Sino-Xiongnu War

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Sino-Xiongnu War
漢匈戰爭
ZhangQianTravels.jpg
Emperor Wu dispatching Zhang Qian to Central Asia, Mogao Caves mural, 8th century
Date 133 BC – AD 89
Location China, Mongolia, and Central Asia
Result Decisive Han victory
Belligerents
Xiongnu Han empire
Commanders and leaders
Junchen Chanyu
Yizhixie Chanyu
King Hunye Surrendered
King Xiutu †
Zhizhi Chanyu †
...and others		 Emperor Wu
General Wei Qing
General Huo Qubing
General Dou Gu
General Ban Chao
General Dou Xian
...and others
Sino-Xiongnu War

The Sino-Xiongnu War is a series of battles fought between the Chinese Han empire and the confederation of Xiongnu tribes between 133 BC and 89 AD. The nature of these battles varied through time with many casualties between the possession and loss of the regions at the western frontier. The period saw the expansion of the Han empire's political influence deep into Central Asia. Marked by significant events involving the conquests over various smaller states and many large-scale battles, it resulted in the total victory of the Han empire over the Xiongnu in 89 AD.

Contents

[edit] Onset of the war

[edit] Initiation of war

Further information: Battle of Mayi

By the reign of Emperor Wu, the Han empire was prospering and the national treasury had accumulated large surpluses.[1] However, burdened by the frequent Xiongnu raids at the frontier of the Han empire, the emperor abandoned the policies of his predecessors to maintain peace with the Xiongnu early in his reign.[2] In 136 BC, after continued Xiongnu's raids at the northern frontier, Emperor Wu had a court conference assembled.[3] The faction supporting war against the Xiongnu was able to sway the majority opinion by making a compromise for those worried about stretching financial resources on an indefinite campaign: in an engagement along the border near Mayi, Han forces would lure Junchen Chanyu over with wealth and promises of defections in order to eliminate him and cause political chaos for the Xiongnu.[3] Emperor Wu launched his military campaigns against the Xiongnu in 133 BC.[4][5]

In 133 BC, the Xiongnu forces led by the Chanyu[note 1] were lured into a trap at Mayi, while a Han army of about 300,000 troops laid in ambush against the Xiongnu.[5] Wang Hui led this campaign and commanded a force of 30,000 men strong, advancing from Dai with the intention of attacking the Xiongnu supply route.[6] Han Anguo and Gongsun He would command the remaining forces and advance towards Mayi.[6] Junchen Chanyu led his army of 100,000 men towards Mayi, but he became increasingly suspicious of the situation.[6] When the ambush of 133 BC in Mayi failed, because Junchen Chanyu realized he was about to fall into a trap and fled back north, the peace was broken and the Han court resolved to engage in full-scale war.[7] In light of this battle, the Xiongnu became aware of the Han court's intentions to go to war.[5] By that point the Han empire was long consolidated politically, militarily, and economically, and was led by an increasingly pro-war faction at the imperial court.[8]

The western regions in the first century BC

[edit] Expedition to the western regions

In 162 BC, the Xiongnu troops of Laoshang Chanyu had invaded and driven the Yuezhi from their homeland; the Chanyu had the Yuezhi monarch executed and his skull fashioned into a drinking cup.[9][10] Thus the Han court decided it was favorable to send an envoy to the Yuezhi to secure a military alliance.[11] In 138 BC, the diplomat Zhang Qian left with an envoy and headed towards the Yuezhi encampments.[9][12] However, the envoy was captured by the Xiongnu and held hostage.[9][11] A decade went by, until Zhang Qian and some of his convoy escaped.[9][11] They travelled to the territories of Ferghana (Dayuan 大宛), Soghdiana (Kangju 康居), and Bactria (Daxia 大夏), ultimately finding the Yuezhi forces north of the Amu River.[11] Despite their efforts, the envoy could not secure a military alliance.[11][13] As the Yuezhi had settled in those new lands for quite some time, they had almost no desire to wage a war against the Xiongnu.[11][13] In 126 BC, Zhang Qian headed to the Hexi Corridor in order to return to his nation.[14] While travelling through the area, he was captured by the Xiongnu, only to escape a year later and return to China in 125 BC.[15]

[edit] Course of the war

Emperor Wu of Han

[edit] Skirmishes at the northeastern frontier

In 128 BC, General Wei Qing led 30,000 men to battle at the regions north of Yanman and came out victorious.[16] The very next year, the Xiongnu invaded Liaoxi, killing its governor, and advanced towards Yanmin.[17] Han Anguo mobilized 700 men, but was defeated and relayed back to Yuyang.[17] Thereafter, Wei Qing moved out with a force and captured some Xiongnu troops, causing the main force of the Xiongnu to withdraw.[17] Meanwhile, Li Xi had led a force across the frontier and also captured some of the Xiongnu troops.[17]

[edit] Military campaigns by the Han empire

Between 127 to 119 BC, Emperor Wu ordered the generals Wei Qing and Huo Qubing to lead several large-scale military campaigns against the Xiongnu.[5] Leading campaigns involving tens of thousands of troops, General Wei Qing recaptured the Ordos Desert region from the Xiongnu in 127 BC and General Huo Qubing expelled them from the Qilian Mountains in 121 BC, gaining the surrender of many Xiongnu aristocrats.[18] The Han court also sent expeditions, ranging to over 100,000 troops, into Mongolia in 124 BC, 123 BC, and 119 BC.[19] Following the successes of these 127–119 BC campaigns, Emperor Wu wrote edicts in which he heavily praised the two generals for their achievements.[20]

[edit] Ordos Loop

In 127 BC, General Wei Qing invaded and retook full control of the Ordos region.[14][21] The commandaries at Wuyuan and Shuofang were fortified with walls.[22] With the old Qin walled fortifications in their control, the Han set out to repair and extend the walls.[23] In 126 BC, the Xiongnu sent out three forces of 30,000 troops each to raid Dai, Dinxiang, and Shang.[14] In that same year (126 BC), General Wei Qing advanced from Gaoque into Mongolia with 30,000 men and inflicted defeat to the Xiongnu forces of the Tuqi King[note 2] and captured 15,000 men along with 10 tribal chiefs.[24] In the autumn, the Xiongnu raided Dai once again; they took some prisoners and killed a Han military commander.[24] During the spring of 123 BC, General Wei Qing set off to Mongolia with an army to attack the Xiongnu; they marched back victorious to Dingxiang.[25] Two months later, the Han army advanced towards the Xiongnu again, but this time the Xiongnu were prepared for the invasion by the Han forces.[25] However, hereafter, due to the military expeditions that the Han empire undertook, the Xiongnu moved their capital and retreated to the far north of the Gobi Desert.[25]

[edit] Hexi Corridor

The ruins of a Han rammed-earth watchtower in Dunhuang

Emperor Wu desired to place firm control over the Hexi Corridor and decided to launch a large military offensive to purge the Xiongnu from the area.[23] The campaign was undertaken in 121 BC by General Huo Qubing.[26] General Huo Qubing led a Han army totaling at around 100,000 troops into the Hexi Corridor.[27] In the spring, Huo set out from Longxi and advanced into the territory of King Xiutu, beyond Mount Yanzhi; 18,000 Xiongnu cavalry were captured or killed.[28] That summer, Huo advanced into the Anshan Desert to invade the regions at the Qilian Mountains.[28] At the Qilian Mountains, King Hunye saw the deaths of over 30,000 troops in battle against the Han, while 2800 of his troops were captured.[29] In the Battle of Hexi of 121 BC, the Han forces had decisively defeated the Xiongnu.[27] Distraught by the huge losses and fearing the wrath of the Xiongnu Chanyu, King Xiutu and King Hunye planned to surrender to the Han forces of General Huo Qubing.[30] However, King Xiutu suddenly changed his mind and fled with his followers.[30] General Huo Qubing and Hunye gave chase and killed Xiutu and his 8000 troops.[30] In the end, King Hunye and 40,000 Xiongnu soldiers surrendered,[27][29][30] which also led to the Xiongnu tribes of Hunye and Xiutu submitting to the rule of the Han empire.[31][32] Due to the series of victories, the Han had conquered a territory stretching from the Hexi Corridor to Lop Nur, thus cutting the Xiongnu off from their Qiang allies.[33] Commanderies were established in Ordos as well as four in the Hexi Corridor—Jiuquan, Zhangyi, Dunhuang, and Wuwei—which were populated with Han settlers after a major Qiang–Xiongnu allied force was repelled from the region in 111 BC.[34] Walled fortifications were constructed across the corridor, with the strategic Yumen Pass and Yangguan Pass established.

[edit] Gobi Desert

The statue Horse Stepping on a Xiongnu Soldier (馬踏匈奴), dated to the Western Han period, from the tomb of General Huo Qubing near present-day Xi'an
Further information: Battle of Mobei

In 119 BC, two separate expeditionary forces led by the Han generals Wei Qing and Huo Qubing mobilized towards the Xiongnu.[15][27] The two generals led the campaign to the Khangai Mountains where they forced the Chanyu to flee north of the Gobi Desert.[35] The two forces together comprised 100,000 cavalry, 140,000 horses carrying supplies,[36] and several hundred thousand infantry.[37] They advanced into the desert in pursuit of the main force of the Xiongnu.[5] It concluded in the Battle of Mobei of 119 BC, where the Han forces overran their enemy.[27] The military campaign was considered a major Han military victory against Xiongnu,[38] where the Xiongnu were driven from the Gobi Desert.[39] The Xiongnu casualties ranged from 80 to 90 thousand troops, while the Han casualties ranged from 20 to 30 thousand troops.[40] In the aftermath, the Han forces had lost around 100,000 horses during the campaign.[40]

Huo Qubing's elite troops had set off from Dai to link up with Lu Bode's forces in Yucheng, after which they advanced further and engaged the Tuqi King of the Left[note 3] and his army.[40] Huo Qubing's army encircled and overran their enemy, killing around 70,000 Xiongnu,[27] including the Tuqi King of the Left.[41] They also captured three Xiongnu lords and 83 Xiongnu nobles.

General Wei Qing's army, setting off from Dingxiang,[36] encountered Yizhixie Chanyu's army of 80,000 cavalry. Wei Qing ordered his troops to arrange heavy-armored chariots in a ring formation,[40] creating mobile fortresses that provided archers, crossbowmen, and infantry protection from the Xiongnu's cavalry charges, and allowing the Han troops to utilize their ranged weapons' advantages. A 5000-strong cavalry was deployed to reinforce the array against any Xiongnu attack.[40] The Xiongnu charged the Han forces with a 10,000-strong vanguard cavalry.[42] The battle solidified into a stalemate until dusk, when a sandstorm obscured the battlefield.[42] Subsequently, Wei Qing sent in his main forces and overwhelmed the Xiongnu.[40] The Han cavalry used the low visibility as cover and encircled the Xiongnu army from both flanks, but Yizhixie Chanyu and a contingent of troops broke through and escaped.[40] The forces then continued their pursuit for Yizhixie Chanyu and drove him as far as Lake Baikal.[15]

[edit] Control over the western regions

Bronze statue of a horse, dated to the Eastern Han period (25–220), Rietberg Museum
Further information: Battle of Loulan, Battle of Tian Shan, and Battle of Jushi

With the Han conquest of the Hexi Corridor in 121 BC, the city-states at the Tarim Basin were caught in between the onslaught of the war, with much shifting of allegiance.[43] There were several Han military expeditions undertaken to secure the submission of the local kings to the Han empire; the Han took control of the regions for strategic purposes while the Xiongnu needed the regions as a source of revenue.[9][43] Due to the ensuing war with the Han empire, the Xiongnu were forced to extract more crafts and agricultural foodstuffs from the Tarim Basin urban centers.[44] By 115 BC, the Han had set up commanderies at Jiuquan and Wuwei, while extending the old Qin fortifications from Lingju to the area west of Dunhuang.[5] From 115 to 60 BC, the Han and Xiongnu battled for control and influence over these states,[45] which saw the rise of power of the Han empire over eastern Central Asia with the decline of that of the Xiongnu's.[46] The Han empire brought the states of Loulan, Jushi (Turpan), Luntai (Bügür), Dayuan (Ferghana), and Kangju (Soghdiana) into tributary submission between 108 to 101 BC.[47] The farthest-reaching invasion was Li Guangli's four-year campaign towards Ferghana in the Syr Darya and Amu Darya valleys (present-day Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan).[48] The long walled defense line that now stretched all the way to Dunhuang protected the people, guided caravans and troops to and from Central Asia, and served to separate the Xiongnu from their allies, the Qiang people.[49]

In 115 BC, Zhang Qian was once again dispatched to the western regions to secure military alliances against the Xiongnu.[50][51] He sought out the various states in Central Asia, such as the Wusun.[50] Zhang Qian came back without achieving his goals, but he gained valuable knowledge of the western regions as in his previous travels.[51] During his travels, he brought back horses of a breed superior to those known in the Han empire.[51] Emperor Wu had received Zhang's reports of the large and powerful horses of Ferghana, known as "heavenly horses",[13] which he thought were of high importance to fight the Xiongnu.[52] The refusal of the Dayuan kingdom, a nation centered in Ferghana, to provide the Han empire with the horses and the execution of a Han envoy led to conflict;[53] the Han forces brought Dayuan into submission in 101 BC.[50][54] The Xiongnu, aware of this predicament, had tried to halt the Han advance, but they were outnumbered and suffered defeat.[55]

General Zhao Ponu was sent on an expedition in 108 AD to invade Jushi, located in Turpan, a critical economic and military stronghold of the Xiongnu in the western regions.[55] After he conquered the region, the Han forces repelled all Xiongnu attacks to regain control over Jushi.[55] When King Angui acceded the throne of Loulan, the kingdom—which was the eastern-most state of the western regions—became increasingly apprehensive towards the Han.[56] Their policies became somewhat anti-Han in nature and supportive towards the Xiongnu, such as allowing the killing of passing Han envoys to happen and revealing Han military logistics.[57][56] In 77 BC, King Angui received the Han emissary Fu Jiezi and held a banquet for the envoy, who came under the guise of bringing many coveted gifts.[56] During the banquet, Fu Jiezi requested a private discussion with King Angui, which was a pretense for the assasination of the Loulan ruler by two of Fu Jiezi's officers.[56] Amid the cries of horror, Fu Jiezi proclaimed an admonition[note 4] to the Loulan aristocracy and beheaded the dead king.[56] The Han court informed Weituqi—who was an ally of the Han—of his brother's death, had him escorted back from Chang'an to Loulan, and installed him as the new monarch of the kingdom, which was renamed Shanshan.[56][58] Thereafter, the royal seat was relocated to the southern parts of Shanshan, in present day Kargilik or Ruoqiang, outside the sphere of Xiongnu influence.[57]

With many losses inflicted to the Xiongnu, rebellion soon broke out and former enslaved people rose up to arms.[59] Around 80 BC, the Xiongnu attacked the Wusun in a punitive campaign and soon the Wusun monarch requested military support from the Han empire.[60] In 72 BC, the joint forces of the Wusun and Han invaded the territory of the Luli King[note 5] of the Right.[59] Around 40,000 Xiongnu people and many of their lifestock were captured before their city was sacked after the battle.[59] The very next year, various tribes invaded and raided the Xiongnu territory from all fronts; Wusun from the west, Dingling from the north, and Wuhuan from the east.[59] The Han forces had set out in five columns and invaded from the south.

In 67 AD, the Han empire gained absolute control over the Turpan Depression after inflicting a significant defeat to the Xiongnu at the Battle of Jushi.[61] In 60 BC, the Han imperial court established the Protectorate of the Western Regions.[50][62] The Han empire was now in full control of the Tarim Basin and placed it under the administration of the Protector General.[63][64] With its increasing control of the western regions, the Han were controlling the trade and shaping the early history of the Silk Road.[50]

[edit] Internal discord between the Xiongnu

Further information: Battle of Zhizhi

As the Xiongnu economic and military situation deteriorated, the Xiongnu were willing to renew peace during the reigns of Huyandi Chanyu (r. 85-69 BC) and Xulüquanqu Chanyu (r. 68-60 BC), but the Han court gave only one option, tributary submission.[65] After Xulüquanqu Chanyu's death in 60 BC,[66] a Xiongnu civil war broke loose in 57 BC over the succession, which fully fragmented the Xiongnu confederation with many contenders.[67] In the end, only Zhizhi Chanyu and Huhanye Chanyu survived the struggle to power.[68] After Zhizhi Chanyu (r. 56–36 BC) had inflicted serious losses against his rival Huhanye Chanyu (r. 58–31 BC), Huhanye and his supporters debated whether to request military protection and become a Han vassal.[69] In 53 BC, Huhanye decided to do so and surrendered to the reign of the Han empire.[69][70] Huhanye sent his son as a hostage to the Han capital in 53 BC and personally paid homage to Emperor Xuan in 51 BC.[71] Zhizhi Chanyu tried to achieve the same sort of relation, but was rejected by the Han court, leading to the execution of a Han envoy in 45 BC.[72]

General Chen Tang and Protector General Gan Yanshou, acting without explicit permission from the Han court, killed Zhizhi Chanyu at his capital city (in present-day Taraz, Kazakhstan) in 36 BC.[73] Taking the initiative, Chen Tang had forged an imperial degree, which led to the mobilization of 40,000 troops in two columns.[74] The Han forces besieged and defeated the forces of Zhizhi Chanyu, and afterwards beheaded him.[74] His head was sent to the Han capital Chang'an. On return to Chang'an, the two officers faced legal enquiries for forging a degree, but were pardoned.[75] Chen and Gan received modest rewards, although the Han court was reluctant to do so due to the precedent that this event set.[76] Afterwards in 33 BC,[72] the Han court gave Lady Wang Zhaojun to Huhanye Chanyu as bride as a show of favor.[77] Yituzhiyashi (伊屠智牙師), the son of Huhanye and Wang Zhaojun, became a vocal partisan for the Han empire within the Xiongnu realm.[78] The peaceful relations fully collapsed when the Han official Wang Mang came to power.[79]

[edit] Collapse of power

Further information: Battle of Yiwulu
The Tian Shan mountain range and Taklamakan Desert of the northwestern frontier
In 74 AD, General Ban Chao (left) captured King Douti of Kashgar and replaced him with King Yule (right), who was granted the name Zhong. Soon, the new king rebelled and was beheaded by Ban Chao.

In 9 AD, the Han official Wang Mang usurped the Han throne and proclaimed a new Chinese dynasty, known as Xin.[80] He regarded the Xiongnu as lowly vassals and relations rapidly deteriorated.[81] During the winter of 10 to 11 AD, Wang amassed 300,000 troops along the northern frontier, which forced the Xiongnu to back down from launching large-scale attacks.[82][83] Although Han rule was restored in August 25 AD by Emperor Guangwu,[84] its grip over the Tarim Basin had weakened.[85] The Xiongnu had namely taken advantage of the situation and gained control over the region south of the Tian Shan mountain range.[86] In 10 AD, the Han protectorate of Turpan had fallen to the Xiongnu.[87]

The first half of the 1st century BC witnessed several succession crises for the Xiongnu leadership, allowing the Han empire to reaffirm its control over the western regions.[88] Huduershi Chanyu was succeeded by his son Punu (蒲奴) in 46 AD, thus breaking the late Huhanye's orders that only a Xiongnu ruler's brother was a valid successor.[89] Huduershi's nephew Bi (比) was outraged and was declared a rival Chanyu in 48 AD.[89] The Xiongnu confederation fell apart in the Northern Xiongnu and Southern Xiongnu, and Bi submitted to the reign of the Han empire in 50 AD.[89] The Han took control of the Southern Xiongnu under Bi, which had 30–40 thousand troops and a population of roughly twice or thrice the size.[79] The Southern Xiongnu were settled at the northern commanderies and overseen by a Han prefect, who acted as an arbiter in Xiongnu legal cases and monitored the movements of the Chanyu and his followers.[90] The Northern Xiongnu's attempts to enter Han's tributary system were rejected.[91]

Since 73 AD, General Ban Chao had led several Han military campaigns into the Tarim Basin.[86] It resulted in the retreat of the Northern Xiongnu to Dzungaria, while Ban Chao threatened and brought the city-states at the Tarim Basin to submission under the Han empire once again.[86] General Dou Gu defeated the Northern Xiongnu at the Battle of Yiwulu in 73 AD, chasing them as far as Lake Barkol before establishing a garrison at Hami.[92] In 74 AD, the king of Jushi submitted to the Han forces under General Dou Gu as the Xiongnu were unable to engage the Han forces.[93] Meanwhile (74 AD), General Ban Chao captured King Douti of Kashgar (Shule 疏勒), who was a puppet of Kucha (Qiuci 龜玆) and a resolute ally of the Xiongnu.[93] Later that year (74 AD), the kingdoms of Karasahr (Yanqi 焉耆) and Kucha were forced to surrender to the Han empire.[93] Although Dou Gu was able to evict the Xiongnu from Turpan in 74 AD, the Northern Xiongnu soon invaded the Bogda Mountains while their allies from Karasahr and Kucha killed the Protector General Chen Mu and his men.[94] As a result, the Han garrison at Hami was forced to withdraw in 77 AD, which was not reestablished until 91 AD.[95] From 78 AD onwards, General Ban Chao used the troops of the surrendered western states and launched several expeditions against the Xiongnu.

[edit] Final battle

Further information: Battle of Ikh Bayan

The next Han expedition against the Northern Xiongnu was led in 89 AD by General Dou Xian.[96] The army advanced from Jilu, Manyi, and Guyang in three great columns. At the Battle of Ikh Bayan, Dou's forces chased the Northern Chanyu into the Altai Mountains, killing 13,000 Xiongnu and accepting the surrender of 200,000 Xiongnu from 81 tribes.[96] General Dou Xian brought the main body of his troops in a triumphal progress north to the Khangai Mountains. There he erected the Stele of Yanran, composed by the historian Ban Gu, which celebrated the achievement of the battle.

[edit] Aftermath

Due to the Han victory in the campaign of 89 AD, the Xiongnu state was destroyed.[97] Between 89 to 91 AD, General Dou Xian initiated several punitive expeditions against the remaining hostile Xiongnu tribes, subsequently causing the tribes to flee westward.[98] The Southern Xiongnu tribes—who had been situated in the Ordos region since about 50 AD—remained within the territory of the Han empire as semi-independent tributaries.[99] Following the military successes against the Xiongnu, General Ban Chao was promoted to the position of Protector General in 91 AD and was stationed at Kucha.[100] At the remote frontier, Ban Chao reaffirmed absolute Han control over the western regions in 92 AD.[101]

[edit] See also

  • Book of Han, a classical historiographical work covering the early history of the Han empire
  • Chao Cuo, a Han political advisor whose memorial outlined the strategy and tactics of this war
  • First Chinese domination of Vietnam, expansion under Emperor Wu across the southern frontier
  • Gojoseon–Han War, a military campaign launched by Emperor Wu against Gojoseon
  • Han Wu Da Di, a 2005 Chinese television series based on the life story of Emperor Wu
  • Mulan, a 1998 American animated film inspired by the events of this war
  • Records of the Grand Historian, a classical historiographical work written in this era
  • Su Wu, a Han statesman and diplomat to the Xiongnu

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ In the Xiongnu hierarchy, the Chanyu was the supreme leader (Lewis 2007, 131).
  2. ^ Second to the Chanyu in power were the Tuqi Kings; the Tuqi Kings are also called the "Wise Kings", where the Xiongnu word for "Tuqi" means "Wise" (Lewis 2007, 131).
  3. ^ The Tuqi King of the Left was generally designated as the successor of the Chanyu (Lewis 2007, 131).
  4. ^ The translation given in Hulsewé (1979, 90) is as follows: "The Son of Heaven has sent me to punish the king, by reason of his crime in turning against Han. It is fitting that in his place you should enthrone his younger brother Weituqi who is at present in Han. Han troops are about to arrive here; do not dare to make any move which would result in yourselves bringing about the destruction of your state."
  5. ^ Second to the Chanyu in power were the Tuqi Kings, followed by the Luli Kings (Lewis 2007, 131).

[edit] References

[edit] Citations

  1. ^ Guo (2002), 180.
  2. ^ Lewis (2000), 43.
  3. ^ a b Cosmo (2002), 211–214; Yü (1986), 389–390.
  4. ^ Barfield (2001), 25.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Guo (2002), 185.
  6. ^ a b c Whiting (2002), 146.
  7. ^ Yü (1986), 389–390; Cosmo (2002), 214; Torday (1997), 91–92.
  8. ^ Chang (2007a), 159.
  9. ^ a b c d e Golden (2011), 29.
  10. ^ Yü (1994), 127.
  11. ^ a b c d e f Millward (2006), 20.
  12. ^ Lewis (2007), 21.
  13. ^ a b c Lovell (2006), 73.
  14. ^ a b c Whiting (2002), 149.
  15. ^ a b c Christian (1998), 196.
  16. ^ Whiting (2002), 147.
  17. ^ a b c d Whiting (2002), 148.
  18. ^ Yü (1986), 390; Cosmo (2002), 237–239.
  19. ^ Gernet (1996), 120.
  20. ^ Chang (2007a), 189.
  21. ^ Lovell (2006), 71.
  22. ^ Loewe (2009), 69–70.
  23. ^ a b Yamashita & Lindesay (2007), 153–154.
  24. ^ a b Whiting (2002), 151.
  25. ^ a b c Whiting (2002), 151–152.
  26. ^ Chang (2007a), 5.
  27. ^ a b c d e f Tucker et al. (2010), 109.
  28. ^ a b Whiting (2002), 152–153.
  29. ^ a b Deng (2007), 53–54.
  30. ^ a b c d Chang (2007a), 201.
  31. ^ Whiting (2002), 153.
  32. ^ Barfield (1981), 50.
  33. ^ Yü (1986), 391; Cosmo (2002), 241–242; Chang (2007b), 5–6.
  34. ^ Yü (1986), 391; Chang (2007b), 8.
  35. ^ Yü (1986), 390; Cosmo (2002), 240.
  36. ^ a b Whiting (2002), 154.
  37. ^ Chang (1966), 158.
  38. ^ Loewe (2009), 72.
  39. ^ Barfield (1981), 58.
  40. ^ a b c d e f g Whiting (2002), 154–155.
  41. ^ Chang (1966), 161.
  42. ^ a b Whiting (2002), 155.
  43. ^ a b Millward (2006), 21.
  44. ^ Cosmo (2002), 250–251.
  45. ^ Yü (1986), 390–391.
  46. ^ Lewis (2007), 137–138.
  47. ^ Chang (2007b), 174; Yü (1986), 409–411.
  48. ^ Yü (1986), 409–411.
  49. ^ Loewe (2009), 71.
  50. ^ a b c d e Golden (2011), 30.
  51. ^ a b c Haar (2009), 75.
  52. ^ Golden (2011), 29–30.
  53. ^ Boulnois (2004), 82.
  54. ^ Millward (1998), 25.
  55. ^ a b c Yü (1994), 132.
  56. ^ a b c d e f Hulsewé (1979), 89–91.
  57. ^ a b Baumer (2000), 134.
  58. ^ Chang (2007a), 225.
  59. ^ a b c d Yü (1994), 135.
  60. ^ Zadneprovskiy (1999), 460.
  61. ^ Yü (1986), 410–411.
  62. ^ Bowman (2000), 12.
  63. ^ Millward (2006), 22.
  64. ^ Chang (2007a), 229.
  65. ^ Yü (2002), 138.
  66. ^ Barfield (1981), 51.
  67. ^ Lewis (2007), 137.
  68. ^ Spakowski (1999), 216.
  69. ^ a b Yü (1986), 394; Morton & Lewis (2005), 55.
  70. ^ Psarras (2004), 82.
  71. ^ Yü (1986), 395.
  72. ^ a b Christian (1998), 201.
  73. ^ Yü (1986), 396–398; Loewe (1986), 211–213; Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 29.
  74. ^ a b Whiting (2002), 179.
  75. ^ Loewe (2006), 60.
  76. ^ Yü (1986) 396–398; Loewe (1986), 211–213.
  77. ^ Yü (1986), 398.
  78. ^ Bielenstein (1986), 236.
  79. ^ a b Christian (1998), 202.
  80. ^ Higham (2004), 368.
  81. ^ Bielenstein (1986), 237; Higham (2004), 368.
  82. ^ Bielenstein (1986), 237.
  83. ^ Tanner (2009), 110.
  84. ^ Tanner (2009), 112.
  85. ^ Millward (2006), 22–23.
  86. ^ a b c Millward (2006), 23–24.
  87. ^ Grousset (2002), 38.
  88. ^ Loewe (1986), 196–198; Yü (1986), 392–394.
  89. ^ a b c Yü (1986), 399–400.
  90. ^ Yü (1986), 401.
  91. ^ Yü (1986), 403.
  92. ^ Yü (1986), 414–415.
  93. ^ a b c Whiting (2002), 195.
  94. ^ Crespigny (2007), 73.
  95. ^ Yü (1986), 415 & 420; Crespigny (2007), 73.
  96. ^ a b Yü (1986), 415; Crespigny (2007), 171.
  97. ^ Lewis (2007), 138.
  98. ^ Tucker et al. (2010), 142.
  99. ^ Tanner (2009), 116.
  100. ^ Wintle (2002), 99.
  101. ^ Tanner (2009), 115.

[edit] Bibliography

  • Barfield, Thomas J. (1981). "The Hsiung-nu imperial confederacy: Organization and foreign policy". The Journal of Asian Studies 41 (1). JSTOR 2055601. 
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  • Chang, Chun-shu (1966). "Military aspects of Han Wu-ti's northern and northwestern campaigns". Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies 26. JSTOR 2718463. 
  • Chang, Chun-shu (2007a). The rise of the Chinese empire, Volume 1: Nation, state, and imperialism in early China, ca. 1600 B.C. - A.D. 8. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 9780472115334. 
  • Chang, Chun-shu (2007b). The rise of the Chinese empire, Volume 1: Frontier, immigration, & empire in Han China, 130 B.C. – A.D. 157. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-11534-0. 
  • Christian, David (1998). A history of Russia, Central Asia, and Mongolia. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. ISBN 9780631208143. 
  • Cosmo, Nicola Di (2002). Ancient China and its enemies: The rise of nomadic power in East Asian history. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-77064-5.
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  • Guo, Xuezhi (2002). The ideal Chinese political leader: A historical and cultural perspective. Westport: Praeger Publishers. ISBN 9780275972592. 
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  • Higham, Charles F.W. (2004). Encyclopedia of ancient Asian civilizations. New York: Facts On File. ISBN 9780816046409. 
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  • Lewis, Mark Edward (2007). The early Chinese empires: Qin and Han. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674024779. 
  • Loewe, Michael (1986). "The Former Han Dynasty". The Cambridge History of China: Volume I: the Ch'in and Han empires, 221 B.C. – A.D. 220. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521243270.
  • Loewe, Michael (2006). The government of the Qin and Han Empires: 221 BCE - 220 CE. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Company. ISBN 9780872208186. 
  • Loewe, Michael (2009). "The Western Han army". Military culture in imperial China. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674031098. 
  • Lovell, Julia (2006). The Great Wall: China against the world, 1000 BC-AD 2000. New York: Grove Press. ISBN 9780802142979. 
  • Millward, James A. (1998). Beyond the pass: Economy, ethnicity, and empire in Qing Central Asia, 1759-1864. Stanford: Stanford University Press. ISBN 9780804729338. 
  • Millward, James (2006). Eurasian crossroads: A history of Xinjiang. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231139243. 
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  • Psarras, Sophia-Karin (2004). "Han and Xiongnu: A reexamination of cultural and political relations (II)". Monumenta Serica 52. ISSN 0254-9948. JSTOR 40727309. 
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  • Yü, Ying-shih (2002). "Nomads and Han China". Expanding empires: Cultural interaction and exchange in world societies from ancient to early modern times. Wilmington: Scholarly Resources. ISBN 9780842027311. 
  • Zadneprovskiy, Y.A. (1999). "The nomads of northern Central Asia after the invasion of Alexander". History of civilizations of Central Asia (Volme 2) (1st Indian ed.). Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishing. ISBN 81-208-1408-8. 
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