Sixteen Kingdoms

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Sixteen Kingdoms
Hanyu Pinyin
Shíliù Guó
Bopomofoㄕˊ ㄌㄧㄡˋ ㄍㄨㄛˊ
Wade–GilesShih²-liu⁴ Kuo²
Tongyong PinyinShíh-liòu Guó
IPA[ʂɻ̩̌.ljôʊ kwǒ]
Yue: Cantonese
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IPA[sɐp̚˨ lok̚˨ kʷɔːk̚˧]
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The Sixteen Kingdoms (

series of rebellions against the Western Jin dynasty in the early 4th century. However, several of the states were founded by the Han people, and all of the states—whether ruled by Xiongnu, Xianbei, Di, Jie, Qiang, Han, or others—took on Han-style dynastic names. The states frequently fought against both one another and the Eastern Jin dynasty, which succeeded the Western Jin in 317 and ruled southern China. The period ended with the unification of northern China in 439 by the Northern Wei, a dynasty established by the Xianbei Tuoba clan. This occurred 19 years after the Eastern Jin collapsed in 420, and was replaced by the Liu Song dynasty. Following the unification of the north by Northern Wei, the Northern and Southern dynasties
era of Chinese history began.

The term "Sixteen Kingdoms" was first used by the 6th-century historian Cui Hong in the

Duan Qi, Qiao Shu, Huan Chu, Tuyuhun and Western Yan. Nor did he include the Northern Wei and its predecessor Dai, because the Northern Wei is considered to be the first of the Northern Dynasties
in the period that followed the Sixteen Kingdoms.

Classical Chinese historians called the period the "Sixteen Kingdoms of the Five Barbarians" (simplified Chinese: 五胡十六国; traditional Chinese: 五胡十六國; pinyin: Wǔhú Shíliù Guó) because of the active roles played by non-Han ethnicities during this period. Even among the states founded by ethnic Han (Former Liang, Western Liang, Ran Wei and Northern Yan), several founders had close relations with ethnic minorities. For example, the father of Ran Min, who founded Ran Wei, was adopted by the ethnically Jie Later Zhao ruling family, though Ran Min ordered a genocidal massacre of Jie people after he seized power. Feng Ba, who is considered by some historians to be the founder of the Northern Yan, was an ethnic Han who had prominent Xianbei friends, as well as a Xianbei nickname. Gao Yun, considered by other historians to be the Northern Yan founder, was a member of the Goguryeo royal family who had been adopted by Xianbei nobility.

Due to fierce competition among the states and internal political instability, the kingdoms of this era were mostly short-lived. For seven years from 376 to 383, the Former Qin briefly unified northern China, but this ended when the Eastern Jin inflicted a crippling defeat on it at the Battle of Fei River, after which the Former Qin splintered and northern China experienced even greater political fragmentation. The fall of the Western Jin dynasty amidst the rise of non-Han regimes in northern China during the Sixteen Kingdoms period resembles the fall of the Western Roman Empire amidst invasions by the Huns and Germanic tribes in Europe, which also occurred in the 4th to 5th centuries.

History

Background

Main articles:
Uprising of the Five Barbarians
Qinghai province in 1979. The Southern Xiongnu that settled in modern-day Hexi Corridor and eastern Qinghai during the Eastern Han dynasty were also known as the Lushui Hu and intermixed with the local Qiang. Juqu Mengxun, who seized control of the Northern Liang kingdom in 401 was a Lushui Hu chieftain.[1] Right: An iron sword with a ring-shaped pommel of the Xianbei from the Western Jin dynasty (266–316) unearthed in Meiligaitu Village, Zhuozi County, Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia. During the Western Jin, the Tuoba Xianbei clan settled in modern-day central Inner Mongolia.[2]

From the late

southwest China. As migrants, they lived among ethnic Han and were sinified
to varying degrees. Many worked as farm laborers. Some attained official positions in the court and military. They also faced discrimination and retained clan and tribal affiliations.

The Han dynasty's defeat of the Xiongnu confederation in the

Southern Xiongnu along with their Chanyu into northern China. In 167 AD, Duan Jiong conducted an anti-Qiang campaign and massacred Qiang populations as well as settled them outside the frontier in northern China.[3] Cao Cao had a policy of settling Xiongnu nomads away from the frontier near Taiyuan in modern Shanxi province, where they would be less likely to rebel. The Xiongnu abandoned nomadism and the elite were educated in Chinese-Confucian literate culture, but they retained their distinct identity and resented the discrimination they received.[4]

The

Cheng-Han
kingdom in 304. Thus began the creation of independent kingdoms in China as Jin authority crumbled. Most of these kingdoms were founded by non-Chinese tribal leaders who took on Chinese reign names.

Diplomatic status

During the Sixteen Kingdoms, the Eastern Jin dynasty to the south continued to insist on its status as supreme overlord and refused to treat any of the kingdoms as equals. For instance, when the Later Zhao sent a diplomatic mission to the south to establish equal relations, the Eastern Jin burnt the embassy's gifts and expelled the envoy. Some of the Sixteen Kingdoms such as Former Yan and Former Liang also agreed to nominally recognise the Eastern Jin as their suzerain.[6]

Fall of the Western Jin to the Han-Zhao

Infantryman
Cavalry
Terracotta warriors of the Western Jin dynasty (266–316)

Jin princes and military governors often recruited non-Chinese tribes into their armies in their suppression of rebellions and wars with each other. Also in 304,

Han Dynasty. His regime, later renamed Zhao, is designated by historians as the Han-Zhao.[7]

After Liu Yuan died in 310, his son

Sima Rui, a Jin prince who had moved to the South, continued the dynasty as the Eastern Jin from Jiankang (modern day Nanjing). The collapse of Jin authority in the North led other leaders to declare independence. In 315, Tuoba Yilu, a Xianbei chieftain, founded the Dai in modern-day Inner Mongolia. In 318, Zhang Shi, the ethnic Chinese governor of Liangzhou founded the Former Liang in modern-day Gansu
.

Shi Le and the Later Zhao

After Liu Cong's death, the kingdom was split between

Liaodong
.

In 337, Murong Huang founded the Former Yan in Liaodong, which by 356 had expanded into much of Hebei, Henan and Shandong. For a time, the Former Yan vied for supremacy in northern China with the Former Qin.

Former Qin and the brief unification of northern China

Jin dynasty
in 376.

The Former Qin was founded in 351 by

Battle of Feishui
, in which Eastern Jin troops vanquished a much larger Former Qin force.

Fragmentation after the Battle of Feishui

Shaanxi province, near the border with Inner Mongolia. Tongwancheng was captured by the Xianbei-led Northern Wei
in 427.

After the Battle of Feishui, the power of the Former Qin quickly unraveled as various regimes in the North broke loose. In 384, Murong Chui founded the

Zhai Wei
, which was wedged between the Later Yan, Western Yan and Eastern Jin. As many as seven kingdoms coexisted for nine years.

The Later Qin, which ended the Former Qin in 394, the Western Qin in 400, and Later Liang in 403, extended its control over much of Shaanxi, Gansu, and

Liu Yu launched a northern expedition that captured Luoyang and Chang'an and extinguished the Later Qin. The Eastern Jin could not hold these cities as Liu Yu returned south to seize the Jin throne
. The Xia kingdom quickly seized Chang'an.

Later Liang breaks down into Northern, Southern and Western Liang

In the

Tang Dynasty
in the 7th century. The Southern Liang was conquered by the Western Qin in 414, and the Northern Liang lasted until 439, when it surrendered to the Northern Wei.

Later Yan breaks down into Northern and Southern Yan

The Later Yan conquered the Zhai Wei in 392 and the Western Yan in 394, but lost a series of engagements to the Northern Wei. In 397, the Northern Wei captured Hebei and splitting the Later Yan into two. Murong Bao moved the Later Yan capital north to Liaoning but Murong De refused to move north and founded the Southern Yan in Henan and Shandong. The Southern Yan was extinguished by the Eastern Jin in 410. The Later Yan lasted until 407 when General Feng Ba, killed Emperor Murong Xi and installed Gao Yun. Gao Yun, a descendant of Goguryeo royalty who was adopted into the Murong court, is considered either the last emperor of the Later Yan or the founding emperor of the Northern Yan. In 409, he was killed by Feng Ba, a Han Chinese assimilated to Xianbei culture, who took control of the Northern Yan.

Eastern Jin efforts to retake the North

Main articles:
Liu Yu's expeditions

During its century-long rule of southern China, the Eastern Jin Dynasty, though beset by local rebellions and insurrections, made several attempts to recapture the North, and managed to make some inroads, but were ultimately unsuccessful.[8] In 313, Sima Rui, the Yuan Emperor gave Zu Ti 1,000 men and 3,000 bolts of cloth for a northern expedition. Despite meager resources, Zu Ti managed to recapture a large swath of Henan south of the Yellow River and repeatedly defeated Shi Le's Later Zhao forces. Eastern Jin Emperors were wary of generals acquiring power and prestige from successful northern expeditions and threatening the throne. The Yuan Emperor did not entrust Zu Ti with the command of much larger expeditionary force in 321. A disappointed Zu Ti died of illness. The expeditionary force was called back to Jiankang to quell an insurrection, and Shi Le retook Henan.

In 347, Jin general Huan Wen invaded Sichuan and ended the Cheng-Han kingdom. He then launched successive expeditions against northern kingdoms, briefly retaking Chang'an from the Former Qin in 354 and Luoyang from Qiang chieftain Yao Xiang in 356. In 369, he led a large force across the Yellow River into Hebei but was defeated by the Former Yan. In 383, the Eastern Jin reclaimed Henan south of the Yellow River after turning back the Former Qin in the Battle of Feishui in 383, but lost that territory once the northern kingdoms strengthened.

Huan Wen had pretensions to seize power and deposed

Liu Yu
.

Liu Yu also used northern expeditions to build up his power. In 409–10, he led Jin forces in the

Liu Song Dynasty
. In 423, he planned to launch an expedition against the Northern Wei, but died of illness. The Liu Song dynasty ruled southern China until 479.

Northern Wei and the reunification of northern China

The ancestral home of the

Ordos Loop region. In 315, chief Tuoba Yilu was recognized as the Prince of Dai by the Jin Emperor. In 338, Tuoba Shiyijian formally declared Dai's independence and built the capital at Shengle (modern day Horinger County, Hohhot
). In 376, the Former Qin attacked Shengle and drove the Tuoba into the northern steppes; Tuoba Shiyijian was killed by his son.

Northern Wei dynasty

In 386, Tuoba Shiyijian's grandson

Rouran nomads to the north and began the conquest of Shaanxi, Ningxia, and Gansu. In 427, he captured the Xia capital, Tongwancheng in modern-day Jingbian County
, Shaanxi.

The Xia under Helian Ding moved to Pingliang, Gansu and conquered the Western Qin at Jincheng (modern day Lanzhou) in 431. Helian Ding sought an alliance with the Liu Song dynasty but was driven further west by the Northern Wei. Helian Ding wanted to invade the Northern Liang but was captured in a raid by the Tuyuhun nomads and executed by the Northern Wei. In 436, the Tuoba Tao, as Emperor Taiwu, led an expedition against the Northern Yan. Feng Hong, the younger brother of Feng Ba, fled to Goguryeo, where he was killed. The last ruler of the Northern Liang, Juqu Mujian, surrendered in 439, completing the Northern Wei's unification of northern China and marking the end of the Sixteen Kingdoms period. The Tuobas were eventually Sinicized, changing their name to Yuan, and held northern China through the 550s.

Chinese history then entered the

Sui Dynasty
united the country in 589.

Maps

  • 304
    304
  • 317
    317
  • 326
    326
  • 338
    338
  • 350
    350
  • 369
    369
  • 376
    376
  • 391
    391
  • 400
    400
  • 404
    404
  • 410
    410
  • 416
    416
  • 423
    423
  • 436
    436

Chronology

Chronology of the Sixteen Kingdoms with Ethnicity of Founders
  Xianbei   Xiongnu   Jie   Di   Qiang   Dingling   Han Chinese
303 Jin Dynasty's rule over northern China and Sichuan begins to break down in 304
WESTERN
JIN DYNASTY
*
266-317
304
Cheng-Han

304-47
Han-Zhao

304-29
314
315 Dai*
315-76
317
318 Former Liang
318-76
EASTERN
JIN DYNASTY
*
318-420
319 Later Zhao
319-51
329
330
337 Former Yan
337-70
347
350 Ran Wei*
350-52
351 Former Qin
351-94
352
353
370
376
377 From 376 to 383, Former Qin briefly unites northern China
384
NORTHERN
WEI DYNASTY
*
386-534		 Later Qin
384-417		 Western Yan*
384-94		 Later Yan
384-409
385 Western Qin
385-400
386 Later Liang
386-403
388
Zhai Wei
*
388-92
392
394
397 Southern Liang
397-414		 Northern Liang
397-439
398 Southern Yan
398-410
400 Western Liang
400-21
403
404
407 Xia
407-31
409 Western Qin
resurrected
409-31		 Northern Yan
409-36
410
414
417
420 LIU
SONG DYNASTY*
420-79
421
431
436
439
440 In 439, the Northern Wei reunites northern China
asterisk (*) denotes kingdoms not counted among the sixteen in the Spring and Autumn Annals of the Sixteen Kingdoms

Involvement of other ethnicities

Chiu-ch'üan, Later Liang – Northern Liang
.

The

Dongbuyeo. Riding its success, Goguryeo campaigned against the Later Yan, obtaining the Liao River region. King Murong Xi of Later Yan twice launched retaliatory attacks to reclaim the Liao River watershed territory, but was only partially successful. At Northern Yan's destruction by the Northern Wei, Yan king Feng Hong fled to Goguryeo to seek asylum. Although granted asylum, Hong was said to have acted as if he was still king, issuing orders and demanding respect, and was executed by King Jangsu of Goguryeo
.

The

Youzhou, and the Khitan began increasing in strength. In 414, the Kumo Xi tribes sent a trade caravan to Northern Yan, then joined with the Khitan in declaring allegiance to Northern Yan, and then to Northern Wei after its destruction of Northern Yan. Thus, the Northern Wei (essentially the Tuoba Xianbei), held de facto rule over the entire Mongolian Plateau
and the Liao River region.

In the

Fu Jian sent General Lü Guang on a military expedition to the Dayuan
kingdom and promoted him to Protector General of the western border regions. After Qin collapsed and Lü Guang founded the Later Liang, the western border forts and the Shanshan kingdom all became parts of or vassals to the Later Liang.

Religion

Kumarajiva
's white horse which carried the scriptures to China, c. 384.

Several rulers of the northern kingdoms patronized Buddhism which spread across northern China during the Sixteen Kingdoms and flourished during the subsequent Northern Dynasties.

The Former Qin ruler Fu Jian was a strong patron of Buddhist scholarship. After capturing

Dao An to Chang'an to catalogue Buddhist scriptures. When the teachings of the famed Kuchean monk, Kumārajīva, reached Chang'an, Dao An advised Fu Jian to invite the Kumārajīva. In 382, Fu Jian sent general Lü Guang to conquer the Western Regions (Tarim Basin) and bring Kumārajīva to Chang'an. Lü Guang captured Kucha and seized Kumārajīva, but the Former Qin kingdom collapsed after the Battle of Feishui in 383. Lü Guang founded the Later Liang and held Kumārajīva captive in western Gansu for 18 years. In 401, the Later Qin ruler, Yao Xing
conquered the Former Liang and Kumārajīva was able to settle in Chang'an and become one of the most influential translators of Buddhist sutras into Chinese.

The earliest grottoes in the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang were carved in the Former Liang. Work on the Maijishan Grottoes began during the Later Qin. The Bingling Grottoes were started during the Western Qin. Numerous other grottoes were built in the Hexi Corridor under the Northern Liang.

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ (Chinese) 许红梅, "'汉匈奴归义亲汉张' 印考释" 行知部落 xzbu.com Accessed 2020-06-02
  2. ^ (Chinese) 环首铁刀, CCTV.com Accessed 2020-06-02]
  3. ^ Cosmo, Nicola di (2009), Military Culture in Imperial China, Harvard University Press, p. 104
  4. ISBN 1134553536
    .
  5. ISBN 0521497817
    .
  6. ISBN 9781000283143
    .
  7. ISBN 0-8135-1304-9
    .
  8. ^ Li and Zheng, p. 391

Sources

Preceded by
Dynasties in Chinese history

304–439 		Succeeded by
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