Wikipedia

Sixteen Prefectures

(Redirected fromSixteen prefectures)

TheSixteen Prefectures of Yanyun(simplified Chinese:Yến vân thập lục châu;traditional Chinese:Yến vân thập lục châu;pinyin:Yānyún Shíliù Zhōu) comprise a historical region innorthern Chinaalong theGreat Wallin present-dayBeijing,Tianjin,and part of northernHebeiandShanxi.It was a site of constant military and political conflict between various dynasties from the end of theTang dynastyuntil the establishment of theYuan dynasty.

The Sixteen Prefectures (yellow) wedged betweenLiao(grey) in the north andNorthern Song(light grey) in the south. Some distance to its west isWestern Xia(deep grey)

Name

edit

It is more specifically called theSixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yunor theSixteen Prefectures of You and Ji(Chinese:U kế thập lục châu;pinyin:Yōujì Shíliù Zhōu).

Overview

edit

After theTang dynastycollapsed, they became a site of contention between various ethnicities of North China, includingHan,Khitan,Jurchen,andMongol.

In 938 they were ceded byShi Jingtangof theShatuo-ledLater Jinto theKhitan Empire.The northern territories were then the site of contention between the subsequentLater Zhou,its successourSong dynasty,and Khitan-led Liao dynasty.

In 1120s, two principal cities, Youzhou (also called Yanzhou, modernBeijing) and Yunzhou (modernDatong,Shanxi) were taken away from the Liao when the Jurchen-ledJin dynastyconquered the region.

In 1123, the Jin ceded most of the territories except Yunzhou to the Northern Song, but retook them in 1125. The loss of the Sixteen Prefectures exposed the plains of central China (zhongyuan) to theMongol Empirein the 13th century. The Mongols would later conquer the Jin and Song dynasties, establishing theYuan dynastyof China.

In 1368,Hongwu Emperorof theMing dynastyordered generalXu DaandChang Yuchunto call for the restoration of Han rule. They sent a Northern Expedition toZhongyuan,overthrowing the Yuan's rule inChina properand establishing Ming. The Sixteen Prefectures were then restored to Han rule.

Tang dynasty political geography

edit

The Sixteen Prefectures were administrative units established during the Tang dynasty. Under the Tang, eachprefecture orzhouwas a unit of administration larger than a county but smaller than a province. The Sixteen Prefectures stretched from Ji County in modern-day Tianjin Municipality toDatongin Shanxi Province, extending contiguously along the mountains that divide the agrarian plains of central China from the pastoralist steppes to the north. Several dynasties including theQinand theNorthern Dynastiesbefore the Tang built the Great Wall along these mountains. Seven of the Sixteen Prefectures were located inside (south) of the Inner Great Wall.[1]The other eleven were located in between the Inner and Outer Great Walls.[1]The Tang did not build Great Walls but usedfrontier military commandersto guard against the northern tribes. The Fanyang or Youzhou-Jizhou Commandery, based in modern-day Beijing commanded 11 of the Sixteen Prefectures. The other seven were commanded by the Hedong Commandery based in Yunzhou, modern Datong.

Prefecture[1] Chinese characters Modern location Modern province/
municipality 		Administrator during the Tang Proximity to the Great Wall[1]
1 Youzhou
(Yanzhou) 		U châu
( yến châu )		 Xicheng District Beijing Youzhou-Jizhou inside
2 Shunzhou Thuận châu Shunyi District Beijing Youzhou-Jizhou inside
3 Tanzhou Đàn châu Miyun District Beijing Youzhou-Jizhou inside
4 Ruzhou Nho châu Yanqing District Beijing Youzhou-Jizhou in between
5 Jizhou Kế châu Jizhou District, Tianjin Tianjin Youzhou-Jizhou inside
6 Yíngzhou Doanh châu Hejian Hebei Youzhou-Jizhou inside
7 Mozhou Mạc châu Renqiu Hebei Youzhou-Jizhou inside
8 Zhuozhou Trác châu Zhuozhou Hebei Youzhou-Jizhou inside
9 Xinzhou Tân châu Zhuolu Hebei Youzhou-Jizhou in between
10 Guizhou Quỳ châu Huailai Hebei Youzhou-Jizhou in between
11 Wuzhou Võ châu Xuanhua Hebei Youzhou-Jizhou in between
12 Yuzhou Úy châu Yu County Hebei Hedong in between
13 Yunzhou Vân châu Datong Shanxi Hedong in between
14 Yīngzhou Ứng châu Ying County Shanxi Hedong in between
15 Huanzhou Hoàn châu East ofShuozhou Shanxi Hedong in between
16 Shuozhou Sóc châu Shuozhou Shanxi Hedong in between

The historianFrederick W. Motewrites that there were actually 19 prefectures but does not specify them.[2]Chinese historians do not considerYíngzhou( doanh châu; modernQian'an,Hebei) and Pingzhou ( bình châu; modernLulong,Hebei) to be part of the Sixteen Prefectures because they had already been occupied by the Liao dynasty during theLater Tang,prior toShi Jingtang’s cession.[1][3]Yizhou ( dịch châu; modernYi County,Hebei), which fell to the Liao after the cession, is also excluded from the count of 16.[3]The Liao created two new prefectures, Jingzhou ( cảnh châu modernZunhua,Hebei) from Jizhou and Luanzhou ( loan châu;Luan County,Hebei) from Pingzhou, which have not been included in the original 16.[3]

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period

edit
Main article:Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period

The year 907 and subsequent collapse of the Tang dynasty was a turning point in East Asian history.[4]On that year the pastoral and nomadic people known as the Khitan crownedYelü Abaoji(Emperor Taizu of Liao) as their newGreat Khan,the first from theYelütribe after some two centuries of leadership by the Yaolian clan.[5]Abaoji coveted the plains of North China, a rich source of plunder that was guarded by a line of passes and fortifications stretching from mountainous northern Shanxi to theBo Sea.[6]In 905 Abaoji had already started to intervene in northern China by leading a massive army to Datong in Shanxi to swear brotherhood withLi Keyongwho nominally served the severely weakened Tang dynasty as Jiedushi of Shanxi on the westernmost point of the defense line.[6]

The rise of Khitan power under Abaoji occurred just as China was falling into turmoil. The fall of the Tang dynasty in 907 led to power struggles among rival warlords and to the creation of a number of short-lived polities known as theFive Dynasties.The first of these dynasties was founded byZhu Wen,another Jiedushi, who declared himself emperor of theLater Liangin 907 after deposing thelast Tang emperor.[7]In 923 his dynasty was overthrown by Li Keyong's son,Li Cunxu,who then proclaimed theLater Tang.[8]

The Sixteen Prefectures passed into Liao hands in 938, when the Liao dynasty supported Shi Jingtang, another military governor of Shanxi, in his revolt against the Later Tang.[9]Confident in his own military strength, the Liao emperor, Abaoji's second sonYelü Deguang(Emperor Taizong of Liao), convinced Shi to found a new dynasty (theLater Jin), but also to cede a large band of territory to the Liao that represented the entire northern China defense line.[2][10]The Liao dynasty now possessed all the passes and fortifications that controlled access to the northern China plains.[2]

Liao rule

edit
Main article:Liao dynasty

The Khitan-led Liao dynasty kept using Chinese administrative forms to administer the counties and prefectures they had captured.[11]They namedDatong(on the western end of the Sixteen Prefectures) their Western Capital, and in 938 built a new fortified city atYouzhou(near modern-day Beijing), which they turned into theirSouthern Capital.[2][10]Under Liao rule, the Sixteen Prefectures thus represented two of the Liao dynasty's five divisions.[2]Both sections were part of the Southern Chancellery, one of two broader divisions the Liao empire had been divided into. The Sixteen Prefectures had become the springboard from which the Liao dynasty would exert its influence on northern China.[2]

Shi Jingtang, the Later Jin emperor who had ceded the Sixteen Prefectures to the Liao dynasty in 937, died in 942.[2]He had been a staunch ally (some say a puppet) of the Khitan, but his successorShi Chongguirefused to recognize the Emperor Taizong of Liao as his superior.[12]After a year of tense diplomatic exchanges, in 943 the Liao dynasty finally resolved to punish Shi for his insubordination.[13]For two years the engagements were indecisive, until in 945, the Emperor Taizong of Liao, who was leading his troops in battle, was almost killed in a rout of his forces in southernHebei;he had to flee the battlefield on a camel.[14]The following year, however, the Liao emperor launched a new campaign from his Southern Capital (within the Sixteen prefectures), triggering the collapse of the Later Jin.[15]Having seized the Later Jin capital ofKaifengin early 947, later that year he declared the name of his dynasty as "Great Liao" ( đại liêu ) and proclaimed himselfEmperor of China.[16]The Emperor Taizong of Liao quickly became disillusioned with governing so many sedentary people who resented Liao rule, and decided to retreat back to his Southern Capital.[16]Heavy resistance on the retreat route and Taizong's death in 947 provoked a succession crisis in the Liao government, and an opportunity for a new dynasty in northern China.

Still, the territory remained in Liao hands. However, by 960, theSong dynastyhad ended the turmoil that northern China had endured since 907, and by 979, they had essentially unified southern China, but lost the Sixteen Prefectures.

Liao-Song contention

edit

The Liao and Song were actually developing reasonably amicable relations in the 960s into the mid-970s, during the reign of theEmperor Taizu of Song.The Song dynasty was still focusing on trying to reunify southern China. However, despite the exchange of embassies in 974 and the growth of profitable trade between the two, there were still two fatal flaws to the relationship. One concerned continued support for theNorthern Han.The other was the Song dynasty's refusal to accept continued Liao possession of the Sixteen Prefectures.

When the Song were successful in finally incorporating the Northern Han in 979, the Song decided to launch an offensive against the Liao in the Sixteen Prefectures.Emperor Taizong of Songled his weary and ill-supplied troops from toward the Liao Southern Capital (present-day Beijing). The Liao boundary was reached in May and they initially encountered little resistance. By July 20, they had attacked the Southern Capital. Ten days later, the first contingent of Liaocavalryarrived. The ensuing Battle of Gaoliang River on August 1 near the Southern Capital resulted in a complete rout of Song forces, who had to retreat back toKaifeng.The Sixteen Prefectures would remain in Liao hands.

AfterEmperor Jingzong of Liaodied,Empress Dowager Chengtiantook power at age 30 in 982, serving as a regent for her 11-year-old sonEmperor Shengzong of Liaoand led military campaigns along with her son until her death. The Song dynasty once again tried to attack in 986, to take advantage of Shengzong's youth. They sent forces against the territory on three fronts, but the Liao scored decisive victories over all three Song forces. Empress Dowager Chengtian personally led the Liao army in campaigns against the Song during their invasion of Liao in 986 and defeated them in battle,[17][18][19][20][21]fighting the retreating Chinese army. She then ordered thecastrationof around 100 ethnicChineseboys she had captured in China, supplementing the Khitan's supply ofeunuchsto serve at her court, among them wasWang Ji'en.The boys were all under ten years old and were selected for their good looks.[22][23][24]TheHistory of Liao( liêu sử ) described and praised Empress Chengtian's capture and mass castration of Chinese boys in a biography on the eunuch Wang Ji'en.[25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35]The fifteen-year-old Emperor Shengzong led the Liao's decisive victory at the Battle of Qigou Pass.

Ethnic Hanelites held a prominent position in the Liao state alongside Khitan elites. One of them was a lineage with the surnameHán( hàn ). The Khitan had abducted the Hán clan from Jizhou and despite being ethnic Han, they were thoroughly Kitanized culturally and linguistically and served the Liao loyally in military and political positions along with several other ethnic Han elite families who were Kitanized. The loyalty of the Han population of the Liao to the Liao rulers frustrated the Song dynasty ruled by ethnic Han. Khitan women from the imperial consort clan were given to the men of the Hán family for marriage.[36]One member of this lineage was Han Derang ( hàn đức nhượng ), who was close to the Liao imperial family and whose paternal ancestors served the Liao dynasty from the time of Abaoji's reign.[37]Han Derangwas the ethnic Han minister who had a love affair with theEmpress Dowager Chengtian,and Chengtian was rumoured to have a son with him.[38][39]

Through the 990s, relations between the Song and Liao steadily worsened. Beginning in 999, the Liao would use the Sixteen Prefectures as the launching pad for repeated but indecisive attacks on the Song. Then, in 1004, the Emperor Shengzong of Liao launched another major campaign against the Song. TheChanyuan Treatysigned in early 1005 resulted in annual tribute paid to the Liao dynasty by the Song dynasty.

This treaty was the guide by which relations between the two dynasties would progress until the fall of the Liao dynasty. The Sixteen Prefectures would remain in their possession until that time.

Jin-Song contention

edit

When the Song dynasty reclaimed the Sixteen Prefectures, they were "fiercely resisted" by the Han population there who had previously been under Liao rule, while when the Jin dynasty invaded that area, the Han population did not oppose them at all and handed over the Southern Capital (present-dayBeijing,then known as Yanjing) to them.[40]The Jin dynasty were supported by the anti-Song, Beijing-based noble Han clans.[41]Ethnic Han who worked for the Liao were viewed as hostile enemies by the Song dynasty.[42]Ethnic Han from the Song dynasty also defected to the Jin.[43]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^abcde(Chinese)Lý vinh thôn, "Yến vân thập lục châu" trung hoa bách khoa toàn thư ‧ điển tàng bản 1983 ed.
  2. ^abcdefgMote 1999,p. 65.
  3. ^abc(Chinese)Lý hải thanh "' u vân ', ' yến vân ' lưỡng bất đồng"
  4. ^Mote 1999,p. 39: "Zhu Wen's usurpation of Tang state power in 907, and Abaoji's takeover of Khitan leadership in 907, each marking significant realignments of power, changed the shape of East Asian history. "
  5. ^Mote 1999,pp. 32 (on Khitan's nomadic lifestyle) and 37–38 (for the rise of Abaoji, his title of Great Khan, and his tribal affiliation).
  6. ^abMote 1999,p. 38.
  7. ^Mote 1999,p. 39.
  8. ^Standen 2009,pp. 66–67.
  9. ^Mote 1999,pp. 63–65.
  10. ^abStanden 2009,p. 87.
  11. ^Mote 1999,p. 41.
  12. ^Standen 2009,pp. 97–98.
  13. ^Standen 2009,pp. 98–98.
  14. ^Mote 1999,p. 65;Standen 2009,p. 99.
  15. ^Mote 1999,pp. 65–66.
  16. ^abMote 1999,p. 66.
  17. ^Peterson(2000), 259.
  18. ^Derven(2000), 199.
  19. ^Bauer(2010), 569.
  20. ^Wang(2013).
  21. ^Keay(2010).
  22. ^McMahon(2013), 261.
  23. ^McMahon(2013), 269.
  24. ^Tuotuo 1974, pp.109.1480-82 (or Liaoshi, 109.1480-82)
  25. ^Quốc học đạo hàng － liêu sử ( liêu sử quyển nhất bách ０ cửu liệt truyện đệ tam thập cửu )
  26. ^"Trung quốc cổ tịch toàn lục ( quyển nhất bách nhất liệt truyện đệ tam thập cửu )".Archived fromthe originalon 2014-10-10.Retrieved2013-09-07.
  27. ^"Mộng viễn thư thành > liêu sử > ( quyển nhất bách nhất liệt truyện đệ tam thập cửu )".Archived fromthe originalon 2013-10-12.Retrieved2013-09-07.
  28. ^Liêu sử quyển thất nhất chí nhất bách thập ngũ ( liệt truyện đệ nhất chí tứ ngũ ) ( liêu sử quyển nhất bách cửu ) ( liệt truyện đệ tam thập cửu )( linh quan )Archived2013-10-12 at theWayback Machine
  29. ^Liêu sử - quyển nhất bách cửu liệt truyện đệ tam thập cửu - văn học 100
  30. ^《 liêu sử 》 tác giả: Thoát thoát _ đệ 115 hiệt _ toàn văn tại tuyến duyệt độc _ tư thỏ - tư thỏ duyệt độcArchived2014-10-10 at theWayback Machine
  31. ^"Vương kế ân truyện _ bạch thoại nhị thập tứ sử - trung học sinh độc thư võng ( đương tiền vị trí: Trung học sinh độc thư võng >> bạch thoại nhị thập tứ sử )".Archived fromthe originalon 2018-11-30.Retrieved2013-09-07.
  32. ^Vương kế ân _ anh ngữ lệ cú | anh văn lệ tử | tại tuyến phiên dịch _ lật tử sưu! ([ lệ cú 2] lai nguyên: Vương kế ân )Archived2014-10-09 at theWayback Machine
  33. ^Bạch thoại liêu sử - vương kế ân truyện - văn học 100
  34. ^Vương kế ân truyện
  35. ^Thoát thoát (Tuotuo).Liêu sử / quyển 109 liệt truyện đệ 39: Linh quan hoạn quan(History of Liao) (in Chinese). Duy cơ văn khố (Chinese Wikisource).Retrieved5 September2013.
  36. ^Biran, Michal(October 2012)."Kitan Migrations in Eurasia (10th–14th Centuries)"(PDF).Journal of Central Eurasian Studies.3.Center for Central Eurasian Studies: 85–108. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 14 April 2014.Retrieved5 September2013.(Kitan Migrations in Eurasia (10th–14th Centuries) Michal Biran*
    • The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Jerusalem, Israel)
    Journal of Central Eurasian Studies, Volume 3 (October 2012): 85–108 © 2012 Center for Central Eurasian Studies))
  37. ^McMahon(2013), 261.
  38. ^McMahon(2013), 262.
  39. ^McMahon(2013), 256.
  40. ^Denis C. Twitchett; Herbert Franke; John King Fairbank (25 November 1994).The Cambridge History of China: Volume 6, Alien Regimes and Border States, 907–1368.Cambridge University Press. p. 39.ISBN978-0-521-24331-5.
  41. ^Hoyt Cleveland Tillman; Stephen H. West (1995).China Under Jurchen Rule: Essays on Chin Intellectual and Cultural History.SUNY Press. pp. 28–.ISBN978-0-7914-2273-1.
  42. ^Elliott, Mark (2012)."8. Hushuo The Northern Other and the Naming of the Han Chinese"(PDF).In Mullaney, Tomhas S.; Leibold, James; Gros, Stéphane; Bussche, Eric Vanden (eds.).Critical Han Studies The History, Representation, and Identity of China's Majority.University of California Press. p. 186.
  43. ^Jacques Gernet (31 May 1996).A History of Chinese Civilization.Cambridge University Press. pp. 358–.ISBN978-0-521-49781-7.

Bibliography

edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sixteen_Prefectures&oldid=1242067399"