Commentary on the war between Han and Xiongnu

The "war" and "peace" of the Han-Hungarian War eventually developed in a direction beneficial to the Han Dynasty.

"War" had three great significances for the Han Dynasty. First, it promoted the internal unification of the Han Dynasty. Under the mentality of sharing the same hatred and enemies, many complex internal conflicts were diluted; secondly, it changed the nation of the Han people. Personality: Historically, the Han people (called the Huaxia people in the early days) were a brave and flamboyant nation. The successive defeats in the war against the Hungarians in the early Han Dynasty made this nation less arrogant and more calm. It is precisely this kind of nation. The stronger, calmer and more patient character determines the advantages of the Han people in long-term wars; the third is to improve the military level. Because the Huns have strong individual combat capabilities, the Han army can no longer maintain some of the skills of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Tactical characteristics must be changed. Therefore, the Han army began to pay attention to individual soldier abilities for the first time and creatively used some weapons, equipment and fighting methods for close combat. This change in tactics brought unexpected gains. Height The Xiongnu soldiers, who were strong and suitable for long-distance fighting, were very unsuited to this almost desperate fighting style. They eventually suffered heavy casualties, leading to panic among the entire ethnic group. By the end of the Han Dynasty, some of the ethnic group moved westward, and some of them were renamed Han.

The meaning of "harmony" is that during the war, "harmony" is a useful pause to prevent one or both parties from doing their best and seriously damaging their vitality. The final "harmony" avoids the Xiongnu's desire to Like some other ethnic minorities, their tribes were wiped out due to irrational stubborn resistance. Regardless of the Xiongnu or the Han, being able to reduce casualties is a sacred act.

The Establishment of the Xiongnu Empire

The Xiongnu originated from the Monan Hetao Plain and the Daqing Mountains. In history, they were also known as Hunzhou, Guifang, Xiongnu, Rongdi, and Hu people. . "Historical Records" says that the ancestor of the Xiongnu was Chunwei, who was the son of Jie. Therefore, the Xiongnu tribe had an interactive relationship with the Chinese world at the beginning of its formation.

The Xiongnu Kingdom was established based on the Xiongnu tribal alliance and by conquering tribal alliances, tribes and other small countries. At the end of the Qin Dynasty, the world was in chaos. Maodun Chanyu took advantage of the opportunity to rise, conquered all directions, unified the north and south of the desert, and established the Xiongnu Empire that dominated the northern part of China. Its territory stretches from the Liaohe River in the east, to Congling in the west, to the Great Wall in the south, and to Lake Baikal in the north. Its territory is unprecedentedly vast.

The government agencies of the Xiongnu can be divided into three parts:

1. Shan Yuting - the central agency of the Xiongnu regime, which governs the central region of the Xiongnu and is closely related to Daijun and Yun of the Han Dynasty. The middle counties are connected and are under the direct jurisdiction of Shanyu. The Chan was the supreme ruler of the Xiongnu, with overall military and political power, assisted by the left and right Guduhou.

2. Zuoxian Wangting - governs the eastern Xiongnu area, adjacent to Shanggu County and Border County of the Han Dynasty, and connected with Korea, and is ruled by Zuoxian King.

3. Youxian Wangting - governs the western region of the Xiongnu, adjacent to the Shangjun of the Han Dynasty and the border counties to the west. It connects the Yueshi, Di and Qiang to the west, and is ruled by Youxian Wang.

The Xiongnu nomadic military regime was composed of many tribes, each of which included many clans. Its famous noble surnames include the Luotang family, the Huyan family, the Lan family, the Xub family, the Qiulin family, the Han family, the Lang family, etc. . The Luantang clan is the most noble, and the Chanyu clan all comes from this clan; the Huyan clan, the Lan clan, the Xubu clan, and the Qiulin clan have been married to the Shanyu for generations, and the Chanyu's concubines are all from this noble clan. In addition, there are some clans (other tribes) that also enjoy a higher social status. Major events such as the abolition of Chanyu, peace and war, and sacrifice to heaven must be unanimously decided by the nobles of each tribe.

Except for limiting the succession to the descendants of the Luantang family, there is no customization for the Shanyu throne. Therefore, the heir does not have to be the eldest son, and there is no absolute order of succession, but the heir must have held important positions such as King Xian of the Left and Right or King of Guli. The order of succession must be convened at a meeting of clan chiefs, and only after nomination, voting, and approval procedures can it be recognized as legal. The clan elders' meeting has its authority in deciding the Chanyu's succession, and the legacy of the previous generation of Chanyus during his lifetime is for reference only.

Han-Hungarian relations during the Western Han Dynasty

In 201 BC, the Xiongnu Moton Chanyu went south in a large-scale attack on Jinyang (Taiyuan, Shanxi). The next year, Emperor Gaozu personally led a large army to attack and was besieged for seven days near Pingcheng. He ran out of food and support and was in a critical situation. He escaped due to Chen Ping's secret plan.

Emperor Gaozu adopted Liu Jing's suggestion and used the policy of marriage, using the clan's daughter as his wife, and giving silk fabrics and grain to the Xiongnu every year, so that the Xiongnu could gain economic benefits in exchange for temporary stability on the border.

After the death of Emperor Gaozu, Maodun Shanyu Yijiao wrote a letter to Empress Lu with many insulting words, but the Han court also tolerated it and kept the peace as before. After Maodun, the Xiongnu often invaded. In the Wenjing era, courtiers such as Jia Yi and Chao Cuo expressed dissatisfaction with the peace and marriage policy and put forward the suggestion of immigrating to the border areas. Emperor Wen once adopted it, but it had little effect. In the end, he continued the peace and marriage policy.

During the reign of Emperor Wu, after a long period of recuperation and recuperation, the Han Dynasty had abundant national strength. It broke up with the Xiongnu and used force against them. After Emperor Wu set up the Mayi plot to lure the Xiongnu to go deep and encircle and suppress it, the two sides formally broke off, and Emperor Wu took the initiative to attack the Xiongnu.

The three major battles of Henan, Hexi and Mobei were the most important in the Han-Hungarian War.

In the first year of the Han Dynasty (100 BC), Su Wu went on an envoy to the Xiongnu and was detained. The following year, Li Ling attacked the Xiongnu. In the third year of Zhenghe (90 BC), Li Guangli attacked the Xiongnu and was defeated and surrendered. Spurred by the witchcraft disaster, Emperor Wu issued an edict to eliminate the garrison in Luntai in the Western Regions in the fourth year of Zhenghe (89 BC), as a sign that he would no longer pursue border affairs. It is known as the "Edict of Luntai" in history. After that, during the reign of Emperor Wu, the Han Dynasty ceased its troops and rested with the people, without attacking the Xiongnu again.

After Emperor Zhao came to the throne, relations between Han and Huns eased, and the Huns were released to Su Wu and returned to Han as a sign of friendship. During the reign of Emperor Xuan, the Xiongnu invaded Wusun from the west and were defeated by the Han army. At the same time, they were attacked by Ding Ling, Wuhuan and others, and the national strength was greatly weakened. Soon, the Huns were in civil strife, and the five Chanyus were separated. Huhanxie won the victory, but in the end Huhanxie was defeated by the Zhizhi Chanyu, and he surrendered to the Han Dynasty. In the third year of Ganlu (51 BC), Hu Hanxie entered the court and wanted to keep Guanglu Sai (in Suiyuan) as a barrier for the Han Dynasty.

During the Yuan Dynasty, the Zhizhi Chan traveled west to Central Asia and threatened the countries in the Western Regions. Gan Yanshou, the governor of the Western Regions, and Chen Tang, the deputy captain, sent soldiers from the Western Regions countries and Han soldiers stationed in the fields to attack and kill him. Soon after, Hu Hanxie Shanyu entered the court three times. He became more and more respectful and asked for a marriage with the Han Dynasty. The Yuan Emperor's wife became the queen of the palace. Naturally, the relationship between Han and Hungary improved further. After Emperor Xuan of the Western Han Dynasty, they made peace with the Xiongnu, and there was peace in the north for more than sixty years. This marriage is different from the humiliating marriage in the early Han Dynasty. It has the spirit of equality and reciprocity.

Eastern Han Dynasty and the Northern and Southern Xiongnu

After Wang Mang established the new dynasty, he changed the title of "Xiongnu Shanyu" to "Gongnu is good at", and later changed to "Submit the Nu to submit to". Dissatisfied, they rebelled again. Until the early Eastern Han Dynasty, Han-Hungarian relations did not improve substantially. At this time, internal strife broke out among the Huns. In 48 years, the eight tribes of the Xiongnu rebelled and established Rizhu Wangbi, the grandson of Huhanxie Chanyu, as a Chanyu. He fought against the Punu Chanyu in a separate court, and the Xiongnu split into two tribes. Later, more than 40,000 people went south to join the Han Dynasty and became vassals, and were called Southern Xiongnu; those who stayed in Mobei were called Northern Xiongnu. After the Southern Xiongnu surrendered to the Han Dynasty, they moved to the Suiyuan area. The Han Dynasty provided food and livestock and guarded the border for the Han Dynasty.

During the Ming Dynasty, the Northern Huns once sent troops from the Western Regions to invade Hexi. The Han Dynasty used Dou Gu to attack and settled in Yiwulu (Hami, Xinjiang). During the reign of Emperor Zhang, the Northern Xiongnu were attacked by Xianbei and Dingling, causing chaos in the country and many of them surrendered to the Han Dynasty. The Southern Xiongnu sent a letter to the Han Dynasty, asking the Han Dynasty to send troops to attack, so that the Southern and Northern Xiongnu could be reunited and become vassals of China forever. When Emperor He came to the throne, Empress Dowager Dou came to the court. In the first year of Yongyuan (89), she ordered Dou Xian and Geng Bing to command 4,000 cavalry each and unite with 30,000 southern Xiongnu, Qiang and Hu soldiers to march northward and defeat the northern Xiongnu. Xian and others traveled three thousand miles from the fortress and reached Yanran Mountain (Hangai Mountain in Outer Mongolia). They carved stones to record their achievements and erected monuments on the mountain. In the third year of Yongyuan (91), Dou Xian attacked the Northern Xiongnu again and won a great victory in Jinweishan (Altai Mountains of Outer Mongolia). The Northern Xiongnu Chanyu led his troops to the west. The Xianbei took the opportunity to gradually move westward and occupied the homeland of the Xiongnu. The remaining Xiongnu who stayed in the original area merged with the Xianbei and called themselves Xianbei. After that, the southern Xiongnu migrated inland, mixed with the Han people, and gradually assimilated.

The Migration and Sinicization of the Xiongnu

After the Northern Xiongnu migrated westward, the "Book of the Later Han" recorded that they "fleeed without knowing their whereabouts" and disappeared from Chinese history. In 374, a powerful cavalry force appeared in eastern Europe, known as the Huns, forcing the Germans southward, leading to the demise of the Western Roman Empire.

The Germans were regarded as barbarians with low culture in the eyes of the people of the Roman Empire at that time. After the Germanic people established kingdoms in Western Europe, the Greek and Roman culture that originally focused on literature, art and urban life was replaced by the Germanic rural culture, and Western European history entered the Middle Ages. era. Some scholars believe that the Huns are the Huns in Chinese history, but there is currently no evidence to prove that the Huns are the descendants of the Huns. The relationship between the Northern Huns and the Huns still needs further research.

During the Yellow Turban Rebellion at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the southern Xiongnu were transferred to the interior to quell the rebellion, so the Xiongnu continued to move inland. In addition to the Xiongnu, Wuhuan and Xianbei also entered the Han territory, forming a land of barbarians in the territory of the Han Dynasty. The inward migration of the Hu people has a lot to do with the future "Five Hus".