| Twelve Provinces | |||||||
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| Chinese | 十二州 | ||||||
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The Twelve Provinces is a term used in ancient Chinese histories to refer to territorial divisions during the reigns of the mythological emperors Yao and Shun of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors.
The "Annals of the Five Emperors" (五帝本紀) section of Records of the Grand Historian mentioned:
Shun felt that the land north of Ji Province was too wide, so he created Bing Province; Yan and Qi were too vast and distant, so he formed You Province out of Yan, and Ying Province out of Qi, hence there were the Twelve Provinces. [1]
Volume 85 of the Book of Han recorded that in 30 BC Gu Yong (谷永) mentioned:
There was a great flood in Yao's time, the land was divided into the Twelve Provinces...
Yan Shigu of the Tang dynasty wrote this annotation in volume 85 of the Book of Han:
The Twelve Provinces were Ji, Yan, Yu, Qing, Xu, Jing, Yang, Yong, Liang, You, Bing, and Ying (營).
Lü Bu, courtesy name Fengxian, was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of Imperial China. Originally a subordinate of a minor warlord Ding Yuan, he betrayed and murdered Ding Yuan and defected to Dong Zhuo, the warlord who controlled the Han central government in the early 190s. In 192, he turned against Dong Zhuo and killed him after being instigated by Wang Yun and Shisun Rui, but was later defeated and driven away by Dong Zhuo's followers.
Emperor He of Southern Qi ( 齊和帝), personal name Xiao Baorong (蕭寶融), courtesy name Zhizhao (智昭), was the last emperor of the Chinese Southern Qi dynasty. He was put on the throne by the generals Xiao Yingzhou (蕭穎冑) and Xiao Yan in 501 as a competing candidate and substitute for the throne to his violent and arbitrary older brother Xiao Baojuan. In 502, with Xiao Baojuan having been defeated and killed and Xiao Yingzhou dead, Xiao Yan seized the throne from Emperor He and took the throne himself, ending the Southern Qi dynasty and starting the Liang dynasty. Soon, Xiao Yan had the 14-year-old former Emperor He put to death.
Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions were a series of five military campaigns launched by the state of Shu Han against the rival state of Cao Wei from 228 to 234 during the Three Kingdoms period in China. All five expeditions were led by Zhuge Liang, the Imperial Chancellor and regent of Shu. Although they proved unsuccessful and ended up as a stalemate, the expeditions have become some of the best known conflicts of the Three Kingdoms period and one of the few battles during it where each side fought against each other with hundreds of thousands of troops, as opposed to other battles where one side had a huge numerical advantage.
Han Xin was a Chinese military general and politician who served Liu Bang during the Chu–Han Contention and contributed greatly to the founding of the Han dynasty. Han Xin was named as one of the "Three Heroes of the early Han dynasty", along with Zhang Liang and Xiao He.
Guo Huai, courtesy name Boji, was a Chinese military general of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He started his career towards the end of the Eastern Han dynasty under the warlord Cao Cao as a subordinate of Cao Cao's generals Xiahou Yuan and Zhang He. During the Three Kingdoms period, he served in Wei, the state established by Cao Cao's son Cao Pi, and lived through the reigns of four Wei emperors. From the 220s until his death in 255, he governed and defended Wei's western borders in Yong and Liang provinces. During this time, he resisted multiple invasions by Wei's rival state, Shu Han, and quelled some rebellions by local Qiang, Di and other non-Han Chinese tribes.
The term Nine Provinces or Nine Regions, is used in ancient Chinese histories to refer to territorial divisions or islands during the Xia and Shang dynasties and has now come to symbolically represent China. "Province" is the word used to translate zhou (州) – since before the Tang dynasty, it was the largest Chinese territorial division. Although the current definition of the Nine Provinces can be dated to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, it was not until the Eastern Han dynasty that the Nine Provinces were treated as actual administrative regions.
Xun Chen, courtesy name Youruo, was an official who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. Born in the influential Xun family of Yingchuan Commandery, he was the fourth brother of Xun Yu and a second cousins once removed of Xun You. He initially served as an adviser to the warlord Han Fu and later to another warlord, Yuan Shao.
He Qi, courtesy name Gongmiao, was a military general serving under the warlords Sun Ce and Sun Quan during the late Eastern Han dynasty, and later in the state of Eastern Wu during the early Three Kingdoms period of China. He was especially noted for his extravagance and preference for equipping his troops with flashy weapons, armour and well-decorated ships. At the same time, he was also adept in dealing with the Shanyue tribes in Sun Quan's territories, having quelled several local uprisings by them over the years. His achievements secured the stability of the inner lands of Jiangdong and provided a strong foundation for the development of the Eastern Wu state. His campaigns in southern China also set a precedent for other generals serving under Sun Quan, such as Bu Zhi and Lü Dai. In his later years, He Qi participated in some battles against Wu's rival state, Wei, during which he seldom scored a victory.
Yan Xiang, courtesy name Wenze, was an official who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. A similarly named Yan Xiang (閻象) also served under the warlord Yuan Shu as a registrar. Although it is not clear whether they were the same person, the historian Rafe de Crespigny mentioned that it could be assumed that Yan Xiang left Yuan Shu and defected to the Han central government, which was then under the leadership of the warlord Cao Cao.
Bu Zhi, courtesy name Zishan, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Originally a scholar of humble background, he became a subordinate of the warlord Sun Quan in the late Eastern Han dynasty and gradually rose through the ranks. Between 210 and 220, he served as the governor of the remote and restive Jiao Province in southern China. During the Battle of Xiaoting/Yiling of 221–222, he quelled local uprisings in Sun Quan's territories in southern Jing Province and maintained peace in the area. After Sun Quan became emperor in 229, Bu Zhi oversaw the Wu armed forces guarding the Wu–Shu border at Xiling for about 20 years. During this time, he also gave advice to Sun Quan's first heir apparent, Sun Deng, and spoke up for officials affected by Lü Yi's abuses of power. In 246, he became the fourth Imperial Chancellor of Wu, but died in office in the following year.
Liu Yao (157–198), courtesy name Zhengli, was a Chinese politician and warlord who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was a descendant of Liu Fei, the eldest son of the Han dynasty's founding emperor, Liu Bang. When he was 18, he became famous after rescuing a relative who was being held hostage by bandits. He started his career in the Han civil service after being nominated as a xiaolian, and was known for his incorruptibility. In 194, although he was appointed by the Han imperial court as the governor of Yang Province, he barely managed to gain a foothold over his jurisdiction because the warlord Yuan Shu controlled a large part of the territories around the Huai River region in Yang Province. In 195, conflict broke out between Liu Yao and Yuan Shu, who sent his ally Sun Ce to attack Liu Yao. Sun Ce defeated Liu Yao and forced him to retreat south into present-day Jiangxi, where Liu Yao defeated a minor warlord Ze Rong and died of illness shortly later. His elder brother was Liu Dai, another prominent warlord.
Lu Wan was a Chinese military general, monarch, and politician who served as the vassal king of the early Han dynasty. He served under Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han dynasty.
The Jingnan campaign, or Jingnan rebellion, was a three-year civil war from 1399 to 1402 in the early years of the Ming dynasty of China. It occurred between two descendants of the Ming dynasty's founder Zhu Yuanzhang: his grandson Zhu Yunwen by his first son, and Zhu Yuanzhang's fourth son Zhu Di, Prince of Yan. Though Zhu Yunwen had been the chosen crown prince of Zhu Yuanzhang and been made emperor upon the death of his grandfather in 1398, friction began immediately after Yuanzhang's death. Zhu Yunwen began arresting Zhu Yuanzhang's other sons immediately, seeking to decrease their threat. But within a year open military conflict began, and the war continued until the forces of the Prince of Yan captured the imperial capital Nanjing. The fall of Nanjing was followed by the demise of the Jianwen Emperor, Zhu Yunwen. Zhu Di was then crowned the Ming Dynasty's third emperor, the Yongle Emperor.
Ying Bu was a Chinese military general, monarch, politician, and warlord who lived during the early Han dynasty. He was a native of Lu County. In his early life under the Qin dynasty, Ying Bu was convicted and sentenced to qing, so he was also called Qing Bu (黥布). He was then sent to Mount Li to perform hard labour by constructing Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum. He later escaped with some men and became the leader of a bandit gang. Ying Bu participated in the insurrection against the Qin dynasty after the Dazexiang Uprising broke out in 209 BC. After the uprising failed, he became part of a rebel force led by Xiang Liang. He assisted Xiang Liang's nephew and successor Xiang Yu in overthrowing the Qin dynasty. After the fall of Qin, he initially fought on Xiang Yu's side in the Chu–Han Contention, a power struggle for supremacy over China between Xiang Yu and Liu Bang. However, later, he defected to Liu Bang's side and helped Liu defeat Xiang Yu and become the emperor. During this period of time, Ying Bu held the title "King of Jiujiang". In c.August 203, Liu Bang appointed Ying Bu as a vassal king and granted him the title "King of Huainan". In 196 BC, Ying Bu rebelled against the Han dynasty but was defeated and killed.
The Battle of Mount Qi was a military conflict which took place around Mount Qi between the states of Cao Wei and Shu Han in 231 during the Three Kingdoms period of China. It was also the most vigorous of the five Shu invasions of Wei, resulting in thousands of deaths on both sides. Although Zhuge Liang was able to make significant achievement in the beginning of the battle, the battle finally concluded with a strategic Wei victory due to the insufficient food supply for the Shu Han army. The insufficient food supply was caused by heavy rain and mistakes made by Li Yan. The Shu regent, Zhuge Liang, spent three years recuperating before launching another invasion on Wei in 234.
Wu Yi, courtesy name Ziyuan was a Chinese military general of the state of Shu Han in the Three Kingdoms period of China. His younger sister, Empress Mu, was the empress consort of Shu's founding emperor, Liu Bei. Wu Yi had a younger relative, Wu Ban, who also served as a general in Shu.
Yang Xi, courtesy name Wenran, was an official of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He is best known for writing the Ji Han Fuchen Zan, a collection of praises of notable persons who served in the Shu Han state. Chen Shou, the third-century historian who wrote the Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi), extensively quoted and annotated Yang Xi's collection.
Gou Xi, courtesy name Daojiang, was a Chinese military commander of the Western Jin Dynasty. He came to prominence as a general under the Prince of Donghai, Sima Yue, after he quelled the rebellions of Gongshi Fan (公師藩), Ji Sang and Shi Le. Sima Yue initially valued Gou Xi, but after Gou Xi was constantly antagonized by Yue, their relationship broke down in 310. Gou Xi plotted with Emperor Huai of Jin to overthrow Yue from power, which caused Yue to die of stress shortly after, and Gou Xi being instated to the positions of Grand General and Grand Commander. However, their victory was short-lived due to the Disaster of Yongjia, which saw Emperor Huai and Luoyang’s capture at the hands of Han-Zhao forces in 311. That same year, Gou Xi was captured and later executed by Shi Le.
Cao Ni was a Chinese military general of Han-Zhao and warlord during the Jin dynasty (266–420) and Sixteen Kingdoms period. He was one of the followers of the bandit Wang Mi and followed him into service with Liu Yuan's state of Han. Wang Mi entrusted him to secure his family in Qingzhou, but after Wang Mi was killed by Shi Le in 311, Cao Ni gradually became an independent warlord, causing much concern in the Han-Zhao court. He was finally killed in 323 when Shi Le sent his nephew Shi Hu to subdue him once and for all. His name can be rendered as Cao Yi.
Zhang Ping was a warlord during the Sixteen Kingdoms period of China. He was initially the Inspector of Bingzhou under the Later Zhao dynasty who later gained autonomy over the province following the decline of the state at the start of the 350s. He wavered his loyalty between Former Qin, Former Yan and the Eastern Jin dynasties until he was able to muster the strength to briefly compete with the Former Qin and Former Yan as a rival state in 357. That year, he went to war with Fu Jiān but was decisively defeated and forced back into submission. Shortly after his defeat, Zhang surrendered to the Former Yan. In 361, Zhang Ping rebelled against the Former Yan over a territorial dispute but was killed by invading Former Qin forces in the process.
