Qiang: In the sections on Hun and Turk, we had covered early Huns, Turks, Xianbei and Toba extensively. The Qiangs are covered in details at Tibetan section. The origin of the Qiangic people could be traced to the Fiery Lord (Yandi) Tribe which carried the name of 'Jiang'. A famous linguist believed that Qiang was a mutation of 'Jiang'. Early peoples in western China had another blending, the 'San Miao' peoples. According to Sima Qian, the 'Sanmiao' people were mostly relocated to western China to guard against the western nomads. Lord Shun relocated them to western China as a punishment for their aiding the son of Lord Yao (Dan Zhu) in rebellion. To the west of today's Dunhuang, Gansu Province was a mountain named 'San Wei Shan' (namely, the Sanmiao Precarious Mountain) where the Three Miao peoples were exiled. People in Gansu-Qinghai areas had still one more blending, the Xianbei peoples. A group of Eastern Xianbei, who split with the later founder of Anterior Yan (AD 337-370), would set up a statelet called Tuyuhun which competed with Tibetans well into 7th century. Western Xianbei would set up Western Qin (AD 385-431) and Southern Liang (AD 397-414). Ancient classics stated that the word 'qiang' means the shepards in the west. The book which was called 'Continuum To Hou Han Shu' stated that the Qiangs were alternative race of the Jiang surname tribes of San Miao. There were 150 different groups of Qiangic peoples, widely dispersed among Sichuan, Gansu, Qinhai and Shenxi provinces. The Qiang people differentiated into two groups in Latter Han Dynasty, Western Qiang (Xi Qiang) and Eastern Qiang (Dong Qiang). New History Of Tang Dynasty said the Tibetans belonged to the Xi Qiang, namely, the western Qiangic peoples. However, New History Of Tang Dynasty also cited a mutation of pronunciation for the name of founder of Southern Liang (a Xianbei Statelet, AD 397-414), Tufa Lilugu. What it said is that the Southern Liang's last name, Tufa, had mutated into Tubo in Chinese pronunciation or English Tibet. Western history books, whenever referring to the Qiangs, Di nomads, and the later Tanguts (Danxiang Qiangs), would claim that those peoples were Tibetan in nature. The statelet of Tibet would be a matter of 7th century, however. We will now return to the topics on the Di(1) nomads. The pronunciation for the character Di(1) is different from another character for the ancient group of northern barbarians that came to be known as the ancestors of the Huns, Di(2). The two characters were written different as well. Di, together with Qiangs, had long existed at the times of three dynasties, Xia-Shang-Zhou. Ancient classics, Shi Jing, recorded that "Di & Qiang dared not stop paying pilgrimage to Xia-Shang-Zhou dynasties." The difference between Di and Qiang is not clear. Records show that Di belonged to alternative race of the ancient Xi Yi, namely, western Yi barbarians. They were alternatively called 'Bai Ma', i.e., white horse, and 'Bai Di', i.e., white Di. During Qin-Han times, the Di people resided in the areas south of Qishan (Zhou ancestral land) and Long (Gansu Province) and west of Hanzhong (the areas between Sichuan and Shaanxi) and Chuan (Sichuan Province). Han Emperor Wudi sent General Guo Chang/Wei Guang against them and set up the Wudu Commandary in the Di land. The Di people fled to the mountains and two groups were known, Qing Di (Green Di) and Bai-Di(1) or Bai-ma-di (White Horse Di). The Di people were said to be descendants of Xi-nan-yi, i.e., southwestern aliens. Ancient classics mentioned that Di(1) meant for the sheeps. (The word 'qiang' means the shepards in the west.) In early AD 200s, a Di chieftan called Yang Teng was named Duke of Qiuchi. Ts'ao Wei conferred his descendant, Yang Qianwan, the title of King of Di. A nephew of the Yang family, Linghu Maosou, was conferred the title of King Youxianwang by Western Jinn Emperor Huidi (reign 290-306) and the title of King Zuoxianwang by Western Jin Emperor Mindi (reign 313-317). Internal killings among Di family ensued. The Di people sought vassalage with Shi Hu's Jiehu Psterior Zhao Dynasty, Eastern Jinn Dynasty, and Fu Jian's Anterior Qin Dynasty. In AD 371, another Di, Fu Jian of Anterior Qin Dynasty, conquered the Qiuchi Di and relocated all of them to Guanzhong, the areas of Xi'an, Shenxi Province. After the death of Fu Jian in the hands of the Qiangs, a Di descendant called Yang Ding, would lead his people to Longyou, the areas to the west of Gansu Province, and declared himself Duke of Qiuchi. In AD 389, Yang Ding occupied the Qinzhou Prefecture and declared himself King of Longxi (i.e., west of Gansu). (Note that ancient China divided today's Gansu Province into Longxi, Qinzhou and other prefectures.) Fugou would later be killed by Qifu Qian'gui of Western Qin Dynasty. Yang Ding's son, Yang Shen, would later seek vassalage with Western Jinn Dynasty. Yang Shen would be conferred the title of King of Chengdu by Liu Yu, the founder of Liu Song Dynasty. Yang Shen told his son, Yang Xuan, to always seek vassalage with Southern Chinese regimes. Yang Xuan would be conferred the title of King of Nan Qin (i.e., south of Qinzhou Prefecture). Beginning from AD 500, Di people began to seek vassalage with Toba Wei Dynasty in the north. Wars between Toba Wei Dynasty and Southern Liang erupted over the control of Di people. Below, we will concentrate on Di's Anterior Qin Dynasty, only. Hunnic Han & Zhao Hunnic Han & Zhao Dynasty Hunnic Han & Zhao Dynasty (AD 304-329) When Western Jinn Dynasty (AD 265-316) reunited China, Hunnic King Zuoxianwang sent his son Liu Yuan to Jinn Dynasty to be a hostage, which was a norm laid out by Ts'ao in late Han period. Liu Yuan spent most of his time in Chinese court and was a very ambitious man suspected by one Chinese minister as well as protected by another minister. When Liu Yuan's father died, he was allowed to go back to the Hun tribes for the funeral in AD 304. Then, he returned to the court to fulfill his mission as a hostage. When a Jinn Dynasty border general (Wang Jun) invited the Xianbei and Wuhuan nomads (proto-Tunguz people) in attacking Jinn Chinese capital, Liu Yuan requested with Jinn emperor to go back to the Hun tribes for organizing counter-Xianbei forces. Liu Yuan returned to the Huns in AD 308, and helped Jinn defeat the Xianbei and the Jinn rebel Wang Jun. Thereafter, Liu Yuan returned to Jinn court and was appointed Dadudu (i.e., "grand marshal") of the five Hunnic Tribal Groups. In AD 311, Hunnic King Youxianwang Liu Xuan proposed that Liu Yuan proclaim to be the great Hunnic emperor. Liu Yuan, who, like all other Hunnic kings, had adopted the family name "Liu" of Han emperors, agreed to the proposal and proclaimed the founding of the dynasty of Hunnic Han, meaning a posterior dynasty of Han against Jinn (AD 265-316) and Wei (AD 220-265) which usurped Han, in the sense of succession. Liu stated, "The great Chinese saint, Lord Yu, was originally a Xirong (western Rong) nomad and the Zhou kings (1122? BC - 221 B.C.) were from the Dongyi (eastern Yi) barbarians, where is the logic that the emperors must be of the same ethnical origin?" After Liu Yuan's death, the Huns under Liu Yuan's son, Liu Cong took over Jinn capital Luoyang in AD 311; the Western Jinn selected a new emperor one year later and re-established its capital in Chang'an (today's Xi'an, Shaanxi province), only to be sacked again in AD 316. Hence began the historical time period called "Five Nomads Ravaging China", with the five nomads being Huns, Jiehu, Xianbei (including Wuhuan & Toba), Qiang, & Di. The Hun's Han Dynasty did not last long. The same palace power struggles between queens and princes, which plagued the Western Jinn dynasty just years earlier, would reemerge. The father-in-law of Liu Can, the new Hunnic Han emperor, would kill Liu Can and dug up the tombs of Liu Yuan and Liu Cong. Prime Minister Liu Zhuo (cousin of the Hunnic Han emperor) and General Shi Le (a Jie or Jiehu nomad, from one of the five nomad groups) led the troops to crack down on the palace rebellion. Later, Liu Zhuo would change the dynasty name to Zhao from Han in AD 319. General Shi Le's ambition led to the delaration of a separate Zhao Dynasty (AD 319-352), called Posterior Zhao Dynasty in contrast with Liu Zhuo's Zhao Dynasty. By AD 326, Shi Le's Posterior Zhao destroyed Liu Zhuo's Zhao, ending the small Hunnic empire established in China's central plains spanning Henan and Shanxi-Shaanxi provinces. Five Nomads Ravaging China By AD 317, all of China north of the Yangtze River/Huai River had been overrun by nomadic peoples: the Xianbei from the north; some remnants of the Xiongnu from the northwest; and the Qiang people of Gansu and Tibet from the west and the southwest. Chaos prevailed as these groups warred with each other. The Chinese south of the Yangtze had failed to reconquer the northern region. General Zu Di crossed the Yangtze River but failed to hold on to the gain. The notable thing about this time period is that there were still several Chinese strongholds in today's Hebei/Shandong provinces and in the western Silk Road corridor, that were cut off from the court in southern China. Ran Wei Ran Wei Dynasty Shi Le's son, Shi Hu, would be killed by his own general Ran Min (a Chinese), and Jiehu nomad's Posterior Zhao (AD 319-352) was destroyed in AD 352. Ran Min's Ran Wei Dynasty (short-lived to be on the list of 16 Nations) would be destroyed by Xianbei nomad's Anterior Yan (AD 337-370) Dynasty. Di nomad's Anterior Qin (AD 351-394) would destroy Xianbei's Anterior Yan in AD 370. Di nomad's Qin would try to attack the Eastern Jinn Dynasty (AD 317-420) south of the Huai River. After losing the battle to the Jinn Chinese under general Xie Xuan and Xie An in AD 384, two Qin generals (of the Qiang and the Xianbei origins, respectively) overthrew the Di nomad's Qin (AD 351-394) and set up separate Posterior Qin Dynasty (AD 384-417) and Posterior Yan Dynasty (AD 384-410). Eastern Jinn Dynasty's army, under general Liu Yu, would renew northern expeditions and finally destroyed the Posterior Qin Dynasty of the Qiangs (AD 384-417) and Posterior Yan Dynasty of Xianbei (AD 384-409) south of the Yellow River and today's Xi'an area. Southern China: In AD 420, General Liu Yu (who claimed Han herotage) of Eastern Jinn Chinese would usurp the power by proclaimg the Southern Song Dyasty (AD 420-479) in place of Eastern Jinn Dynasty. There would appear three more Han Chinese dynasties, namely Southern Qi (AD 479-502), Southern Liang (AD 502-557), and Southern Chen (AD 557-589). The last one, Chen, would be swallowed by the Sui Dynasty (AD 581-618) which had replaced the nomadic dynasties in Northern China. Han Dynasty had inherited the domain of the Qin Empire, and it would wage zigzag warfare with the Huns for centuries, but a breach similar to the Visigoths destroying the Roman Empire would not come till the 4th century when the so-called 'Five Nomads' ravaged China as a result of disintegration of Western Jinn Dynasty (AD 265-316). Historians blamed it on General Ts'ao Ts'ao who relocated the Huns back to their homeland in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province during the Three Kingdoms Period (AD 220-280). By AD 317, all of China north of the Yangtze River/Huai River had been overrun by nomadic peoples: the Xianbei from the north; some remnants of the Xiongnu (Huns) from the northwest; and the Qiang people of Gansu and Tibet from the west and the southwest. This situation was last resolved by the Tobas who united northern China into the Wei Dynasty (AD 386-534). That was a time of the 'melting pot' in northern China. But the separation along ethnic lines did exist. Before Toba, the Chinese had limited participation in the wars among the tribal states, and they were used as 'field armies' in later campaigns by the nomads. Except for a few strongholds along the Silk Road, the Chinese city-states like Beijing and others in Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong Provinces would fall into the hands of either Xianbei or Toba in a dozen years. The Xianbei and Toba nomads were once allies of those city-states in fighting against the Huns, Hehu and the Di-Qiang nomads who ravaged the Central China of Henan Province as well as the Western Province of Shaanxi. Chinese in Henan and Shaanxi Province had fled to the south in hordes, and they would be ancestors of today's Hakka in Sichuan-Guangdong-Fujian provinces. Posterior Qin Posterior Qin Dynasty of Qiang nomads When General Liu Yu re-captured Chang'an during his northern campaigns and finally destroyed the Posterior Qin Dynasty of Qiang nomads(AD 384-417) and Posterior Yan Dynasty of Xianbei nomads(AD 384-409) , the local elderly people said to him that they had not seen Han clothes for one hundred years. Liu Yu would leave his teenage son in charge of Chang'an and ultimately lose Chang'an to the nomads again. Once the whole northern China was overrun, the remaining Chinese would have few alternatives living under alien rules. They would be prohibited from bearing arms in those nomadic states. At most, a few Chinese intellectuals acted as counsels (or prime ministers as you might call them) for the rulers of those nomadic states. When the Toba State of Wei decided to include the Chinese in its army ranks and the ruling officialdom, the so-called Toba conservatives staged a rebellion, ending in the slaughter of Chinese and the disintegration of Toba Wei into two separate states of Eastern Wei and Western Wei, to be usurped later by their Xianbei generals, respectively. The famous tribal names, like Murong (Mujong) and Yuwen, were the legacy of those Xianbei nomads who belonged to the group of Donghu or the Eastern Hu nomads. First Forced Migration Of Northern Chinese Scholar Luo Xianglin, in History of Chinese Nationalities (Chinese Culture Publishing Enterprise Co, Taipei, Taiwang, May 1953 edition), pointed out that turmoils in northern China led to three kinds of "liu [flow] min[people]": Qin-Yong Migrants from Shenxi & Gansu provinces, Si-Yu Migrants from Hebei & Henan provinces, and Qing-Xu Migrants from Shandong & Jiangsu provinces. Major factions and families of Eastern Jinn Dynasty had originated Qing-Xu Migrants. Those who remained in northern Chian often assembled soldiers and militia, built citadels and castles, and established semi-autonomous regimes. Those small pockets of Chinese regimes often cooperated with nomadic invaders for survival. TO BE CONTINUED ! Written by Ah Xiang |
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ECON 101:  US Interest Rate Down =  China Exchange Rate Up !
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Huanghuagang Magazine 
Republican China in Blog Format 
![At the time [when China fell under the alien rule],](http://imperialchina.org/0442201b51e71777df540167-resized.jpg)
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![Though, Anna Wang [Anneliese Martens], in her memoirs, expressed jealousy over Gong Peng by stating that the Anglo-American reporters had flattered the Chinese communists and the communist movement as a result of being entranced with the goldfish-eye'ed personal assistant of Zhou Enlai](GongPeng.jpg)
