1
烏桓者，本東胡也。 漢初，匈奴冒頓滅其國，餘類保烏桓山，因以為號焉。 俗善騎射，弋獵禽獸為事。 隨水草放牧，居無常處。 以穹廬為舍，東開向日。 食肉飲酪，以毛毳為衣。 鄭玄注周禮曰：「毛之縟細者為毳也。」貴少而賤老，其性悍塞。 說文曰：「悍，勇也。」塞謂不通。怒則殺父兄，而終不害其母，以母有族類，父兄無相仇報故也。 有勇健能理決鬥訟者，推為大人，無世業相繼。 邑落各有小帥，數百千落自為一部。 大人有所召呼，則刻木為信，雖無文字，而部眾不敢違犯。 氏姓無常，以大人健者名字為姓。 大人以下，各自畜牧營產，不相傜役。 其嫁娶則先略女通情，杜預注左傳曰：「不以道取為略。」或半歲百日，然後送牛馬羊畜，以為娉幣。 婿隨妻還家，妻家無尊卑，旦旦拜之，而不拜其父母。 為妻家僕役，一二年閒，妻家乃厚遣送女，居處財物一皆為辦。 其俗妻後母，報寡㛐，死則歸其故夫。 計謀從用婦人，唯鬥戰之事乃自決之。 父子男女相對踞蹲。 以髡頭為輕便。 婦人至嫁時乃養髮，分為髻，著句決，飾以金碧，猶中國有簂步搖。簂音吉誨反。字或為「幗」，婦人首飾也。《續漢輿服志》曰：「公卿列侯夫人紺繒幗。」《釋名》云「皇后首飾，上有垂珠，步則搖之」也。 婦人能刺韋作文繡，織氀毼。《廣雅》曰：「氀毼，罽也。」氀力于反，毼胡達反。 男子能作弓矢鞍勒，勒，馬銜也。鍛金鐵為兵器。 其土地宜穄及東牆。 東牆似蓬草，實如穄子，至十月而熟。 見鳥獸孕乳，以別四節。
The Wuhuan people were originally part of the Eastern Hu. Early in the Han dynasty, the Xiongnu ruler Modu wiped out their kingdom; those who survived sheltered on Mount Wuhuan and took that mountain's name as their own. They excelled at horsemanship and the bow, and made their living hunting birds and beasts. They moved their herds with grass and water and had no permanent homes. They lived in round felt tents with the entrance facing east toward the sunrise. Their diet was meat and fermented milk; they wore woolens and soft furs. Zheng Xuan glosses the Zhouli: "the finest, softest animal hair is called cui." They esteemed youth and looked down on age; their temper ran fierce and stubborn. The Shuowen glosses han as "courageous"; sai means shut off and impervious. They might kill a father or elder brother in anger, but never harmed the mother—she had her own kin who would answer for her, whereas no such obligation hung over patricide or fratricide. Men who were courageous, robust, and could settle quarrels and legal disputes became "great men"; the office did not pass down through families. Every camp had a minor leader, and hundreds or thousands of camps made up a single tribal division. A great man's summons was signaled by notched wood; without a written script, the people still never dared defy it. Surnames were not fixed; they often adopted the given names of renowned great men as clan names. Below the great men, everyone herded and earned his own keep, and none owed forced labor to another. Courtship began with carrying off the bride-to-be; Du Yu on the Zuo zhuan explains that seizing a woman without proper rites is lue, "carrying off." Only after months—or a hundred days—did the groom's side deliver cattle, horses, and sheep as betrothal gifts. The husband moved in with his wife's people; he bowed every morning to everyone in her household without regard to rank, yet did not bow to her parents specifically. He labored for his in-laws for a year or two; then they sent the couple off handsomely, outfitting them with a home and everything they needed. By custom a man could marry his stepmother and take a widowed sister-in-law under levirate (nuo); when she died she was buried again with her first husband. Women shaped strategy and counsel; men reserved decisions about combat for themselves. Men and women, young and old, squatted facing one another when they gathered. They shaved their heads for practicality. Women grew their hair only when they married, arranged it in buns, wore clasps called goujue, and set gold and bright stones in their hair—much like Chinese headframes and swaying buyao pins. Gui (簂) is pronounced ji-hui; the character may also be written guo (幗), a woman's head-dress. The Xu Han yufu zhi says: "The wives of dukes and marquises wore dark-blue silk guo." The Shiming explains: "The empress's head ornament had dangling pearls that swayed as she walked." Women embroidered patterns into leather and wove coarse woolens. The Guangya says: "Liuhe is ji felt," with fanqie readings li-yu and hu-da. Men fashioned bows, arrows, saddles, and bits—the le being the horse's bit—and hammered bronze and iron into arms. Their soil grew broomcorn millet and a grain called dongqiang. Dongqiang looked like wormwood, bore seeds like millet, and ripened in late autumn. They told the seasons by watching when animals bred and nursed their young.
2
俗貴兵死，斂屍以棺，有哭泣之哀，至葬則歌舞相送。 肥養一犬，以彩繩纓牽，并取死者所乘馬衣物，皆燒而送之，言以屬累犬屬累猶付託也。屬之欲反，累力瑞反。，使護死者神靈歸赤山。 赤山在遼東西北數千里，如中國人死者魂神歸岱山也。 《博物志》曰：「泰山，天帝孫也，主召人魂。東方萬物始，故知人生命。」敬鬼神，祠天地日月星辰山川及先大人有健名者。 祠用牛羊，畢皆燒之。 其約法：違大人言者，罪至死； 若相賊殺者，令部落自相報，不止，詣大人告之，聽出馬牛羊以贖死； 其自殺父兄則無罪； 若亡畔為大人所捕者，邑落不得受之，皆徙逐於雍狂之地，沙漠之中。 其土多蝮蛇，在丁令西南，烏孫東北焉。 〔三〕
They esteemed death in battle; kin laid out the body in a coffin and wept, then saw the dead away with song and dance. They fattened a dog, tethered it with colored cord, burned it with the dead man's horse and clothes, and said they entrusted (shu-lei, "to commit to another's care") the dog to guide the spirit home to Red Mountain. Red Mountain stood thousands of li northwest of Liaodong—their counterpart to Mount Tai, where Chinese believed the dead returned. The Bowuzhi says: "Mount Tai is the grandson of the Heavenly Emperor and summons human souls; as the east is where all things begin, it knows the span of human life." They worshipped spirits and offered to heaven, earth, celestial bodies, mountains, rivers, and famed ancestors. Oxen and sheep fed the altars, then the offerings went up in flame. Their laws were blunt: defy a great man and you faced execution. Bloodletting between families was left to tribal vengeance first; if feuding continued, the great man stepped in and accepted livestock as weregild. Yet killing one's own father or brother carried no penalty. Deserters seized by a great man found no shelter in any camp and were herded into the wastes called Yongkuang. That desert swarmed with vipers, southwest of the Dingling and northeast of the Wusun. [3] (End of commentary note.)
3
〔三〕前書音義曰：「丁令，匈奴別種也。 令音零。」
[3] The Former Han shu yinyi says: "The Dingling are a separate stock of the Xiongnu. The syllable ling rhymes with "zero" (ling)."
4
烏桓自為冒頓所破，眾遂孤弱，常臣伏匈奴，歲輸牛馬羊皮，過時不具，輒沒其妻子。 及武帝遣驃騎將軍霍去病擊破匈奴左地，因徙烏桓於上谷、漁陽、右北平、遼西、遼東五郡塞外，為漢偵察匈奴動靜。 偵，覘也，音丑政反。其大人歲一朝見，於是始置護烏桓校尉，秩二千石，擁節監領之，使不得與匈奴交通。
After Modu shattered them, the Wuhuan remained few and dependent, yearly paying the Xiongnu in livestock and hides; late tribute meant forfeiture of wives and children. Emperor Wu had Huo Qubing break the left wing of the Xiongnu, then resettled the Wuhuan outside five northern commanderies so they could watch the steppe for Han. Zhen ("to reconnoiter") is read chou-zheng fan. Wuhuan chiefs paid annual court visits; Han then created the Colonel Protector of the Wuhuan at two-thousand-shi rank to supervise them and block Xiongnu contact.
5
昭帝時，烏桓漸強，乃發匈奴單于冢墓，以報冒頓之怨。 匈奴大怒，乃東擊破烏桓。 大將軍霍光聞之，因遣度遼將軍范明友將二萬騎出遼東邀匈奴，而虜已引去。 明友乘烏桓新敗，遂進擊之，斬首六千餘級，獲其三王首而還。 由是烏桓復寇幽州，明友輒破之。 宣帝時，乃稍保塞降附。
Under Emperor Zhao the Wuhuan grew bold enough to open Xiongnu royal tombs, striking back at Modu's ancient destruction of their kingdom. Enraged, the Xiongnu swept east and shattered the Wuhuan hosts. Huo Guang ordered Fan Mingyou and twenty thousand cavalry toward Liaodong to cut off the Xiongnu—who had already slipped away. Fan Mingyou turned on the beaten Wuhuan, claimed six thousand heads, and brought back three kings' skulls. The Wuhuan struck Youzhou again and again; Fan Mingyou drove them back each time. By Emperor Xuan's reign they had begun to settle along the frontier and accept Han overlordship.
6
及王莽篡位，欲擊匈奴，興十二部軍，使東域將嚴尤領烏桓、丁令兵屯代郡，皆質其妻子於郡縣。 烏桓不便水土，懼久屯不休，數求謁去。 莽不肯遣，遂自亡畔，還為抄盜，而諸郡盡殺其質，由是結怨於莽。 匈奴因誘其豪帥以為吏，餘者皆羈縻屬之。
Wang Mang mobilized twelve armies against the Xiongnu and put Yan You in charge of Wuhuan and Dingling auxiliaries in Dai, holding every man's family hostage in county towns. Unsuited to the climate and dreading endless service, they repeatedly petitioned to go home. Mang refused discharge, so they deserted and turned bandit; local officials slaughtered their hostages, and the tribes burned with hatred for Wang Mang. The Xiongnu won over Wuhuan headmen with offices and kept the rest on a loose leash.
7
光武初，烏桓與匈奴連兵為寇，代郡以東尤被其害。 居止近塞，朝發穹廬，暮至城郭，五郡民庶，家受其辜，至於郡縣損壞，百姓流亡。 其在上谷塞外白山者，最為強富。
Early in Emperor Guangwu's reign Wuhuan and Xiongnu horsemen struck together, worst of all east of Dai. Camped beside the frontier, they could leave their tents at dawn and raid Chinese towns by nightfall; five northern commanderies were ruined household by household until counties collapsed and people fled. The band beyond White Mountain outside Shanggu grew richest and fiercest.
8
建武二十一年，遣伏波將軍馬援將三千騎出五阮關掩擊之。 〔一〕烏桓逆知，悉相率逃走，追斬百級而還。 烏桓復尾擊援後，援遂晨夜奔歸，比入塞，馬死者千餘匹。
In CE 45 Emperor Guangwu sent Ma Yuan with three thousand cavalry through Wuyuan Pass against them. [1] Forewarned, the Wuhuan slipped away in a body; Han pursuit bagged only a hundred heads. They harried his retreat until he raced night and day for the frontier, losing more than a thousand mounts.
9
〔一〕關在代郡。
[1] Wuyuan Pass stood in Dai commandery.
10
二十二年，匈奴國亂，烏桓乘弱擊破之，匈奴轉北徙數千里，漠南地空，帝乃以幣帛賂烏桓。 二十五年，遼西烏桓大人郝旦等九百二十二人率眾向化，詣闕朝貢，獻奴婢牛馬及弓虎豹貂皮。
The next year civil war weakened the Xiongnu; the Wuhuan drove them northward and emptied the southern steppe, so Han bought Wuhuan loyalty with silk. In CE 49 nine hundred twenty-two Liaoxi notables led by Hao Dan came to court with tribute—slaves, livestock, bows, and fine furs.
11
是時四夷朝賀，絡驛而至，天子乃命大會勞饗，賜以珍寶。 烏桓或願留宿衛，於是封其渠帥為侯王君長者八十一人，皆居塞內，布於緣邊諸郡，令招來種人，給其衣食，遂為漢偵候，助擊匈奴、鮮卑。 時司徒掾班彪上言：「烏桓天性輕黠，好為寇賊，若久放縱而無總領者，必復侵掠居人，但委主降掾史，蓋當時權置也；下兵馬掾亦同也。恐非所能制。 臣愚以為宜復置烏桓校尉，誠有益於附集，省國家之邊慮。」 帝從之。 於是始復置校尉於上谷甯城，甯城，縣名。開營府，并領鮮卑，賞賜質子，歲時互市焉。
Frontier peoples were arriving in streams for audience; the emperor held a grand banquet and showered them with gifts. Those who volunteered for imperial guard duty earned titles for eighty-one chiefs; Han settled them inside the wall along the border, fed and clothed them, and used them as scouts against Xiongnu and Xianbei. Steward Clerk Ban Biao warned: "Wuhuan are naturally cunning raiders; without a permanent overseer they will prey on settlers again. Leaving them only to the surrender registrar—a makeshift post then, as with the cavalry clerk—will not control them. This humble official urges restoring the Colonel Protecting the Wuhuan—it would win their loyalty and spare the frontier endless anxiety." The emperor agreed. The colonel returned to Ningcheng in Shanggu (a county of that name), opened a camp headquarters, supervised Xianbei too, paid hostage stipends, and ran seasonal markets.
12
及明、章、和三世，皆保塞無事。 安帝永初三年夏，漁陽烏桓與右北平胡千餘寇代郡、上谷。 秋，鴈門烏桓率眾王無何（允），與鮮卑大人丘倫等，及南匈奴骨都侯，合七千騎寇五原，與太守戰於九原九原縣，屬五原郡高渠谷，漢兵大敗，殺郡長吏。 乃遣車騎將軍何熙、度遼將軍梁慬等擊，大破之。 無何乞降，鮮卑走還塞外。 是後烏桓稍復親附，拜其大人戎朱廆胡罪反為親漢都尉。
Under Emperors Ming, Zhang, and He the frontier stayed quiet. In the summer of CE 109 Yuyang Wuhuan joined more than a thousand Youbeiping tribesmen to raid Dai and Shanggu. Autumn raid: seven thousand allied riders hit Wuyuan; at Gaqu Valley in Jiuyuan county (Wuyuan commandery) Han lost badly and the administrator died. Court dispatched He Xi and Liang Jin; they crushed the coalition. Wuhe sued for peace while the Xianbei withdrew beyond the frontier. The Wuhuan reattached; their chief Rong Zhuwei (廆 read hu-zui) received the title Colonel Close-to-Han.
13
順帝陽嘉四年冬，烏桓寇雲中，遮截道上商賈車牛千餘兩，度遼將軍耿曄率二千餘人追擊，不利，又戰於沙南沙南縣，屬雲中郡，有蘭池城，斬首五百級。烏桓遂圍曄於蘭池城，於是發積射士二千人，度遼營千人，配上郡屯，以討烏桓，烏桓乃退。 永和五年，烏桓大人阿堅、羌渠等與南匈奴左部句龍吾斯反畔，中郎將張耽擊破斬之，餘眾悉降。 桓帝永壽中，朔方烏桓與休著屠各並畔，中郎將張奐搫平之。 延熹九年夏，烏桓復與鮮卑及南匈奴 （鮮卑） 寇緣邊九郡，俱反，張奐討之，皆出塞去。
Yangjia 4 winter: Wuhuan seized a thousand merchant wagons in Yunzhong. Geng Ye's two-thousand-man pursuit faltered; at Shanan county (Yunzhong, site of Lanchi) Han claimed five hundred heads. They then trapped Geng Ye in Lanchi until Han rushed archers, frontier troops, and Shang commandery reserves—the raiders melted away. Yonghe 140: Wuhuan chiefs and Southern Xiongnu mutineers rose together; Zhang Dan broke them, beheaded the leaders, and accepted the survivors’ surrender. Mid-reign of Emperor Huan, Shuofang Wuhuan and Tuge auxiliaries mutinied; Zhang Huan flattened them. In the summer of Yanxi 166 (166 CE) the Wuhuan again allied with the Xianbei and the Southern Xiongnu (Some manuscripts repeat the name “Xianbei” here.) Together they struck nine border prefectures in revolt. Zhang Huan drove every band back across the frontier.
14
靈帝初，烏桓大人上谷有難樓者，眾九千餘落，遼西有丘力居者，眾五千餘落，皆自稱王； 又遼東蘇僕延，眾千餘落，自稱峭七笑反王； 右北平烏延，眾八百餘落，自稱汗魯王：並勇建而多計策。 中平四年，前中山太守張純畔，入丘力居眾中，自號彌天安定王，遂為諸郡烏桓元帥，寇掠青、徐、幽、冀四州。 五年，以劉虞為幽州牧，虞購募斬純首，北州乃定。
Under Emperor Ling, Nanlou of Shanggu ruled nine thousand camps and Qiuliju of Liaoxi five thousand; both called themselves kings. Su Puyan of Liaodong, over a thousand tents strong, styled himself King Qiao (qiao read qi-xiao fan); Youbeiping’s Wuyan led eight hundred camps as “Khan-Lu king.” All four were bold warlords and shrewd planners. Zhongping 187: ex-magistrate Zhang Chun defected to Qiuliju, crowned himself a messianic war-king, and led Wuhuan bands across four provinces. Liu Yu took Youzhou, put a price on Zhang Chun’s head, and peace returned to the northern commanderies.
15
〔一〕峭音七笑反。
[1] “Precipice” (qiao) uses the qi-xiao fanqie reading.
16
建安初，冀州牧袁紹與前將軍公孫瓚相持不決，蹋頓遣使詣紹求和親，遂遣兵助擊瓚，破之。 紹矯制賜蹋頓、難樓、蘇僕延、烏延等，皆以單于印綬。 後難樓、蘇僕延率其部眾奉樓班為單于，蹋頓為王，然蹋頓猶秉計策。 廣陽人閻柔，少沒烏桓、鮮卑中，為其種人所歸信，柔乃因鮮卑眾，殺烏桓校尉邢舉而代之。 袁紹因寵慰柔，以安北邊。 及紹子尚敗，奔蹋頓。 時幽、冀吏人奔烏桓者十萬餘戶，尚欲憑其兵力，復圖中國。 會曹操平河北，閻柔率鮮卑、烏桓歸附，操即以柔為校尉。 建安十二年，曹操自征烏桓，大破蹋頓於柳城，斬之，首虜二十餘萬人。 袁尚與樓班、烏延等皆走遼東，遼東太守公孫康並斬送之。 其餘眾萬餘落，悉徙居中國云。
As Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan exhausted each other, Tadun offered Yuan Shao an alliance and auxiliaries that tipped the war. Yuan Shao counterfeited an edict and handed out chanyu regalia to every major Wuhuan chief. The tribes later crowned Louban chanyu and named Tadun “king,” but strategy stayed Tadun’s. Yan Rou, raised on the steppe, murdered Colonel Xing Ju with Xianbei support and claimed his post. Yuan Shao pampered Yan Rou to keep the border calm. After Yuan Shang’s defeat he rode to Tadun’s camps. A hundred thousand Han households had fled north; Yuan Shang meant to lever their warriors for another grab at the heartland. Cao Cao’s victory drew Yan Rou in with Xianbei and Wuhuan auxiliaries, and Cao kept him as colonel. Jian’an 12: Cao Cao marched north, broke Tadun at Liucheng, took his head, and claimed two hundred thousand prisoners and casualties. Gongsun Kang killed Yuan Shang, Louban, Wuyan, and their escorts when they sought refuge in Liaodong. More than ten thousand camps were afterward moved into Han territory, tradition says.
17
〔一〕蹋音大蠟反。
[1] “Ta” in Tadun follows the da-la fanqie gloss.
18
鮮卑者，亦東胡之支也，別依鮮卑山，故因號焉。 其言語習俗與烏桓同。 唯婚姻先髡頭，以季春月大會於饒樂水上，水在今營州北飲讌畢，然後配合。 又禽獸異於中國者，野馬、原羊、角端牛，以角為弓，俗謂之角端弓者。 又有貂、豽、鼲子，皮毛柔蝡，豽，音女滑反，猴屬也。鼲音胡昆反，鼠屬也。故天下以為名裘。
The Xianbei were Eastern Hu kin who named themselves after Mount Xianbei. Language and lifestyle mirrored the Wuhuan. They shaved their heads for marriage, met each spring on the Raole River (north of Yingzhou), feasted, then paired off. Steppe fauna included wild horses, stocky sheep, and horn-heavy cattle whose horns became the famed “horn-point” bows. They also had sable, nun, and zun pelts—nun (monkey kind, nu-hua fan) and zun (rodent kind, hu-kun fan)—prized empire-wide as famous furs.
19
〔二〕郭璞注爾雅曰：「原羊似吳羊而大角，出西方。」 前書音義曰：「角端似牛，角可為弓。」
[2] Guo Pu notes giant-horned “yuan sheep” from the western marches. Earlier scholars describe “horn-point” cattle whose horns serve as bow staves.
20
漢初，亦為冒頓所破，遠竄遼東塞外，與烏桓相接，未常通中國焉。 光武初，匈奴強盛，率鮮卑與烏桓寇抄北邊，殺略吏人，無有寧歲。 建武二十一年，鮮卑與匈奴入遼東，遼東太守祭肜擊破之，斬獲殆盡，事已具肜傳，由是震怖。 及南單于附漢，北虜孤弱，二十五年，鮮卑始通驛使。
Like the Wuhuan they fled Modu into the Liaodong wilds and seldom dealt with the interior court. Under Emperor Guangwu the Xiongnu marched Xianbei and Wuhuan allies against the north until no year stayed peaceful. Zhai Tong’s Liaodong defense in Jianwu 21 nearly annihilated a joint Xianbei-Xiongnu thrust and broke their nerve; see his biography. Southern submission drained the northern steppe; by Jianwu 49 Xianbei riders opened diplomatic traffic with Luoyang.
21
其後都護偏何等詣祭肜求自效功，因令擊北匈奴左伊育訾部，斬首二千餘級。 其後偏何連歲出兵擊北虜，還輒持首級詣遼東受賞賜。 三十年，鮮卑大人於仇賁、滿頭等率種人詣闕朝賀，慕義內屬。 帝封於仇賁為王，滿頭為侯。 時漁陽赤山烏桓歆志賁等數寇上谷。 永平元年，祭肜復賂偏何擊歆志賁，破斬之，於是鮮卑大人皆來歸附，並詣遼東受賞賜，青徐二州給錢歲二億七千萬為常。 明章二世，保塞無事。
Pian He volunteered through Zhai Tong and hammered a northern wing band for two thousand kills. Year after year Pian He raided northward and cashed heads for Han silver at Liaodong. Jianwu 54: Yu Qiuben and Mantou brought their clans to Luoyang, eager to live under Han protection. The court made Yu Qiuben a king and Mantou a marquis. Yuyang’s Chishan Wuhuan, led by Xin Zhiben, kept hitting Shanggu. Yongping 58: Zhai Tong paid Pian He to decapitate Xin Zhiben. Xianbei chiefs flocked to allegiance, collected stipends in Liaodong, and two inner provinces sent two hundred seventy million coins yearly to fund them. Emperors Ming and Zhang saw no major alarms on the wall.
22
和帝永元中，大將軍竇憲遣右校尉耿夔擊破匈奴，北單于逃走，鮮卑因此轉徙據其地。 匈奴餘種留者尚有十餘萬落，皆自號鮮卑，鮮卑由此漸盛。 九年，遼東鮮卑攻肥如縣，肥如縣，故城在今平州也太守祭參坐沮敗，下獄死。 十三年，遼東鮮卑寇右北平，因入漁陽，漁陽太守擊破之。 延平元年，鮮卑復寇漁陽，太守張顯率數百人出塞追之。 兵馬掾嚴授諫曰：「前道險阻，賊埶難量，宜且結營，先令輕騎偵視之。」 顯意甚銳，怒欲斬之。 因復進兵，遇虜伏發，士卒悉走，唯授力戰，身被十創，手殺數人而死。 顯中流矢，主簿衛福、功曹徐咸皆自投赴顯，俱歿於陣。 鄧太后策書褒歎，賜顯錢六十萬，以家二人為郎；授、福、咸各錢十萬，除一子為郎。
Under Emperor He's Yongyuan reign, Dou Xian's officer Geng Kui routed the Xiongnu; the Northern Chanyu fled and Xianbei moved into the vacated pasture. Over a hundred thousand Xiongnu tents relabeled themselves Xianbei, and Xianbei power swelled. In year nine Liaodong Xianbei hit Feiru (old site in Pingzhou); Administrator Ji Can was jailed for failed defense and died. Year thirteen: Liaodong riders struck Youbeiping, pushed into Yuyang, and were repulsed. Yanping 1: Xianbei raided Yuyang again; Zhang Xian chased with hundreds of men. Cavalry Clerk Yan Shou urged: "The trail is treacherous and enemy strength unknown—camp first and scout with light horse." Zhang Xian, furious, nearly executed him. They marched on into an ambush; troops fled while Yan Shou fought alone through ten wounds until he fell. Zhang Xian was shot; Wei Fu and Xu Xian died shielding him on the field. Empress Dowager Deng rewarded Zhang Xian with six hundred thousand cash and two kinsmen as court gentlemen; Yan Shou, Wei Fu, and Xu Xian each got one hundred thousand cash and a son appointed gentleman.
23
安帝永初中，鮮卑大人燕荔陽詣闕朝賀，鄧太后賜燕荔陽王印綬，赤車參駕，令止烏桓校尉所居甯城下，通胡市，因築南北兩部質館。 〔一〕鮮卑邑落百二十部，各遣入質。 是後或降或畔，與匈奴、烏桓更相攻擊。
Emperor An’s widow welcomed Yan Liyang with kingly regalia, parked him under Ningcheng beside the colonel’s seat, licensed barbarian trade, and erected paired hostage compounds. [1] All hundred-twenty Xianbei camps contributed noble sons as pledges. They swung between alliance and raid, trading blows with Han, Xiongnu, and Wuhuan by turns.
24
元初二年秋，遼東鮮卑圍無慮縣屬遼東郡，州郡合兵固保清野，鮮卑無所得。 清野謂收斂積聚，不令寇得之也。復攻扶黎營，殺長吏。 扶黎，縣，屬遼東屬國，故城在今營州東南。四年，遼西鮮卑連休等遂燒塞門，寇百姓。 烏桓大人於秩居等與連休有宿怨，共郡兵奔擊，大破之，斬首千三百級，悉獲其生口牛馬財物。 五年秋，代郡鮮卑萬餘騎遂穿塞入寇，分攻城邑，燒官寺，殺長吏而去。 乃發緣邊甲卒、黎陽營兵，屯上谷以備之。 冬，鮮卑入上谷，攻居庸關，復發緣邊諸郡、黎陽營兵、積射士步騎二萬人，屯列衝要。 六年秋，鮮卑入馬城塞，殺長吏，〔四〕度遼將軍鄧遵發積射士三千人，及中郎將馬續率南單于，與遼西、右北平兵馬會，出塞追擊鮮卑，大破之，獲生口及牛羊財物甚眾。 又發積射士三千人，馬三千匹，詣度遼營屯守。
Yuanchu 115 autumn: Liaodong Xianbei surrounded Wulu (Liaodong commandery); Han cleared the countryside and denied them booty. Scorched-earth defense stripped the countryside bare. They then struck Fuli camp and killed command staff. Fuli county (Liaodong Dependency, southeast of Yingzhou) was hit next; in year four Lianxiu's Liaoxi band burned frontier gates and looted farms. Yu Zhiju’s Wuhuan hated Lianxiu; allied county troops routed the raiders, claiming thirteen hundred skulls and heavy spoils. Year six autumn: ten thousand Dai riders burst inward, torched offices, slew magistrates, and vanished. Court summoned frontier levies and Liyang regulars to brace Shanggu. Winter raids hit Juyong; Han stacked twenty thousand mounted archers along the passes. In autumn of the sixth year, the Xianbei entered Macheng Fort and killed the senior officials. [4] Deng Zun, General Who Crosses the Liao, mobilized 3,000 accumulated archers, and Ma Xu, General of the Gentlemen, led the Southern Shanyu and joined with the troops and cavalry of Liaoxi and Youbeiping. They went out beyond the frontier, pursued and attacked the Xianbei, greatly defeated them, and captured many prisoners, cattle, sheep, and goods. Another three thousand bowmen and mounts reinforced the Liao command permanently.
25
〔四〕馬城，縣名，屬代郡也。
[4] Macheng County lay in Dai commandery.
26
永寧元年，遼西鮮卑大人烏倫、其至鞬率眾詣鄧遵降，奉貢獻。 詔封烏倫為率眾王，其至鞬為率眾侯，賜綵繒各有差。
Yongning 120: Wulun and Qizhijian of Liaoxi presented Deng Zun their surrender and gifts. They received kingly and marquis titles “who commands the masses” plus graded silk allotments.
27
建光元年秋，其至鞬復畔，寇居庸，雲中太守成嚴擊之，兵敗，功曹楊穆以身捍嚴，與俱戰歿。 鮮卑於是圍烏桓校尉徐常於馬城。 度遼將軍耿夔與幽州刺史龐參發廣陽、漁陽、涿郡甲卒，分為兩道救之；常夜得潛出，與夔等并力並進，攻賊圍，解之。 鮮卑既累殺郡守，膽意轉盛，控弦數萬騎。 延光元年冬，復寇鴈門、定襄，遂攻太原，掠殺百姓。 二年冬，其至鞬自將萬餘騎入東領候，分為數道，攻南匈奴於曼柏縣名，屬五原郡也，薁鞬日逐王戰死，殺千餘人。 三年秋，復寇高柳，擊破南匈奴，殺漸將王。
Jianguang 1 autumn: Qizhijian raided Juyong; Cheng Yan lost, and Yang Mu died covering him. Xianbei next trapped Wuhuan Colonel Xu Chang at Macheng. Geng Kui and Pang Can marched in two columns; Xu Chang escaped by night and they lifted the siege. Repeated killings of Han administrators emboldened tens of thousands of Xianbei riders. Yanguang 1 winter: raids on Yanmen and Dingxiang escalated to Taiyuan massacres. Next winter Qizhijian led ten thousand riders against the Southern Xiongnu at Manbo (Wuyuan county); Rizhu King Wujian fell with a thousand dead. Year three autumn: Gaoliu fell; Southern Xiongnu were beaten and the Jianjiang King was killed.
28
順帝永建元年秋，鮮卑其至鞬寇代郡，太守李超戰死。 明年春，中郎將張國遣從事將南單于兵步騎萬餘人出塞，擊破之，獲其資重二千餘種。 時遼東鮮卑六千餘騎亦寇遼東玄菟，烏桓校尉耿曄發緣邊諸郡兵及烏桓率眾王出塞擊之，斬首數百級，大獲其生口牛馬什物，鮮卑乃率種眾三萬人詣遼東乞降。 三年，四年，鮮卑頻寇漁陽、朔方。 六年秋，耿曄遣司馬將胡兵數千人，出塞擊破之。 冬，漁陽太守又遣烏桓兵擊之，斬首八百級，獲牛馬生口。 烏桓豪人扶漱官勇健，每與鮮卑戰，輒陷敵，詔賜號「率眾君」。
In autumn of the first year of Yongjian under Emperor Shun, the Xianbei leader Qizhijian raided Dai Commandery, and Li Chao, the administrator, died in battle. The following spring Zhang Guo crossed the frontier with ten thousand allied riders and took two thousand wagonloads of loot. Six thousand Liaodong riders hit Xuantu until Geng Ye’s frontier coalition butchered them and captured herds; thirty thousand Xianbei later sued for peace at Liaodong. Years three and four brought repeated strikes on Yuyang and Shuofang. Autumn counterstrike: Geng Ye’s major-led barbarian column smashed them outside the wall. Winter raids ended when Yuyang’s Wuhuan allies stacked eight hundred skulls and drove back herds. Fushu Guan spearheaded every fight against Xianbei until Han titled him "Prince who Commands the Masses."
29
陽嘉元年冬，耿曄遣烏桓親漢都尉戎朱廆率眾王侯咄歸等，出塞抄擊鮮卑，大斬獲而還，賜咄歸等已下為率眾王、侯、長，賜綵繒各有差。 鮮卑後寇遼東屬國，於是耿曄乃移屯遼東無慮城拒之。 二年春，匈奴中郎將趙稠遣從事將南匈奴骨都侯夫沈等，出塞擊鮮卑，破之，斬獲甚眾，詔賜夫沈金印紫綬及縑綵各有差。 秋，鮮卑穿塞入馬城，代郡太守擊之，不能克。 後其至鞬死，鮮卑抄盜差稀。
Yangjia 132 winter: Rong Zhuwei’s raid yielded heavy trophies; emperor promoted Zhu Gui’s party with silk bales. Renewed Liaodong raids forced Geng Ye to relocate his garrison to frontier Wulu. Southern Gutu officer Fuchen won purple-seal honors after Zhao Chou’s spring expedition shattered another wave. They punched Macheng again that autumn; local Han troops failed to expel them. Once Qizhijian was gone the raids thinned out.
30
桓帝時，鮮卑檀石槐者，其父投鹿侯、初從匈奴軍三年，其妻在家生子。 投鹿侯歸，怪欲殺之。 妻言嘗晝行聞雷震，仰天視而雹入其口，因吞之，遂妊身，十月而產，此子必有奇異，且宜長視。 投鹿侯不聽，遂棄之。 妻私語家令收養焉，名檀石槐。 年十四五，勇健有智略。 異部大人抄取其外家牛羊，檀石槐單騎追擊之，所向無前，悉還得所亡者，由是部落畏服。 乃施法禁，平曲直，無敢犯者，遂推以為大人。 檀石槐乃立庭於彈汗山歠仇水上，〔一〕去高柳北三百餘里，兵馬甚盛，東西部大人皆歸焉。 因南抄緣邊，北拒丁零，東卻夫餘，西擊烏孫，盡據匈奴故地，東西萬四千餘里，南北七千餘里，網羅山川水澤鹽池。
Emperor Huan’s era produced Tanshi Huai; father Touluhou was abroad three campaigns while the baby arrived. Touluhou returned furious and reached for his sword. She pleaded a thunder-and-hail miracle pregnancy and begged him to spare this destined prodigy. He refused and cast the baby out. Kin hid the boy and named him Tanshi Huai. By mid-teens he was already fearless and cunning. A rival chief rustled his uncle’s herd; Huai charged solo, scattered them, won every beast back, and earned universal dread. He legislated disputes away until camps hailed him chieftain. His headquarters sat north of Gaoliu on Tanhan by Chuchou water [1]; hosts gathered until both wings obeyed. He burned the frontier belt, boxed Dingling, routed Fuyu, bruised Wusun, reclaimed Xiongnu pastures fourteen thousand li wide and seven thousand deep—salt flats and rivers included.
31
〔一〕歠音昌悅反。
[1] “Chuo” takes chang-yue fanqie.
32
永壽二年秋，檀石槐遂將三四千騎寇雲中。 延熹元年，鮮卑寇北邊。 冬，使匈奴中郎將張奐率南單于出塞擊之，斬首二百級。 二年，復入鴈門，殺數百人，大抄掠而去。 六年夏，千餘騎寇遼東屬國。 九年夏，遂分騎數萬人入緣邊九郡，並殺掠吏人，於是復遣張奐擊之，鮮卑乃出塞去。 朝廷積患之，而不能制，遂遣使持印綬封檀石槐為王，欲與和親。 檀石槐不肯受，而寇抄滋甚。 乃自分其地為三部，從右北平以東至遼東，接夫餘、濊貊二十餘邑為東部，從右北平以西至上谷十餘邑為中部，從上谷以西至敦煌、烏孫二十餘邑為西部，各置大人主領之，皆屬檀石槐。
Yongshou 156 autumn: Huai struck Yunzhong with a few thousand riders. Yanxi 158 opened with Xianbei strikes along the northern frontier. Winter: Zhang Huan and the Southern Chanyu rode out and stacked two hundred Xianbei skulls. Year two they flooded Yanmen, massacred hundreds, and vanished with booty. Summer year six: a thousand riders hit the Liaodong frontier circuit. Yanxi 166 summer: wave riders tore through nine border prefectures until Zhang Huan chased them back across the frontier. Luoyang admitted helplessness and offered Huai a royal patent and peace ties. Huai spurned the title and doubled the violence. He then divided his territory into three sections. From Youbeiping east to Liaodong, adjoining Fuyu and Yemaek, more than twenty settlements formed the eastern section. From west of Youbeiping to Shanggu, more than ten settlements formed the central section. From west of Shanggu to Dunhuang and Wusun, more than twenty settlements formed the western section. Each had a great man appointed to govern it, and all belonged to Tanshihuai.
33
靈帝立，幽、并、涼三州緣邊諸郡無歲不被鮮卑寇抄，殺略不可勝數。 熹平三年冬，鮮卑入北地，太守夏育率休著屠各追擊破之。 遷育為護烏桓校尉。 五年，鮮卑寇幽州。 六年夏，鮮卑寇三邊。 秋，夏育上言：「鮮卑寇邊，自春以來，三十餘發，請徵幽州諸郡兵出塞擊之，一冬二春，必能禽滅。」 朝廷未許。 先是護羌校尉田晏坐事論刑被原，欲立功自效，乃請中常侍王甫求得為將，甫因此議遣兵與育并力討賊。 帝乃拜晏為破鮮卑中郎將。 大臣多有不同，乃召百官議朝堂。 議郎蔡邕議曰：書戒猾夏，易伐鬼方，周有獫狁、蠻荊之師，漢有闐顏、瀚海之事。
Emperor Ling inherited endless Xianbei devastation across Youzhou, Bingzhou, and Liangzhou. Xiping 174 winter: Xia Yu’s Tuge riders chased Xianbei out of Beidi commandery. The court moved Xia Yu into the Wuhuan colonel’s chair. Year five brought another Youzhou incursion. Summer six: simultaneous raids on three sectors of the wall. Autumn memorial: "Xia Yu counted thirty spring-to-date raids and demanded a winter-plus-two-spring eradication campaign from Youzhou." The throne withheld consent. Disgraced Colonel Tian Yan bought a generalship through Wang Fu and lobbied for a joint strike with Xia Yu. Emperor Ling named Tian Yan “Chief Commander against the Xianbei.” Dissent in council forced an open court debate. Cai Yong spoke for the conservatives: the Shang shu and Zhou yi warn of frontier foes; Zhou battled Xianyun and southern tribes; Han echoed that reach from Tianyan to the northern sea.
34
征討殊類，所由尚矣。 然而時有同異，埶有可否，故謀有得失，事有成敗，不可齊也。
Punishing foreign foes, he argued, was an ancient constant. What worked once may fail now; strategy must follow the moment.
35
〔一〕尚書舜典曰：「蠻夷猾夏，寇賊姦宄。」 猾，亂也。 易既濟九三爻辭曰：「高宗伐鬼方，三年而克之。」 前書淮南王安曰：「鬼方，小蠻夷也。」 音義曰：「鬼方，遠方也。」
Note one: the Shun dian of the Shang shu says: “Barbarians make trouble in the Hua lands, raiders and traitors work mischief.” “Hua” in that line means to disorder. The Jiji hexagram, third line, reads: “Gaozong campaigned against Gui Fang; after three years he overcame it.” The Prince of Huainan in the Former Han shu said: “Gui Fang was a petty barbarian people.” The pronunciations gloss adds: “Gui Fang means a distant land.”
36
〔二〕詩小雅曰：「顯允方叔，征伐獫狁，蠻荊來威。」
The Odes' "Minor Odes" has: "Illustrious Fang Shu campaigned against the Xianyun; the Manjing came to fear his might."
37
〔三〕武帝使大將軍衛青擊匈奴，至闐顏山，斬首萬餘級。 使霍去病擊匈奴，封狼居胥山，登臨瀚海也。
Emperor Wu’s Wei Qing reached Tianyan with ten thousand kills. Huo Qubing sealed Mount Langjuxu and gazed on the great northern sea.
38
武帝情存遠略，志闢四方，南誅百越，北討強胡，西伐大宛，東并朝鮮。 因文、景之蓄，藉天下之饒，數十年閒，官民俱匱。 乃興鹽鐵酒榷之利，設告緡重稅之令，〔一〕民不堪命，起為盜賊，關東紛擾，道路不通。 〔二〕繡衣直指之使，奮鈇鉞而並出。 〔三〕既而覺悟，乃息兵罷役，封丞相為富人侯。 〔四〕故主父偃曰：「夫務戰勝，窮武事，未有不悔者也。」 〔五〕夫以世宗神武，將相良猛，財賦充實，所拓廣遠，猶有悔焉。 況今人財並乏，事劣昔時乎！
Emperor Wu pursued glory on every frontier—south against the Yue, north against the Xiongnu, west against Dayuan, east against Korea. He spent down the Wen-Jing surplus until court and countryside were broke. Monopolies on salt, iron, and wine plus the suanmin surcharges note one drove commoners to revolt and cut the roads east of Hangu. Next came the embroidered-robes commissioners with axes note two. Only later did he demobilize and reward his chancellor as “rich marquis” to signal recovery note three. Note four hence Zhufu Yan said, “He who chases total victory in war and exhausts the military will always regret it.” Note five: even Emperor Wu’s elite armies and bursting granaries could not banish second thoughts. Today we are poorer and weaker than his age.
39
〔一〕武帝使東郭咸陽等領天下鹽鐵，敢私鑄錢賣鹽者釱左趾。 榷，專也。 官自賣酒，人不得賣也。 又筭緡錢，率緡錢二千而筭一，令各以其物自占。 占不悉，聽人告緡，以半與之。 音義曰：「緡，絲也。 用以貫錢，故曰緡錢。 一筭百二十也。」
State monopolies note one riveted smugglers’ ankles. “Monopoly” (que) means exclusive sales. Imperial cellars held the retail license. The suanmin tax took one cut per two thousand cash of declared wealth. Denouncers split forfeitures with the treasury. Gloss: "min originally meant silk cord. Strings of coins were counted by those cords. Each assessment unit meant one hundred twenty copper coins.”
40
〔二〕武帝天漢二年，泰山、琅邪群賊徐勃等阻山攻城，道路不通。
Bandits note two cut communications through Taishan in 99 BCE.
41
〔三〕武帝使直指使者暴勝之等衣繡仗斧，分部逐捕也。
Straight-arrow commissioners note three carried axe authority district by district.
42
〔四〕封丞相車千秋為富人侯，以明休息，思富養人。
Che Qianqiu’s “rich marquis” patent signaled retreat note four.
43
〔五〕武帝時，齊相主父偃諫伐匈奴之辭。
Zhufu Yan’s anti-Hun memorial note five closes the parallel.
44
自匈奴遁逃，鮮卑強盛，據其故地，稱兵十萬，才力勁健，意智益生。 加以關塞不嚴，禁網多漏，精金良鐵，皆為賊有； 漢人逋逃，為之謀主，兵利馬疾，過於匈奴。 昔段熲良將，習兵善戰，有事西羌，猶十餘年。 今育、晏才策，未必過熲，鮮卑種眾，不弱于曩時。 而虛計二載，自許有成，若禍結兵連，豈得中休？ 當復徵發眾人，轉運無已，是為耗竭諸夏，并力蠻夷。 夫邊垂之患，手足之蚧搔； 中國之困，胸背之瘭疽。 方今郡縣盜賊尚不能禁，況此醜虜而可伏乎！
Xiongnu collapse let the Xianbei fill the steppe with a hundred thousand alert riders. Lax border controls smuggled Han steel into nomad hands. Defecting Chinese advisers and better mounts outclassed the old Xiongnu threat. Even Duan Jiong needed a decade to tame Qiang rebels. Xia Yu and Tian Yan are hardly superior generals, while Xianbei strength matches earlier highs. Promising a two-year wipeout invites an endless quagmire. Further drafts would beggar north China to enrich the steppe. Border raids are irritants— but domestic collapse is a mortal abscess at the heart. If the capital cannot stifle banditry in its own counties, how can it subjugate these steppe hosts?
45
〔一〕蚧音介。 搔音新到反。 埤蒼曰：「瘭音必燒反。」 杜預注左傳曰：「疽，惡創也。」
Gloss: jie sounds like “jie.” “Scratch” (sao) uses xin-dao fanqie. The Picao says: “biao is read bi-shao fan.” Du Yu’s Zuo commentary gloss: “Ju is a malignant sore.”
46
昔高祖忍平城之恥，呂后棄慢書之詬，方之於今，何者為甚？
Gaozu endured Pingcheng; Empress Lü ignored Xiongnu insults—which humiliation matters more now?
47
〔一〕詬，恥也，音許豆反。
Gou means shame; pronunciation xu-dou fanqie.
48
天設山河，秦築長城，漢起塞垣，所以別內外，異殊俗也。 苟無䠞國內侮之患則可矣，豈與蟲螘（校）〔狡〕寇計爭往來哉！雖或破之，豈可殄盡，而方（今）〔令〕本朝為之旰食乎？
Natural barriers plus Qin and Han walls marked civilization from steppe. If internal disorder were absent that would be enough—why trade blows with gnats? Occasional victories cannot exterminate them; would this court dine after midnight from sheer dread?
49
〔一〕䠞國，解見西域傳。
The phrase “crippled polity” is glossed in the Xiyu zhuan.
50
〔二〕旰，晚也。 左傳伍子胥曰：「楚君大夫，其旰食乎！」
Gan means eating late into the night. Wu Zixu in the Zuo zhuan said: "Chu's lord and ministers—will they dine late?"
51
夫專勝者未必克，挾疑者未必敗，眾所謂危，聖人不任，朝議有嫌，明主不行也。 昔淮南王安諫伐越曰：「天子之兵，有征無戰。 言其莫敢校也。 〔一〕如使越人蒙死以逆執事廝輿之卒，〔二〕有一不備而歸者，雖得越王之首，而猶為大漢羞之。」 而欲以齊民易醜虜，皇威辱外夷，就如其言，猶已危矣，況乎得失不可量邪！ 昔珠崖郡反，孝元皇帝納賈捐之言，而下詔曰：「珠崖背畔，今議者或曰可討，或曰棄之。 朕日夜惟思，羞威不行，則欲誅之； 通于時變，復憂萬民。 夫萬民之飢與遠蠻之不討，何者為大？ 宗廟之祭，凶年猶有不備，況避不嫌之辱哉！ 今關東大困，無以相贍，又當動兵，非但勞民而已。 其罷珠崖郡。」 此元帝所以發德音也。 夫卹民救急，雖成郡列縣，尚猶棄之，況障塞之外，未嘗為民居者乎！ 守邊之術，李牧善其略，保塞之論，嚴尤申其要，遺業猶在，文章具存，循二子之策，守先帝之規，臣曰可矣。
Forced victories fail as often as hesitant gambits; wise rulers ignore panicky councils. Prince Liu An once urged against attacking Yue: "The Son of Heaven's arms campaign without needing pitched battle. That is, none dare exchange blows. Commentary one two: Risking common soldiers against desperate southerners—even victory humiliates the throne." Sacrificing settlers to punish nomads dishonors the dynasty regardless of outcome. When Zhuya commandery rebelled, Emperor Yuan accepted Jia Juan's counsel and issued an edict: "Zhuya turned rebel; advisers split between conquer or abandon. He burned with shame yet hungered to punish— but pity for starving subjects outweighed pride. Mass starvation trumped punishing remote rebels. Temple rites shrink in bad harvests; swallowing pointless insults is worse. Shandong starves; fresh armies would break more than peasant backs. Therefore abolish Zhuya commandery." That edict defined Emperor Yuan’s mercy. Han surrendered counties to feed people—why obsess over uninhabited desert? Li Mu's frontier playbook and Yan You's garrison theory remain legible—honor them and rest easy, Cai Yong concluded.
52
〔一〕校，報也。
Here xiao means to resist.
53
〔二〕前書音義曰：「廝，微也。 輿，眾也。」
Commentary mark two Former Han pronunciation gloss: "si means petty; Here yu glosses as “multitude.”
54
〔三〕史記曰，李牧，趙之北邊良將也。 常居代、鴈門備匈奴，以便宜置吏，巿租不入幕府，為士卒費，謹烽火，邊無失亡也。
Li Mu held Zhao’s north commentary three. He fed troops with border tolls, tightened signals, and kept losses near zero.
55
〔四〕前書王莽發三十萬眾，十道出擊匈奴。 莽將嚴尤諫曰：「匈奴為害，所從來久，未聞上代有征之者也。 後世三家周、秦、漢征之，然皆未有得上策者也。 周宣王時獫狁內侵，至于涇陽，命將出征之，盡境而還，是得中策。 武帝選將練兵，深入遠戍，兵連禍結三十餘年，是為下策。 秦始皇不忍小恥，築長城之固，以喪社稷，是為無策。」 班固曰：「若乃征伐之功，秦、漢行事，嚴尤論之當也。」 帝不從。 遂遣夏育出高柳，田晏出雲中，匈奴中郎將臧旻率南單于出鴈門，各將萬騎，三道出塞二千餘里。 檀石槐命三部大人各帥眾逆戰，育等大敗，喪其節傳輜重，各將數十騎奔還，死者十七八。 三將檻車徵下獄，贖為庶人。 冬，鮮卑寇遼西。 光和元年冬，又寇酒泉，緣邊莫不被毒。 種眾日多，田畜射獵不足給食，檀石槐乃自徇行，見烏侯秦水廣從數百里，水停不流，其中有魚，不能得之。 聞倭人善網捕，於是東擊倭人國，得千餘家，徙置秦水上，令捕魚以助糧食。
Wang Mang’s ten-route debacle commentary four proves the cost of blind offensives. Yan You told Mang no sage dynasty truly “finished” the nomads. Zhou Qin and Han all fought—and none found the magic formula. King Xuan’s generals pushed the Xianyun back to the frontier and stopped—the classic “middle” option. Emperor Wu’s thirty-year deep offensive was the “low” road—endless war. Qin Shihuang could not stomach slight shame; he piled up the Long Wall's solidity and forfeited his altars of soil and grain—that was no strategy at all." Ban Gu said: “As for the merit of campaigns and Qin-Han practice, Yan You’s discussion hits the mark.” The emperor refused. Han dispatched Xia Yu from Gaoliu, Tian Yan from Yunzhong, and Zang Min with the Southern Chanyu from Yanmen—thirty thousand horse in three columns over two thousand li beyond the wall. Huai's three division chiefs counterattacked; the Han generals lost their credentials and trains, escaping with handfuls of riders while most of their men died. The three commanders were carted to prison and ransomed down to commoners. Winter brought fresh Liaoxi raids. Guanghe 1 winter: Jiuquan was hit; the whole frontier reeled. Population pressure outran pasture; Huai rode to the stagnant, fish-filled Wuqin River hundreds of li across but could not net its fish. He kidnapped a thousand Wa fishing families and parked them on the Qin River to feed his horde.
56
〔一〕左傳曰，楚大夫薳啟彊對楚靈王曰：「晉之事君，臣曰可矣。」
The Zuo zhuan records Chu minister Wei Qiqiang answering King Ling of Chu: "In serving its lord Jin has done enough."
57
〔二〕從音子用反。
Cong uses the zi-yong fanqie spelling.
58
光和中，檀石槐死，時年四十五，子和連代立。 和連才力不及父，亦數為寇抄，性貪淫，斷法不平，眾畔者半。 後出攻北地，廉人善弩射者〔一〕射中和連，即死。 其子騫曼年小，兄子魁頭立。 後騫曼長大，與魁頭爭國，眾遂離散。 魁頭死，弟步度根立。 自檀石槐後，諸大人遂世相傳襲。
Huai died in Guanghe at forty-five; Helian inherited the confederation. Weaker than his father, Helian pillaged anyway until corruption split the tribes. Beidi crossbowmen from Lian note one dropped Helian with a bolt. Minor Qianman yielded rule to uncle Kuitou. Adult Qianman’s civil war shattered unity. Kuitou’s death brought Budugen to power. Huai’s successors turned “great man” into a family title.
59
〔一〕廉，縣名，屬北地郡。
Lian County sat in Beidi.
60
論曰：四夷之暴，其埶互彊矣。 匈奴熾於隆漢，西羌猛於中興。 而靈獻之閒，二虜迭盛，石槐驍猛，盡有單于之地，蹋頓凶桀，公據遼西之土。 其陵跨中國，結患生人者，靡世而寧焉。 然制御上略，歷世無聞； 周、漢之策，僅得中下。 將天之冥數，以至於是乎？
The treatise opens: each frontier people surged in its season. Xiongnu peaked in Western Han glory days; Qiang shook the Guangwu revival. Late Han saw both steppe powers peak: Huai swallowed Xiongnu ranges; Tadun gripped Liaoxi. Their raids scourged the interior generation after generation. No reign mastered the high policy of restraint; Zhou and Han settled for middling or poor frontier doctrine. Fan Ye wonders whether fate doomed the north.
61
贊曰：二虜首施，鯁我北垂。 道暢則馴，時薄先離。
Final stanza: twin barbarian powers choked the northern march. Prosperity bought peace; decline opened rebellion.
62
本紀是年六月南匈奴及烏桓、鮮卑寇緣邊九郡。
The imperial diary lists all three peoples without repetition.