You Prefecture or You Province , also known by its Chinese name Youzhou , was a prefecture ( zhou ) in northern China during its imperial era.
109-427: "You Province" was cited in some ancient sources as one of the nine or twelve original provinces of China around the 22nd century BC, but You Prefecture was used in actual administration from 106 BC to the tenth century. As is standard in Chinese , the same name "Youzhou" was also often used to describe the prefectural seat or provincial capital from which the area was administered. You was first created in 106 BC as
218-644: 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
327-647: A series of military campaigns to quell 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
436-595: 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
545-463: 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
654-448: 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
763-416: 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
872-527: 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
981-582: A level of administration, and You was renamed Zhuo Commandery ( Zhuojun ). You was revived during the Tang dynasty as a smaller, commandery prefecture; its capital Youzhou was within present-day Beijing. In the Five Dynasties period, You was one of Sixteen Prefectures ceded to the Khitans of Manchuria. Thereafter, the name You Prefecture was no longer used. According to several ancient texts from
1090-664: 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 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
1199-578: A province-sized prefecture during the Western Han dynasty to administer a large swath of the dynasty's northern frontier that stretched from modern-day Shanxi Province in the west and Shandong Province in the south, through northeastern Hebei Province , southern Liaoning Province and southern Inner Mongolia to Korea . The prefectural capital was the City of Ji in modern Beijing . This prefecture continued to be centered in northern Hebei through
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#17327728116631308-578: 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
1417-428: 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
1526-545: 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
1635-474: 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)
1744-623: 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 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
1853-609: Is between the He River and Ji River , and is Wei . Qing Province, ie. Qi is in the east. Lu is at Xu Province, on the Si River . Yang Province, or Yue , is to the southwest. Jin Province is in the south and forms Chu . Yong Province, that is Qin , is to the west. Yan occupies You Province in the north. The words "Nine Provinces" do not appear in any ancient oracle bone inscriptions, such that many scholars do not think Yu
1962-493: 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
2071-602: 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
2180-618: Is used in ancient Chinese histories to refer to territorial divisions or islands during the Xia and Shang dynasties and has now come to symbolically represent China. "Province" is the word used to translate zhou (州) – since before the Tang dynasty (618–907 CE), it was the largest Chinese territorial division. Although the current definition of the Nine Provinces can be dated to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, it
2289-723: The Genealogical Descent of the Emperors (帝王世紀), rulers before Shennong had influence over the Greater Nine Provinces, but those from the Yellow Emperor onwards did not extend their virtue that far. The Greater Nine Provinces theory was based on the knowledge in the states of Yan and Qi on the Yellow Sea coast that China comprised only 1/81 of the entire world, markedly different from
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#17327728116632398-878: The Rites of Zhou from the middle of the second century BC includes Youzhou and Bingzhou in place of Xuzhou and Liangzhou. Subsequent texts describe as Youzhou as one of the Twelve Provinces of Ancient China . Sima Qian in the Records of the Grand Historian , written from 109 to 91 BC explains that Shun , sovereign who relinquished power to Yu the Great, felt the domain in north was too vast and created three new prefectures including Youzhou from Yanzhou. The Book of Han , completed in AD 111, also lists Youzhou as one of
2507-538: 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
2616-462: 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
2725-743: 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
2834-756: 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
2943-671: The Eastern Jin , which continued to rule southern China. Northern China was divided into a series of kingdoms , mostly founded by ethnic minorities. Wang Jun in Youzhou remained loyal to the Eastern Jin regime in Jiankang and repelled several attacks by one of Liu Yuan's subordinates, Shi Le , an ethnic Jie . Shi Le then used wealth to buy off Wang Jun's ally, Duan Jilujuan and Duan Mopei. This angered Wang Jun, who arranged for
3052-778: The Goguryeo–Wei Wars against Goguryeo from Xuantu Commandery (modern-day Shenyang ). The Wei court instituted offices in You Prefecture to manage relations with the Wuhuan and Xianbei. To help sustain the troops garrisoned in Youzhou, the governor in AD 250 built the Lilingyan , an irrigation system that greatly improved agricultural output in the plains around Ji. In the Western Jin dynasty (265–316), You Prefecture had seven commanderies and 34 counties. The capital
3161-707: 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
3270-833: The Later Jin (936–947), submitted to the Khitans of the Liao dynasty (907–1125) and ceded the Sixteen Prefectures (You was one of the sixteen) to them. In 938 the Khitans established a secondary capital in You Prefecture and named it Nanjing Youdu Prefecture ( 南京幽都府 ). In 1012 it was renamed Xijin Prefecture ( 析津府 ) and later renamed to Yanjing ( 燕京 ). The name "Youzhou" was never used again. Nine Provinces (China) The term Nine Provinces or Nine Regions ( Chinese : 九州 ; pinyin : Jiǔ Zhōu ),
3379-589: The Shanggu , Zhuo , Guangyang , Dai , Bohai , Yuyang , Right Beiping , Liaoxi , Liaodong , Xuantu and Lelang Commanderies. Altogether the eleven commanderies contained 173 counties. The prefectural seat was the City of Ji in Guangyang Commandery, which is part of modern Beijing Municipality . Youzhou was bordered by Bingzhou (present-day eastern and northern Shanxi ) in the west, Jizhou (southern Hebei) and Qingzhou (northern Shandong) in
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3488-528: The Sinocentric point of view that was prevalent at the time. Geographic knowledge from increasing contact between the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE) and its neighbours proved the theory false and it lost popularity. By the time of the Three Kingdoms period (220–280 CE) the Nine Provinces had expanded into thirteen provinces together with a central administrative region. Western Han dynasty This
3597-581: The Three Kingdoms and Western Jin dynasty . In the Sixteen Kingdoms period, several of the kingdoms that ruled northern China used "You" to name commandery-sized prefectures in their domain. When northern China was unified under a single sovereign during the Northern dynasties , You became a commandery-sized prefecture based in modern Beijing. During the Sui dynasty , prefectures were not used as
3706-777: The Tuoba Xianbei from the west to attack the Duan Xianbei, but the latter prevailed. In 314, Shi Le pretended to surrender to Wang Jun, who fell for the ruse and lowered his guard. Shi Le then captured and killed Wang Jun, but You Prefecture fell to the control of Duan Pidi , of the Xianbei Duan clan. In 319, Shi Le, founded his own kingdom, the Later Zhao , in Xiangguo (modern day Xingtai , Hebei Province ), defeated Duan Pidi and captured You Prefecture. In 349,
3815-642: The Warring States period (475–221 BC), You was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China . Ancient Chinese histories use the Nine Provinces to describe the geographic division of China during the two earliest Chinese dynasties, the Xia (2070–1600 BC) and the Shang (1600–1046 BC). The "Book of Xia" in the Classic of History from the earlier Spring and Autumn period (771–476 BC) states that Yu
3924-638: 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
4033-575: 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
4142-482: 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 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
4251-400: 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 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
4360-725: The "Clan Responsibilities" (職方氏) section of Rituals of Zhou , the provinces include You and Bing but not Xu and Liang. The Lüshi Chunqiu "Initial Survey" (有始覽) section mentions You but not Liang. Traditionally, the Book of Documents is thought to depict the divisions during the Xia dynasty, the Erya those of the Shang dynasty; the Rituals of Zhou the Zhou dynasty and the Lüshi Chunqiu
4469-420: The "Red County / Divine Province" (赤縣神州), i.e. China (cf. Shenzhou ). Nine such provinces then form another "medium" nine provinces surrounded by a sea. There are nine such medium provinces, which were surrounded by a Great Ocean, forming the Greater Nine Provinces. The Nine Provinces' names in the "Geographical Instruction" section (地形訓) of Huainanzi , annotations to Zhang Heng 's biography (張衡傳注) in Book of
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4578-428: The Former Yan due to court intrigue. In 383, after the Former Qin was defeated by the Eastern Jin in the Battle of Feishui , Murong Chui founded the Kingdom of Later Yan , which occupied much of the territories of the Former Yan , including You. To the west, the Tuoba Xianbei founded the Kingdom of Northern Wei in 386 and invaded the Northern Yan in 396, capturing Yuyang, Ji and other cities in You Prefecture. By 439,
4687-439: The Great , founder of the Xia dynasty, divided China into Nine Provinces—Jizhou, Yanzhou, Qingzhou, Xuzhou, Yangzhou, Jingzhou, Yuzhou, Liangzhou and Yongzhou—and does not mention Youzhou as one of the nine. But the Erya from about the third century BC includes Youzhou and Yingzhou instead of Qingzhou and Liangzhou; the Lü's Annals of the Spring and Autumn Annals , compiled in 239 BC, includes Youzhou instead of Liangzhou; and
4796-459: The Great created the Nine Provinces as was traditionally thought. Some suggest the name "Jiuzhou", which came to mean "Nine Provinces", was actually a place, or the divisions were within Shandong . Later on, Zou Yan , an adherent of the Taoist Yin and Yang School (陰陽家), proposed a new theory of the "Greater Nine Provinces" (大九州). According to him, the nine provinces in the Book of Documents were only "minor" provinces, which combined to form
4905-400: 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
5014-430: The Han dynasty's prefectures including You Prefecture and its capital Ji. Within the jurisdiction of You Prefecture were eleven commanderies, Fanyang, Yan Principality, Beiping, Shanggu, Dai, Liaoxi, Liaodong, Xuantu, Lelang, Changli and Daifang, which collectively ruled 60 counties. In 238, Sima Yi's Liaodong campaign against Gongsun Yuan extended the eastern reach of You to Liaodong. In 244–45, Guanqiu Jian launched
5123-413: The Han dynasty, Yellow Turban Rebellion erupted in Hebei in AD 184 and briefly seized You Prefecture's administrative seat at Ji. The court relied on regional militaries to put down the rebellion and You Prefecture was controlled successively by warlords Liu Yu , Gongsun Zan , Yuan Shao , Yuan Xi and Cao Cao . In 192, Liu Yu was overthrown by his subordinate Gongsun Zan. Two years later, Gongsun Zan
5232-435: 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
5341-415: The Later Han and volume eight of the Chuxue Annals (初學記), are different from the traditional ones listed above. They all include Shenzhou, which led some scholars to suggest they are the names of the Greater Nine Provinces. According to the "Forms of Earth" (墜形訓) section of the Huainanzi , outside the Greater Nine Provinces are the Eight Yin (八殥), the Eight Hong (八紘) and the Eight Ji (八極). According to
5450-511: The Later Zhao and Ran Wei in the name of restoring northern China to Jin rule. They quickly captured You. In 352, Murong Jun declared himself emperor and moved the capital from Jicheng ( 棘城 ) in modern Liaoning to Jicheng ( 蓟城 ) in You Prefecture. Five years later the capital of this kingdom moved south to Ye. In 370, the Former Yan Kingdom was conquered by the Former Qin Kingdom, led by Fu Jiān an ethnic Di and his general, Wang Meng . They were assisted by Murong Chui, who defected from
5559-442: The Later Zhao regime was subverted by Ran Min , which founded the Ran Wei regime in southern Hebei. During this turmoil, the Murong clan of the Xianbei from the Liaodong region launched a southern invasion. The Murong clan had founded the Kingdom of Yan ( Former Yan ) in 337 but remained a vassal of the Eastern Jin dynasty. In 350, Murong Jun , the Prince of Yan, at the suggestion of his half brother Murong Chui , attacked
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#17327728116635668-491: The Nine Provinces comes from the Yu Gong or Tribute of Yu section of the Book of Xia (夏書), collected in the Book of Documents . It was therein recorded that Yu the Great divided the world into the nine provinces of Ji (冀), Yan (兗), Qing (青), Xu (徐), Yang (揚), Jing (荊), Yu (豫), Liang (梁) and Yong (雍). The geography section (釋地) of the ancient Erya encyclopedia also cites nine provinces, but with You and Ying (營) listed instead of Qing and Liang. In
5777-438: The Northern Wei extinguished the last of the Sixteen Kingdoms and unified northern China. During the Sixteen Kingdoms period (304-439), in addition to the You Prefecture in northern Hebei, which was successively controlled by the Later Zhao, Former Yan, Former Qin, Later Zhao and Northern Wei, several other kingdoms in other parts of China also named administrative divisions within their domain "Youzhou". When Liu Yuan ruled
5886-468: The Northern Wei split in half along the Yellow River into the Western Wei and Eastern Wei , which controlled You Prefecture. The Eastern Wei continued for 16 years before it was replaced by the Northern Qi . Though Northern Qi held only half the territory of the Northern Wei, it had 105 prefectures. The Sui dynasty united China in 589 and did not use prefecture as a unit of administration. All prefectures were converted to commanderies. You Prefecture
5995-443: 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 )
6104-445: The Twelve Ancient Provinces. All of these texts described Youzhou as essentially equivalent to the State of Yan , one of the seven powers of the Warring States era. Youzhou was first instituted as an administrative unit in 106 BC during the Han dynasty . In 106 BC, Emperor Wu of Han organized the Western Han dynasty into 13 province-sized prefectures, each administered by a cishi ( 刺史 ) or inspector. You Prefecture comprised
6213-455: 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
6322-447: The Xiongnu folk for this war. Back in Shanxi, Liu Yuan built a multi-ethnic army and broke free from the Jin dynasty. In 308, he declared himself emperor of the Han, a kingdom later named Zhao and known to historians as the Former Zhao . In 316, Liu Yuan's adopted son Liu Yao captured Emperor Min of Jin in Luoyang , ending the Western Jin dynasty . Sima Rui resurrected the dynasty in Jiankang (modern-day Nanjing ), known as
6431-422: 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
6540-434: 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
6649-412: 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
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#17327728116636758-491: The cardinal direction of distant earthquakes by use of inverted pendulums . The Han dynasty had many conflicts with 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
6867-434: 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
6976-410: The concept and actual territorial distribution of the Nine Provinces during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. The Lüshi Chunqiu contains the following passage on the location of the nine provinces and their general correspondence with the states of the time: Yu province, i.e., Zhou, lies between the He River and Han River . Jin in Ji Province is between the two rivers. Yan Province
7085-490: 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
7194-419: 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
7303-431: 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
7412-402: The enmity of Sima Ying , who in 304, arranged to appoint He Yan as the governor of You Prefecture and instructed He Yan to eliminate Wang Jun. He Yan then conspired with a Wuhuan chieftain, Shen Deng, to assassinate Wang Jun during a field trip to the Qingquan River just south of Ji. However, during their trip, the travelers encountered a rainstorm and their weapons rusted. Shen Deng believed
7521-575: 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
7630-427: 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
7739-407: The fourth century, there were four You Prefectures in northern China, in Northern Yan , Southern Yan, Xia and Northern Wei . In 497, You was one of about 41 prefectures of the Northern Wei dynasty, which at the time ruled much of north and central China. You Prefecture's territories was largely confined to the southern part of modern-day Beijing Municipality. Its capital remained at Ji . During
7848-481: The frontier towns to Hebei, where a local famine quickly prompted the migrants to rebel again under the leadership of Du Luozhou in 525. Du Luozhou led the rebels from Shanggu (modern-day Huailai ) south through the Juyong Pass and defeated Wei troops north of Youzhou and eventually captured the city. In 528 Wei troops under Erzhu Rong 's subordinate, Hou Yuan, retook the city from rebel leader Han Lou. In 534,
7957-601: 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
8066-604: The governor of the prefecture. Wei Guan was succeeded by Tang Bin (appointed 282) and Zhang Hua (appointed 291). By the time of the Rebellion of the Eight Princes , You Prefecture was controlled by Wang Jun, who secured alliances with nomadic tribes north of it by arranging marriages of his daughters to tribal chieftains of the Xianbei and Wuhuan . Wang Jun's support for Emperor Sima Lun against other princes earned
8175-480: The kingdom of Former Zhao , the You Prefecture of Former Zhao was based in present-day Lishi, Shanxi . When Liu Yao ruled the kingdom, the You Prefecture of Later Zhao was moved to present-day Beidi, Yao County , Shaanxi . The You Prefecture of Southern Yan was based in present-day Liaocheng , Shandong , and the You Prefecture of Xia was based in present-day Hanggin Banner of Inner Mongolia . At one time in
8284-639: The late Northern Wei, many groups rose in rebellion against the dynasty in and around Youzhou. Wang Huiding's rebellion of 494 lasted one month. In 514, Shramana Liu Shaozeng led a Buddhist rebellion in You Prefecture. In 524, Xianbei military families in the Six Frontier Towns rebelled against the Northern Wei and were crushed with the assistance of Rouran chieftain Yujiulü Anagui . The Northern Wei resettled 200,000 residents from
8393-459: 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,
8502-687: 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 ),
8611-560: 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
8720-519: The rain storm was divine intervention in favor of Wang Jun and disclosed the plot. Wang Jun then killed He Yan and regained control of You. He and his allies Sima Teng , Duan Wuwuchen of the Duan Xianbei clan, and the Wuhuan then attacked Sima Ying in southern Hebei. Sima Ying permitted Liu Yuan , an ethnic Xiongnu commander to leave Ye in southern Hebei and return to Shanxi to mobilize
8829-603: 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
8938-616: 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
9047-479: 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
9156-594: The south, Korea in the east and the steppes in the north. In the Eastern Han dynasty , You Prefecture had ten commanderies—Zhuo, Dai, Shangu, Yuyang, Right Beiping, Liaoxi, Liaoning, Xuantu, Lelang and Guangyang, as well as the Principality of Liaodong. Collectively, You Prefecture had 90 counties. The City of Ji in Yan Principality , continued to serve as prefectural capital. Toward the end of
9265-479: 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)
9374-461: 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
9483-472: 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
9592-461: 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
9701-487: 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,
9810-411: 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
9919-438: 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
10028-669: Was based in Ji and became one of the "three revolting garrisons of Hebei" after the Anshi Rebellion . After the war, the Lulong Jiedushi retained semi-independence from Tang. In the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (907–960), the warlord Liu Rengong established his base in Youzhou and declared himself "King of Yan" ( 燕王 ). His regime was ultimately toppled by the Later Tang (923–936). Shi Jingtang , founder of
10137-526: 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 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
10246-903: 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
10355-552: 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
10464-490: 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
10573-442: 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 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
10682-497: Was driven out of Ji by Yuan Shao with the help of Wuhuan and Xianbei allies from the steppes. After Yuan Shao lost supremacy of North China to Cao Cao in the Battle of Guandu in AD 200, his son Yuan Xi held You Prefecture until 204 before fleeing to the Wuhuan. Cao Cao eventually defeated the Wuhuan in AD 207 and pacified North China. During the Three Kingdoms , the Kingdom of Wei founded by Cao Cao's son, controlled ten of
10791-487: 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)
10900-446: 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 )
11009-650: 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
11118-456: Was moved from the City of Ji to Fanyang Commandery in what is today Zhuozhou . The Western Jin expanded the number of counties from 19 in 265 to 31 in 291. Five commanderies and 26 counties in modern Liaoning that used to belong to You Prefecture were carved out to create Pingzhou. You remained an important prefecture on the northern frontier. In AD 270, the imperial court appointed Wei Guan as
11227-664: 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
11336-602: Was not until the Eastern Han dynasty that the Nine Provinces were treated as actual administrative regions . The Rongcheng Shi bamboo slips from the Chu state has the earliest interpretation of the Nine Provinces, but these early descriptions differ widely from the currently recognized Nine Provinces. The Nine Provinces, according to the Rongcheng Shi , are Tu (涂), Jia (夾), Zhang (竞), Ju (莒), Ou (藕), Jing (荊), Yang (陽), Xu (敘) and Cuo (虘). The most prevalent account of
11445-450: 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
11554-655: 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 )
11663-454: Was renamed Zhuo Commandery ( Zhuojun ), one of 190 commanderies in Sui China. The Tang dynasty re-adopted the prefecture but used it as replacement for commandery. Zhuojun reverted to You, which in 640 was one of 360 prefectures of the dynasty. The capital of You Prefecture remained in Ji. The Tang also instituted 10 frontier command garrisons called jiedushi . The Fanyang Jiedushi
11772-413: 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
11881-399: 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
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