Throughout ancient China, the northern border areas of various dynasties since the Qin Dynasty have always been restless, and the threat of external troubles has basically come from the north. The Xiongnu, Xianbei, Rouran, Turkic, Uighur, Khitan, Jurchen, Mongol and other nomadic fishing and hunting peoples also went forward to harass the Central Plains Dynasty one after another. The Regimes of the Western Jin Dynasty, the Northern Song Dynasty, the Southern Song Dynasty, and the Southern Ming Dynasty were directly destroyed at the hands of the nomadic fishing and hunting peoples in the north.
In fact, this is relatively normal, the climate and vast grassland environment in the north of the Central Plains are indeed suitable for the survival of nomadic, fishing and hunting peoples, and the farming peoples in ancient times when social productivity was very low, they were often at a disadvantage when fighting with nomadic and fishing and hunting peoples who were good at riding and shooting technology, strong folk customs, strong mobility, and hardly needed logistical support.
So, in addition to the north, is there a threat to the three directions of the Central Plains Dynasty in the east, west and south?
Above_ The agrarian society of the ancient Central Plains
First, the East
The east of the traditional Han is the sea, and in the absence of the Age of Discovery, only two countries across the sea, South Korea and Japan, could become a threat.
Korea and Korea, together with Korea, in feudal society, no matter how the Central Plains changed dynasties, had always been a vassal state of the Central Plains Dynasty, and had never really threatened the Central Plains Dynasty (Goguryeo in the Sui and Tang Dynasties was an ethnic minority in the northeast region of ancient China, and had no dime relationship with Korea and Korea).
As for Japan, although it was China's number one foreign enemy in modern times, its national strength in ancient times was far inferior to that of the Central Plains Dynasty, and in addition to the troubles caused by many reasons in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, it also posed a threat on the whole.
Above_ Ming Dynasty's Wokou
Second, the West
In the west of the Central Plains, there are obstacles from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the "roof of the world", and the Taklamakan Desert, and external forces cannot enter at all. The only real threat was the Tuguhun and Tubo that arose on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau during the Sui and Tang dynasties.
The Book of Jin and the Biography of Tuguhun records: "Tuguhun, Murong Shu's eldest brother, whose father was involved in the division of the tribe of 1,700 peasants to subordinate to him. It can be seen that Tuguhun was originally a personal name, the elder brother of Murong Hui, the father of Murong Hui, the founding emperor of Former Yan (one of the Sixteen Kingdoms, founded by Murong Bu of the Xianbei clan), and later moved his troops to the Qilian Mountains and the upper valley of the Yellow River due to the failure of the struggle for the throne, where he called the founding of the Khan, and his descendants named the country after him.
Above_Tuguhun and Tubo
When Tuguhun moved west, the Central Plains was in a period of great chaos during the two Jin Dynasties and the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and there was no time to take care of it. Tuguhun took advantage of the rise of the powerful, and at its peak controlled a vast area from the east coast of Qinghai Lake in the east, to the Tarim Basin in the west, from the Kuruktag Mountains in the north to the Kunlun Mountains in the south. It also invaded many Central Plains regimes such as Northern Wei, Western Wei, and Northern Zhou.
The Book of Sui records: "He even broke through the Tuguhun, expanded the land for thousands of miles, and sent troops to fight it." By 609, the Sui Emperor had sent troops to defeat the main force of Tuguhun and set up four counties in its territory: Xihai, Heyuan, Shanshan, and Zhimu. However, the Sui Emperor did not completely eliminate Tuguhun, and its remnants, under the leadership of Fu Yun, took advantage of the great chaos in the Central Plains at the end of the Sui Dynasty to make a comeback and occupy their homeland again. The Eighty-fourth Chronicle of the Northern Chronicles records: "At the end of the Great Cause, the world was in chaos, And Fu Yun restored his homeland, and the right side of the Repeated Kou River could not be controlled by counties and counties. ”
In the ninth year of zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty (634), In order to open up the Hexi Corridor and dredge the Silk Road, Emperor Taizong of Tang sent troops to once again severely damage Tuguhun, and Tuguhun became a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty, lost its threat, and was completely destroyed by Tubo in 663.
Above_Schematic diagram of the Hexi Corridor
The greatest threat faced by the Central Plains Dynasties in the West was undoubtedly Tubo, an ancient Tibetan tribe that arose on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in the early days, although it maintained a peaceful situation with the Tang Dynasty for a long time, it did not pose any threat to the Tang Dynasty.
However, after the Anshi Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty turned from prosperity to decline, and Tubo began to become the biggest threat in the middle of the Tang Dynasty, constantly encroaching on the Tang Dynasty's territory in the Western Regions, Hexi, and Longyou. The Old Book of Tang and the Thirty-sixth Chronicle of The Column records: "In the first year of Guangde, Tubo Ling committed a crime against Shangdu and took advantage of public opinion to be fortunate in Shaanxi. The people of Fan and Hun entered the city, and the Tubo prime minister Ma Chongying established Chenghong as emperor, and Yu Kefeng and Huo Huan as the prime ministers, and replaced more than 100 people. It can be seen that Tubo even attacked the Tang Dynasty capital Chang'an in 763 and established Li Chenghong as a puppet emperor.
By the end of the 8th century and the beginning of the 9th century, Tibet reached its peak. It controlled a vast area stretching from the western edge of the Sichuan Basin in the east, from the Onion Ridge (now the Pamir Plateau) in the west, to the Tianshan Mountains in the north, and to the Himalayas in the south. However, the boom and bust declined.
After entering the 9th century, the situation of the indomitable Tubo Empire began to take a sharp turn for the worse, and various nationalities, slaves, and civilians in the country revolted continuously, and there was constant strife within the ruling group. Zhang Yichao rebelled to control Hexi and Longyou and then annexed to the Tang Dynasty, and the western region was later occupied by uighurs, and by the end of the 9th century, Tubo had completely collapsed. Since then, there has never been a force in the western region that can threaten the Central Plains Dynasty.
Above_Thirty-Six Kingdoms of the Western Regions (Han Dynasty)
3. The South
Since Qin Shi Huang pacified Baiyue, set up the three counties of Nanhai, Guilin, and Xiang County, and later Emperor Wu of Han attacked the State of Nanyue, the south of the territory of the Central Plains Dynasty has always been the sea, and like the East, there will be almost no external threat before the advent of the Era of Great Navigation. Although there is no threat in the south, this is not the case in the vast southwest.
In ancient times, compared with the Central Plains Dynasty, the southwest region mainly referred to the present-day Guizhou, Yunnan, Guangxi and the Indochina Peninsula. The topography and ethnic composition of these areas are very complex, and countless regimes that have threatened the Central Plains Dynasty have also arisen.
Above_The position marked in the Map of the Night Lang Kingdom
Night Lang.
As the first country in southwest China to be founded by ethnic minorities, his historical fame is a bit embarrassing, that is, the famous idiom "Yelang arrogance", from the "History of Southwest Yilie": "The King of Dian and the Han emissaries said: 'Han and I are big?'" And the same goes for The Night Lang Hou. With the Tao not passing, each thought that he was the lord of a state, but he did not know the vastness of Han. Although because the road is impassable and the information communication is not smooth, Yelangguo has left an image of arrogance and ignorance.
However, according to the research, although the Yelang Kingdom is not as good as the Western Han Dynasty, it is not like "Yelang arrogance" that should be laughed at by future generations. The reason why the Yelang Kingdom was despised was because of the lack of historical records, resulting in the Central Plains people know very little about him, the history of the Yelang Kingdom is quite long, the history of the recorded history is more than 300 years; the Yelang territory is vast, controlling today's Guizhou, Yunnan and other places; Yelang because of engaging in foreign trade, the country and the people can be regarded as quite rich. During the peaceful years of the Western Han Dynasty, King Xingtong of the Night Lang coerced the surrounding 22 Yi to rebel against the Western Han Dynasty, although it was eventually defeated and destroyed, but it also made the Western Han Dynasty not to be underestimated.
Nanzhong historically refers to today's Yunnan, Guizhou, and southwestern Sichuan. During the Three Kingdoms period, Nanzhong became part of the Shu Han Dynasty.
South Central.
The story of Zhuge Liang's "Seven Captures and Seven Verticals" Meng Yue has been passed down through the ages and has been praised by posterity. The ethnic minority tribes led by Meng Yu became a major problem for the Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period, and they long occupied the Nanzhong region, which is the name of the Three Kingdoms period, referring to today's Yunnan, Guizhou and southwestern Sichuan. Only after Zhuge Liang surrendered Meng Yu and pacified Nanzhong did he dare to let go of his hands and feet to go north to the Central Plains.
Nanzhao Kingdom (738-902), the ancient name of the country, is an ancient kingdom that rose on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau in the eighth century
Nanzhao.
During the first year of the Tang Dynasty, Yunnan and the surrounding vast areas emerged as a powerful regime established by the Ailao people, the Nanzhao.
Nanzhao had long been attached to the Tang court, and the two were at peace. However, during the reign of the fifth king, Ge Luofeng, under the combined effect of various factors such as the arrogance and greed of the Tang Dynasty's border ministers, the growing strength of Nanzhao and the intervention of Tubo, the relationship between Nanzhao and the Tang Dynasty deteriorated sharply and eventually broke down.
In order to eliminate Nanzhao, the Tang Dynasty launched three large-scale wars. However, at this time, due to the incompetence of Tang Xuanzong in the late tang dynasty, the tang dynasty was already full of internal crises and contradictions, except for the eighth year of Tianbao (749), when He Luguang led an army to attack Nanzhao and achieved a small victory, rarely Yu Zhongtong in the tenth year of Tianbao (751) and Li Mi in the thirteenth year of Tianbao (754) two wars ended in failure.
The Zizhi Tongjian, Vol. 216, records: "The Ten Years of Tianbao ... Marching to the Xi'er River, fighting with Ge Luofeng, the army was defeated, 60,000 soldiers died, and Zhongtong was only spared. And the Zizhi Tongjian, vol. 217, records: "Tianbao thirteen years ... Li Mi attacked Nanzhao with 70,000 troops. The Deeper ,...... of the Temptation of The Pavilion Wild pursuit, Mi was captured, and the whole army was gone. What is even more shocking is that the Second and Third Wars of the Tang Dynasty against Nanzhao were completely destroyed, resulting in the death of 130,000 elite soldiers, which also left a hidden danger for the Anshi Rebellion that broke out later.
Above_Dali during the Northern Song Dynasty (lower left corner of the picture)
Dali.
During the Two Song Dynasties, another regime arose in southwestern China, Dali. At its peak, its territory included present-day Yunnan, Guizhou, and southwestern Sichuan, as well as parts of Burma, Laos, and northern Vietnam.
However, although Dali had a vast territory and strong national strength, it almost never had a war with the two Song Dynasties in the more than 300 years from the founding of the state to its demise, so it could not be regarded as a threat to the Central Plains Dynasty in the strict sense. The main reason is that Dali is generally buddhist and not keen on foreign expansion, while the military threat of the two Song Dynasties has always been in the north, and a peaceful policy has always been adopted for Dali.
Above_Jiaozhou during the Southern Dynasty (Jiaotong is a part of it)
Cross toes.
In present-day northern and central Vietnam, it was called cross-toe in ancient times. From the time Qin Shi Huang pacified Baiyue and established Xiang County, it was under the direct jurisdiction of the Central Plains Dynasty for a long time. However, once the Central Plains Dynasty declined and civil unrest, there would be rebellion and self-reliance in the Jiaozhi region: the State of Nanyue at the end of the Qin Dynasty, the "Second Expedition Rebellion" in the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the "Former Li Dynasty" in the last years of the Southern Dynasty Liang Dynasty, and so on. However, these can be defined as civil unrest.
In the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, after Jiaotong officially broke away from the Central Plains Dynasty, the "Song-Vietnam War" that broke out in the Xining War of the Northern Song Dynasty was an unscrupulous external problem and invasion, in this war, the Northern Song Dynasty was captured in Qinzhou, Lianzhou, and Yongzhou, and the military and civilians of the three states were brutally slaughtered, and nearly 100,000 people were killed. Then the Counterattack of the Northern Song Dynasty was also quite difficult, losing more than 300,000 troops.
Above_Yunnan Cloth Envoy Division Seal (Yunnan Toast) stamped on the official document
toast.
According to the Jingtai Yunnan Tujing Zhishu, "Zhili Province, Prefecture, and Sifan Twenty-Nine, Waiyi Province, Prefecture, And Sifan Seventeen." "The toast system is a local administrative system established by the central government in the southwest region during the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. However, due to the complexity of the geographical environment and ethnic composition, as well as the characteristics of "the world has its own land, the world manages its people, the world rules its soldiers, hereditary its office, the world governs it, the world enters its flow, and the world is enthroned", the name of the toast is a local official appointed by the central government, but in fact it is extremely independent, equivalent to the tu emperor.
In the later period, its drawbacks became more and more obvious: Tusi brutally ruled the ethnic minorities internally, harassed surrounding villages, fought with each other, and even began to fight against the central government, rebelling, the most famous of which was the Yang Yinglong rebellion, one of the "Three Great Marches of Wanli". Therefore, starting in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the central government began to gradually implement the "land reform and return to the stream" in the southwest region, that is, abolished the toast system and changed it to the exile official system. However, the implementation process of "reforming the land and returning to the stream" was not smooth, and it was strongly opposed and even rebelled by the local toastmasters, and it was not basically completed until the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty.
Above_Qing-Burmese War
Myanmar.
After Yongzheng implemented the reform of land and returned to the stream, it strengthened the control of the southwest region, so that Yunnan, Guizhou and other places were completely integrated into the land of China. But during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, another state arose in today's central and southern regions, becoming a new threat to the Central Plains Dynasty, that is, the Burmese Gongpung Dynasty.
During the reign of the third monarch, the Burmese Gongpung Dynasty pursued expansionism and expanded outwards, and in 1762 invaded the Pu'er region of Yunnan, China, triggering a seven-year-long Qing-Burmese War. Although the result of the war was that Burma paid tribute to the Qing Dynasty, and Siam became independent from the Burmese Gongpung Dynasty with the help of the Qing Dynasty, in fact the Qing army did not achieve substantial military victories, and all four attacks were repelled by Meng, and the Qing Losses were far greater than Burma.
Above_ Burmese warships on the Irrawaddy River
In summary, the vast borders and territorial areas of ancient China were obtained through continuous warfare, and they also faced threats from multiple directions. However, in general, although there have been many failures, threats other than the north will not shake the foundation of the Central Plains Dynasty, which is why successive dynasties have always regarded the north as the focus of defense.
Text: Boling Qinghe
References: "Jin Shu Tuguhun Biography", "Sui Book", "Northern History", "Old Book of Tang", "Shi Ji • Southwest Yi Lie Biography", "Zizhi Tongjian", "Jingtai Yunnan Tujing Zhi"
The text was created by the History University Hall team, and the picture originated from the Internet and the copyright belongs to the original author