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43-650: According to the Book of Jin , the Chuge were one of the nineteen recorded Xiongnu tribes that resettled in northern China. By the Jin dynasty period, they rose to be the most honored and prestigious among the Xiongnu, and members of the Chuge were elected by the tribes to become chanyus . They were spread out in the north and most prevalent in the areas around modern-day Shanxi and eastern Gansu . One common theory among modern Chinese historians

86-550: A Han descendant, he would succeed to the Han throne, and therefore claimed the title of the King of Han—deliberately choosing a title that had been previously held by the Han dynasty's founder, Liu Bang (Emperor Gao). He reestablished the worship of eight Han emperors—Emperor Gao, Emperor Wen , Emperor Wu , Emperor Xuan , Emperor Guangwu , Emperor Ming , Emperor Zhang , and Liu Bei (Emperor Zhaolie). He created his wife Lady Huyan (likely

129-447: A coalition of Han Chinese and tribal rebels in northern China. Though he would not live long to see it, his family and generals would eventually drive the Jin dynasty out of the north. According to official history, Liu Yuan was a member of Xiongnu nobility, as a descendant of the first great chanyu in Xiongnu history, Modu Chanyu , who, along with their people, had long been loyal vassals to

172-452: A major ethnic group. They had various Chinese surnames such as Bi (畢), Zhang (張), Li (李), Guo (郭), Dong (董), Cheng (成) and Huang (黃). Wang Zhuo , a general notable for serving five different dynasties, was a Xiuchu from Qin province in the northwest, and his sons, Wang Tong and Wang Guang became officials for the Former Qin dynasty . The Chuge eventually became subjects of

215-434: A relative of his mother) princess. (The name of Liu's state was therefore "Han," but is often referred to as "Han-Zhao" or "Former Zhao" because his nephew Liu Yao , who took the throne in 318, changed the name of the state to Zhao in 319.) For those impressed with Liu's abilities previously, however, his reign was somewhat of a let down. He spent great energy on trying to restore the Han system of government, but he himself

258-685: Is referred to by his courtesy name as Liu Yuanhai (劉元海) in the Book of Jin . With the dissolution of the Southern Xiongnu in 216, the last vestiges of their power were divided into Five Divisions in Bing province around modern-day Shanxi . Liu Yuan was born into the aristocracy of the Five Divisions and was sent to the Chinese capital, Luoyang as a hostage during his youth, where he became highly sinicized and later held several government offices under

301-517: Is that the Chuge were descendants of the Xiutu (休屠), also transcribed as Xiuchu, who lived around Wuwei in the Hexi Corridor and were among the earliest of the Xiongnu to surrender to the Han dynasty in 121 BC. The Xiuchu were relocated into five commanderies, namely Longxi , Beidi , Shang , Shuofang and Yunzhong . The tribes that lived around Longxi retained the "Xiuchu" name, while those living in

344-570: The Cao Wei and Western Jin courts. In 304, Bao's son, Liu Yuan led the Southern Xiongnu to rebel against the Jin and founded the Han-Zhao dynasty, one of the first of the Sixteen Kingdoms . Several passages in records refer to Liu Yuan and his family members as "Chuge", but at the same time, he claimed to be the grandson of Yufuluo and a direct descendant of the Southern Xiongnu chanyus, who were of

387-447: The Han dynasty and to its successor states Cao Wei and Jin . In late Wei or early Jin times, the Xiongnu nobles claimed that they descended from the Han dynasty's ruling Liu clan also — through a princess who had married Modu Chanyu – and therefore changed their family name to Liu. Liu Yuan's father, Liu Bao , was a son of one of the last Southern Xiongnu chanyus, Yufuluo , and the nephew of

430-557: The Luandi clan. Modern scholars such as Tang Changru have cast their doubt on Liu Yuan's lineage from the Southern Xiongnu chanyus and believe it to be a fabrication for legitimacy. Aside from the Liu clan of Han-Zhao, there were many recorded Chuge leaders during the Sixteen Kingdoms and as far as the late Northern Wei period. The Chuge outlasted most of their Xiongnu counterparts and became

473-502: The Northern Wei dynasty and were mentioned during Northern Zhou dynasty in the late 6th-century before disappearing from history, presumably assimilating into the rest of Chinese society. Book of Jin The Book of Jin is an official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty from 266 to 420 . It was compiled in 648 by a number of officials commissioned by

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516-710: The Western Jin dynasty . As the War of the Eight Princes weakened Jin authority in northern China, Liu Yuan was called upon by the Five Divisions to lead their rebellion, and in 304, he declared independence from the Jin and founded the Han-Zhao dynasty , one of the first of the Sixteen Kingdoms. His declaration, along with the founding of the Cheng-Han dynasty in Sichuan that same year, marked

559-615: The Xianbei rebel Tufa Shujineng . Eventually, even Emperor Wu's brother Sima You the Prince of Qi, impressed and fearful of Liu's abilities, encouraged Emperor Wu to have Liu executed, but Wang Hun persuaded Emperor Wu that it would be wrong. When Liu Bao died in 279, Emperor Wu permitted Liu Yuan to take over command of the Left Tribe. In 289, he was transferred to Commander of the North Tribe. As

602-528: The Xianbei , and when the Southern Xiongnu , a vassal state of the Han, was experiencing a steady decline. The Xiuchuge were first mentioned in 156 rebelling with the Wuhuan of Shuofang Commandery against the Han dynasty, but were defeated by the Han general, Zhang Huan . They later acted as auxiliaries for the Han general, Xia Yu who attacked the marauding Xianbei at Beidi Commandery in 174. In 188 AD,

645-477: The pre-existing Jin histories , but also a large body of actual Jin primary sources, it appears that the book was primarily based on Zang Rongxu's (臧荣绪) identically-titled Jinshu from the Southern Qi , and further incorporates material from fictionalized novels. The Tang historian Liu Zhiji (661–721) accused the editors of generally selecting the sources that had the most vivid and compelling language, rather than

688-489: The Book of Jin is recognized as the most important primary source for the Jin dynasty and Sixteen Kingdoms, because the pre-existing histories and other sources it was compiled from have all been lost – save for a few stray quotations in other works. No complete translations are known at this time. The astronomical chapters (11, 12 & 13) were translated by Ho Peng Yoke. Choo translates the biography of Huan Wen in volume 98 and

731-692: The Chinese general Wang Mi and the Jie general Shi Le (both of whom declared loyalty to Han in 307), who generally only nominally submitted to Liu's orders while maintaining separate power structures but who also did appear to genuinely respect and fear Liu. As for troops under his own control, Liu largely entrusted them to his son Liu Cong the Prince of Chu and his nephew Liu Yao the Prince of Shi'an. The four generals, while not being able to hold cities, were generally able to rove throughout northern and central China unimpeded by Jin forces, defeating most Jin generals who opposed them. In 308, Wang's troops advanced on

774-416: The Five Divisions nobles, led by the commander of the North Tribe, Liu Xuan , tired of the Jin misrule and secretly plotted reindependence from Jin. They sent a messenger to secretly offer Liu Yuan the title of Grand Chanyu. Liu Yuan then told Sima Ying, who was then concerned about an attack from Wang Jun , whose troops were reinforced with Xianbei and Wuhuan soldiers, that he would be willing to mobilize

817-684: The Jin capital Luoyang, but was repelled. That year, after capturing more territory, Liu Yuan moved his capital to Puzi (蒲子, in modern Linfen , Shanxi ) and declared himself emperor, signifying an even more complete break from Jin. In 309, he moved the capital once more to Pingyang (平陽, also in modern Linfen). By this time, Liu Cong and Wang Mi had eventually been able to control all of southern Shanxi for Han, and they again attacked Luoyang, but were again repelled. In 310, Liu Yuan grew ill, and he created his second wife Lady Dan empress and his oldest son Liu He (by his first wife Empress Huyan —who appeared to have died by this point, although her death

860-524: The Southern Xiongnu chanyus, with Tang in particularly presenting three reasons. Firstly, Liu Bao's lifespan was unusually long, as he was serving as Tuqi King in 195 and died after Tufa Shujineng rebelled , which should be after 274. Secondly, the Leader (or Commander) of the Left Tribe in 272 was Li Ke (李恪) and not Liu Bao according to Emperor Wu's entry in the Jinshu , but Liu Yuan's entry states that he inherited

903-439: The Xiongnu, he was given the title of North Chanyu rather than the vacant title of South Chanyu, which was held by his supposed ancestors. Tang hypothesized that these discrepancies were due to Liu Yuan actually being from the Chuge tribe (屠各; also known as Xiuchuge (休屠各)), which is supported by the fact that he and his family members are referred to as "Chuge" in several passages from relevant records. The Chuge are theorized to be

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946-525: The Xiuchuge rebelled in Bing and killed the Han provincial inspector, Zhang Yi (張懿). While their rebellion was happening, a group within the Southern Xiongnu were disgruntled with the chanyu, Qiangqu , who was sending their people as soldiers to help the Han in quelling revolts elsewhere. The rebellious group allied themselves with the Xiuchuge and killed Qiangqu. Though the Han court appointed Qiangqu's son, Yufuluo as

989-671: The Zou version of Confucius ' Spring and Autumn Annals and of the military strategies of Sun Tzu and Wu Qi . The key Jin official Wang Hun (one of the lead generals who later participated in conquering Eastern Wu ) became impressed with him, and Wang Hun's son Wang Ji (王濟) became a close friend of Liu Yuan's. Wang Hun believed Liu to be general material and repeatedly recommended Liu Yuan to Emperor Wu , but Kong Xun (孔恂) and Empress Yang Zhi 's uncle Yang Ji (楊濟) suspected Liu for his Xiongnu ancestry and persuaded Emperor Wu against giving Liu military commands during campaigns against Eastern Wu and

1032-578: The biography of Sun Chuo in volume 56. Knapp translates biographies of Liu Yin in volume 88 and Huangfu Mi in volume 51. Liu Yuan (Han-Zhao) Liu Yuan (劉淵) (died 19 August 310), courtesy name Yuanhai (元海), also known by his posthumous name as the Emperor Guangwen of Han (Zhao) (漢(趙)光文帝) was the founding emperor of the Xiongnu -led Han-Zhao dynasty of China during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. Due to Tang dynasty naming taboo , he

1075-508: The chaos of the ongoing Han civil war, the Xiuchuge or Chuge were drawn into the conflicts instead. In the 190s, the Chuge allied with Zhang Yan of the Heishan bandits , who controlled the Taihang Mountains , and they later killed Gongsun Xu (公孫續), the son of the defeated Jizhou warlord, Gongsun Zan . The Chuge eventually retreated west as Cao Cao and Yuan Shao established control in

1118-427: The commander of the tribes, Liu became known for his fair administration of laws and willingness to listen to ideas, and also for his willingness to spread his wealth. Therefore, the ambitious people in his region, not only of the Five Divisions but of many Han clans, flocked to him. After Emperor Wu's death and succession by Emperor Hui , the regent Yang Jun made Liu the commander of all Five Divisions, but toward

1161-485: The commanderies of Bing province (present-day Shanxi ) eventually added the "ge" (各) suffix, perhaps as a result of a language habit of the regional dialect at the time. They thus became known as the "Xiuchuge" (休屠各), and their name was then shortened to "Chuge" (屠各). The Xiuchuge people rose to power during the late-2nd century, after the Northern Xiongnu of the steppe had been defeated and were being supplanted by

1204-584: The descendants of King Xiutu's tribe, who surrendered to the Han dynasty much earlier than the Southern Xiongnu in 121 BC. From the Hexi Corridor , the Chuge spread out throughout northern China and became the most powerful and prestigious tribe among the Xiongnu within China. In 188 AD, they killed the Southern Xiongnu chanyu, Qiangqu and exiled his son Yufuluo . After the Southern Xiongnu were divided into five divisions in Bingzhou , they were all annexed by Liu Bao of

1247-425: The end of the subsequent regency of Emperor Hui's wife Empress Jia Nanfeng , Liu was removed from that position due to his inability to stop one of his countrymen's rebellions. Later, when Sima Ying the Prince of Chengdu became the military commander at Yecheng , he invited Liu to be one of his subordinate military commanders, and Liu accepted the invitation. In the midst of the War of the Eight Princes , in 304,

1290-595: The formal end of the Western Jin's brief unification of China following the Three Kingdoms period. Liu Yuan proclaimed himself a direct descendant of the Southern Xiongnu chanyus and, by extension, the Han dynasty , since his ancestors had married Han princesses through the practice of heqin . His state of Han (renamed Zhao in 319) was initially depicted as a restoration of the Han dynasty, and as anti-Jin sentiment continued to grow, Liu Yuan soon found himself leading

1333-754: The gaps between the Records of the Three Kingdoms , the Book of Song , the Book of Qi , the Book of Wei and the Emperor's own time. As part of this ambition, its treatises cover not only the Jin but also the preceding Three Kingdoms, making up for the lack of such a section in the Records of the Three Kingdoms. The book was hastily compiled between 646 CE and 648, by a committee of 21 people led by editor-in-chief Fang Xuanling. As some chapters were written by Emperor Taizong of Tang ,

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1376-505: The imperial court of the Tang dynasty , with chancellor Fang Xuanling as the lead editor, drawing mostly from official documents left from earlier archives. A few essays in volumes 1, 3, 54 and 80 were composed by the Tang dynasty's Emperor Taizong himself. However, the contents of the Book of Jin included not only the history of the Jin dynasty, but also that of the Sixteen Kingdoms period, which

1419-484: The new chanyu, the Xiuchuge and their allies rejected him, forcing Yufuluo into exile and electing a marquis from the Xubu clan in his place. After the marquis of Xubu's death, the chanyu position was abolished and a nominal king was installed instead in the rebel's territory, although Yufuluo still claimed to hold the title. The Southern Xiongnu state began to disintegrate, and while the other tribes distanced themselves from

1462-544: The north. In 214, they were attacked and defeated at Gaoping County (高平縣; present-day Guyuan , Ningxia ) by Cao Cao's general Xiahou Yuan . In 216, Huchuquan, Yufuluo's brother and successor, was detained by Cao Cao at Ye while the last vestiges of the Southern Xiongnu in Bing province were reorganized into the Five Divisions (五陪) in Taiyuan Commandery . In the 250s, the Five Divisions were unified by one of their leaders, Liu Bao before being forced to divide again by

1505-464: The ones that were the most historically reliable. The collaborative nature of the project coupled with the rushed production time unsurprisingly leaves the book with a number of internal contradictions and editorial errors; such as misspelled personal and place names, draft-like and unpolished language, and "cross-references" to non-existent chapters that were presumably planned but never finished in time for publication. In spite of these shortcomings,

1548-441: The position from his father. Thirdly, Liu Yuan was from Xinxing Commandery (新興郡; north of present-day Xinzhou , Shanxi ), which would have placed him in the North Tribe (北部), so for him and his father to hold command over the Left Tribe is suspect. Furthermore, the Jinshu states that after becoming Leader of the Left Tribe, he was later transferred to become Commander of the North Tribe, and when Sima Ying permitted him to return to

1591-622: The soldiers of the Five Divisions to support Sima Ying's cause. Sima Ying agreed and allowed Liu Yuan to return to the Five Divisions. Once Liu Yuan returned to his people, he gathered 50,000 men quickly and was readying himself to rush to Sima Ying's aid, but he also publicly accepted the title of Grand Chanyu. (Previously, Sima Ying had bestowed the title of North Chanyu on him.) However, he then heard that Sima Ying's forces had collapsed in fear of Wang's troops and that Sima Ying had, against his prior advice, fled to Luoyang. He then declared his people independent from Jin and further declared that, as

1634-405: The very last Southern Xiongnu chanyu Huchuquan (before Cao Cao abolished the office in 216 and divided the Xiongnu into Five Divisions ( bu , 部)); Liu Bao had the command of the Left Tribe (左部). Liu Yuan's mother Lady Huyan (呼延) appeared to be from a noble family, and was in probability Liu Bao's wife, not concubine. As all Five Divisions settled down in Bingzhou (modern southern Shanxi ), that

1677-456: The work is sometimes given the honorific "imperially authored". The Book of Jin had the longest gestation period of any official history, not seeing the light of day until 229 years after the end of the dynasty it describes. The book has been criticized for being more reflective of the court politics in the Tang dynasty that compiled it, rather than the realities of the Jin dynasty itself. Despite Fang's team having at their disposal not only

1720-478: Was contemporaneous with the Eastern Jin dynasty. Over 20 histories of the Jin had been written during the Jin era itself and the subsequent Northern and Southern dynasties , of which 18 were still extant at the beginning of the Tang dynasty . Yet Emperor Taizong deemed them all to be deficient and ordered the compilation of a new standard history for the period, as part of a wider six-history project to fill in

1763-430: Was likely where Liu Yuan was born and raised. As powerful nobles from the Five Divisions were usually encouraged or pressured by Cao Wei and Jin authorities to send their sons to the capital Luoyang (both to encourage them to further sinicization and as collateral for their loyalty), Liu Yuan was sent to Luoyang to reside and to study traditional Chinese literature. He became well known for his studies, particularly of

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1806-466: Was not mentioned in history) crown prince . When he died later that year, Liu He became emperor. However, only a week later, he was overthrown and killed by Liu Cong , who then became emperor. In the Book of Wei , Chinese author Wei Shou notes that Liu Yuan was over six feet tall and that he had strands of red hair in his long beard . Some modern Chinese academics, such as Tang Changru (唐长孺) and Chen Yong (陈勇), cast doubt on Liu Yuan's lineage from

1849-563: Was unable to quickly expand his sphere of influence. He set his capital at Lishi (離石, in modern Lüliang , Shanxi ), but his control of territory became limited to that local region. His forces were often able to achieve victories over Jin forces but unable to hold cities. In 305, after a famine, he relocated to Liting (黎亭, in modern Changzhi , Shanxi). As years went by, however, the various agrarian rebel generals who were resisting Jin rule, whether ethnically Wu Hu or Han, often chose to come under Liu Yuan's Han banner. Chief among these were

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