Southern Liang and Western Qin

Author: Zhou Weizhou
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-01
Features: The historical tradition of our country is long-standing. Almost every regime that existed in Chinese history has been recorded by historians. Similarly, as early as over a thousand years ago, feudal historians wrote specialized histories (national histories) for the various regimes during the Sixteen Kingdoms period, but unfortunately, these works were lost over time, and no one has reconstructed them yet. The reasons for this are twofold: first, after the Sui and Tang dynasties, feudal historians paid little attention to the history of the Sixteen Kingdoms, considering that period as the "dark age of the Five Barbarians' chaos" and the regimes as "usurpative" states, unworthy of historical documentation. Even in general histories, they were briefly mentioned. Second, the historical records of the Sixteen Kingdoms were lost over time, making it extremely difficult for later generations to write national histories of the Sixteen Kingdoms. After the founding of New China, China's vast number of historians, guided by Marxist historical materialism, pioneered a new era of historical prosperity. Additionally, over the past three decades since the founding, numerous precious artifacts and ancient books have been unearthed across the country, making it possible to write national histories of the Sixteen Kingdoms. In 1982, Chongqing Publishing House published "A Brief History of the Chenghan State" (one of the Sichuan General History Series) written by Yang Weili, marking the first effort to accomplish this arduous task. This book primarily narrates the history of the two regimes established in the northwest during the Sixteen Kingdoms period: the Southern Liang and Western Qin. Why were the histories of these two regimes combined? First, the two regimes had many similarities. They were both established by the Xianbei people who migrated from the northern deserts to the northwest of China during the late Wei Dynasty and early Jin Dynasty. Moreover, the Xianbei tribes that established these regimes were not purely Xianbei: the Tufa Xianbei primarily assimilated the Xiongnu, while the Qifu Xianbei primarily assimilated the Goguryeo people. The establishment of the two regimes occurred twelve years apart, with the Southern Liang being established later and having a shorter existence, ultimately being conquered by the Western Qin. Therefore, the eras they lived in and the overall situation in the northwest were largely the same. Even their political systems, social structures, and ideologies had similarities. Second, the Southern Liang and Western Qin had close relations, almost inseparable. One was in Hexi, the other in Longyou, and they were not far apart. Moreover, the Qifu Xianbei were once subordinates of the Tufa Xianbei. After the Qifu Xianbei established the Western Qin regime, it was temporarily destroyed by Later Qin, and the Qifu royal family fled to the Southern Liang. Later, when the Western Qin was restored, it conquered the Southern Liang, and the former territory of the Southern Liang, including the Hexi and Huangtian regions, came under Western Qin control until the fall of Western Qin. Third, most historical records of the two countries are lost, making it difficult to narrate their histories separately. Based on these three reasons, we have combined the histories of the Southern Liang and Western Qin. The Tufa Xianbei of the Southern Liang migrated to Hexi earlier but were conquered first, so the history of the Southern Liang is discussed first, followed by that of the Western Qin. The greatest challenge in writing the histories of the Southern Liang and Western Qin is the lack of historical materials. Historical records of the Southern Liang and Western Qin from the Sixteen Kingdoms period, such as "The Record of Tuoba Liang," "The Chronicle of Western Qin," and "The General History of the Sixteen Kingdoms," have all been lost over time. The main sources available today for the two regimes are the "Records of Tuoba Wugu" and "Records of Qifu Guoren" in Volume 126 and Volume 125 of the "Book of Jin" by Fang Xianling and others during the Tang Dynasty, as well as the "Biographies of Tuoba Wugu" and "Biographies of Qifu Guoren" in Volume 99 of the "Book of Wei." Additionally, there are relevant sections from the "Zizhi Tongjian" by Sima Guang of the Song Dynasty. Furthermore, there are fragments of the "General History of the Sixteen Kingdoms" recorded in Song Dynasty compendia such as "Taiping Yulan" and "Cufu Yuanqu." However, the three existing versions of "The General History of the Sixteen Kingdoms" were written by later authors [1] and can only be used as references. At the same time, due to the short duration of the two regimes's establishment, there are not many surviving or unearthed artifacts. Under these circumstances, we had to rely on the existing "Book of Jin," "Book of Wei," "Zizhi Tongjian," and the "General History of the Sixteen Kingdoms" cited in Northern Song compendia when writing the histories of the two regimes. The "Book of Jin" has thirty volumes of "records" that "include the sixteen kingdoms' false histories" [2], so in the absence of historical records of the Sixteen Kingdoms, this book became the most important source. When Sima Guang and others compiled the "Zizhi Tongjian" during the Northern Song Dynasty, the "General History of the Sixteen Kingdoms" and "Collected Records" by Cui Hong might still have existed, so the "Zizhi Tongjian" preserved many materials not found in the "Book of Jin," which can also be cited as reliable historical references. As for the materials from the "Taiping Yulan" and other compendia that cite the "General History of the Sixteen Kingdoms," except for some minor errors in wording, they are original excerpts from the "General History of the Sixteen Kingdoms" or "Collected Records," and they are also one of the main sources used in this book. Since the Southern Liang and Western Qin regimes were established by ancient Xianbei tribes in China, we first explored the origins, migrations, and assimilation of the Tufa and Qifu Xianbei from the perspective of ethnic history. We narrated the background and process of their establishment of regimes, their relations with neighboring regimes, and their rise and fall. Finally, we also made some explorations into the social and political systems, social structures, and ideologies of the two countries. Due to the lack of materials and the author's limitations, this book has many problems, and we sincerely welcome experts and readers to offer advice.