Five Divisions Following the break-up of the
Xiongnu Empire in the 1st century, the Southern Xiongnu branch surrendered to the Han dynasty and were resettled in the northern border commanderies. Under their
chanyu, the Southern Xiongnu acted as a Han vassal state, providing assistance in defending the frontiers from nomadic forces. They settled down and fully took up agriculture, but kept a few aspects of their former nomadic lifestyle such as
horse breeding. Relations with the Han were oftentimes unstable with poor living conditions on the borders and the Chinese court meddling in their politics leading to several rebellions. In 188, just as the Han dynasty was about to fall into political turmoil, the Southern Xiongnu collapsed after dissenters within their ranks –allied with the rebelling
Xiuchuge people– expelled their Han-backed
chanyu and dissolved his government. In 216, after the warlord,
Cao Cao unified northern China, he had the exiled
chanyu,
Huchuquan detained as an honoured prisoner at
Ye. He then reorganized what remained of the Southern Xiongnu into the Five Divisions around
Taiyuan Commandery in
Bing province. Each division was led by a commander, who were nobles from the tribes and were in turn supervised by a Chinese marshal. Huchuquan's uncle,
Qubei was also sent to oversee the Five Divisions. No new
chanyu was proclaimed after Huchuquan died, and the Five Divisions remained subservient to the
Cao Wei dynasty. During the
Jiaping era (249–254), the Five Divisions became a concern for the Chinese court as the Commander of the Left Division,
Liu Bao unified them and was mobilizing a great army. The Wei and later the
Western Jin intervened, gradually forcing them back into five. Five Divisions nobility had to send their children as hostages to the capital,
Luoyang, including Liu Bao's son,
Liu Yuan.
Sinicization was evident among the elites; Liu Yuan became proficient in the
Confucianist classics and befriended members of the Chinese aristocracy such as the
Wang clan of Taiyuan. He was even considered for the post of commander of the Jin forces for the
conquest of Eastern Wu but was later dismissed because of his ethnicity. Nonetheless, among the Five Divisions, a sense of separate identity from the Chinese was retained. Discontent towards Jin rule and of their subordinate position prompted them to seek an independent or self-governing entity. As one of the elites,
Liu Xuan, puts it: After Liu Bao's death, Liu Yuan returned to the Five Divisions and inherited his position. Liu Yuan's lineage is debated by scholars. The traditional view states that he was the grandson of the penultimate
chanyu,
Yufuluo, and thus a direct descendant of the imperial
Luandi clan. However, some modern historians have challenged this claim, pointing out discrepancies within the records. Liu Yuan and his family were referred to in several passages as
Chuge, also known as the Xiuchuge people that overthrew the Southern Xiongnu
chanyu in 188. These historians speculate that Liu Yuan had fabricated his lineage to the
chanyu for legitimacy when he rebelled.
Han (304–319) The Five Divisions and other non-affiliated
hu tribes in Bing began staging revolts against the Jin. Their close proximity to the Chinese heartland worried a few ministers in the court, who unsuccessfully pushed for their resettlement outside the frontiers. Developments in the
War of the Eight Princes finally favored the Five Divisions, as infighting between the Jin princes over control of
Emperor Hui led to civil wars and widespread famines in northern China. In 304, the Five Division's elites contacted Liu Yuan, who was serving as a general under the Prince of Chengdu,
Sima Ying at
Ye, and offered him to become their rebellion's leader. Liu Yuan agreed and took advantage of a commission from the desperate Sima Ying who was just being driven out of his base to gather 50,000 warriors. At
Lishi, Liu Yuan declared himself the Grand
Chanyu. Later that year, Liu Yuan proclaimed himself the "King of Han," the same first title used by
Emperor Gaozu of Han. As a descendant of the
chanyu, Liu Yuan also claimed descent from the
Han dynasty, as the
chanyus used to marry Han princesses through marriage alliances (
heqin). By portraying his state as a restoration of the Han, Liu Yuan was able to establish his legitimacy and potentially win over support from the Han Chinese. Liu Yuan honored the emperors of Western, Eastern and
Shu Han, and in 308, he elevated himself to Emperor of Han. Anti-Jin sentiment grew as the civil wars continued, leading to more rebellions on the
North China Plain. To bolster their numbers, Liu Yuan welcomed these rebels to join his ranks regardless of their ethnicity, such as the Chinese bandit,
Wang Mi and the
Jie former slave,
Shi Le. To ensure their loyalty, they were given high ranks and full command over their armies, but this practice also meant that they were also essentially warlords as the Han court had no actual means to restrain them. In 308, the Han conquered Pingyang Commandery, where they moved their capital to Puzi (in modern
Linfen,
Shanxi) and then to Pingyang city (also in modern Linfen), pressuring the Jin as they brought themselves closer to
Luoyang. Liu Yuan died in 310 and was succeeded by his son
Liu He. A week into his reign, He attempted to purge all his brothers before one of them,
Liu Cong, retaliated and killed him. He offered the throne to his half-brother, Liu Ai, who rejected it. After, Liu Cong took the throne for himself while appointing Ai as his crown prince. He then intensified his attack on Luoyang, which had been left exposed by the departure of the Jin imperial army and a deadly famine. In 311, Shi Le annihilated the Jin imperial army at the Battle of Ningping, depriving Jin of its main force in the north. Han forces led by
Wang Mi,
Huyan Yan and
Liu Yao then descended upon Luoyang, capturing the defenseless city and Emperor Huai in an event known as the
Disaster of Yongjia. Despite the symbolic victory, Jin forces continued to resist in northern China, with
Emperor Min being installed at
Chang'an in 312. More concerning was Shi Le gaining control of a significant part of the eastern empire after assassinating his fellow warlord, Wang Mi, and absorbing his army. Liu Cong, fearing that Shi Le may outright rebel, did not punish him, while Wang Mi's subordinate,
Cao Ni continued to hold on to the
Shandong region. In the west, Liu Cong heavily entrusted his cousin, Liu Yao, to lead the war against Emperor Min. After several years of campaigning, Liu Yao
captured Chang'an in 316, ending the Western Jin dynasty. Both Emperor Huai and Min suffered similar fates; they were forced to serve as cupbearers for Liu Cong before they were executed out of fear they would rebel. After Emperor Min's capture, the imperial Sima family reestablished itself as the
Eastern Jin dynasty in 318 at
Jiankang, south of the
Yangtze river. Within the Han court, Liu Cong also faced strong dissidence from his own ministers. Records depict him as a hedonistic ruler with a violent temperament, but restrained himself under pressure from his officials during his early reign. In his later reign, he had the unusual practice of having
three empresses at a time, and he entrusted political affairs to his
eunuchs and
consort kins, which severely divided the court. He also began empowering his eldest son,
Liu Can, threatening Liu Ai's position as crown prince. This power struggle culminated in a brutal purge in 317 orchestrated by Liu Can and Liu Cong's consort kins which saw Liu Ai and several prominent ministers executed. After Liu Cong's death in 318, his successor, Liu Can and the rest of the imperial family in Pingyang were massacred in a coup by a powerful consort kin,
Jin Zhun. Jin Zhun declared himself
Heavenly King of Han and invited the Eastern Jin court to assist him, but was ignored. Meanwhile, both Liu Yao and Shi Le combined their forces to oppose Jin Zhun. During the campaign, Liu Yao was acclaimed the new emperor by surviving Han officials fleeing from Pingyang. The rebellion was quickly defeated by the alliance, and Jin Zhun and his family were all killed.
Former Zhao (319–329) With the rebellion crushed, tension arose between Liu Yao and Shi Le. As Shi Le had cultivated a powerful base on the North China Plain, Liu Yao was convinced that he would take advantage of Han's vulnerability to launch a surprise rebellion. When Shi Le sent his envoy to congratulate him, Liu Yao had the envoy executed, which prompted Shi Le to declare independence. The empire was thus divided into two, with Liu Yao controlling the west and Shi Le controlling the east. As Pingyang had been devastated by the rebellion, Liu Yao shifted the capital to his base in Chang'an. Unlike his predecessors, Liu Yao distanced the state away from the framing of Han restoration and appealed more to his Xiongnu ancestry. He renamed the state to Zhao (since one of Liu Yao's previous title was Prince of
Zhongshan, and Zhongshan was in the ancient state of
Zhao), and honoured his ancestor,
Modu Chanyu, but still saw his state as a continuation of Liu Yuan's Han. Soon after, Shi Le also named his state Zhao, leading to historiographers to distinguish the two states as Former Zhao and Later Zhao. During his early reign, Liu Yao expanded westwards while Shi Le dealt with his own matters in the east. In
Longxi, he defeated the forces of
Sima Bao, the last claimant to the Jin throne in the north, and later survived a major tribal rebellion by the
Di and
Qiang, leading to the relocation of nearly 200,000 of their people to Chang'an. Liu Yao then defeated
Chen An, a warlord in Longxi who nominally submitted to Former Zhao, before going on to force the
Former Liang into submission and invading
Chouchi by 323. At its prime, the Former Zhao's army reportedly numbered at around 285,000 strong. Despite the state's new positioning, Liu Yao maintained interest in integrating with Chinese culture, as evident by his opening of an
Imperial University in Chang'an taught by
Confucian scholars. War between the two Zhaos eventually broke out in 324, and in 328, Liu Yao led his forces to secure the
Henan region from Later Zhao. Liu Yao and Shi Le's forces came head to head at the
Battle of Luoyang, and during the battle, Liu Yao, supposedly drunk, fell off his horse during a retreat and was captured by Later Zhao soldiers. He was then executed as his crown prince,
Liu Xi, hastily succeeded him in Chang'an. In 329, Liu Xi was driven out of his capital and finally killed at
Shanggui by Later Zhao forces. The Han-Zhao dynasty ended, and the Later Zhao would rule most of northern China for the next 20 years. == Government ==