Liu Yuan in film and television dramas
In 304, Liu Yuan, a descendant of the Huns, established himself as king, a marginal member who had been an official in the Western Jin Dynasty, publicly declared his opposition to the Jin Dynasty at this time, and in 308 he proclaimed himself emperor and established the former Zhao regime. Although Liu Yuan died suddenly two years after becoming emperor, the Han Zhao or Former Zhao regime he established dealt a fatal blow to the Western Jin Dynasty, and it was under the attack of the Han and Zhao states that the Western Jin Dynasty suddenly perished in just over 30 years, thus opening the chaotic era of the Northern and Southern Dynasties.
1. Liu Yuan's early experience
The Xiongnu in the Han Dynasty had given the Central Plains Dynasty a great threat, the Han Emperor Wu sent two generals Wei Qing and Huo Qubing to the north to expel the Xiongnu from the northern grassland, solving the Xiongnu trouble. However, the Xiongnu forces were not completely dispersed, and during the Three Kingdoms period, Deng Ai, a famous general of Wei, found that Liu Bao, the Xiongnu Zuoxian King in the northern annexation of Shanxi, Hebei, and Inner Mongolia, was becoming stronger and stronger, and there was a possibility of rebellion. He suggested that the imperial court should divide Liu Bao's forces into two, increasing the influence of the Xiongnu Da Shan Yu on the one hand, and weakening the influence of the Xiongnu Liu Bao on the other.
The Huns in film and television dramas
It is impossible to know whether Deng Ai's suggestion was implemented by the Cao Wei court, but what we do know is that by the time of the Western Jin Dynasty, there were fewer and fewer records of Xiongnu Shan Yu. This is due to the fact that in order to prove its strength and "embrace all rivers", the Western Jin Dynasty court intended to absorb the leaders of various ethnic groups in the capital Luoyang, so as to create the identity of the Western Jin Dynasty emperor as the "co-lord of the world". Shan Yu in Luoyang obviously could not exert much influence in the Xiongnu Department, he lived in Luoyang, although his status was noble, but he was like an idle prince. At this time, although Liu Bao's power was getting stronger and stronger, he was limited by the majesty of the Western Jin Dynasty, and he had to send his son to Luoyang to serve as a "proton", and the proton who was sent to Luoyang was Liu Yuan.
Liu Yuan's appearance is heroic, his talent is outstanding, although his official position in Luoyang is very small, but his fame is not small, Liu Yuan's Xiongnu identity is suspicious of the emperor, and Liu Yuan's proton identity makes it difficult to leave Luoyang, so it is very appropriate to say that Liu Yuan is a "marginal person" at this time. Because of his talents, Liu Yuan was often recommended by people of insight in Luoyang, and Wang Hun, Li Xi and other officials of the DPRK and China successively recommended him to serve in important military posts in the DPRK and China. In 278, after the leader of the Xianbei tribe rebelled, Li Xi once again recommended Liu Yuan as a general to regain the lost territory. However, Emperor Wu of Jin was still worried that Liu Yuan would take advantage of the opportunity to quell Xianbei to rebel in Liangzhou, so he gave up on using Liu Yuan, and Emperor Wu of Jin even had the idea of killing Liu Yuan, but changed his mind at the suggestion of the minister who protected Liu Yuan.
Emperor Wu of Jin in film and television dramas
2. The Rebellion of the Eight Kings and Liu Yuan's rebellion
In 279, Liu Yuan's father, Liu Bao, died, and the imperial court ordered Liu Yuan to succeed his father as King Zuoxian. A large number of people from the Xiongnu tribes rushed to Liu Yuan, and even scholars from Jizhou, Youzhou and other places in the north of the Western Jin Dynasty came to Liu Yuan's governance office to travel, and even stayed to join Liu Yuan's group.
In 291, there was a civil strife in the royal family of the Western Jin Dynasty, known as the "Rebellion of the Eight Kings", which completely destroyed the foundation of the Western Jin Dynasty and crumbled the imperial court, which had just been established for only a few decades. The outbreak of civil strife provided an important opportunity for Liu Yuan's career. After the Eight Kings Rebellion, the Sima family fought and killed each other, and you sang and I appeared, and the world presented a chaotic situation. At this time, Liu Yuan's cousin Liu Xuan, together with other Xiongnu tribes, began to plot the revival of the Xiongnu.
Hachiō no Ran
For Liu Yuan, he lived in Luoyang for more than ten years as a proton in his early years, seemingly worry-free but had nothing to do all day, the court was very suspicious of his Xiongnu identity, Liu Yuan did not have any fixed ministry, except for participating in symbolic court ceremonial activities and ceremonies, he could only hang out at home or in Luoyang City. He wanted to establish a meritorious career but could not achieve it, and there was always a sense of resentment in his heart, which planted a seed for his future army. After becoming the Great Danyu, Liu Yuan mastered all the power of the Xiongnu and returned to Sima Ying among the Eight Kings, who also took care of Liu Yuan and gave him a high official position. In fact, Liu Yuan's earliest army was not to oppose the Jin Dynasty, but to help Sima Ying. But with Sima Ying's defeat, the last person who appreciated Liu Yuan also failed, and Liu Yuan completely gave up his "gratitude" to the Western Jin court. After the continuous persuasion of Liu Xuan and others, Liu Yuan decided to finally raise troops against Jin.
It's just about the image
Third, the opening of the anti-Jin road
When Liu Yuan raised his army, the Western Jin Dynasty had been torn apart by the long war, and the strong Xiongnu soldiers were bound to crush the Jin Dynasty. Liu Yuan believed that his ancestors were the descendants of Mao Dunshan Yu who married the princess of the Han Dynasty emperor, and he also had the blood of the Han Dynasty, and now that the Han Dynasty had fallen, he was obliged to rebuild the Han Dynasty. In 304, Liu Yuan established himself as the king of Han, established a regime named Han, posthumously crowned Liu Chan as the emperor of filial piety, and rebuilt the shrine of Liu Bang, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty, for worship.
After Liu Yuan raised his troops, he conquered Taiyuan, Zhongdu and other important northern towns before and after, and sent troops to attack Liu Yuan, but several armies were defeated by Liu Yuan. Liu Yuan led his troops to attack everywhere, occupying cities such as Hedong and Pingyang, and absorbing the power of various nomadic peoples such as Xianbei and Di, and Shi Le, who later founded a dynasty, also joined Liu Yuan's group at this time.
After several years of fierce soldiers, Liu Yuan officially proclaimed himself emperor in 308, and then he sent his fourth son Liu Cong to attack Luoyang, the capital of the Western Jin Dynasty.
In 310, Liu Yuan suddenly fell ill and died in the palace in August. His son Liu Cong usurped the throne and killed his brother Liu He and became the emperor of Han Zhao. After Liu Cong ascended the throne, he continued his father's last wish, that is, to send troops to attack Luoyang, he sent Liu Yao, Wang Mi and Shi Le to attack Luoyang, the attack was very successful, and the capital of the Western Jin Dynasty was breached. Emperor Huai of Jin was taken captive by Liu Cong to Pingyang, the capital of Han and Zhao, and was subsequently killed by Liu Cong. In 314, Liu Cong sent troops to attack Chang'an, and at this time in Chang'an was the former crown prince Sima Ye, who ascended the throne and became emperor after Emperor Huai was killed. In 316, Chang'an was breached by Liu Cong, Emperor Jin was killed, and the Western Jin Dynasty was declared extinct.
From Liu Yuan to Liu Cong, the Han and Zhao kingdoms defeated the Western Jin Dynasty in just over ten years, in which Liu Yuan played a pioneering role. He went from the earliest idle Luoyang proton, to then became the Xiongnu Dadanyu, and then to the rebellion against the Jin, step by step realized the evolution process from a marginal figure to a generation of emperors.
The death of Emperor Jin meant the demise of the Western Jin Dynasty
Wen Shijun said
Liu Yuan's army was not a simple anti-Jin battle, but the result of a comprehensive influence from many aspects. Liu Yuan hoped to make meritorious contributions to the imperial court many times in Luoyang, but he was always suspicious and ignored by the imperial court, and these dissatisfaction were transformed into the motivation to rise up against the Jin Dynasty in the future. The outbreak of the Eight Kings Rebellion provided an excellent opportunity for the Xiongnu to oppose the Jin, and Liu Yuan soon sent troops to oppose the Jin Dynasty after being elected as the Great Danyu, completing the transformation from slave to master.
bibliography
Hou Xudong, "The Order of the World, the Rebellion of the Eight Kings and Liu Yuan's Rebellion: The Growth History of a Marginal Man", Historical Monthly, No. 8, 2021.
Qi Xiaorong, "Tu Ge Liu Yuan, that is, the Xiongnu Dadan Position Exploration", Master's thesis, Inner Mongolia University, 2011.
(Author: Haoran Literature and History, Little Sun)
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