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40-522: The city was built by around 100,000 Xiongnu of the Hu Xia dynasty under the command of Helian Bobo (Emperor Wulie) in 419. Helian Bobo, also known by his sinified surname as Liu Bobo, was a descendant of the Xiongnu chanyu who founded their steppe empire in the 3rd century BC. Helian Bobo died in 425 AD, and his son Helian Chang succeeded him as emperor of the city. Helian Bobo had intended that

80-521: A brief incursion into the city succeeded only in burning the main temple, the surrounding hinterland was devastated. The city's site was on the fertile upper reaches of the Wuding River , but the river and lake died up, possibly due to deforestation that might be traced back to Taiwu's devastation. The city was then gradually buried by the sands of the desert. This 'wandering' (Wuding) gave the river its current name. The Xiongnu continued to live in

120-466: A capital city; rather, he roved about with his mobile cavalry, constantly looking for Later Qin cities to pillage. Also in 407, Liu Bobo sought marriage with a daughter of the Southern Liang prince Tufa Rutan , but Tufa Rutan refused. In anger, Liu Bobo launched a punitive raid against Southern Liang but then retreated. Tufa Rutan gave chase and, believing that he greatly outpowered Liu Bobo,

160-467: A holy color for the Xiongnu. Yet the thickness of the walls was certainly required since the city was originally built at a time of perpetual warfare. Both internal and external threats existed - for instance, Helian Bobo was attacked with an army by his deputy Helian Gui in 424 following a dynastic dispute. In 426, the Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei made a surprise attack on Tongwancheng. Although

200-654: A modern reader's perspective, the book had problems characteristic of other works in Twenty-Four Histories , as it praised the subject dynasty of interest (in this case the Northern Wei). It likely overstated the power of her predecessor state Dai , which was a vassal of Western Jin , Later Zhao , Former Yan , and Former Qin . Further, it retroactively used the sinicized surnames introduced by Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei in 496 to apply to events long before, making it difficult for readers to know what

240-549: A surprise counter-attack and captured Qi. Subsequently, much of Later Qin's northern territories fell into Xia hands. In 409, Yao Xing himself launched an attack on Liu Bobo, but when he reached Ercheng (貳城, in modern Yan'an , Shaanxi ), he was nearly trapped by Liu Bobo, and escaped only after major casualties. This defeat forced Yao Xing to cancel a mission, commanded by his general Yao Qiang (姚強), to try to save Southern Yan from being destroyed by Jin 's north expedition . (Without Later Qin aid, Southern Yan fell in 410.) For

280-440: Is also referred to in the literature variously as Tong Wan Cheng, Tongwan-cheng, Tongwan, Xia Zhou, Baichengzi (Chinese: 白城子 ; Wade–Giles: Pai-cheng-tzu ), or Bai Cheng ( 白城 ; 'White City'). Helian Bobo Helian Bobo ( Chinese : 赫連勃勃 ; Middle Chinese Guangyun : [xɐk-li̯ɛn˩ bʰuət-bʰuət] ; 381–425), né Liu Bobo (劉勃勃), courtesy name Qujie (屈孑), also known by his posthumous name as

320-563: Is known about Liu Bobo's life during the following years. In 402, Tuoba Gui's brother Tuoba Zun (拓拔遵) the Prince of Changshan attacked Moyigan's homebase of Gaoping (高平, in modern Guyuan , Ningxia ), and Moyigan was forced to flee to Later Qin, abandoning his own people, who were scattered about, although later Later Qin recaptured Gaoping and gave that city back to Moyigan. Sometime before 407, Liu Bobo, who had become known for being handsome, able to speak well, alert, and intelligent, came to

360-601: The Wei Shu , is a classic Chinese historical text compiled by Wei Shou from 551 to 554, and is an important text describing the history of the Northern Wei and Eastern Wei from 386 to 550. Widely regarded as the official and authoritative source historical text for that period, it is one of the Twenty-Four Histories . The Northern Wei dynasty was established in 386 by the Tuoba clan . The greatest accomplishment of

400-592: The Emperor Wulie of Xia (夏武烈帝), was the founding emperor of the Xiongnu -led Hu Xia dynasty of China. He is generally considered to be an extremely cruel ruler, one who betrayed every benefactor whom he had, and whose thirst for killing was excessive even for the turbulent times that he was in. He built an impressive capital for his state at Tongwancheng (統萬城, in modern Yulin , Shaanxi ) that remained difficult to besiege, even hundreds of years later during

440-586: The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period . (Confusingly, the Book of Wei refers to him as Helian Qugai (赫連屈丐), based on a derogatory term that Emperor Mingyuan of Northern Wei used to refer to him.) Liu Bobo was born in 381, when his father Liu Weichen (劉衛辰) was a chief of the Tiefu tribe and a vassal of Former Qin . It is not known whether his mother Lady Fu was Liu Weichen's wife or concubine. He

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480-542: The Northern Qi . It is the history of these two dynasties that Wei Shou attempted to record. In compiling the work, Wei Shou managed to withstand pressure, with the help of the Northern Qi emperor, from powerful elites who wanted him to glorify their otherwise disputed ancestral origins. Detractors of the work referred to the book as Hui Shu (穢書), nearly pronounced as 'Wei Shu', but meaning "Book of Filth". From

520-548: The Xianbei tribal chief Moyigan (沒奕干) the Duke of Gaoping, a Later Qin vassal, and Moyigan not only gave Liu Bobo refuge but also married one of his daughters to Liu Bobo. Liu Bobo, from that point on, became highly dependent on his father-in-law. (Meanwhile, in 393, Tuoba Gui, because of Tai Xifu's refusal to deliver Liu Bobo to him, attacked Tai and slaughtered his people, although Tai himself escaped and fled to Later Qin.) Little

560-628: The Yellow River to attack Liu Weichen's capital Yueba (悅拔, in modern Ordos , Inner Mongolia ), capturing it and forcing Liu Weichen and Liu Zhilidi to flee. The next day, Liu Weichen was killed by his subordinates, and Liu Zhilidi was captured. Tuoba Gui seized Liu Weichen's territory and people and slaughtered his clan. However, Liu Bobo escaped and fled to the Xuegan (薛干) tribe, whose chief, Taixifu (太悉伏), refused to turn him over despite Northern Wei's demands. Instead, Tai delivered Liu Bobo to

600-580: The Duke of Jiuquan, a crown prince. Upon hearing this news, Helian Gui commanded his troops north from Chang'an and attacked Helian Lun. Their forces met at Gaoping, and Helian Gui defeated and killed Helian Lun. However, Helian Lun's brother Helian Chang then made a surprise attack on Helian Gui, killing him and seizing his troops, leading them back to Tongwan. Helian Bobo was pleased and created Helian Chang crown prince. In summer 425, Helian Bobo died. Helian Chang succeeded him. Book of Wei The Book of Wei , also known by its Chinese name as

640-604: The Jin throne, left Chang'an under the command of his 11-year-old son Liu Yizhen (劉義真), and while he left several able generals to assist Liu Yizhen, those generals soon conflicted with each other and were killing each other—and eventually, Liu Yizhen, believing that the main assistant whom Liu Yu had left him, Wang Xiu (王脩), was about to rebel, had Wang executed. Meanwhile, Helian Bobo sent his crown prince Helian Gui, another son Helian Chang , and Wang Maide to command armies south, not initially engaging Jin forces but isolating Chang'an from

680-739: The Liu family name from the Han dynasty imperial house, believing that one of their female ancestors was a Han princess, but Liu Bobo believed this to be improper. He therefore changed his family name to Helian—intending it to mean that his might was so great that it would, alas (赫 hè) be connected (連 lián) to the heavens. He also ordered the nobles to change their family name to Tiefa (鐵伐), intending it to mean that they were as strong as iron (鐵 tiě) and be able to attack (伐 fá) others. However, according to Chen Sanping, both surnames were of Xiongnu origin, with Helian in fact being an alternate transcription of qílián (祁連),

720-586: The Northern Wei dynasty was the unification of Northern China in 439. An internal struggle resulted in a split which introduced the Eastern Wei and the Western Wei . The Eastern Wei dynasty was short-lived. Established in 534, several military campaigns were fought to try and reunite east and west but each failed. In 550, the area was taken over by Gao Yang who founded his own dynasty which he names

760-550: The Xianbei cultural heritage with Han Chinese cultural heritage, arguing that the rise of the Northern Wei was mandated by Heaven and that the Xianbei people were descended from the Yellow Emperor. Descriptions of figures from the historic Korean kingdoms of Goguryeo , Baekje , and also Khitan and many other historic nationalities are included in chapters 95 through 103. Wei Shou also includeds postitve descriptions of

800-486: The Xiongnu word for sky. Thus, Helian was simply a Chinese folk etymology propagated by Helian himself as an explanation for his Xiongnu surname. In 414, Helian Bobo created his wife Lady Liang "Heavenly Princess." (No further reference to the fate of his wife, Lady Mo, was recorded in history, after he killed her father.) He created his son Helian Gui (赫連璝) crown prince , and created his other sons dukes. In 415, Helian Bobo entered into an alliance with Juqu Mengxun ,

840-459: The actual names of historical personages were. In addition, Wei Shou was criticized in that, as an official of the Eastern Wei and its successor state Northern Qi , he included the sole emperor of Eastern Wei, Emperor Xiaojing , among his imperial lists while intentionally omitting the three emperors from the rival state Western Wei after the division of the Northern Wei in 534. However, he

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880-456: The appearance of a giant ship. At its center the city had a lake. The Book of Jin gives us a contemporary eyewitness description of the city: At its height the population was around 10,000, likely to have been greatly supplemented by an encircling encampment of nomadic kin groups at certain times of the year. White cities were generally ceremonial and status centers built following conquest, rather than outright military positions, white being

920-455: The arrows could penetrate the armors, the smiths who forged the armors would be executed, and if the arrows could not penetrate the armors, then the smiths who made the arrows would be executed. As a result of this bloodshed, however, Tongwan became a highly defensible city, and the weapons and armors that he had were all of exceedingly high quality. Also in 413, Liu Bobo believed that his family name should be changed—since his ancestors took on

960-403: The attention of Later Qin's emperor Yao Xing . Yao Xing was so impressed by Liu Bobo's abilities when he met Liu Bobo that he wanted to make him a major general to defend against Northern Wei. Yao Xing's brother Yao Yong (姚邕), however, spoke against it, believing Liu Bobo to be untrustworthy, stating: Yao Xing initially, at Yao Yong's counsel, did not give Liu Bobo a commission, but eventually

1000-408: The city be absolutely impenetrable, so he commissioned his cruel general Chigan Ali (叱干阿利) as the architect and set extremely strict rules for construction. Chigan ordered that the soil used in constructing the wall be steamed, so that it would be hardened and difficult to attack, and he often tested the walls during its construction; if an iron wedge were able to insert even one inch deep into the wall,

1040-434: The counsel of his advisor Wang Maide (王買德) did not do so. By 413, Liu Bobo finally resolved to build a capital—one that he wanted to make absolutely impenetrable. He commissioned his cruel general Chigan Ali (叱干阿利) as the chief architect of the capital, which he named Tongwan—because, as he stated, he wanted to unite China and be the lord of 10,000 states. ("Tong" means "unite," while "wan" means 10,000.) Chigan ordered that

1080-554: The dialog between Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. For example, in Chapter 69 where the court official Pei Yanjun (裴延隽; d. 528) describes a knowledge of both Buddhism and Confucianism as being beneficial to social administration. The whole of Chapter 114, "Treatise on Buddhism and Daoism" (釋老志), of the Book of Wei is also related to this topic. Chapters 105 through 114 are treatises (志). The book originally contains 114 chapters, but by

1120-733: The horses that Yujiulü Shelun (郁久閭社崙), the khan of Rouran , had recently offered to Yao Xing as a tribute, and then made a surprise attack on his father-in-law Moyigan, capturing Gaoping and killing Moyigan, seizing his troops. He then declared himself a descendant of Yu the Great , the founder of the Xia dynasty , and named his state Xia. He claimed the title "Heavenly King" ( Tian Wang ). Despite Liu Bobo's stated hatred for Northern Wei, he concentrated his efforts on undermining Later Qin, continually harassing Later Qin's northern territories and draining Later Qin's resources. He therefore did not settle in

1160-436: The next several years, Xia and Later Qin forces battled constantly, often inconclusively, but with the wars becoming much more costly to Later Qin than Xia, with Southern Liang and Western Qin no longer being willing to be Later Qin vassals as a result. In 412, when Western Qin's prince Qifu Gangui was assassinated by his nephew Qifu Gongfu (乞伏公府), Liu Bobo considered attacking Western Qin despite its status as an ally, but at

1200-821: The prince of Northern Liang . In 416, with Later Qin, now under the rule of Yao Xing's son Yao Hong , under a major attack by the Jin general Liu Yu , Helian Bobo believed that Later Qin would fall to Jin, but that Jin would not be easily able to hold Later Qin's capital region -- Guanzhong . He therefore intensified his own attacks on Later Qin as well, and preparing to use the opportunity of Later Qin's destruction to seize more territory. As Later Qin neared destruction, Helian Bobo seized its western territory, centering Anding (安定, in modern Pingliang , Gansu ), and then prepared for an eventual confrontation with Jin forces, which destroyed Later Qin in 417 and captured its capital Chang'an . In winter 417, Liu Yu, intent on wanting to seize

1240-459: The region until the 7th or 8th century. In 786 the city was besieged by Tibetan forces, and it was invaded by Jurchen soldiers in 1206. There is no record of the site in Chinese records after the early 15th century. The city was only properly surveyed by the Chinese in the 2000s. The city's Yong'an Platform, a military forces inspection platform for dignitaries, has been restored. The city

Tongwancheng - Misplaced Pages Continue

1280-400: The rest of Jin territory—a task made easier when Liu Yizhen recalled Jin forces near Chang'an all to Chang'an. Liu Yu, hearing this, sent his general Zhu Lingshi (朱齡石) to replace Liu Yizhen and recalled Liu Yizhen, but as soon as Liu Yizhen and his troops left Chang'an, they were intercepted and crushed by Xia forces under Helian Gui. Liu Yizhen barely escaped, but the vast majority of the army

1320-504: The soil used in constructing the wall be steamed, so that it would be hardened and difficult to attack, and he often tested the walls during its construction; if an iron wedge were able to insert even one inch deep into the wall, the workmen who were in charge of that section of wall would be executed. Further, Liu Bobo himself ordered that when weapons and armors are made, that some of the metalsmiths would be executed—because his orders were, for example, that arrows should be shot at armors; if

1360-419: The workmen who were in charge of that section of wall would be executed. The Great Wall of China was built to contain the Xiongnu threat, and Tongwancheng was the main Xiongnu capital that stood on other side of that wall. The city was largely of wood construction and had very thick outer walls which were colored white with white clay earth and powdered rice. From a distance the white city was said to have had

1400-421: Was captured. Helian Bobo stacked the skulls of the Jin dead into a hill-like structure. Meanwhile, the people of Chang'an, who were angry that Liu Yizhen's forces pillaged the city before leaving, expelled Zhu, allowing Helian Bobo to enter Chang'an easily. Helian Bobo then claimed the title of emperor. Most of Helian Bobo's officials suggested that he move the capital to Chang'an, but he, believing that Tongwan

1440-469: Was careless in his military actions. Liu Bobo led him into a canyon and then blocked the exit with ice and wagons, and then ambushed him—and the defeat was such that it was said that 60% to 70% of Southern Liang's famed officials and generals died in the battle. Tufa Rutan barely escaped capture. In 408, Yao Xing sent his general Qi Nan (齊難) to launch a major attack on Liu Bobo. Liu Bobo initially withdraw to let Qi believe that he feared Qi, and Liu Bobo made

1480-587: Was credited with harmonizing highly confusing and fragmented accounts of historical events from the state of Dai to the early period of Northern Wei and creating coherent accounts of events. The content of the Book of Wei follows the format of previous standard histories. The first fifteen chapters are annals (紀) describing the lives and events of the emperors, with the first being a preface. Chapter 13 through 104 are biographies beginning with Chapter 13: Biographies of Empresses (皇后列傳) and ending with Chapter 104: Author's Preface (自序). In his preface Wei Shou harmonizes

1520-450: Was in a better position to defend against Northern Wei, refused and kept his capital at Tongwan, leaving Helian Gui in charge of Chang'an as viceroy . The campaign against Jin showcased Helian Bobo's abilities, but at this time, he also grew increasingly cruel. He was described by traditional historians in this way: In 424, for reasons lost to history, Helian Bobo decided to depose Crown Prince Gui and appoint another son, Helian Lun (赫連倫)

1560-635: Was one of Liu Weichen's younger sons. After Former Qin collapsed in light of various rebellions after its emperor Fu Jiān 's defeat at the Battle of Fei River in 383, Liu Weichen took control of what is now part of Inner Mongolia south of the Yellow River and extreme northern Shaanxi , and while he nominally submitted to both Later Qin and Western Yan as a vassal, he was actually a powerful independent ruler. However, in 391, he sent his son Liu Zhilidi (劉直力鞮) to attack Northern Wei 's prince Tuoba Gui , and Tuoba Gui not only defeated Liu Zhilidi, but crossed

1600-425: Was so seduced by his talent that he made him a general and the Duke of Wuyuan, giving him the responsibility of defending Shuofang (朔方, in modern Ordos). In 407, after suffering a number of losses against Northern Wei, Yao Xing decided to make peace with Northern Wei. Upon hearing this, Liu Bobo became angry, because his father had been killed by Northern Wei, and he planned rebellion. He therefore forcibly seized

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