Liu Yuan (Han-Zhao)
This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2015) |
Emperor Guangwen of Han | |||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Emperor of Han-Zhao | |||||||||||||||||||||
Reign | 304 – 19 August 310 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Successor | Liu He | ||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 310 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Burial | Yongguang Mausoleum ( | ||||||||||||||||||||
Spouse | |||||||||||||||||||||
Issue | see #Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
House | Liu | ||||||||||||||||||||
Dynasty | Han-Zhao | ||||||||||||||||||||
Father | Liu Bao | ||||||||||||||||||||
Mother | Lady Huyan |
Liu Yuan (
Liu Yuan was a direct descendant of the Southern Xiongnu chanyus, whose power was abolished near the end of the Eastern Han dynasty. Growing up in the Chinese capital of Luoyang, he was highly sinicized and held several offices overseeing the Xiongnu tribes in Bingzhou under the Western Jin dynasty. With the War of the Eight Princes weakening Jin authority in northern China, the Xiongnu of Bingzhou rebelled and acclaimed Liu Yuan as their leader in 304. Liu Yuan established his state on the basis of restoring the Han dynasty, which he claimed descent through his ancestors who married Han princesses by heqin.
The formation of Han-Zhao, along with Cheng-Han in southwestern China, is often seen as the start of the Sixteen Kingdoms period, ending China's brief period of unification since the end of the Three Kingdoms period in 280. As anti-Jin sentiment continued to grow in northern China, Liu Yuan soon found himself leading a coalition of Han Chinese and tribal rebels. Though he would not live long to see it, his family and generals would eventually drive the Jin dynasty out of the north.
Family background[edit]
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 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 the very last Southern Xiongnu chanyu Huchuquan (before Cao Cao abolished the office in 216 and divided the Xiongnu into five tribes (bu,
As Jin subject[edit]
As powerful Xiongnu nobles 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 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 (
As 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 Xiongnu tribes 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 tribes, but toward 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.
Independence from Jin[edit]
In the midst of the War of the Eight Princes, in 304, Xiongnu 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 Xiongnu soldiers to support Sima Ying's cause. Sima Ying agreed and allowed Liu Yuan to return to the Xiongnu tribes.
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 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 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.)
Reign[edit]
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 was unable to quickly expand his sphere of influence. He set his capital at Lishi (
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 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 the Jin capital Luoyang, but was repelled. That year, after capturing more territory, Liu Yuan moved his capital to Puzi (
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 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.
Physical appearance[edit]
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.[3]
Skepticism over lineage[edit]
Some modern Chinese academics, such as Tang Changru (
Tang hypothesized that these discrepancies were due to Liu Yuan actually being from the Tuge tribe (
Family[edit]
Consort and their respective issue(s):
- Empress Huyan, of the Huyan clan (
呼 延 皇后 ), daughter of Huyan Yi (呼 延 翼 )- Liu He, Prince of Liang (
劉 和 梁 王 , d. 310), first son
- Liu He, Prince of Liang (
- Empress Shan, of the Dan clan (
單 皇后 ), daughter of Dan Zheng (單 徵 )- Liu Ai Prince of Beihai (
劉 乂北 海王 , d. 317), seventh son
- Liu Ai Prince of Beihai (
- Furen, of the Zhang clan (张夫
人 )- Liu Cong (
劉 恭 , d. 310), second son - Liu Cong, the Prince of Chu (
劉 聰 楚 王 , d. 31 August 318), fourth son
- Liu Cong (
- Unknown
- Third son
- Liu Yu, the Prince of Qi (
劉 裕 齐王, d. 310), fifth son - Liu Long, the Prince of Lu (
劉 隆 鲁王, d. 310), sixth son
References[edit]
- ^ Grousset, Rene (1970). The Empire of the Steppes. Rutgers University Press. pp. 56. ISBN 0-8135-1304-9.
- ^ Liu Yuan (
劉 淵 ) shares the same given name as Emperor Gaozu of Tang, whose real name is Li Yuan (李 淵 ). - ^ Maenchen-Helfen, Otto (1973). The World of the Huns: Studies of Their History and Culture. Berkeley, California: University of California Press. p. 373. ISBN 0520015967.
- ^ Tang, Changru;
唐 长孺 (2017). Wei jin nan bei chao shi lun cong (Di 1 ban ed.). Beijing. ISBN 978-7-100-15269-3. OCLC 1096382148.{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Chen, Yong (2007). "
去 卑监国 的 败局与 屠 各 刘豹的 崛起". Wenxue100. Retrieved 10 October 2023.