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144-665: Nanyue and its rulers had an adversarial relationship with the Han dynasty , which referred to Nanyue as a vassal state while in practice it was autonomous. Nanyue rulers sometimes paid symbolic obeisance to the Han dynasty but referred to themselves as emperor. In 113 BC, fourth-generation leader Zhao Xing sought to have Nanyue formally included as part of the Han Empire. His prime minister Lü Jia objected vehemently and subsequently killed Zhao Xing, installing his elder brother Zhao Jiande on

288-595: A limited engagement at Mayi involving the assassination of the Chanyu would throw the Xiongnu realm into chaos and benefit the Han. When this plot failed in 133 BC, Emperor Wu launched a series of massive military invasions into Xiongnu territory. The assault culminated in 119 BC at the Battle of Mobei , when Han commanders Huo Qubing ( d.  117 BC ) and Wei Qing ( d.  106 BC ) forced

432-595: A Greek sailor had visited. Emperor Zhang 's ( r.  75–88 AD ) reign came to be viewed by later Eastern Han scholars as the high point of the dynastic house. Subsequent reigns were increasingly marked by eunuch intervention in court politics and their involvement in the violent power struggles of the imperial consort clans . In 92 AD, with the aid of the eunuch Zheng Zhong ( d.  107 AD ), Emperor He ( r.  88–105 AD ) had Empress Dowager Dou ( d.  97 AD ) put under house arrest and her clan stripped of power. This

576-477: A Han subject state, Nanyue seems to have retained a large measure of de facto autonomy. After the death of Liu Bang in 195 BC, the government was put in the hands of his wife, Empress Lü Zhi , who served as Empress Dowager over their son Emperor Hui of Han and then Emperor Hui's sons Liu Gong and Liu Hong . Enraged, Empress Lü sent men to Zhao Tuo's hometown of Zhending (modern Zhengding County , Hebei) who killed much of Zhao's extended family and desecrated

720-540: A Yue chieftain as King of Xixu in order to allow the Yue of that area to enjoy autonomy under a ruler of their own ethnicity. The chieftain's name is unknown, but he was a descendant of Yi-Xu-Song, the chieftain killed while fighting the original Chinese invasion under the Qin dynasty. Nanyue's bureaucracy was, like the famed bureaucracy of the Qin dynasty, divided into central and regional governments. The central government comprised

864-463: A change which debased the value of coinage. Although these reforms provoked considerable opposition, Wang's regime met its ultimate downfall with the massive floods of c.  3  AD and 11 AD. Gradual silt build-up in the Yellow River had raised its water level and overwhelmed the flood control works . The Yellow River split into two new branches: one emptying to the north and

1008-448: A coalition of former officials and officers against Dong, who burned Luoyang to the ground and resettled the court at Chang'an in May 191 AD. Dong Zhuo later poisoned Emperor Shao. Dong was killed by his adopted son Lü Bu ( d.  198 AD ) in a plot hatched by Wang Yun ( d.  192 AD ). Emperor Xian fled from Chang'an in 195 AD to the ruins of Luoyang. Xian

1152-416: A coup against the eunuchs Hou Lan ( d.  172 AD ), Cao Jie ( d.  181 AD ), and Wang Fu ( 王甫 ). When the plot was uncovered, the eunuchs arrested Empress Dowager Dou ( d.  172 AD ) and Chen Fan. General Zhang Huan ( 張奐 ) favoured the eunuchs. He and his troops confronted Dou Wu and his retainers at the palace gate where each side shouted accusations of treason against

1296-784: A decree instating Zhao Tuo as the new Lieutenant of Nanhai, and died soon afterward. After Ren's death, Zhao Tuo, sent orders to his troops in Hengpu Pass (north of modern Nanxiong , Guangdong), Yangshan Pass (northern Yangshan County ), Huang Stream Pass (modern Yingde region, where the Lian River enters the Bei River ), and other garrisons to fortify themselves against any northern troops. He also executed Qin officials still stationed in Nanhai and replaced them with his own trusted friends. The kingdom of Âu Lạc lay south of Nanyue in

1440-527: A descendant of Emperor Jing ( r.  157–141 BC ), attempted to restore the Han dynasty and occupied Chang'an as his capital. However, he was overwhelmed by the Red Eyebrow rebels who deposed, assassinated, and replaced him with the puppet monarch Liu Penzi . Gengshi's distant cousin Liu Xiu, known posthumously as Emperor Guangwu ( r.  25–57 AD ), after distinguishing himself at

1584-481: A kingdom as small as Nanyue daring to oppose it. He further threatened to kill Zhao's kinsmen in China proper and destroying their ancestral graveyards, as well as coercing the Yue into deposing Zhao himself. Following the threat, Zhao Tuo then decided to receive Emperor Gaozu's seal and submit to Han authority. Trade relations were established at the border between Nanyue and the Han kingdom of Changsha . Although formally

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1728-602: A letter from the Emperor emphasizing that Empress Lü's policies were what had caused the hostility between Nanyue and the Han court and brought suffering to the border citizens. Zhao Tuo decided to submit to the Han once again, withdrawing his title of "emperor" and reverting to "king", and Nanyue became Han's subject state. However, most of the changes were superficial, and Zhao Tuo continued to be referred to as "emperor" throughout Nanyue. In 137 BC, Zhao Tuo died, having lived over one hundred years. Because of his great age, his son,

1872-422: A man named Han Qianqiu with 2,000 officials to Nanyue to wrest control from Lü Jia. In 112 BC, the men crossed into Nanyue territory, and Lü Jia finally executed his plan. He and those loyal to him appealed to the citizens that Zhao Xing was but a youth, Queen Dowager Jiu a foreigner who was plotting with the Han emissaries with the intent to turn the country over to Han China, giving over all of Nanyue's treasures to

2016-627: A manner similar to that of the Western Han . Imperial documents from Nanyue record that princes were enfeoffed at Cangwu, Xixu, as well as local lords at Gaochang and elsewhere. Zhao Guang, a relative of Zhao Tuo, was made King of Cangwu, and his holdings were what is now Wuzhou in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region . In what is considered a manifestation of Zhao Tuo's respect for the Hundred Yue , he enfeoffed

2160-456: A move that eventually brought disaster upon Nanyue. Zhao Yingqi was reputed to be a tyrant who killed citizens with flippant abandon. He died of illness around 113 BC. Zhao Xing succeeded his father as king, and his mother became Queen Dowager. In 113 BC, Emperor Wu of Han sent senior minister Anguo Shaoji to Nanyue summon Zhao Xing and his mother to Chang'an for an audience with the Emperor, as well as two other officials with soldiers to await

2304-448: A policy of "Harmonizing and Gathering the Hundred Yue tribes" ( Chinese : 和集百越 ), and encouraged ethnic Han to immigrate from the Yellow River region to the south. Nanyue rulers were then not against the assimilation of Yue and Han cultures. In Vietnam, the rulers of Nanyue are referred to as the Triệu dynasty . The name "Vietnam" ( Việt Nam ) is derived and reversed from Nam Việt ,

2448-486: A policy of assimilating the two cultures into each other. Although the Han were certainly dominant in holding leadership positions, the overwhelming disparity was largest immediately after the Qin conquest. Over time, the Yue gradually began holding more positions of authority in the government. Lü Jia, the last prime minister of the Kingdom, was a Yue citizen, and over 70 of his kinsmen served as officials in various parts of

2592-630: A prime minister who held military and administrative authority, inner scribes who served under the prime minister, overseeing Censors of various rank and position, commanders of the Imperial Guard, senior officials who carried out the King's official administration, as well as all military officers and officials of the Food, Music, Transportation, Agriculture, and other bureaus. Nanyue enacted several other policies that reflected Chinese dominance, such as

2736-407: A regiment of Nanyue soldiers and completely annihilated. Lü Jia then took the imperial tokens of the Han emissaries and placed them in a ceremonial wooden box, then attached to it a fake letter of apology and installed it on the border of Han and Nanyue, along with military reinforcements. When Emperor Wu heard of the coup and Prime Minister Lü's actions, he became enraged. After issuing compensation to

2880-834: A regiment of soldiers through the Lingqu Canal (which connected the Xiang River and the Li River ), then navigated through the Yangtze and Pearl River water systems ensure the safety of the Qin supply routes. The Qin attack of the Western Valley ( Chinese : 西甌 ) Yue tribe went smoothly, and Western Valley chieftain Yi-Xu-Song was killed. However, the Western Valley Yue were unwilling to submit to

3024-578: A request by Kushan ruler Vima Kadphises ( r.   c.  90  – c.  100 AD –  ) for a marriage alliance with the Han was rejected in AD ;90, he sent his forces to Wakhan (modern-day Afghanistan) to attack Ban Chao. The conflict ended with the Kushans withdrawing because of lack of supplies. In AD 91, the office of Protector General of the Western Regions

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3168-808: A response at Guiyang . At the time, Zhao Xing was still young and the Queen Dowager was a recent immigrant to Nanyue, so final authority in matters of state rested in the hands of Prime Minister Lü Jia. Before the Queen Dowager married Zhao Yingqi, it was widely rumored that she had had an affair with Anguo Shaoji, and they were said to have renewed it when he was sent to Nanyue, which caused the Nanyue citizens to lose confidence in her rule. Fearful of losing her position of authority, Queen Dowager Jiu persuaded Zhao Xing and his ministers to fully submit to Han dynasty rule, shifting Nanyue from an outer vassal state (外属诸侯国) to an inner vassal state (内属诸侯国) to Han dynasty. At

3312-428: A series of reforms that limited the power of these kingdoms in 145, dividing their former territories into new commanderies under central control. Kings were no longer able to appoint their own staff; this duty was assumed by the imperial court. Kings became nominal heads of their fiefs and collected a portion of tax revenues as their personal incomes. The kingdoms were never entirely abolished and existed throughout

3456-473: A spear with which to kill the Prime Minister personally, but she was stopped by her son, the king. Lü Jia instructed his brother's armed men to surround his compound and stand guard and feigned illness, refusing to meet with King Zhao or any Han emissaries. At the same time, he began seriously plotting the upcoming coup with other officials. When news of the situation reached Emperor Wu , he dispatched

3600-434: A state pension and a territorial fiefdom . Holders of the rank immediately below, that of ordinary marquess, received a pension, but had no territorial rule. Scholar-bureaucrats who served in government belonged to the wider commoner social class and were ranked just below nobles in social prestige. The highest government officials could be enfeoffed as marquesses. Nankang, Jiangxi Nankang ( Chinese : 南康 )

3744-545: A successful overthrow of her regime to enthrone Emperor Shun of Han ( r.  125–144 AD ). Yan was placed under house arrest, her relatives were either killed or exiled, and her eunuch allies were slaughtered. The regent Liang Ji ( d.  159 AD ), brother of Empress Liang Na ( d.  150 AD ), had the brother-in-law of Consort Deng Mengnü ( d.  165 AD ) killed after Deng Mengnü resisted Liang Ji's attempts to control her. Afterward, Emperor Huan employed eunuchs to depose Liang Ji, who

3888-545: A thousand soldiers with a multitude of provisions and supply carts from Bafu Pass (near modern Hejiang County ) into Yelang. Many of the carts carried ceremonial gifts which Yelang presented to the feudal lords of Yelang as bribes to declare allegiance to the Han dynasty, which they did, and Yelang became Qianwei Commandery of the Han Empire. Zhao Mo fell ill and died around 122 BC. After hearing of his father's serious illness, Zhao Yingqi received permission from Emperor Wu to return to Nanyue. After Zhao Mo's death, Yingqi assumed

4032-474: A war to determine who would have hegemony over China, which had fissured into Eighteen Kingdoms , each claiming allegiance to either Xiang Yu or Liu Bang. Although Xiang Yu proved to be an effective commander, Liu Bang defeated him at the Battle of Gaixia (202 BC) in modern-day Anhui . Liu Bang assumed the title of Emperor at the urging of his followers and is known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu ( r.  202–195 BC ). Chang'an (modern Xi'an)

4176-512: Is a district of the city of Ganzhou in southern Jiangxi province. It was a county-level city until November 2013, when the State Council made it a district of Ganzhou. Nankang has a population of 810,000. It covers an area of 1796 square kilometers. The seat of the district is at Rongjiang Town ( 蓉江镇 ). In the present, Nankang District has 2 subdistricts, 8 towns, 11 townships and 1 ethnic township. Ganzhou West railway station

4320-534: Is mostly contained in section ( juan ) 113, Ordered Annals of Nanyue ( Chinese : 南越列傳 ; pinyin : Nányuè Liè Zhuàn ; Jyutping : Naam4jyut6 Lit6 Zyun2 ). A similar record is also found in the Book of Han Volume 95: The Southwest Peoples, Two Yues, and Chaoxian. After Qin Shi Huang conquered the six other Chinese kingdoms of Han , Zhao , Wei , Chu , Yan , and Qi , he turned his attention to

4464-841: Is now Vietnam, and that Chinese domination there was first accomplished by the Nanyue themselves. Zhao Tuo followed the Commandery-County system of the Qin dynasty when organizing the Kingdom of Nanyue. He left Nanhai Commandery and Guilin Commandery intact, then divided Xiang Commandery into the Jiaozhi and Jiuzhen Commanderies. Nanhai comprised most of modern Guangdong , and was divided by the Qin into Panyu, Longchuan, Boluo, and Jieyang Counties, to which Zhao Tuo added Zhenyang and Hankuang. The majority of Nanyue's residents consisted of mainly Yue peoples . The Han Chinese population consisted of descendants of Qin armies sent to conquer

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4608-493: Is now northern Sichuan and southern Shaanxi , was not quelled until 215 AD. Zhang Jue's massive rebellion across eight provinces was annihilated by Han forces within a year; however, the following decades saw much smaller recurrent uprisings. Although the Yellow Turbans were defeated, many generals appointed during the crisis never disbanded their assembled militias and used these troops to amass power outside of

4752-550: Is recorded in the Weilüe and Book of Later Han to have reached the court of Emperor Huan of Han ( r.  146–168 AD ) in AD 166, yet Rafe de Crespigny asserts that this was most likely a group of Roman merchants . In addition to Roman glasswares and coins found in China, Roman medallions from the reign of Antoninus Pius and his adopted son Marcus Aurelius have been found at Óc Eo in Vietnam. This

4896-504: Is said to have found him dressed in Yue clothing and being greeted after their customs, which enraged him. A long exchange ensued, wherein Lu is said to have admonished Zhao Tuo, pointing out that he was Chinese, not Yue, and should have maintained the dress and decorum of the Chinese and not have forgotten the traditions of his ancestors. Lu lauded the strength of the Han court and warned against

5040-479: The Battle of Kunyang in 23 AD, was urged to succeed Gengshi as emperor. Under Guangwu's rule, the Han Empire was restored. Guangwu made Luoyang his capital in 25 AD, and by 27 his officers Deng Yu and Feng Yi had forced the Red Eyebrows to surrender and executed their leaders for treason . From 26 until 36 AD, Emperor Guangwu had to wage war against other regional warlords who claimed

5184-524: The Battle of Zhizhi , in modern Taraz , Kazakhstan. In 121 BC, Han forces expelled the Xiongnu from a vast territory spanning the Hexi Corridor to Lop Nur . They repelled a joint Xiongnu- Qiang invasion of this northwestern territory in 111 BC. In that same year, the Han court established four new frontier commanderies in this region to consolidate their control: Jiuquan , Zhangyi , Dunhuang , and Wuwei . The majority of people on

5328-743: The Buyeo Kingdom in Manchuria to the Ili River of the Wusun people. The Xianbei reached their apogee under Tanshihuai ( d.  AD 181 ), who consistently defeated Chinese armies. However, Tanshihuai's confederation disintegrated after his death. Ban Chao ( d.  AD 102 ) enlisted the aid of the Kushan Empire , which controlled territory across South and Central Asia, to subdue Kashgar and its ally Sogdiana. When

5472-513: The Changsha Kingdom , a feudal state of the Han dynasty, and Han troops were sent to engage Nanyue. Nanyue's armies successfully halted the southern progress of the advance, winning the respect and then allegiance of the neighboring kingdoms of Minyue and Yelang. Nanyue's second period of submission to the Han dynasty lasted from 179 BC to 112 BC. This period began with Zhao Tuo abandoning his title of "Emperor" and declaring allegiance to

5616-759: The Chu–Han Contention , the resulting Han dynasty was named after the Hanzhong fief. China's first imperial dynasty was the Qin dynasty (221–207 BC). The Qin united the Chinese Warring States by conquest, but their regime became unstable after the death of the first emperor Qin Shi Huang . Within four years, the dynasty's authority had collapsed in a rebellion. Two former rebel leaders, Xiang Yu ( d.  202 BC ) of Chu and Liu Bang ( d.  195 BC ) of Han , engaged in

5760-495: The Eastern Han (25–220 AD). Spanning over four centuries, the Han dynasty is considered a golden age in Chinese history , and had a permanent impact on Chinese identity in later periods. The majority ethnic group of modern China refer to themselves as the " Han people " or "Han Chinese". The spoken Chinese and written Chinese are referred to respectively as the "Han language" and " Han characters ". The Han emperor

5904-763: The Greco-Bactrian Kingdom ); he also gathered information on Shendu (the Indus River valley) and Anxi (the Parthian Empire ). All of these countries eventually received Han embassies. These connections marked the beginning of the Silk Road trade network that extended to the Roman Empire , bringing goods like Chinese silk and Roman glasswares between the two. From c.  115 BC until c.  60 BC , Han forces fought

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6048-558: The Han dynasty and reunified Central China in 202 BC. The fighting had left many areas of China depopulated and impoverished, and feudal lords continued to rebel while the Xiongnu made frequent incursions into northern Chinese territory. The precarious state of the empire therefore forced the Han court to treat Nanyue initially with utmost circumspection. In 196 BC, Liu Bang, now Emperor Gaozu , sent Lu Jia ( 陸賈 , not to be confused with Lü Jia 呂嘉 ) to Nanyue in hopes of obtaining Zhao Tuo's allegiance. After arriving, Lu met with Zhao Tuo and

6192-756: The Leizhou Peninsula , Hainan , and southwest Guizhou . Populations were centered in the Zuo and You watersheds in Guangxi , the Red River Delta in northern Vietnam, and the Pan River watershed in Guizhou. The Chinese name "Luo", which denoted a white horse with a black mane, is said to have been applied to them after the Chinese saw their slash-and-burn method of hillside cultivation. Because

6336-537: The Rebellion of the Seven States . From the reign of Emperor Wu ( r.  141–87 BC ) onward, the Chinese court officially sponsored Confucianism in education and court politics, synthesized with the cosmology of later scholars such as Dong Zhongshu . The Han dynasty oversaw periods of economic prosperity as well as significant growth in the money economy that had first been established during

6480-419: The Western Han dynasty defeated Nanyue, its territory was divided into the seven commanderies of Nanhai, Cangwu, Yulin, Hepu, Jiaozhi, Jiuzhen, and Rinan . It was traditionally believed that the Qin conquest of the southern regions included the northern half of Vietnam , and that this area was also under Nanyue control. However, scholars have recently stated that the Qin likely never conquered territory in what

6624-757: The Xiongnu tribes of the north and west and the Hundred Yue peoples of what is now southern China. Around 218 BC, the First Emperor dispatched General Tu Sui with an army of 500,000 Qin soldiers to divide into five companies and attack the Hundred Yue tribes of the Lingnan region. The first company gathered at Yuhan (modern Yugan County in Jiangxi ) and attacked the Minyue , defeating them and establishing

6768-413: The Xiongnu , a nomadic confederation centred in the eastern Eurasian steppe . The Xiongnu defeated the Han in 200 BC , prompting the Han to appease the Xiongnu with a policy of marriage alliance and payments of tribute, though the Xiongnu continued to raid the Han's northern borders. Han policy changed in 133 BC, under Emperor Wu , when Han forces began a series of military campaigns to quell

6912-584: The Xiongnu , who were estranged from Han until their leader Bi ( 比 ), a rival claimant to the throne against his cousin Punu ( 蒲奴 ), submitted to Han as a tributary vassal in AD 50. This created two rival Xiongnu states: the Southern Xiongnu led by Bi, an ally of Han, and the Northern Xiongnu led by Punu, an enemy of Han. During the turbulent reign of Wang Mang, China lost control over

7056-723: The Xun River region and areas south of the Gui River, both part of the Xi River watershed. Descendants of Yi-Xu-Song, the chieftain killed resisting the Qin armies, acted as self-imposed governors of the Xi'ou clans. At the time of Nanyue's defeat by the Han dynasty, there were several hundred thousand Xi'ou people in Guilin Commandery alone. The Luoyue clans lived in what is now western and southern Guangxi, northern Vietnam,

7200-575: The Yellow Turban Rebellion and Five Pecks of Rice Rebellion in 184 AD, largely because the court did not want to continue to alienate a significant portion of the gentry class who might otherwise join the rebellions. The Yellow Turbans and Five-Pecks-of-Rice adherents belonged to two different hierarchical Taoist religious societies led by faith healers Zhang Jue ( d.  184 AD ) and Zhang Lu ( d.  216 AD ), respectively. Zhang Lu's rebellion, in what

7344-607: The Zhou dynasty ( c.  1050  – 256 BC). The coinage minted by the central government in 119 BC remained the standard in China until the Tang dynasty (618–907 AD). The period saw a number of limited institutional innovations. To finance its military campaigns and the settlement of newly conquered frontier territories, the Han government nationalised private salt and iron industries in 117 BC, creating government monopolies that were later repealed during

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7488-624: The Crown Prince Zhao Shi, had preceded him in death, and therefore Zhao Tuo's grandson Zhao Mo became king of Nanyue. In 135 BC, the king of neighboring Minyue launched an attack on the towns along the two kingdoms' borders. Because Zhao Mo hadn't yet consolidated his rule, he was forced to implore Emperor Wu of Han to send troops to Nanyue's aid against what he called "the rebels of Minyue". The Emperor lauded Zhao Mo for his vassal loyalty and sent Wang Hui, an official governing ethnic minorities, and agricultural official Han Anguo at

7632-499: The Eastern period. There were significant advances in science and technology during the Han period, including the emergence of papermaking , rudders for steering ships, negative numbers in mathematics , raised-relief maps , hydraulic -powered armillary spheres for astronomy , and seismometers that discerned the cardinal direction of distant earthquakes by use of inverted pendulums . The Han dynasty had many conflicts with

7776-580: The Emperor along with a promise that Zhao would come visit the Imperial Court in Chang'an , and even sent his son Zhao Yingqi to return with Yan to the Chinese capital. Before the king could ever leave for Chang'an himself, one of his ministers strenuously advised against going for fear that Emperor Wu would find some pretext to prevent him from returning, thus leading to the destruction of Nanyue. King Zhao Mo thereupon feigned illness and never travelled to

7920-609: The Han Emperor and selling Yue citizens to the Imperial court as slaves with no thought for the welfare of the Yue people themselves. With the people's support, Lü Jia and his younger brother led a large group of men into the king's palace, killing Zhao Xing, Queen Dowager Jiu, and all the Han emissaries in the capital. After the assassinations of Zhao Xing, the Queen Dowager, and the Han emissaries, Lü Jia ensured that Zhao Jiande, Zhao Yingqi's eldest son by his native Yue wife, took

8064-417: The Han Empire, but the submission is mostly superficial as Zhao Tuo was referred to as emperor throughout Nanyue and the kingdom retained its autonomy. Zhao Tuo's four successors did not display the strength he had, and Nanyue dependence on Han China slowly grew, characterized by second king Zhao Mo calling upon Emperor Wu of Han to defend Nanyue from Minyue. Nanyue's final period of antagonism with Han China

8208-523: The Han and Nanyue improved, in 179 BC Zhao Tuo marched southward and successfully annexed Âu Lạc. In 206 BC the Qin dynasty ceased to exist, and the Yue peoples of Guilin and Xiang were largely independent once more. In 204 BC, Zhao Tuo founded the Kingdom of Nanyue, with Panyu as capital, and declared himself the Martial King of Nanyue ( Chinese : 南越武王 , Vietnamese : Nam Việt Vũ Vương ). After years of war with his rivals, Liu Bang established

8352-400: The Han as equal partners in a royal marriage alliance, but the Han were forced to send large amounts of tribute items such as silk clothes, food, and wine to the Xiongnu. Despite the tribute and negotiation between Laoshang Chanyu ( r.  174–160 BC ) and Emperor Wen ( r.  180–157 BC ) to reopen border markets, many of the Chanyu 's subordinates chose not to obey

8496-459: The Han capital. Immediately following Minyue's surrender to the Han army, Wang Hui had dispatched a man named Tang Meng, local governor of Panyang County, to deliver the news to Zhao Mo. While in Nanyue, Tang Meng was introduced to the Yue custom of eating a sauce made from medlar fruit imported from Shu Commandery . Surprised that such a product was available, he learned that there was a route from Shu (modern Sichuan ) to Yelang , and then along

8640-584: The Han dynasty in 196 BC, Nanyue alternately went through two periods of allegiance to and then opposition with the Han dynasty that continued until Nanyue's destruction at the hands of the Han dynasty in early 111 BC. The first period of Nanyue's subordination to the Han dynasty began in 196 BC when Zhao Tuo met Lü Jia, an emissary from Emperor Gaozu of Han , and received from him a Han imperial seal enthroning Zhao Tuo as King of Nanyue. This period lasted thirteen years until 183 BC, during which time significant trade took place. Nanyue paid tribute in rarities from

8784-472: The Hengpu Pass and down the Zhen River . The third and fourth companies were led by Zheng Yan and Tian Jia, both Yue chieftains who had joined the Han dynasty. The third company left from Lingling (modern Yongzhou ) and sailed down the Li River , while the fourth company went directly to garrison Cangwu (modern Wuzhou ). The fifth company was led by He Yi and was composed mainly of prisoners from Shu and Ba with soldiers from Yelang; they sailed directly down

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8928-467: The House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) and a warring interregnum known as the Chu–Han Contention (206–202 BC), and it was succeeded by the Three Kingdoms period (220–280 AD). The dynasty was briefly interrupted by the Xin dynasty (9–23 AD) established by the usurping regent Wang Mang , and is thus separated into two periods—the Western Han (202 BC – 9 AD) and

9072-435: The Imperial University on a dubious charge of treason. In 167 AD, the Grand Commandant Dou Wu ( d.  168 AD ) convinced his son-in-law, Emperor Huan, to release them. However, the emperor permanently barred Li Ying and his associates from serving in office, marking the beginning of the Partisan Prohibitions . Following Huan's death, Dou Wu and the Grand Tutor Chen Fan ( d.  168 AD ) attempted

9216-536: The Kingdom of Nanyue was established by Zhao Tuo, a Chinese general of the Qin dynasty , Nanyue's political and bureaucratic systems were, at first, essentially just continuations of those of the Qin Empire itself. Because of Zhao Tuo's submissions to the Han dynasty , Nanyue also adopted many of the changes enacted by the Han, as well. At the same time, Nanyue enjoyed complete autonomy – and de facto sovereignty – for most of its existence, so its rulers did enact several systems that were entirely unique to Nanyue. Nanyue

9360-456: The Minzhong Commandery. The second company fortified at Nanye (in modern Nankang, Jiangxi ), and was designed to put defensive pressure on the southern clans. The third company occupied Panyu . The fourth company garrisoned near the Jiuyi Mountains , and the fifth company garrisoned outside Tancheng (in southwest Jingzhou Miao and Dong Autonomous County , Hunan). The First Emperor assigned official Shi Lu to oversee supply logistics. Shi first led

9504-476: The Nanyue soldiers were gone. Lü Jia and Zhao Jiande realized Panyu was lost and fled the city by boat, heading west before the sun rose. Upon interrogating the surrendered soldiers, the Han generals learned of the two Nanyue leaders' escape and sent men after them. Zhao Jiande was caught first, and Lü Jia was captured in what is now northern Vietnam . Based on many temples of Lü Jia (Lữ Gia), his wives and soldiers scattering in Red River Delta of northern Vietnam ,

9648-412: The Nanyue throne. Before leaving for Chang'an he had married a young Yue woman and had his eldest son Zhao Jiande. While in Chang'an, he also married a Han Chinese woman, like himself, who was from Handan . Together they had a son Zhao Xing. After assuming the Nanyue kingship, he petitioned the emperor to appoint his Chinese wife (who was from the Jiu 樛 family) as Queen and Zhao Xing as Crown Prince,

9792-425: The Qin and fled into the jungle where they selected a new leader to continue resisting the Chinese armies. Later, a night-time counterattack by the Western Valley Yue devastated the Qin troops, and General Tu Sui was killed in the fighting. The Qin suffered heavy losses, and the imperial court selected General Zhao Tuo to assume command of the Chinese army. In 214 BC, the First Emperor dispatched Ren Xiao and Zhao Tuo at

9936-415: The Qin dynasty experienced by the northern, predominantly Han Chinese regions. The kingdom was founded by leaders originally from the Central Plain of China and were all of Han Chinese in origin. They were responsible for bringing Chinese-style bureaucracy and handicraft techniques to inhabitants of southern regions, as well as knowledge of the Chinese language and writing system . Nanyue rulers promoted

10080-443: The Tarim Basin, which was conquered by the Northern Xiongnu in AD 63 and used as a base to invade the Hexi Corridor in Gansu . Dou Gu ( d.  88 AD ) defeated the Northern Xiongnu at the Battle of Yiwulu in AD 73, evicting them from Turpan and chasing them as far as Lake Barkol before establishing a garrison at Hami. After the new Protector General of the Western Regions Chen Mu ( d.  AD 75 )

10224-425: The Vietnamese pronunciation of Nanyue. In traditional Vietnamese histogrioraphy, important works such as the Đại Việt sử ký considered Nanyue to be a legitimate state of Vietnam and the official starting point of their history. However, starting in the 18th century, the view that Nanyue was not a legitimate Vietnamese state and Zhao Tuo was a foreign invader started gaining traction. After World War II , this became

10368-514: The Xiongnu court to flee north of the Gobi Desert , and Han forces reached as far north as Lake Baikal . After Wu's reign, Han forces continued to fight the Xiongnu. The Xiongnu leader Huhanye ( r.  58–31 BC ) finally submitted to the Han as a tributary vassal in 51 BC. Huhanye's rival claimant to the throne, Zhizhi Chanyu ( r.  56–36 BC ), was killed by Han forces under Chen Tang and Gan Yanshou ( 甘延壽 ) at

10512-542: The Xiongnu over control of the oasis city-states in the Tarim Basin. The Han was eventually victorious and established the Protectorate of the Western Regions in 60 BC, which dealt with the region's defence and foreign affairs. The Han also expanded southward . The naval conquest of Nanyue in 111 BC expanded the Han realm into what are now modern Guangdong , Guangxi , and northern Vietnam. Yunnan

10656-487: The Xiongnu. The Xiongnu were eventually defeated and forced to accept a status as Han vassals , and the Xiongnu confederation fragmented. The Han conquered the Hexi Corridor and Inner Asian territory of the Tarim Basin from the Xiongnu, helping to establish the Silk Road . The lands north of the Han's borders were later overrun by the nomadic Xianbei confederation. Emperor Wu also launched successful conquests in

10800-546: The Yuan brothers, Zhang committed suicide by jumping into the Yellow River. General Dong Zhuo ( d.  192 AD ) found the young emperor and his brother wandering in the countryside. He escorted them safely back to the capital and was made Minister of Works , taking control of Luoyang and forcing Yuan Shao to flee. After Dong Zhuo demoted Emperor Shao and promoted his brother Liu Xie as Emperor Xian, Yuan Shao led

10944-532: The Zangke River (modern Beipan River ). At the same time, Yu Shan, a king of Dong'ou , declared his intention to participate in the Han dynasty's attack on Nanyue and sent 8,000 men to support Yang Pu's company. However, upon reaching Jieyang, they pretended to have encountered severe winds that prevented them from advancing, and secretly sent details of the invasion to Nanyue. By winter of that year, Yang Pu's company had attacked Xunxia and moved on to destroy

11088-476: The Zangke River (now known as the Beipan River of Yunnan and Guizhou ) which allowed direct access to the Nanyue capital Panyu. Tang Meng thereupon drafted a memorial to Emperor Wu suggesting a gathering of 100,000 elite soldiers at Yelang who would navigate the Zangke River and launch a surprise attack on Nanyue. Emperor Wu agreed with Tang's plan and promoted him to General of Langzhong and had him lead

11232-505: The Zhao royal family (who were Han Chinese) and the Lü family (Yue – they likely adopted Chinese names early in Nanyue's history) were recorded. Zhao Jiande, Nanyue's last king, was the son of previous king Zhao Yingqi and his Yue wife. Despite the dominating influence of the Chinese newcomers on the Hundred Yue, the amount of assimilation gradually increased over time. Other than Old Chinese , which

11376-535: The ancestral graveyard there. Zhao Tuo believed that Wu Chen, the Prince of Changsha, had made false accusations against him to get Empress Dowager Lü to block the trade between the states and to prepare to conquer the Nanyue to merge into his principality of Changsha. In revenge, he then declared himself the emperor of Nanyue and attacked the principality of Changsha and captured some neighboring towns under Han domain. Lü sent general Zhou Zao to punish Zhao Tuo. However, in

11520-427: The appointments of senior officials. He also abolished the penal tattooing and nose-removal criminal punishments that were practiced among the Yue and instituted Han legal statutes. Emissaries that had been sent to Nanyue were instructed to remain there to ensure the stability of Han control. Upon receiving their Imperial decrees, King Zhao and the Queen Dowager began planning to leave for Chang'an. Prime Minister Lü Jia

11664-569: The area was organized under Qin control as the Minzhong Commandery, and Minyue ruler Wuzhu was deposed. Because of Wuzhu's support for Liu Bang after the collapse of the Qin dynasty and the founding of the Han, he was reinstated by the Han court as King of Minyue in 202 BC. Han dynasty This is an accepted version of this page The Han dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by

11808-533: The army. Nanyue's military officers were known as General, General of the Left, Xiao ("Colonel"), Wei ("Captain"), etc., essentially identical to the Chinese system. The army had infantry , naval troops, and cavalry . The Kingdom continued most of the Qin Commanderies' policies and practices dealing with the interactions between the local Yue and the Han immigrants, and Zhao Tuo proactively promoted

11952-475: The attack anyway, and Yang's men led the advance into Panyu where Lü Jia and Zhao Jiande had fortified inside the inner walls. Yang Pu set up a camp southeast of the city and, as darkness fell, set the city on fire. Lu Bode encamped the northwest side of the city and sent soldiers up to the walls to encourage the Nanyue soldiers to surrender. As the night passed, more and more Panyu defenders defected to Lu Bode's camp out of desperation, so that as dawn arrived most of

12096-528: The capital was moved eastward to Luoyang. The era from his reign until the fall of Han is known as the Eastern Han or Later Han (25–220 AD). The Eastern Han ( traditional Chinese : 東漢 ; simplified Chinese : 东汉 ; pinyin : Dōnghàn ), also known as the Later Han ( 後漢 ; 后汉 ; Hòuhàn ), formally began on 5 August AD 25, when Liu Xiu became Emperor Guangwu of Han . During

12240-434: The collapsing imperial authority. General-in-chief He Jin ( d.  189 AD ), half-brother to Empress He ( d.  189 AD ), plotted with Yuan Shao ( d.  202 AD ) to overthrow the eunuchs by having several generals march to the outskirts of the capital. There, in a written petition to Empress He, they demanded the eunuchs' execution. After a period of hesitation, Empress He consented. When

12384-475: The early years of Nanyue's existence, with Âu Lạc located primarily in the Red River delta area, and Nanyue encompassing Nanhai, Guilin, and Xiang Commanderies. During the time when Nanyue and Âu Lạc co-existed, Âu Lạc acknowledged Nanyue's suzerainty , especially because of their mutual anti- Han sentiment. Zhao Tuo built up and reinforced his army, fearing an attack by the Han. However, when relations between

12528-467: The emissaries of the Han court. The emissaries were well aware of Lü's influence in the kingdom – it easily rivalled that of the king – but were never able to remove him. Sima Qian recorded a story that the Queen Dowager and the Zhao Xing invited Lü to a banquet with several Han emissaries where they hoped to find a chance to kill Lü: during the banquet, the Queen Dowager mentioned that Prime Minister Lü

12672-490: The emperor was often a minor, ruled over by a regent such as the empress dowager or one of her male relatives. Ranked immediately below the emperor were the kings who were of the same Liu family clan. The rest of society, including nobles lower than kings and all commoners excluding slaves, belonged to one of twenty ranks ( ershi gongcheng 二十公乘 ). Each successive rank gave its holder greater pensions and legal privileges. The highest rank, of full marquess , came with

12816-593: The empire . The Han dynasty came to an end in 220 AD when Cao Pi , king of Wei , usurped the throne from Emperor Xian . According to the Records of the Grand Historian , after the collapse of the Qin dynasty the hegemon Xiang Yu appointed Liu Bang as prince of the small fief of Hanzhong , named after its location on the Han River (in modern southwest Shaanxi ). Following Liu Bang's victory in

12960-489: The empresses and empresses dowager . Imperial authority was also seriously challenged by large Taoist religious societies which instigated the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the Five Pecks of Rice Rebellion . Following the death of Emperor Ling ( r.  168–189 AD ), the palace eunuchs were massacred by military officers, allowing members of the aristocracy and military governors to become warlords and divide

13104-399: The entire Yellow River region devolved into chaos. Soon after the first insurrections, Nanhai Lieutenant Ren Xiao became gravely ill and summoned Zhao Tuo to hear his dying instructions. Ren described the natural advantages of the southern region and described how a kingdom could be founded with the many Chinese settlers in the area to combat the warring groups in the Chinese north. He drafted

13248-640: The eunuchs discovered this, however, they had her brother He Miao ( 何苗 ) rescind the order. The eunuchs assassinated He Jin on 22 September 189. Yuan Shao then besieged Luoyang's Northern Palace while his brother Yuan Shu ( d.  199 AD ) besieged the Southern Palace. On September 25 both palaces were breached and approximately two thousand eunuchs were killed. Zhang Rang had previously fled with Emperor Shao ( r.  189 AD ) and his brother Liu Xie—the future Emperor Xian of Han ( r.  189–220 AD ). While being pursued by

13392-590: The families of the slain emissaries, he decreed the immediate mobilization of an army to attack Nanyue. In autumn of 111 BC, Emperor Wu sent an army of 100,000 men divided into five companies to attack Nanyue . The first company was led by General Lu Bode and advanced from Guiyang (modern Lianzhou ) down the Huang River (now called the Lian River ). The second company was led by Commander Yang Pu and advanced from Yuzhang Commandery (modern Nanchang ) through

13536-427: The family inheritance. His brothers Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi were killed in 207 AD by Gongsun Kang ( d.  221 AD ), who sent their heads to Cao Cao. After Cao's defeat at the naval Battle of Red Cliffs in 208 AD, China was divided into three spheres of influence, with Cao Cao dominating the north, Sun Quan (182–252 AD) dominating the south, and Liu Bei (161–223 AD) dominating

13680-601: The frontier were soldiers. On occasion, the court forcibly moved peasant farmers to new frontier settlements, along with government-owned slaves and convicts who performed hard labour. The court also encouraged commoners, such as farmers, merchants, landowners, and hired labourers, to voluntarily migrate to the frontier. Even before the Han's expansion into Central Asia, diplomat Zhang Qian 's travels from 139 to 125 BC had established Chinese contacts with many surrounding civilizations. Zhang encountered Dayuan ( Fergana ), Kangju ( Sogdiana ), and Daxia ( Bactria , formerly

13824-537: The government. In areas of particular "complexity", as they were called, Yue chieftains were often enfeoffed with great autonomy, such as in Xixu. Under the impetus of Zhao Tuo's leadership, Chinese immigrants were encouraged to adopt the customs of the Yue. Marriages between the Han Chinese and Yue became increasingly common throughout Nanyue's existence, and even occurred in the Zhao royal family. Many marriages between

13968-493: The head of an army with orders to separate and attack Minyue from two directions, one from Yuzhang Commandery, and the other from Kuaiji Commandery . Before they reached Minyue, however, the Minyue king was assassinated by his younger brother Yu Shan, who promptly surrendered. The Emperor sent court emissary Yan Zhu to the Nanyue capital to give an official report of Minyue's surrender to Zhao Mo, who had Yan return his gratitude to

14112-550: The head of reinforcements to once again mount an attack. This time, the Western Valley Yue were completely defeated, and the Lingnan region was brought entirely under Chinese control. In the same year, the Qin court established the Nanhai , Guilin , and Xiang Commanderies, and Ren Xiao was made Lieutenant of Nanhai. Nanhai was further divided into Panyu, Longchuan , Boluo , and Jieyang counties (among several others), and Zhao Tuo

14256-518: The hot and humid climate of the south, an epidemic broke out quickly amongst the soldiers, and the weakened army was unable to cross the mountains, forcing them to withdraw which ended in Nanyue victory, but the military conflict did not stop until the Empress died. Zhao Tuo then annexed the neighboring state of Minyue in the east as subject kingdom. The kingdom of Yelang and Tongshi ( 通什 ) also submitted to Nanyue rule. In 179 BC, Liu Heng ascended

14400-438: The household registration system (an early form of census), as well as the promulgation of the use of Chinese characters among the Hundred Yue population and the use of Chinese weights and measures. Nanyue's army was largely composed of the several hundred thousand (up to 500,000) Qin Chinese troops that invaded during the Qin dynasty and their descendants. After the kingdom's founding in 204 BC, some Yue citizens also joined

14544-477: The mainstream view among Vietnamese historians in North Vietnam and after Vietnam was reunified, it became the official state orthodoxy promoted by the ruling Vietnamese Communist Party . Nanyue was removed from the national history while Zhao Tuo was established as a foreign invader. A detailed history of Nanyue was written in Records of the Grand Historian by Han dynasty historian Sima Qian . It

14688-459: The nobility, Wang Mang claimed on 10 January that the divine Mandate of Heaven called for the end of the Han dynasty and the beginning of his own: the Xin dynasty (9–23 AD). Wang Mang initiated a series of major reforms that were ultimately unsuccessful. These reforms included outlawing slavery, nationalizing and equally distributing land between households, and introducing new currencies,

14832-444: The northern gates of Panyu (modern Guangzhou ), capturing Nanyue's naval fleet and provisions. Seizing the opportunity, they continued south and defeated the first wave of Nanyue defenders before stopping to await the company led by Lu Bode. Lu's forces were mostly convicts freed in exchange for military service and made slow time, so at the planned rendezvous date with Yang Pu only a thousand of Lu's men had arrived. They went ahead with

14976-687: The other to the south of the Shandong Peninsula , though Han engineers managed to dam the southern branch by 70 AD. The flood dislodged thousands of peasant farmers, many of whom joined roving bandit and rebel groups such as the Red Eyebrows to survive. Wang Mang's armies were incapable of quelling these enlarged rebel groups. Eventually, an insurgent mob forced their way into the Weiyang Palace and killed Wang Mang. The Gengshi Emperor ( r.  23–25 AD ),

15120-560: The other. When the retainers gradually deserted Dou Wu, he was forced to commit suicide. Under Emperor Ling ( r.  168–189 AD ) the eunuchs had the partisan prohibitions renewed and expanded, while also auctioning off top government offices. Many affairs of state were entrusted to the eunuchs Zhao Zhong ( d.  189 AD ) and Zhang Rang ( d.  189 AD ) while Emperor Ling spent much of his time roleplaying with concubines and participating in military parades. The Partisan Prohibitions were repealed during

15264-603: The remainder of Western and Eastern Han. To the north of China proper , the nomadic Xiongnu chieftain Modu Chanyu ( r.  209–174 BC ) conquered various tribes inhabiting the eastern portion of the Eurasian Steppe . By the end of his reign, he controlled the Inner Asian regions of Manchuria , Mongolia , and the Tarim Basin , subjugating over twenty states east of Samarkand . Emperor Gaozu

15408-616: The salt and iron monopolies were eventually abolished in the early Eastern Han. The issuing of coinage remained a central government monopoly throughout the rest of the Han dynasty. The government monopolies were eventually repealed when a political faction known as the Reformists gained greater influence in the court. The Reformists opposed the Modernist faction that had dominated court politics in Emperor Wu's reign and during

15552-462: The same time, she dispatched a memorial to Emperor Wu requesting that they would join Han China, that they might have an audience with the Emperor every third year, and that the borders between Han China and Nanyue might be dissolved. The Emperor Wu granted her requests and sent Imperial seals to the Prime Minister and other senior officials, symbolizing that the Han court expected to directly control

15696-479: The south , annexing Nanyue in 111 BC and Dian in 109 BC . He further expanded Han territory into the northern Korean Peninsula , where Han forces conquered Gojoseon and established the Xuantu and Lelang commanderies in 108 BC. After 92 AD, palace eunuchs increasingly involved themselves in the dynasty's court politics, engaging in violent power struggles between various consort clans of

15840-417: The south, and the Han court bestowed gifts of iron tools, horses, and cattle upon Nanyue. At the same time, the countries' borders were always heavily guarded. Nanyue's first period of antagonism with the Han dynasty lasted from 183 BC to 179 BC, when trade was suspended and Zhao Tuo severed relations with the Han. During this period, Zhao Tuo openly referred to himself as Emperor and launched an attack against

15984-406: The south, as well as girls who worked as army prostitutes, exiled Qin officials, exiled criminals, merchants and so on. The Yue people were divided into numerous branches, tribes, and clans. The Nanyue lived in north, east, and central Guangdong , as well as a small group in east Guangxi . The Xi'ou lived in most of Guangxi and western Guangdong, with most of the population concentrated along

16128-479: The subsequent regency of Huo Guang ( d.  68 BC ). The Modernists argued for an aggressive and expansionary foreign policy supported by revenues from heavy government intervention in the private economy. The Reformists, however, overturned these policies, favouring a cautious, non-expansionary approach to foreign policy, frugal budget reform, and lower tax-rates imposed on private entrepreneurs. Wang Zhengjun (71 BC – 13 AD)

16272-405: The throne and forcing a confrontation with the Han dynasty. The next year, Emperor Wu of Han sent 100,000 troops to war against Nanyue . By the year's end, the army had destroyed Nanyue and established Han rule . The dynastic state lasted 93 years and had five generations of monarchs. The existence of Nanyue allowed the Lingnan region to avoid the chaos and hardship surrounding the collapse of

16416-466: The throne as Emperor of the Han. He reversed many of the previous policies of Empress Lü and took a conciliatory attitude toward Zhao Tuo and Nanyue. He ordered officials to revisit Zhending, garrison the town, and make offerings to Zhao Tuo's ancestors regularly. His prime minister Chen Ping suggested sending Lu Jia to Nanyue as they were familiar with each other. Lu arrived once more in Panyu and delivered

16560-481: The throne, and quickly sent messengers to spread the news to the feudal rulers and officials of various areas of Nanyue. The 2,000 men led by Han Qianqiu began attacking towns along the Han-Nanyue border, and the Yue residents ceased resisting them, instead giving them supplies and safe passage. The group of men advanced quickly through Nanyue territory and were only 40 li from Panyu when they were ambushed by

16704-440: The time, a feudal kingdom that was part of Han dynasty. Its territory comprised most of modern Hunan Province and part of Jiangxi Province . When Emperor Gaozu of Han enfeoffed Wu Rui as the first King of Changsha, he also gave him the power to govern Nanhai, Xiang, and Guiling Commanderies, which caused strife between Changsha and Nanyue from the start. The Han China-Nanyue border was essentially that of Changsha, and therefore

16848-461: The title of emperor; when these warlords were defeated, China reunified under the Han. The period between the foundation of the Han dynasty and Wang Mang's reign is known as the Western Han ( 西漢 ; 西汉 ; Xīhàn ) or Former Han ( 前漢 ; 前汉 ; Qiánhàn ) (206 BC – 9 AD). During this period the capital was at Chang'an (modern Xi'an ). From the reign of Guangwu

16992-472: The treaty and periodically raided Han territories south of the Great Wall for additional goods. In a court conference assembled by Emperor Wu ( r.  141–87 BC ) in 135 BC, the majority consensus of the ministers was to retain the heqin agreement. Emperor Wu accepted this, despite continuing Xiongnu raids. However, a court conference the following year convinced the majority that

17136-548: The war might last until 98 BC. After the fall of Panyu, Tây Vu Vương (the captain of Tây Vu area of which the center is Cổ Loa ) revolted against the First Chinese domination from Western Han dynasty . He was killed by his assistant Hoàng Đồng ( 黄同 ). Afterwards, the other commanderies and counties of Nanyue surrendered to the Han dynasty, ending Nanyue's 93-year existence as an autonomous and mostly sovereign kingdom. When news of Nanyue's defeat reached Emperor Wu, he

17280-400: The war with Chu, Emperor Gaozu enfeoffed some of them as kings. By 196, the Han court had replaced all of these kings with royal Liu family members, with the lone exception of Changsha . The loyalty of non-relatives to the emperor was questioned, and after several insurrections by Han kings—with the largest being the Rebellion of the Seven States in 154—the imperial court began enacting

17424-550: The west. Cao Cao died in March 220 AD. By December his son Cao Pi (187–226 AD) had Emperor Xian relinquish the throne to him and is known posthumously as Emperor Wen of Wei . This formally ended the Han dynasty and initiated an age of conflict between the Three Kingdoms : Cao Wei , Eastern Wu , and Shu Han . In the hierarchical social order, the emperor was at the apex of Han society and government. However,

17568-411: The widespread rebellion against Wang Mang , the state of Goguryeo was free to raid Han's Korean commanderies ; Han did not reaffirm its control over the region until AD 30. The Trưng Sisters of Vietnam rebelled against Han in AD 40. Their rebellion was crushed by Han general Ma Yuan ( d.  AD 49 ) in a campaign from AD 42 to 43. Wang Mang renewed hostilities against

17712-444: Was a monarchy , and its head of state generally held the title of "king" ( Chinese : 王 ), though its first two rulers Zhao Tuo and Zhao Mo were referred to as "Emperor" within Nanyue's borders. The kingdom had its own Calendar era system based (like China's) on Emperors' reign periods. Succession in the monarchy was based on hereditary rule , with the King or Emperor's successor designated as crown prince . The ruler's mother

17856-407: Was against Nanyue submitting to the Han dynasty, with the hope that the Han emissaries would become enraged and kill Lü. However, Lü's younger brother had surrounded the palace with armed guards, and the Han emissaries, led by Anguo Shaoji, didn't dare attack Lü. Sensing the danger of the moment, Lü excused himself and stood to leave the palace. The Queen Dowager herself became furious and tried to grab

18000-438: Was appointed regent as Marshall of State on 16 August under Emperor Ping ( r.   1 BC – 6 AD). When Ping died on 3 February 6 AD, Ruzi Ying ( d.  25 AD ) was chosen as the heir and Wang Mang was appointed to serve as acting emperor for the child. Wang promised to relinquish his control to Liu Ying once he came of age. Despite this promise, and against protest and revolts from

18144-456: Was at the pinnacle of Han society and culture . He presided over the Han government but shared power with both the nobility and the appointed ministers who came largely from the scholarly gentry class . The Han Empire was divided into areas directly controlled by the central government called commanderies , as well as a number of semi-autonomous kingdoms . These kingdoms gradually lost all vestiges of their independence, particularly following

18288-903: Was brought into the Han realm with the conquest of the Dian Kingdom in 109 BC, followed by parts of the Korean Peninsula with the Han conquest of Gojoseon and establishment of the Xuantu and Lelang commanderies in 108 BC. The first nationwide census in Chinese history was taken in 2 AD; the Han's total population was registered as comprising 57,671,400 individuals across 12,366,470 households. To pay for his military campaigns and colonial expansion, Emperor Wu nationalised several private industries. He created central government monopolies administered largely by former merchants . These monopolies included salt, iron, and liquor production, as well as bronze coinage . The liquor monopoly lasted only from 98 to 81 BC, and

18432-552: Was chosen as the new capital of the reunified empire under Han. At the beginning of the Western Han ( traditional Chinese : 西漢 ; simplified Chinese : 西汉 ; pinyin : Xīhàn ), also known as the Former Han ( 前漢 ; 前汉 ; Qiánhàn ), thirteen centrally-controlled commanderies —including the capital region—existed in the western third of the empire, while the eastern two-thirds were divided into ten semi-autonomous kingdoms . To placate his prominent commanders from

18576-413: Was constantly fortified on both sides. In terms of policies, because the Kingdom of Changsha had no sovereignty whatsoever, any policy of the Han court toward Nanyue was by default also Changsha's policy. Minyue was located northeast of Nanyue along China's southeast coast, and comprised much of modern Fujian Province . The Minyue were defeated by the armies of the Qin dynasty in the 3rd century BC and

18720-490: Was convinced by the accusations of the eunuchs Li Run ( 李閏 ) and Jiang Jing ( 江京 ) that Deng and her family had planned to depose him. An dismissed Deng's clan members from office, exiled them, and forced many to commit suicide. After An's death, his wife, Empress Dowager Yan ( d.  126 AD ) placed the child Marquess of Beixiang on the throne in an attempt to retain power within her family. However, palace eunuch Sun Cheng ( d.  132 AD ) masterminded

18864-429: Was designated empress dowager , his wife as empress or queen , and his concubines as "Madam" ( Chinese : 夫人 ). The formalities extended to the ruler's family were on the level of that of the Han dynasty Emperor, rather than that of a feudal king. Although Nanyue continued the Commandery-County system of the Qin dynasty, its leaders later enfeoffed their own feudal princes and lords – a mark of its sovereignty – in

19008-487: Was first empress, then empress dowager , and finally grand empress dowager during the reigns of the Emperors Yuan ( r.  49–33 BC ), Cheng ( r.  33–7 BC ), and Ai ( r.  7–1 BC ), respectively. During this time, a succession of her male relatives held the title of regent. Following the death of Ai, Wang Zhengjun's nephew Wang Mang (45 BC – 23 AD)

19152-446: Was in revenge for Dou's purging of the clan of his natural mother— Consort Liang —and then concealing her identity from him. After Emperor He's death, his wife Empress Deng Sui ( d.  121 AD ) managed state affairs as the regent empress dowager during a turbulent financial crisis and widespread Qiang rebellion that lasted from 107 to 118 AD. When Empress Dowager Deng died, Emperor An ( r.  106–125 AD )

19296-650: Was killed by allies of the Xiongnu in Karasahr and Kucha , the garrison at Hami was withdrawn. At the Battle of Ikh Bayan in AD 89, Dou Xian ( d.  AD 92 ) defeated the Northern Xiongnu chanyu who then retreated into the Altai Mountains . After the Northern Xiongnu fled into the Ili River valley in AD 91, the nomadic Xianbei occupied the area from the borders of

19440-473: Was made magistrate of Longchuan. Qin Shi Huang died in 210 BC, and his son Huhai became the Second Emperor of Qin. The following year, soldiers Chen Sheng , Wu Guang, and others seized the opportunity to revolt against the Qin government. Insurrections spread throughout much of China (including those led by Xiang Yu and Liu Bang , who would later face off over the founding of the next dynasty) and

19584-428: Was much older than most officials and had served since the reign of Zhao Xing's grandfather Zhao Mo. His family was the preeminent Yue family in Nanyue and was thoroughly intermarried with the Zhao royal family. He vehemently opposed Nanyue's submission to the Han dynasty and criticized Zhao Xing on numerous occasions, though his outcries were ignored. Lü decided to begin planning a coup and feigned illness to avoid meeting

19728-664: Was near the commandery of Rinan where Chinese sources claim the Romans first landed, as well as embassies from Tianzhu in northern India in 159 and 161. Óc Eo is also thought to be the port city " Cattigara " described by Ptolemy in his Geography ( c.  150 AD ) as lying east of the Golden Chersonese ( Malay Peninsula ) along the Magnus Sinus (i.e. the Gulf of Thailand and South China Sea ), where

19872-450: Was persuaded by Cao Cao (155–220 AD), then Governor of Yan Province in modern western Shandong and eastern Henan , to move the capital to Xuchang in 196 AD. Yuan Shao challenged Cao Cao for control over the emperor. Yuan's power was greatly diminished after Cao defeated him at the Battle of Guandu in 200 AD. After Yuan died, Cao killed Yuan Shao's son Yuan Tan (173–205 AD), who had fought with his brothers over

20016-595: Was reinstated when it was bestowed on Ban Chao. Foreign travellers to the Eastern Han empire included Buddhist monks who translated works into Chinese , such as An Shigao from Parthia, and Lokaksema from Kushan-era Gandhara . In addition to tributary relations with the Kushans, the Han empire received gifts from sovereigns in the Parthian Empire , as well as from kings in modern Burma and Japan . He also initiated an unsuccessful mission to Rome in AD 97 with Gan Ying as emissary. A Roman embassy of Emperor Marcus Aurelius ( r.  161–180 AD )

20160-722: Was staying in Zuoyi County in Shanxi while travelling to perform imperial inspections, and promptly created the new county of Wenxi , meaning "Hearing of Glad News". After Lü Jia's capture he was executed by the Han soldiers and his head was sent to the emperor. Upon receiving it, he created Huojia County where he was travelling, meaning "Capturing [Lü] Jia". Nanyue originally comprised the Qin commanderies of Nanhai , Guilin , and Xiang . After 179 BC, Zhao Tuo persuaded Minyue, Yelang, Tongshi, and other areas to submit to Nanyue rule, but they were not strictly under Nanyue control. After

20304-479: Was the war that proved Nanyue's destruction as a kingdom. At the time of Prime Minister Lü Jia's rebellion, Han China was enjoying a period of growth, economic prosperity, and military success, having consistently defeated the Xiongnu tribes along China's northern and northwestern borders. The weakened state of Nanyue and the strength of China at the time allowed Emperor Wu to unleash a devastating attack on Nanyue, as described above . The Changsha Kingdom was, at

20448-413: Was then forced to commit suicide. Students from the imperial university organized a widespread student protest against the eunuchs of Emperor Huan's court. Huan further alienated the bureaucracy when he initiated grandiose construction projects and hosted thousands of concubines in his harem at a time of economic crisis. Palace eunuchs imprisoned the official Li Ying ( 李膺 ) and his associates from

20592-399: Was troubled about the abundant Han-manufactured iron weapons traded to the Xiongnu along the northern borders, and he established a trade embargo against the group. In retaliation, the Xiongnu invaded what is now Shanxi , where they defeated the Han forces at Baideng in 200 BC. After negotiations, the heqin agreement in 198 BC nominally held the leaders of the Xiongnu and

20736-553: Was used by Han settlers and government officials, native Nanyue people likely spoke Ancient Yue , a now extinct language. Some scholars suggest that they spoke a language related to the modern Zhuang language . Some suggest that the descendants spoke Austroasiatic languages instead. It is plausible to say that the Yue spoke more than one language. Old Chinese in the region was likely much influenced by Yue speech (and vice versa ), and many loanwords in Chinese have been identified by modern scholars. Beginning with its first allegiance to

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