During the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, the border clans in the northern part of the Huai and Han rivers

Author: Han Shufeng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-07-01
Features: During the Western Jin Dynasty's Yongjia period (307–313), the Five Barbarians' chaos led to the displacement of Central Plains people, who, seeking refuge from this catastrophic warfare, surged southward in waves, marking the beginning of the Great Migration South. By the time of Emperor Tai of Song, the Great Migration South continued on a smaller scale, with several peaks of large-scale migration occurring. The migration following the Yongjia Rebellion was unprecedented in terms of its scale, scope, and number of people. According to Tan Qixiang's statistics, the population migrating south accounted for over one-eighth of the total northern population, and in Nanxu Prefecture, the largest migrant settlement, the number of migrants exceeded half the local population. The migration spanned provinces such as Jiangsu, Shandong, Anhui, Sichuan, Hubei, Shaanxi, Henan, Jiangxi, and Hunan, and even reached as far as Fujian. Migrants from different periods and with varied experiences led to diverse outcomes. However, over time, the migrant groups centered around prominent clans gradually became involved in the political stages of the Eastern Jin, Song, Qi, and Liang dynasties. The cultural aristocracy consistently held high positions in the central government, while the secondary aristocracy, or frontier clans as discussed in this paper, formed the backbone of the Southern Dynasties' military forces—this was a common feature of all four dynasties. Many scholars have aptly termed the Southern Dynasties' regimes "migrant regimes," and for good reason. However, I argue that a true migrant regime not only refers to the cultural high aristocracy like the Wang and Xie clans dominating politics but also includes the secondary aristocracy as a military pillar for the Southern Dynasties. From the perspective of the rivalry between northern and southern regimes and the frequent changes and internal struggles within the Southern Dynasties, the secondary aristocracy with their military power became particularly crucial. It was their steadfast support that allowed the Southern Dynasties to survive and maintain a stalemate with the northern regimes for over two and a half centuries. As these clans declined or returned north, the Southern Dynasties gradually lost vitality and headed toward their inevitable decline. The internal struggles of the Southern Dynasties were also closely tied to the secondary aristocracy. Every new regime was established with their support, even during palace coups. In a sense, the history of the Southern Dynasties was largely shaped by the secondary aristocracy. As for those who returned north, the secondary aristocracy also played a role in the northern regimes, a fact most evident during Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei's reforms. Given the significant role of the secondary aristocracy in both northern and southern regimes, a comprehensive and in-depth study of this special class has become necessary, as it is essential for understanding the interaction between the two.
The earliest studies on the secondary aristocracy were by Chen Yinque, who, in his article "On the Merits of Wang Dao in the Eastern Jin," first introduced the concept of the "secondary aristocracy," a group known for their bravery and military prowess. He provided a general overview of this military group and noted the noteworthy historical phenomenon of their migration southward to settle in Jingkou in the lower Yangtze region and Xiangyang in the upper Yangtze region. Although Chen did not provide a detailed analysis of the relationship between the secondary aristocracy and the Eastern Jin, Song, Qi, and Liang dynasties, his insightful and broad historical perspective deeply inspired later scholars, making his article a foundational work in this field.
Later, Tian Yuqing's article "The Origins and End of the Beifu Army" conducted an in-depth and meticulous analysis of the historical context, rise and fall, and role of the military group in Jingkou during the Eastern Jin and early Southern Song periods, clearly tracing the development of the Beifu Army. Tang Changru's article "The Qingqi People in Northern Wei" studied the local migrant group from Hebei who settled in Qingqi, providing solid evidence of how the Qingqi clans followed the Southern Yan regime southward, later became subjects of the Southern Song, rooted in Qingqi, and were reduced to Pingqi people during Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei's reign, eventually migrating to Pingcheng and returning to Qingqi for renewed development during Emperor Xiaowen's Taiping Zhenjun period (477–499). Luo Xin's article "Qingxu Clans and Southern Dynasties Politics" further explored the Qingqi clans who migrated from Hebei, discussing their significant role during the transition between the Southern Song and Qi dynasties. Tian Yuqing and Teng Zhaozong's co-authored article "The Liu Clan of Pengcheng Congtingli During the Northern-Southern Standoff" took a new approach by examining the local clan, the Liu Clan of Pengcheng Congtingli, within the specific historical context of the northern-southern standoff, discussing how the Liu Clan leveraged its geographical advantage to move between the north and south, seeking to protect and expand its clan's influence—a unique development path distinct from the high aristocracy like the Wang and Xie clans.
This book builds upon the work of the aforementioned scholars and draws inspiration from their articles. The frontier clans discussed in this book also have histories of migrating south from the north and then returning north, similar to the Liu Clan of Pengcheng Congtingli, so this book also examines the frontier clans within the special historical context of the northern-southern standoff. It is necessary to explain the geographical scope of "frontier" covered in this book. Historically, the buffer zone between northern and southern regimes was largely the Jianghuai region. He Chengtian of the Southern Song Dynasty described the situation during the Three Kingdoms' standoff as follows: "The of Cao and Sun were evenly matched in talent and intellect, with the Jianghuai region between them spanning no more than hundreds of miles. The Wei abandoned Hefei and retreated to Xincheng, while Wu fortified Jiangling and relocated its people southward. The garrisons at Rushui and Xianxi were established." Thus, the vast Jianghuai region essentially served as the border. However, the standoff during the Eastern Jin and Sixteen Kingdoms period was relatively unique, with no clearly defined border between northern and southern regimes. While northern ethnic regimes like Shi Zhao and Fu Qin could bring their horses to the Yangtze River, the Eastern Jin regime also recovered the former capital Luoyang on several occasions. Moreover, both regimes frequently shifted control over the region, making it difficult to secure and consolidate their territories, thus further blurring the borderlines.
Due to frequent military threats in the Jianghuai region, frontier clans found it difficult to establish and develop there, meaning that true frontier clans did not exist during this period. Moreover, with sharp ethnic tensions between the Han and non-Han peoples, even if frontier clans existed, the northern and southern regimes would not have allowed them to move freely between the north and south. Therefore, the frontier situation during the Eastern Jin and Sixteen Kingdoms period is largely outside the scope of this book's discussion.
In the late Eastern Jin period, Liu Yu defeated Southern Yan and Later Qin, recapturing Qingqi and Guanzhong. However, Guanzhong was quickly lost, and the northern-southern standoff was established with Sanqi to the east as the boundary, while the Huai River north and the Min River north served as buffer zones to the west. By this time, the north had been unified under the Northern Wei regime, while the south was replaced by the Eastern Jin regime, which was succeeded by the Southern Song. During the Southern Song-Northern Wei standoff, the northern and southern forces were relatively balanced, neither able to advance further. Cui Hao's statement that the Southern Song could not hold Henan and the Northern Wei could not dominate Jiangdong reflects this situation. This favorable objective environment allowed powerful clans to establish and develop in this region. The "frontier" region referred to in this book is the buffer zone in this balanced state, including the provinces of Qing, Ji, Xu, Yan, Yu, and Yong before the Taishi period of the Southern Song. The clans and powerful families discussed were those that developed in this buffer zone from the start of the Southern Song-Northern Wei standoff, including the Qinghe Cui clan, the Hedong Pei clan, and the Hedong Liu clan, among other northern clans.
After the late period of Emperor Taizong of Northern Wei's Taiping Zhenjun (440–450), the Northern Wei regime strengthened its power and adopted a gradual southward expansion policy, gradually incorporating the buffer zone into its territory. During Emperor Xiaowen's Huangxi period (467–470), Northern Wei captured the four prefectures north of the Huai River and the seven prefectures west of the Huai River; in the 22nd year of Emperor Xiaowen's Taiping Zhenjun (498), Northern Wei occupied the five prefectures north of the Min River; and in the first year of Emperor Xuanwu's Jingming (500), Northern Wei incorporated the Yu Province into its domain. The Southern regime's defenses gradually retreated, from guarding the Huai River to guarding the Huai River to guarding the Yangtze River. The southward advance of the Northern Wei regime was not merely about expanding northern territory and shrinking southern territory but had a deeper impact: as the northern regime advanced southward, many frontier clans in the buffer zone migrated north, becoming subjects of the Northern Wei regime. Even those clans that remained loyal to the Southern Dynasties lost their foundation due to the fall of their homeland and were forced to wander. Thus, the southward advance of the Northern Wei regime was essentially a process of gradually eliminating the living forces of the Southern Dynasties. When the Sui regime conquered Chen and moved south, it encountered no strong resistance in the Jianghuai and Xiangyang regions, primarily because the frontier clans in these areas had already disappeared. As a result, the Southern Dynasties, supported by the frontier clans, were doomed to perish as the clans declined and could not find or could not find new support.
This book selects three regions with representative significance from east to west during the northern-southern standoff: Qing, Ji, Xu, and Yong. The frontier clans in these regions were relatively powerful and supported different Southern Dynasties regimes at different times. Later, these clans migrated northward. Moreover, clans like Cui, Pei, and Liu rose to prominence in the north, unlike the Wang and Xie clans, who faded into obscurity after migrating north. These frontier clans had their own unique development paths, which is the primary reason this book focuses on them as subjects of study.
The book is divided into six chapters, with the first five chapters conducting case studies of the military groups of the Qingqi, Xu, and Yong clans: Chapters 1, 3, and 4 discuss these clans as a whole, exploring their significant roles in both northern and southern regimes, particularly in the southern regimes. Chapters 2 and 5 focus on representative clans like the Qinghe Cui and Hedong Liu clans within these groups for a deeper understanding of the frontier clans. Chapter 6 serves as a conclusion, providing a comprehensive discussion of the frontier clans as a special class, their status in both the north and south, and their different roles in the northern and southern regimes.