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The Han-Zhao, or Former Zhao, was a dynastic state of China ruled by the Liu (Luandi/Chuge) clan of Xiongnu ethnicity during the Sixteen Kingdoms period of Chinese history. In Chinese historiography, it was given two conditional state titles, the Northern Han for the state proclaimed in 304 by Liu Yuan, and the Former Zhao for the state proclaimed in 319 by Liu Yao. The reference to them as separate states should be considered misleading, given that when Liu Yao changed the name of the state from “Han” to “Zhao” in 319, he treated the state as having been continuous from the time that Liu Yuan founded it in 304; instead, he de-established his imperial lineage from the Han dynasty and claimed ancestry directly from Modu Chanyu.
Emperor Huai of Jin, personal name Sima Chi (司馬熾), courtesy name Fengdu (豐度), was an emperor of the Jin dynasty.
Emperor Yuan of Jin, personal name Sima Rui (司馬睿), courtesy name Jingwen (景文), was an emperor of the Jin dynasty and the first emperor of the Eastern Jin. During the Upheaval of the Five Barbarians, he was stationed in Jiankang south of the Yangtze River where he avoided the chaos that befell northern China. Primarily through the help of the cousins, Wang Dun and Wang Dao, he emerged as an authority figure within the empire with the backing of the southern gentry clans and northern officials who fled to him for refuge. After Emperor Min of Jin was executed by the Han-Zhao dynasty in 318, he took the title of Emperor and made Jiankang his capital. Though at the time of his death he left the state under the heel of Wang Dun, the Eastern Jin dynasty as it became known lasted until its fall in July 420, contending with the so-called Sixteen Kingdoms in the north and occasionally in the southwest.
Emperor Ming of Jin (simplified Chinese: 晋明帝; traditional Chinese: 晉明帝; pinyin: Jìn Míng Dì; Wade–Giles: Chin Ming-ti; 299 – 18 October 325, personal name Sima Shao, courtesy name Daoji, was an emperor of the Eastern Jin dynasty of China. During his brief reign, he led the weakened Jin out of domination by the warlord Wang Dun, but at his early death, the empire was left to his young son Emperor Cheng, and the fragile balance of power that he created was soon broken, leading to the Su Jun Disturbance and weakening the Jin state even further.
Empress Xiaojing, of the Wang clan, also known by her birth name Wang Zhi (王娡) and by the title Madame Wang, was an empress during the Han dynasty. She was the second wife of Emperor Jing and the mother of Emperor Wu. She was also the first known empress of China who was previously married to another man before becoming empress.
Liu Yao, courtesy name Yongming, was the final emperor of the Xiongnu-led Han-Zhao dynasty of China. He became emperor in 318 after most other members of the imperial Liu clan were massacred by Jin Zhun in a coup. However, the empire was soon divided in half, as the general Shi Le declared independence and established the Later Zhao dynasty. In a decisive battle in early 329, Shi captured and executed him, and while his sons Liu Xi the Crown Prince and Liu Yin the Prince of Nanyang continued to hold out for nearly a year, the Han-Zhao state fell later that year.
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 is referred to by his courtesy name as Liu Yuanhai (劉元海) in the Book of Jin.
Empress Shan was an empress of the Xiongnu-led Chinese Han-Zhao dynasty. She was the second wife of the founding emperor Liu Yuan. Her name can be rendered as Empress Dan.
Liu Cong (died 31 August 318), courtesy name Xuanming, nickname Zai, also known by his posthumous name as the Emperor Zhaowu of Han (Zhao), was an emperor of the Xiongnu-led Chinese Han-Zhao dynasty. During his reign, the Han-Zhao brought the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, leading to its re-establishment in the south as the Eastern Jin dynasty at Jiankang in 318. His forces conquered the ancient Chinese capitals of Luoyang and Chang'an. He also captured the Emperor Huai of Jin and the Emperor Min of Jin, who he both executed after forcing them to act as cupbearers.
Empress Huyan, formally Empress Wuyuan was an empress of the Xiongnu-led Han-Zhao dynasty of China. She was the first wife of Liu Cong.
Liu Can (died 318), courtesy name Shiguang, also known by his posthumous name (as accorded by Jin Zhun) Emperor Yin of Han (Zhao), was an emperor of the Xiongnu-led Han-Zhao dynasty of China, who reigned briefly in 318 before being killed by his trusted father-in-law Jin Zhun, who succeeded him to the Han-Zhao throne.
Jin Zhun was an official and a member of the consort kin of the Xiongnu-led Han-Zhao dynasty of China who briefly usurped the throne in 318. Jin Zhun staged a coup d'état against the Han emperor and his son-in-law Liu Can and then massacred the Liu imperial family. He then proclaimed himself Heavenly King of Han and nominally submitted to the Eastern Jin dynasty as a vassal. His forces were subsequently squeezed in by the troops led by Liu Yao and Shi Le, and, facing probable defeat, his followers assassinated him. Liu Yao then succeeded Jin Zhun to the Han throne. Jin Zhun was probably an ethnic Xiongnu, although some sources claim that he was of Han descent.
Wang Dun, courtesy name Chuzhong (處仲), nickname Ahei (阿黑), was a Chinese military general and warlord during the Jin dynasty.
Shi Le, courtesy name Shilong, also known by his posthumous name as the Emperor Ming of Later Zhao, was the founding emperor of the Jie-led Later Zhao dynasty of China. He was initially sold as a slave by Western Jin officials, but after attaining freedom, he helped start a rebellion and eventually became a powerful general for the Xiongnu-led Han-Zhao dynasty, conquering most of northern China in Han-Zhao's name but holding the territory under his own control. In 319, after a dispute with the Han-Zhao emperor Liu Yao, he broke away from Han and formed his own state, Later Zhao. In 321, he defeated Duan Pidi, the last remaining Jin power in northern China besides Murong Hui, and in 329 he captured Liu Yao and conquered the Han-Zhao, adding western China to his empire as well. For the next 21 years, the Later Zhao would dominate northern China.
Helian Bobo, né Liu Bobo (劉勃勃), courtesy name Qujie (屈孑), also known by his posthumous name as the Emperor Wulie of Xia (夏武烈帝), was the founding emperor of the Xiongnu-led Hu Xia dynasty of China. He is generally considered to be an extremely cruel ruler, one who betrayed every benefactor whom he had, and whose thirst for killing was excessive even for the turbulent times that he was in. He built an impressive capital for his state at Tongwancheng that remained difficult to besiege, even hundreds of years later during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.
The Upheaval of the Five Barbarians also translated as the Uprising, Rebellion or the Revolt of the Five Barbarians is a Chinese expression used to refer to a chaotic period of warfare during the Jin dynasty (266–420) roughly between 304 and 316 which heavily involved non-Han peoples living in China, commonly called the Five Barbarians. Coinciding with the War of the Eight Princes that greatly weakened the empire, these conflicts eventually drove the Jin imperial court out of northern and southwestern China.
The Disaster of Yongjia occurred in 311 CE, when forces of the Xiongnu-led Han-Zhao dynasty captured and sacked Luoyang, the capital of the Western Jin dynasty. Han's army committed a massacre of the city's inhabitants, killing the Jin crown prince, a host of ministers, and over 30,000 civilians. They also burnt down the palaces and dug up the Jin dynasty's mausoleums. Though the Western Jin would survive for a few more years, this event is often seen as one of the worst disasters in Chinese history, as both the emperor and one of the ancient capitals fell to the hands of “barbarian” forces.
The Sixteen Kingdoms, less commonly the Sixteen States, was a chaotic period in Chinese history from AD 304 to 439 when northern China fragmented into a series of short-lived dynastic states. The majority of these states were founded by the "Five Barbarians", non-Han peoples who had settled in northern and western China during the preceding centuries, and had launched a 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 military history of the Jin dynasty and the Sixteen Kingdoms encompasses the period of Chinese military activities from 266 AD to 420 AD. The Jin dynasty is usually divided into the Western Jin and Eastern Jin in Chinese historiography. Western Jin lasted from its usurpation of Cao Wei in 266 to 316 when the Uprising of the Five Barbarians split the empire and created a number of barbarian states in the north. The Jin court relocated to Jiankang, starting the era of Eastern Jin, which ended in 420 when it was usurped by Liu Yu, who founded the Liu Song dynasty.
Liu Xuan, courtesy name Shize, was a Xiongnu politician of the Jin dynasty (266–420) and Han-Zhao dynasty during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. In 304, he joined a plot led by the Xiongnu aristocracy to break away from the ruling Jin dynasty. He was important in getting his great-nephew, Liu Yuan, to lead the Xiongnu and form Han-Zhao. After the state's establishment, Liu Xuan became its first Prime Minister and played an influential role in its administration.
References
- ↑ Xiong, Victor Cunrui (2009). Historical Dictionary of Medieval China. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0-8108-6053-7.
- ↑ Kim, Hyun Jin (2015-11-19). The Huns. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-34090-4.