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卷三十 魏書三十 烏丸鮮卑東夷傳

Volume 30: Book of Wei 30 - Biographies of the Wuhuan, Xianbei, and Dongyi

Chapter 30 of 三國志 · Records of the Three Kingdoms
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Chapter 30
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1
西 使
The Documents record "the Man and Yi throw disorder into the Xia," and the Odes say "the Xianyun blaze fiercely"; for a long time they have been a calamity for the Central States. Since the Qin and Han dynasties, the Xiongnu had been a chronic scourge along the northern frontier. Emperor Wu of Han may have sent armies in every direction—subduing the Yues and Korea in the east, striking Ferghana and the Western Regions in the west, and pushing routes toward Qiong and Yelang—but those theaters lay beyond the outer marches and never truly threatened the survival of the heartland. The Xiongnu sat closest to the Chinese heartland: whenever their cavalry swept south, every northern sector came under pressure at once. Emperor Wu therefore sent commanders such as Wei Qing and Huo Qibing on repeated deep drives, hounded the Chanyu across the steppe, and stripped them of their richest pasturelands. In time they accepted garrisoned borders and acknowledged Han as overlord, then dwindled from generation to generation. Under the Jian'an reign, the Southern Chanyu Huchuquan came to the capital and was kept at court as an attendant, while a Right Worthy King governed the steppe in his stead; the Xiongnu humbled themselves more thoroughly than they ever had in the Han heyday. Yet the Wuhuan and Xianbei grew stronger in turn: with China convulsed in the late Han turmoil, the court had no spare strength for frontier wars, and the steppe peoples were left free to monopolize 〈Han〉 The lands south of the Gobi became their playground: they sacked towns, slaughtered or drove off the population, and the northern commanderies remained in constant peril. When Yuan Shao brought Hebei under his sway, he cultivated the Wuhuan of three commanderies, showering their leading chiefs with honors while drafting their finest horsemen into his own hosts. Later, Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi fled for refuge to Tadun’s camp. Tadun was a formidable warrior; frontier elders likened him to Modun. Trusting in his remote fastnesses, he harbored outlaws from China and made himself overlord of the steppe confederations. Cao Cao led a surprise northern expedition, caught the coalition off guard, and broke their power in a single engagement; the steppe peoples submitted in fear, and his prestige rolled across the northern wastes. He then enlisted Wuhuan contingents in his campaigns, while the farming communities along the frontier could at last breathe again. Later Kebineng of the Xianbei reunited the northern tribes, absorbed the old Xiongnu heartland, and stretched his authority from Yunzhong and Wuyuan east to the Liao River, planting his headquarters wherever the grasslands met the sky. He raided the frontier again and again, and the people of Youzhou and Bingzhou bore the brunt of the raids. Tian Yu was trapped at Macheng, and Bi Gui suffered a crushing defeat north of the Xing mountain passes. During the Qinglong era, Emperor Ming followed Wang Xiong’s counsel and sent a swordsman to murder Kebineng. The confederation then shattered into feuding bands: the powerful fled deep into the steppe, while weaker bands sued for Chinese protection. The marches grew comparatively calm. 〈Han〉 and south of the desert there was little large-scale trouble: though small raids still occurred, nothing could again knit the tribes into a common revolt. The Wuhuan and the Xianbei are the peoples ancient writers grouped as the Eastern Hu. Their customs and earlier history were already set down by the compilers of the Han ji, and there is no need to repeat that material here. What follows is therefore limited to developments from the fall of Han into early Wei, enough to chart how the frontier peoples shifted in that age.
2
婿 便 使 西 使使 使 西 使西 涿
The Book of Wei states: "The Wuhuan are a branch of the Eastern Hu." In early Han the Xiongnu chieftain Modun crushed their kingdom; survivors rallied on Wuhuan Mountain and adopted that name as their tribal title. They excel at mounted archery, follow the seasonal grass and water with their herds, and shift camp often; their round felt yurts serve as home, and the door always faces east. They hunt fowl and game every day, live on meat and fermented milk, and dress in furs and felt. Youth is honored and age slighted; tempers run hot enough that a man may kill his father or brother in a rage, yet almost never his mother—she still has her own kin to answer for her, whereas a slain father or brother is counted part of one’s own lineage, so no outsider will demand blood vengeance. The office of "great man" goes to whoever proves brave and astute enough to settle feuds and legal quarrels between camps; each village cluster has its own petty chief, and neither rank passes automatically from father to son. Hundreds or thousands of camps form a single tribal division. When a great man issues orders, he notches a piece of wood as his warrant, and runners pass it from camp to camp; there is no script, yet no warrior dares disobey. Surnames are fluid: a band often adopts the personal name of its strongest "great man" as its clan name. Below the great man every household tends its own herds and fields; none may drag another into forced labor. Marriage begins with a clandestine courtship: the suitor abducts the bride-to-be and keeps her for months; only afterward do families exchange a go-between and deliver horses, cattle, and sheep as bride-price. The groom moves in with his wife’s people; in her camp there is no distinction of rank at morning levee—everyone bows to everyone—yet he does not perform those bows to his own parents. He spends two years working like a hired hand for his in-laws; when they judge him proven, they send the couple off with a generous dowry of tents, stock, and goods—all of it from the wife’s kin. Domestic decisions rest with the women, but once blades are drawn the men make the tactical calls themselves. Men and women of every generation squat facing one another in conversation, and they shave the scalp for cool convenience on the march. Women let their hair grow only as they approach marriage, then coil it into loops, fasten a jade slide at the temple, and pin it with gold and kingfisher ornaments—much like a Chinese lady’s cap with dangling buyao tassels. On a father’s or brother’s death, a man may take his stepmother or his widowed sister-in-law as wife; if no brother-in-law claims the widow, a son may marry her according to generational order among paternal uncles, and should she die her spirit is returned to her first husband’s line. They read the breeding cycles of birds and beasts against the four seasons, and time their sowing to the cuckoo’s call. The soil favors green millet and a plant called dongqiang—like wormwood in leaf, with seeds the size of mallow kernels that ripen in the tenth month. They brew a pale grain wine but have never mastered malting and starter cultures. Polished rice they still import from China. Their chiefs forge bows, arrows, saddles, and bits, hammer out iron arms, tool leather into figured embroidery, and weave wool into heavy felts. Their medicine runs to moxibustion, hot stones pressed to the skin, sleeping on heated earth, or lancing a vein over the pain; they invoke the spirits of heaven, earth, and the watersheds, but know nothing of acupuncture or pharmacy. They honor a warrior’s death in battle: the dead lie in coffins, kin wail at the first news, then send the funeral off with singing and dancing. They fatten a dog on a colored leash, gather the dead man’s mount, wardrobe, and favorite gear, and burn the lot as grave goods. The dog is charged above all to escort the dead man’s soul safe to Mount Chi. Mount Chi lies thousands of li northwest of Liaodong—what Mount Tai is to Chinese ghosts, Chi is to the Wuhuan dead. On the burial eve kinsmen sit in a ring; dogs and horses are led past each mourner, and whoever sings or wails is tossed a piece of meat. Two shamans chant the road-opening spell so the soul may race straight to Mount Chi through every peril, without stray ghosts blocking the way; only when the spirit has arrived do they slaughter the dog and horse and burn the grave goods. They honor gods and ancestors with offerings to heaven and earth, the luminaries, rivers, and mountains, and to famed chiefs of old—always with cattle and sheep—and after every rite the effigies go up in smoke. No meal or cup is touched before a pour of the drink and a morsel is offered to the spirits. Their laws are blunt: defy a great man’s command and you die; steal without relenting and you die. When blood feuds spiral, camps are left to retaliate among themselves; if the killing will not end, the parties appeal to a great man, who accepts cattle and sheep as blood-money and closes the case. Killing one’s own father or brother carries no tribal penalty. Fugitives seized by a chief find no camp willing to shelter them; they are herded into the waste called Yongkuang. That country is flat desert laced with streams, scrub, and clouds of pit-vipers—southwest of the Dingling and northeast of Wusun—where exile means slow death. After Modun shattered their forefathers the Wuhuan clans were few and feeble, tributaries of the Xiongnu who paid yearly in livestock—and if the herds came late, Xiongnu raiders carried off their women and children. Under the Chanyu Yiyandi the Wuhuan grew bold enough to desecrate Xiongnu royal tombs, hoping to avenge the humiliation Modun had inflicted on their ancestors. Yiyandi flew into a rage and sent twenty thousand horsemen against the Wuhuan. Huo Guang, the regent-general, ordered Fan Mingyou to take thirty thousand cavalry from Liaodong in pursuit of the Xiongnu. By the time Fan Mingyou arrived, the Xiongnu had already slipped away. The Wuhuan were still reeling from the Xiongnu blow when Fan Mingyou fell on them, took more than six thousand heads, and brought back the skulls of three Wuhuan kings. Whenever they raided the frontier again, Fan Mingyou campaigned and broke their power. At the close of Wang Mang’s usurpation they joined the Xiongnu in raiding the frontier. After Guangwu restored the Han, Ma Yuan led three thousand horsemen out through Wuyuan Pass against them, gained no decisive success, and lost more than a thousand mounts in the attempt. The Wuhuan then grew strong enough to harry the Xiongnu, who pulled back a thousand li and left the southern desert almost empty. In Jianwu 25 more than nine thousand Wuhuan led by Hao Dan presented themselves at court; Guangwu ennobled over eighty of their chiefs and settled them inside the line from the Liaodong dependency through Liaoxi, Youbeiping, Yuyang, Guangyang, Shanggu, Dai, Yanmen, Taiyuan, and Shuofang, fed and clothed the immigrants, and posted a Wuhuan colonel to command them as Han scouts against the Xiongnu and Xianbei. Under Yongping the Yuyang chief Qin Zhiben rebelled with his clansmen while the Xianbei raided again; Liaodong governor Ji Rong put a price on Zhiben’s head, had him killed, and scattered his following. Under Emperor An the Wuhuan kings of Yuyang, Youbeiping, and Yanmen—Wuhe among them—again allied with Xianbei and Xiongnu to pillage Dai, Shanggu, Zhuo, and Wuyuan; the court named He Xi, the minister of finance, acting chariot-and-cavalry general and sent twenty thousand men from the Yulin guards and seven border commanderies plus the Liyang garrison against them. Once the Xiongnu yielded, the Xianbei and Wuhuan bands withdrew beyond the wall. Thereafter the Wuhuan edged back toward allegiance, and the court named their chief Rongmohui colonel of the Wuhuan. Under Emperor Shun, Rongmohui marched with Geng Ye, the Wuhuan colonel, against the Xianbei at the head of princes such as Duogui and Quyan; for their service they all received the title “king who leads the masses” and bolts of silk.
3
西 使 使 使西 忿 使 祿
Late in the Han, Qiuliju of Liaoxi led more than five thousand camps, Nanlou of Shanggu over nine thousand—each claiming the title of king—while Supuyan of the Liaodong dependency styled himself King Qiao at the head of a thousand camps, and Wuyan of Youbeiping called himself King Hanlu with eight hundred; every one of them was cunning and fierce in the field. Zhang Chun, governor of Zhongshan, fled to Qiuliju’s host, proclaimed himself king under the style “Pacifier Who Fills Heaven,” took command of the Wuhuan of three commanderies, and ravaged Qing, Xu, You, and Ji, slaughtering officials and commoners alike. Near the end of Emperor Ling’s reign the court named Liu Yu governor of the province, raised tribal auxiliaries who cut off Zhang Chun’s head, and the northern provinces finally knew peace. When Qiuliju died his son Louban was still a boy, so his nephew Tadun—a man of military talent—succeeded him, united the three royal camps, and every band obeyed his orders. While Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan fought to a stalemate, Tadun sent envoys offering alliance; he reinforced Shao, joined the attack on Zan, and helped break him. Yuan Shao forged an imperial rescript to invest Tadun, 〈Nan〉 together with the seals and cords for Kings Qiao and Hanlu, treating all three as Chanyu. The Record of Heroes adds that Yuan Shao’s envoys invested the three Wuhuan kings as Chanyu on the spot, each with a state carriage, figured canopy, plumed standards, yellow awning, and the imperial yak-tail pennon. The text of the patent reads: "I, Yuan Shao, credential-bearing grand general overseeing You, Qing, and Bing and concurrently governor of Ji, Marquis of Ruanxiang, acting by special authority address Banxia, king of the Liaodong dependency who leads the masses; Tadun, Wuhuan king of Liaoxi who leads the masses; and Hanluwei, king of Youbeiping who leads the masses: your forebears loved righteousness, turned to good faith, opened the passes, and came within the pale; they held the Xianyun at bay in the north and the Huimo in the east, generation after generation guarding the frontier as a shield for the people. Though they sometimes trespassed on imperial territory, whenever a general marched to punish their offense they soon repented and mended their ways; among the outer tribes they have shown the keenest wisdom. You first organized yourselves under captains of thousands and hundreds, gave your utmost loyalty, and won real merit for the dynasty, until at length you received investiture as kings and marquises. Since the house of Han has been beset with calamity and Gongsun Zan rose in revolt, slaughtering the lords of the north and showing contempt for heaven and sovereign, all within the four seas have taken up arms in defense of the altars of state. You three kings have roused your peoples on the frontier, hated treason, and grieved for the dynasty, drawing your bowmen alongside Han armies as inner shield and outer spear—loyalty the court has every reason to praise. Yet tigers, rhinos, and serpents have blocked the road to the capital, so that legitimate patents from the throne have been stopped and your honors left in silence. Merit left unrewarded will only slacken the zeal of those who toil. I therefore send the acting palace herald Yang Lin bearing the Chanyu’s seal, cords, chariot, and regalia in recognition of your labors. Each of you shall quiet your tribes, instruct them in restraint, and suffer no violence or villainy among your people. Your sacrificial rank shall pass down the generations, and you shall long stand as chieftains over the hundred barbarian bands. Whoever brings shame upon this charge will forfeit stipend and office alike—consider how you must strive! The Wuhuan Chanyu shall command all tribal hosts, with left and right Chanyu under his orders; all other matters follow standing precedent."
4
西西 使 穿 調 鹿 鹿 鹿 西 西西 使 使 西 西 西西西 使 便
The Xianbei 〈The Book of Wei observes: "The Xianbei are another remnant of the Eastern Hu who withdrew to Xianbei Mountain and took their name from it." Their speech and ways of life match those of the Wuhuan. Their pasturelands stretch east to the Liao River and west toward the frontier zone recorded as Xicheng. In the last month of spring they gather in force by the rivers, hold music and weddings, shave their heads, and feast for days. Beasts unknown in China proper include wild horses, argali, and the so-called duan ox. They laminate bows from the horn of the duan ox—the weapon later lore calls the “horn tip” bow. Sable, wild dog pelts, and dusky mole skins are so plush that Chinese connoisseurs rank them among the finest furs. After Modun shattered their power they fled deep beyond the Liaodong line, kept out of great-power politics, and still lacked any name at the Han court—though they already rubbed shoulders with the Wuhuan. Under Guangwu the northern and southern Chanyu tore at each other until the Xiongnu were exhausted, and the Xianbei filled the vacuum. In Jianwu 30 the Xianbei chief Yuqiuben brought his clans to present tribute at Luoyang and received investiture as king. Under Yongping, Liaodong governor Ji Rong bought Xianbei help to take the head of the rebel Wuhuan Qin Zhiben; chiefs from as far west as Dunhuang and Jiuquan then flocked to Liaodong for Han largesse, while Qing and Xu forwarded 270 million cash a year as standing subsidy. Under Emperor He the Xianbei chief-protector Gui marched with Wuhuan colonel Ren Chang against rebels and was ennobled as king who leads the masses. During the Yanping era of Emperor Shang the Xianbei burst east through the line and killed Zhang Xian, governor of Yuyang. Under Emperor An the Xianbei chief Yan Liyang visited the capital; the Han awarded him the king’s seal and cord, a crimson three-horse state coach, and lodging beneath Ning under the Wuhuan colonel’s jurisdiction. They opened frontier markets, built paired north-and-south hostage compounds, and held twenty tribal divisions’ sons as surety. Afterward they alternately rebelled and surrendered, and sometimes traded blows with the Xiongnu or the Wuhuan. Late in Emperor An’s reign the court mobilized over twenty thousand infantry and cavalry from the frontier commands and posted them at every strategic pass. Later eight or nine thousand Xianbei horsemen broke through Dai and Macheng Pass to murder Chinese officials; Deng Zun, the Liaodu general, and Ma Xu, a gentleman of the household, chased them beyond the wall and routed them. More than seven thousand Xianbei under Wulun and Qizhijian surrendered to Deng Zun; Wulun was made king, Qizhijian marquis, both receiving bolts of brocade. When Deng Zun left, Qizhijian rose again, penned the Wuhuan colonel inside Macheng, until Liaodu general Geng Kui and the governor of Youzhou broke the siege. Qizhijian then commanded tens of thousands of mounted archers, drove several columns through the passes toward Wuyuan and the Ningmo tribes, struck the Southern Chanyu, and killed the Left Worthy King who held the Sun-chasing title. Under Emperor Shun they raided within the wall again and killed the governor of Dai. The Han moved the Liyang garrison into Zhongshan, stacked border troops along the wall, drilled crossbowmen from the five camps, and the Southern Chanyu brought over ten thousand riders to help drive the invaders back. Wuhuan colonel Geng Ye later led the client kings beyond the wall and piled up Xianbei heads until more than thirty thousand camps surrendered at Liaodong. When the Xiongnu and the Northern Chanyu fled west, over a hundred thousand remnant camps drifted into Liaodong and mingled there, all calling themselves Xianbei. Tuluhou spent three years with a Xiongnu host while his wife at home bore a child. When Tuluhou returned he was furious and meant to kill the infant. She said, "I was walking at noon when thunder rolled; I looked up and a hailstone dropped into my mouth. I swallowed it and conceived; after ten months I bore him. The boy will be extraordinary—please let him live for now." Tuluhou refused to believe a word of it. She appealed to her kin to rear the boy in secret; they named him Tanshi Huai, and as he grew he proved fiercer and shrewder than any of his peers. At fourteen or fifteen, when another chief named Bu Benyi drove off his uncle’s herd, Tanshi Huai rode him down, broke his line, and recovered every beast. The bands came to fear him: he imposed laws, settled disputes, and none dared defy him, so they acclaimed him as great man. Once acknowledged, he set his court on the Khanhan River north of Gaoliu, three hundred li beyond the wall, and the chiefs of east and west rallied to him. His hosts were immense: they raided China in the south, held the Dingling north, pushed Puyŏ east, struck Wusun west, and filled the old Xiongnu domain—twelve thousand li from east to west, seven thousand from north to south—with pastures, rivers, and salt pans under his hand. The court dreaded him; under Emperor Huan the Xiongnu commissioner Zhang Huan marched against him and failed. Han then sent envoys with seals to invest Tanshi Huai as king and sue for peace by marriage. Tanshi Huai spurned the titles, and his raids only grew bolder. He partitioned his realm into central, eastern, and western commands. East of Youbeiping to the Liao basin, bordering Puyŏ and Huimo, lay the eastern wing—twenty-odd camps under chiefs such as Mijia, Queji, Suli, and Huaitou. Between Youbeiping and Shanggu stood the middle division—ten-odd camps led by marshals such as Kezui, Queju, and Murong. West of Shanggu to Dunhuang, touching Wusun, lay the western wing—twenty-odd camps under Zhijian Luoluo, Yulü Tuoyan, Yan Liyou, and others—all marshals answering to Tanshi Huai. Under Emperor Ling he swept Youzhou and Bingzhou in great raids. Year after year the frontier commanderies felt his sting. In Xiping 6 the court sent Wuhuan colonel Xia Yu, Xianbei general Tian Yan, Xiongnu general Zang Min, and the Southern Chanyu through Yanmen in three columns on a two-thousand-li thrust against him. Tanshi Huai met them in force; Zang Min’s host broke and ran, and barely one man in ten came back. The Xianbei multitudes swelled until herding and hunting could no longer feed them. Tanshi Huai then explored the Wuhouqin River—a broad slack-water reach hundreds of li long, full of fish his people could not catch. Learning that Khan tribesmen excelled at fishing, he struck east, seized a thousand households, resettled them on the Wuhouqin, and set them to netting fish for the larder. Even today several hundred Khan households live along the Wuhouqin. Tanshi Huai died at forty-five, and his son Helian succeeded him. Helian lacked his father’s gifts but indulged greed and lust and skewed justice until half his followers deserted. Late in Emperor Ling’s reign he raided again and again, struck Beidi, and a common crossbowman of Beidi shot him dead on the spot. His son Qianman was still a child, so his nephew Kuitou took the throne. After Kuitou’s accession the grown Qianman fought him for the confederation until the tribes splintered. When Kuitou died his younger brother Budugen succeeded him. After Tanshi Huai’s death the great-man office passed down hereditary lines among the chiefs.〉 Budugen’s following thinned while his middle brother Fuluohan split off with tens of thousands and styled himself a great man in his own right. During Jian'an, after Cao Cao pacified Youzhou, Budugen and Kebineng sent tribute through Wuhuan colonel Yan Rou. Later the Wuhuan chiefs Nengchen Di of Dai rebelled and asked to join Fuluohan, who rode out with ten thousand horsemen to meet them. At Sanggan, Di and his confederates decided Fuluohan’s rule was too lax to protect them, and sent messengers to call Kebineng. Kebineng arrived at once with another ten thousand riders for a joint oath-taking. Kebineng murdered Fuluohan at the parley, and Fuluohan’s son Xieguini with every follower passed to Kebineng. Because he had killed the boy’s father, Kebineng treated Xieguini with conspicuous kindness. Budugen henceforth hated Kebineng.
5
Kebineng
6
退 西 使 使 使 使使便退 使
Kebineng sprang from a minor Xianbei band, yet his courage, even-handed justice, and disdain for plunder won him acclaim as great man. His camps hugged the wall; after Yuan Shao took Hebei, Chinese fugitives flocked to him, taught his warriors to forge arms and armor, and introduced a smattering of literacy. He drilled his people on Chinese lines: hunts were staged like campaigns, with banners, drums, and signal blasts ordering advance and retreat. During Jian'an he forwarded tribute through Yan Rou. While Cao Cao marched west into Guanzhong, Tian Yin rose in Hejian; Kebineng rode three thousand horsemen with Yan Rou and crushed him. When the Wuhuan of Dai rebelled again with Kebineng’s backing, Cao Cao named Cao Zhang, marquis of Yanling, fierce-cavalry general; his northern expedition shattered them. Kebineng fled beyond the wall, yet later reopened tribute embassies. Early in Yankang he sent horses to court, and Emperor Wen of Wei enfeoffed him as king who cleaves to righteousness. In Huangchu 2 he released over five hundred Wei households living under Xianbei rule to resettle in Dai. The next year he brought over three thousand riders, including Wuhuan youths such as Xiu Wulu of Dai, drove seventy thousand head of stock to the frontier mart, and planted a thousand Wei households in Shanggu. He later fell out with the eastern chief Suli and with Budugen’s wing, and the three camps raided one another in turn. Tian Yu brokered a truce to stop the mutual raids. In the fifth year, when Kebineng struck Suli again, Tian Yu led light horse straight into his rear. Kebineng sent the petty chief Suonu to hold Tian Yu off; Tian Yu attacked, routed Suonu, and Kebineng began to nurse a grudge. He wrote to the supporting general Xianyu Fu: "We barbarians have no letters of our own, so Colonel Yan Rou speaks for us to the Son of Heaven. Suli is my blood enemy—I have struck him for years—yet Colonel Tian Yu took his side. I sent Suonu to the line, but the moment I heard you were coming I drew my troops off. Budugen has raided again and again, murdered my brother, then accused me of the very banditry he practices. We may be barbarians ignorant of ritual, yet our brothers and sons hold seals from the Son of Heaven; even cattle choose the sweetest grass—do you think we lack human hearts? You must vindicate me before the throne." Xianyu Fu forwarded the letter to the emperor, who again ordered Tian Yu to conciliate him. Kebineng’s following swelled to more than a hundred thousand mounted archers. He split every haul of loot on the spot and kept nothing for himself, so his warriors gave their lives willingly and other chiefs feared him—though he never matched Tanshi Huai’s zenith.
7
西 使
In Taihe 2 Tian Yu sent the interpreter Xia She to the camp of Kebineng’s son-in-law Yuzhujian; Yuzhujian had Xia She killed. That autumn Tian Yu led the western Xianbei chiefs Putou and Xieguini beyond the wall against Yuzhujian and shattered him. On the march back to Macheng, Kebineng personally ringed Tian Yu with thirty thousand horsemen for seven days. Shanggu governor Yan Zhi—Yan Rou’s brother—had long enjoyed the Xianbei’s trust. Yan Zhi rode in to parley, and Kebineng broke camp and withdrew. Later Wang Xiong of Youzhou added the colonelcy to his title and won the tribes with kindness and good faith. Kebineng often came through the passes to the provincial seat with gifts. In Qinglong 1 Kebineng enticed Budugen into revolt against Bingzhou, sealed the pact with a marriage alliance, and personally led ten thousand riders to escort Budugen’s families through the pass north of Xing. Governor Bi Gui of Bingzhou sent Su Shang and Dong Bi against them; Kebineng’s son met them at Loufan and cut down both generals in the fighting. In the third year Wang Xiong sent the bravo Han Long to assassinate Kebineng and set up a younger brother in his place.
8
西 使
Suli, Mijia, and Jueji were great men beyond Liaoxi, Youbeiping, and Yuyang—so remote that they rarely troubled the line—yet their followings outnumbered Kebineng’s. During Jian'an they sent tribute and opened markets through Yan Rou, and Cao Cao memorialized the throne to ennoble each as king. When Jueji died his son Shamohan was invested as king close to the Han. Early in Yankang they again sent envoys with horses for the court. Emperor Wen enfeoffed Suli and Mijia as kings who cleave to righteousness. Suli and Kebineng took turns raiding each other’s camps. Suli died in Taihe 2. The heir was a child, so his uncle Chenglügui was named king and ruled the tribe in his stead.
9
西 西 使西西 西
The Classic of Documents says: “The realm reaches the eastern sea and the western deserts.” The classical scheme of the nine domains can at least be described from the texts. Beyond the wild marches, peoples reached only through chains of interpreters—places no Chinese foot or axle has touched—customs remain unknown. From the age of Shun to the Zhou, the western Rong sent white jade rings and the eastern Yi sent Sushen arrows—gifts separated by generations, so remote were those lands. Only after Han dispatched Zhang Qian westward, traced the river sources, toured the kingdoms, and posted a protector-general could the courtiers set down the full record of the Western Regions. Under Wei the oases could not all send envoys every year, yet Kucha, Khotan, Kangju, Wusun, Kashgar, the Yuezhi lands, Shanshan, and Jushi still paid tribute annually much as in Han times. Gongsun Yuan and his forebears held Liaodong for three generations; the court treated it as an offshore satrapy and so cut the eastern peoples off from the Chinese heartland. Midway through Jingchu the state raised a great host, executed Gongsun Yuan, sailed a hidden fleet to recover Lelang and Daifang, and the eastern seaboard fell quiet under Wei. When Koguryŏ rebelled, Wei sent a column in pursuit far past the Wuhuan and Gudu tribes, through Okjeŏ, to the old Sushen heartland, until the sea lay to the east. Frontier elders spoke of flat-faced peoples from the sunrise lands; the compilers then toured those kingdoms, noted law and custom, and set down every name and difference in order. Even in barbarian realms the forms of Chinese sacrificial vessels survived. When ritual decayed in China, traces of it could still be found among the outer peoples—and the record is reliable. This chapter therefore arrays those peoples, marks what matches Chinese practice and what diverges, and fills gaps left by earlier annals.
10
西 使使使 仿
Puyŏ sits north of the Wall, a thousand li from Xuantu, bordered by Koguryŏ on the south, Yilou on the east, Xianbei on the west, and the Weak River on the north—roughly two thousand li square. It counts eighty thousand households; the people are sedentary, with palaces, granaries, and jails. Hills and wide marshes dominate, yet among the eastern peoples its terrain is the most open. The soil grows the staple grains but not orchard fruits. The people are stout and plain-spoken, brave yet steady, and seldom take to banditry. The king names his ministers after the six domestic animals—horse chief, ox chief, pig chief, dog chief, grand envoy, greater envoy, and envoy. Each district has magnates whose clients are all counted as bond servants. The animal-titled chiefs fan out across the land: a major road may answer to a chief of thousands of homes, a minor one to hundreds. Meals use stands and stemmed cups; assemblies observe bowing, cup-washing, and graded yielding like Chinese ritual. On the Yin-style new year they sacrifice to Heaven, hold a national festival of feasting and dance called “welcoming the drum,” suspend trials, and free prisoners. At home they favor white—wide-sleeved white robes, trousers, and leather shoes. Abroad they dress in brocade and figured silks; nobles layer fox, white weasel, and black sable over their shoulders and pin gold and silver to their caps. Interpreters kneel with hands to the earth and whisper their messages. Justice is harsh: murderers die and their kin are enslaved. A thief repays twelvefold. Adultery and jealous wives alike earn death. Jealousy they detest most: the corpse is left on a southern hill to rot. Her kin may ransom the body with cattle and horses. A man marries his widowed sister-in-law, as among the Xiongnu. They excel at husbandry and export famed horses, carnelian, sable and weasel pelts, and fine pearls. The largest pearls are the size of Chinese dates. Arms are bow, knife, and spear, and every house keeps its own armor. Their elders claim descent from ancient exiles. Their stockaded towns are circular like pens. Travelers sing without cease, young and old, by day and night. Before war they sacrifice cattle to Heaven and read the ox’s cleft hooves—split is ill omen, closed is good. In wartime the chiefs fight while commoners haul rations for the host. Summer burials are packed with ice. Human victims accompany the grave—sometimes in the hundreds. Tombs are rich: an outer shell is used but no inner coffin. The Wei lüe adds that mourning lasts five months and length is deemed honorable. Offerings to the dead include both raw and cooked foods. The bereaved want a slow funeral while neighbors press for burial, and quarrels set the pace. Mourners wear undyed white; women veil their faces and lay aside jewelry—much like Chinese practice.
11
使使 使簿 調
Puyŏ was originally subject to Xuantu commandery. Late in Han, Gongsun Du dominated the Liaodong shore and the Puyŏ king Weichoutai transferred allegiance to him. With Koguryŏ and Xianbei pressing in, Gongsun Du married a kinswoman to the Puyŏ king to secure the buffer. When Weichoutai died, Jüjüwei came to the throne. He left no legitimate heir, only a bastard named Mayu. After Jüjüwei’s death the chiefs raised Mayu together. A nephew of the ox-chief, also named Jüjüwei, served as grand envoy, generous and popular, and sent yearly tribute to Luoyang. During Zhengshi, Guanqiu Jian attacked Koguryŏ and sent Wang Qi through Puyŏ; Jüjüwei’s chief met him beyond the walls with provisions. Jüjüwei executed a treacherous uncle and son, seized their property, and forwarded the inventory to Wei. Ancient custom blamed the king for bad harvests—some demanded abdication, others execution. When Mayu died his six-year-old son Yilü was enthroned. Han kept a royal jade burial case at Xuantu to be fetched when a Puyŏ king died. After Gongsun Yuan’s execution one such case still sat in the Xuantu treasury. Today Puyŏ’s treasury holds heirloom jades—disks, scepters, and ladles—said to be gifts from Chinese courts of old. 〈The Wei lüe adds: “Their kingdom is wealthy and has never been overthrown.”〉 The royal seal reads “King of the Hu”; an old town called Hu city suggests Puyŏ’s heartland was once Huimo country, while their kings call themselves “exiles”—perhaps meaning (“thus”) something of the sort. The Wei lüe says: the old gazetteer also says, long ago north there was a Gaoli state; the king’s waiting maid was with child; the king wished to kill her; the maid said: “There was a vapor like an egg that descended on me; therefore I am with child." The king cast the infant into a midden; a pig warmed him with its snout; moved to the stable, horses breathed life into him until he lived. Fearing a child of heaven, the king let the mother rear him as Dongming and set him to herd horses. Dongming excelled with the bow, and the king plotted to kill him before he could take the throne. Fleeing south to the Shiyan River, he smote the water with his bow until fish and turtles bridged the stream; when he crossed they dispersed and the pursuit could not follow. Dongming founded the royal seat and became king of Puyŏ.
12
Koguryŏ
13
簿使 使使 簿 便 婿婿宿使宿 便 便 西
Koguryŏ lies a thousand li east of Liaodong, touching Korea and the Huimo south, Okjeŏ east, and Puyŏ north. The capital sits below Mount Wandu on a domain of some two thousand square li and thirty thousand households. Mountains and ravines dominate; there are no broad plains. People settle along the valleys and drink from mountain streams. Farmland is poor: however hard they plow, harvests barely feed them. They eat frugally yet build lofty halls, flanking their homes with great shrines for ghosts, the spirit star, and the altars of soil and grain. The people are violent and quick to raid. The king appoints ministers such as minister of state, treasurer, recorder, elder minister, secretaries, aides, envoys, and black-robed shamans in strict order. Eastern tradition calls them a Puyŏ offshoot: language and ways resemble Puyŏ, but dress and temperament differ. They once had five tribes: Juannu, Chŏllo, Sunnu, Kwannu, and Kwelru. The Juannu once supplied the kings but waned; the Kwelru lineage holds the throne today. Han gave them a military band and yearly court dress from Xuantu, whose magistrate held their household rolls. They grew insolent, stopped visiting Xuantu, and built an eastern border town to store the robes they fetched yearly—still called Cap Ditch Lou. “Lou” here is a Koguryŏ place name. Offices exclude each other: with a treasurer there is no minister, and vice versa. Royal kinsmen who head clans take the title elder minister. The old Juannu royal line, though dethroned, may still lead as great chief with the elder title and keep royal shrines. The Chŏllo house marries the crown generation after generation and bears the elder minister honorific. Lesser chiefs appoint their own envoys and shamans, registered at court like retainers, yet they sit below the king’s men at audience. Magnates do not farm: over ten thousand dependents are fed by commoners hauling grain, fish, and salt from afar. They love song and dance: at nightfall villages fill with men and women carousing together. There is no public granary; each home keeps a private bin called a “floating granary.” They are fastidious, vain of cleanliness, and fond of cellaring wine. They kneel with one leg thrust out unlike Puyŏ, and they habitually run rather than walk. Each tenth month they worship Heaven at a national gathering called the Eastern League. At state ceremonies nobles drape themselves in brocade, figured silks, gold, and silver. High ministers don a tight zé-style cap; junior chiefs wear a stiff “broken-wind” cap shaped like a Chinese bian. East of the realm lies the “Tunnel Grotto”; each tenth month the nation fetches the tunnel deity there, sacrifices east of the capital, and sets a wooden spirit image before the altar. There are no jails: chiefs try a case and execute on the spot, enslaving the criminal’s family. Betrothal fixed, the bride’s kin erect a “groom’s hut” behind the house; the suitor kneels at the door night after night until the parents admit him to the hut with gifts piled nearby; only after a child is grown does he take his wife home. Sexual mores are loose. Newlyweds soon start sewing their own shrouds. Funerals consume gold and silver; stone mounds rise above tombs ringed with pine and cypress. Their ponies are small but sure-footed on mountain trails. The nation is warlike; Okje and eastern Huimo acknowledge its overlordship. A related people are the Lesser Water Mo. A Koguryŏ branch settled on a minor river north of Xian’anping that drains to the sea—hence “Lesser Water Mo”—famed for the laminated bows called Mo bows.
14
西 使
Wang Mang drafted Koguryŏ auxiliaries against the northern Hu; they refused, were driven out, and fled beyond the wall as raiders. Liaoxi intendant Tian Tan gave chase and died at their hands. Prefectures and counties blamed the Gouli marquis Tao; Yan You memorialized: “When Mo people break the law, the fault does not begin with Tao; for now it is fitting to console them. Now rashly visiting a great crime on him, I fear they will then rebel.” Wang Mang ignored the advice and ordered Yan You to march. Yan You lured Marquis Tao to a parley, executed him, and forwarded the head to Chang’an. Wang Mang exulted, published the news empire-wide, and demoted the name to “Lower Koguryŏ.” It remained a Han marquisdom until Guangwu 8, when the king first sent tribute and received the title of king.
15
Under Emperors Shang and An King Gong harried Liaodong and again accepted Xuantu’s overlordship. Governors Cai Feng of Liaodong and Yao Guang of Xuantu marched jointly because Gong menaced both jurisdictions. King Gong sued for peace and the allied columns stopped. He then struck Xuantu in secret, torched the frontier post, swept Liaosui, and slaughtered the population. When Gong raided Liaodong again, Cai Feng rashly pursued and was destroyed with his army.
16
西 簿
King Gong was succeeded by his son Bogu. Under Shun and Huan he sacked Xin’an and Xianping, slew the Daifang magistrate en route, and seized the Lelang governor’s family. In Jianning 2 Geng Lin of Xuantu broke his host, took hundreds of heads, and forced Bogu back under Liaodong. (Jia) In the Zhongping era Bogu petitioned to return to Xuantu’s register. While Gongsun Du lorded the coast, Bogu lent him Youju and Ran Ren to crush the Fushan rebels.
17
便
Bogu left sons Baji and Iyimo. The courtiers spurned the elder Baji and enthroned Iyimo. Since Bogu’s reign the kingdom had raided Liaodong and sheltered over five hundred Xiongnu fugitives. Gongsun Kang’s Jian’an expedition burned their towns and broke their power. Baji, bitter at being passed over, led thirty thousand followers with the Juannu chief to surrender to Gongsun Kang and camped on the Paekche River. The Hu settlers then turned on Iyimo, who rebuilt his capital where the kingdom lies now. Baji withdrew to Liaodong but left a son behind who became the elder minister Bajuwi. A later strike on Xuantu drew a combined riposte from Xuantu and Liaodong that shattered the army.
18
便 簿 西
Childless, Iyimo fathered a son on the Kwannu tribe and named the boy Weigong. Iyimo's bastard succeeded him as the Koguryŏ king now known by the name Gong, the same graph sequence read Weigong. His great-grandfather Gong was born with his eyes open—a bad omen—and grew into a tyrant whose raids ruined the realm. The present king too was born with open eyes, staring at those around him. Their word for “like” sounds like wei; seeing the omen repeat, they named him Weigong after the ancestor Gong. Weigong is a strong horseman and a deadly bowman in the chase. In Jingchu 2 Sima Yi marched against Liaodong; King Gong sent a chief and several thousand riders to assist Wei. He raided Xianping in Zhengshi 3 and fell to Guanqiu Jian, governor of Youzhou, in Zhengshi 5. The full account is given in 〈the biography of Guanqiu Jian.〉
19
Eastern Okjeŏ
20
西 滿 滿 西 簿 使使使
Eastern Okjeŏ sits east of Mount Kaema in Koguryŏ, hugging the coast. The land runs a thousand li, pinched in the northeast and long toward the southwest, touching Yilou and Puyŏ north and Huimo south. It counts five thousand households with no supreme king—only village chiefs. Their language is almost Koguryŏan with small divergences. Early Han saw Wei Man of Yan rule Korea, and Okjeŏ paid him allegiance. In the second year of Yuanfeng, Han destroyed Youqu, split Korea into four commanderies, and placed Xuantu at Okjeŏ town. Yi and Mo pressure forced the seat northwest toward the site now remembered as Old Xuantu. Okjeŏ then fell under Lelang. Han split an eastern commandant at Nai to rule seven eastern counties, Okjeŏ among them. Han (Guang) In the sixth year of Guangwu border posts were cut and the eastern commandant disbanded. Local headmen were enfeoffed as marquises—Nai, Huali, Okjeŏ, and the rest became small principalities. Amid tribal wars the Nai Hu marquis alone retained Han-style bureaus staffed by Hu clerks. Okjeŏ chiefs still call themselves “elders,” preserving the old county order. Cramped between empires, Okjeŏ became Koguryŏ’s vassal. Koguryŏ posted overseers and tax collectors who demanded Hu cloth, salt fish, and sea goods hauled immense distances, and seized Okjeŏ women as concubines treated like chattel.
21
便 婿 婿 使
The soil is rich, mountain-backed and sea-facing, ideal for grain farming. They are sturdy foot fighters who favor spears over cavalry. Diet, dress, and ritual echo Koguryŏ. The Wei lüe records betrothals fixed at age ten. The bride is fetched young and reared in the groom’s house. At maturity she returns to her parents. Her kin demand bride-price; when it is paid she goes back to her husband. They build ten-zhang log mortuary chambers with a single door cut in one end. Corpses lie in shallow graves until the flesh rots, then bones are moved into the great log. One chamber holds a whole lineage, with wooden effigies carved for each dead kin. Earthen jars of rice hang braided beside the tomb door.
22
Guanqiu Jian’s pursuit drove King Gong into Okjeŏ. Wei razed the towns, took three thousand heads, and chased Gong to northern Okjeŏ. North Okjeŏ or Zhigoulou lies eight hundred li from the south; customs match and Yilou lies beyond. Yilou pirates terrify them into summer cave redoubts; frozen rivers let them winter in the valleys. Wang Qi’s column harried Gong to the eastern edge of Okjeŏ. He asked the elders, “Is there land beyond the eastern sea?” They told of fishermen blown to an island of unintelligible speech where girls were drowned each seventh month. They spoke of a woman-only isle far at sea. They recovered a cloth robe from the tide shaped like a Chinese (state) garment but with sleeves three zhang in length. They found a wrecked hull ashore and a two-faced captive who starved because no one could speak with him. All these marvels lie in the ocean east of Okjeŏ.
23
便
Yilou sits northeast of Puyŏ on the coast, south of north Okjeŏ, stretching northward without recorded limit. The terrain is rugged mountain country. They look like Puyŏ but speak a distinct tongue from Puyŏ or Koguryŏ. They grow grain, keep oxen and horses, and weave hemp. The men are fierce and strong. There is no king—only village chiefs. They live in pit houses; a great hall may descend nine ladders underground, and depth is a mark of status. The climate is colder than in Puyŏ. They favor pigs for meat and hides. In winter they plaster themselves with lard a few fen thick against the cold. In summer they go nearly naked, hiding loins with a strip of cloth. They place latrines at the center of the village and live in a ring around them. Their four-chi bows hit like crossbows; oak shafts with blue-stone heads mark them as heirs of Sushen. Their archery is deadly: every shaft finds flesh. (Editorial note: the manuscript marks flesh here.) The heads are poisoned—any wound is fatal. They export carnelian and the fine sable still called Yilou fur. They long served Puyŏ but revolted in Huangchu under crushing tribute. Puyŏ attacked often, yet Yilou’s mountain fastnesses and feared bows kept them unconquered. They raid by boat and terrify the coasts. Other eastern peoples use ritual vessels at meals; Yilou alone does not—their customs are the wildest of the lot.
24
滿 西 綿 宿
Huimo reaches from Chinhan south to the sea east of Korea, touching Koguryŏ and Okjeŏ northward. It counts twenty thousand households. Jizi’s eight articles left Korea without bolted doors yet free of theft. Forty generations later the Joseon marquis appeared who would usurp the royal style. (text variant: Huai) usurped the royal style. When Qin collapsed, tens of thousands of Chinese from Yan, Qi, and Zhao fled into Korea. The Yan exile Wei Man dressed as a tribesman and seized the throne. Han Wu destroyed Korea and quartered its territory. Thereafter Hu and Chinese settlers diverged. Since Han there has been no king—only marquises, elders, and chiefs over commoner households. Their elders claim kinship with Koguryŏ. They are frugal and upright and will not beg from Koguryŏ for alms. (from Koguryŏ) for alms. Language and law resemble Koguryŏ’s; dress differs. Both sexes wear curved collars; men pin wide silver plaques as ornaments. West of Shandan pass was Lelang; seven eastern counties under the commandant were Hu territory. When the commandant was cut, chiefs became marquises—ancestors of today’s Nai Huimo. Late Han brought them again under Koguryŏ. They apportion every ridge and stream and forbid trespass between districts. Same-surname marriage is barred. Illness or death means abandoning the house for a new build. They weave hemp and reel silk from mulberry. They read the stars to forecast harvests. They set little store by jade ornaments. Their tenth-month heaven festival is a round-the-clock revel called “dancing to Heaven,” with tiger cult rites. Inter-village raids are settled with fines of slaves, cattle, and horses called “calamity dues.” Murder is repaid with life. Banditry is rare. They wield three-zhang pikes, sometimes crewed by several foot soldiers. The famed Tan bow of Lelang is their work. Their coast yields dogfish leather, their hills clouded leopards, and their pony breed short enough to pass under fruit trees—tribute in Huan’s reign. 〈Pei Songzhi cites texts that these ponies stand three chi and fit under orchard boughs. See the Bowuzhi and the Wei capital rhapsody.〉
25
調使
In Zhengshi 6 Liu Mao and Gong Zun attacked eastern Huimo for siding with Koguryŏ; the Nai marquis surrendered his towns. In the eighth year they presented tribute and received renewed patent as Nai Huimo king. They live among Chinese subjects and report to the commandery each season. The two commanderies draft them for corvée like ordinary households.
26
西 西 綿 涿
Han occupies some four thousand square li south of Daifang, sea east and west, Wa south. It falls into Mahan, Chinhan, and Pyŏnhan. Chinhan is the old Chin polity. Mahan lies westward. They farm, raise silkworms, and weave cloth. Chiefs style themselves chinji or ipchŏ and live in unwalled hamlets from hill to shore. Mahan comprised upward of fifty petty kingdoms whose names the text records seriatim—Yuanxiang, Mou-shui, Sangwae, the paired Ssok and Tasok polities, Uhyu Machuk, Chinpo’go, Paekche, Ch’ŏllobu-se, Ilhwa, Kodancha, Koguryŏ, Nuran, Wŏlchi, Charyu Mallu, Sŏwŏkan, Ko’wŏn, Mallu, Pirye, Chŏmpirye, Chinsŭn, Chichin, Kollu, Pimye, Kamhae-birye, Kopu, Ch’irikuk, Yerim, Sallu, Naepirye, Kamhae, Manlu, P’yebirye, Kyusŭudan, Illye, a second Pimye, Pachin, Chŏllu, Mallu-birye, Chinsŏdo, Mallu, Kŏllap, Imsŏlpan, Chinsŭndo, Yŏrae-birye, Ch’ŏsan-birye, Ichin, Pugye, Pusep’yŏya, Wŏnji, Kanma, and Ch’ŏryŏ—each a walled chiefdom scattered between mountain and sea without higher unity. Large towns exceed ten thousand homes, small ones a few thousand—over a hundred thousand households in all. The Chin king’s seat is at Wŏlchi. Chiefs append long honorific strings to the title chinji. Wei has enfeoffed them with Chinese ranks from pacification chief to commandant.
27
滿 使西 西滿 使 西 浿 滿浿西 西 滿宿 滿 谿
The Wei lüe tells how Chin usurped the royal title until Wei Man overthrew him, and recounts the earlier Joseon marquis who mirrored Yan’s kingship to defend Zhou. Minister Rye’s remonstrance stopped him. Rye’s embassy to Yan averted war. Later arrogance drew Qin Kai’s western drive that stripped two thousand li down to the Manp’ŏhan line. Qin’s wall under Meng Tian reached Liaodong. King Pi of Korea feigned submission while shunning the Qin court. Pi was succeeded by his son Chun. Twenty years into the Han risings, Chinese refugees drifted to Chun, who planted them on his western march. Han’s Yan under Lu Wan faced Korea across the P’e. Wei Man fled in Hu dress, crossed the P’e, and begged Chun for the western frontier (claiming) he would shield Korea with Chinese exiles. Chun made him a belt-holder, gave a jade tablet, and set him to guard the west. Man hoarded exiles, lied that ten Han columns were coming, asked to garrison the court, then struck Chun. Chun met him in battle and lost. Chun fled seaward into the Han country and called himself king of Han. 〈The Wei lüe adds that kinsmen left behind adopted the surname Han. Chun ruled offshore and cut ties with old Joseon.〉 His line ended, but Koreans still sacrifice to him. Under Han it answered to Lelang with seasonal visits. The Wei lüe records minister Yŏlgyegyŏng’s flight east with two thousand households when Youqu spurned his counsel, cutting tribute ties with Joseon. Under Wang Mang, chief Yŏmsŏjŏl heard of Lelang’s plenty and plotted defection. In the fields he met a man chasing sparrows who spoke no Korean. Asked who he was, the man replied, “We are Chinese laborers who call ourselves Hŏrae; fifteen hundred of us were felling timber when Koreans captured us, cropped our hair, and have kept us as slaves these three years.” Jŏl said, “I mean to defect to Han’s Lelang commandery—will you come with me?” Hŏrae answered, “Yes.” (Chin) Jŏl led Hŏrae (out) to Hansŏ, whence Lelang sent a ship up the inlet to redeem them. A thousand captives survived; five hundred had perished. Jŏl then demanded of Chinhan, “Send back the five hundred living men. Otherwise Lelang will dispatch ten thousand soldiers by sea to attack you.” Chinhan replied, “Those five hundred are already dead; we can only offer ransom in goods.” Chinhan paid fifteen thousand persons and Pyŏnhan fifteen thousand bolts; Jŏl took the ransom and sailed home. The court cited Jŏl’s loyalty with gifts of cap, land, and tax exemptions that lasted generations until Yanguang 4 of An.
28
忿
Under the last Huan and Ling emperors the Korean league grew too strong for local magistrates, and Chinese refugees flooded in. Gongsun Kang carved Daifang from wasteland south of Tunyu, repatriated fugitives, campaigned against Han-Huimo, and brought Wa and the league under Daifang. Ming’s secret expedition installed Liu Xin and Xianyu Si, then enfeoffed Korean headmen as Chinese-style settlement chiefs. Commoners borrow official caps for court visits—over a thousand appear in borrowed regalia. Wu Lin’s redistricting and sloppy translations provoked Chinhan chiefs to storm Daifang’s Kiryŏ garrison. Gong Zun fell fighting Liu Mao’s allies, and the commanderies crushed the Korean coalition.
29
使 西 巿
Custom is loose: chiefs cannot govern mixed hamlets. They do not kneel in salute. Families live in bee-hive huts entered through a roof hatch, all generations in one room. Funerals consume every beast: they do not ride cattle but slaughter them for tombs. Pearls are wealth; gold and silk are not esteemed. Men tie topknots like Chu warriors, wear cloth and tread leather shoes. Corvée workers thread ropes through back piercings and peg oars to their flesh, roaring as a boast of endurance. After planting in the fifth month they hold all-night spirit dances with wine. Their ring dance stomps in cadence like the Chinese duo-drum dance. They repeat the festival when harvest ends in the tenth month. Each town appoints a “heaven lord” shaman for sky cults. Larger kingdoms hold satellite hamlets. Those shrines are called sot’o. Sacred groves bear bells and drums for rites. Sanctuaries harbor outlaws. Sot’o resemble Buddhist compounds but without Buddhist ethics. Coastal towns ape Chinese manners; inland bands look like slave pens. They prize little beyond pearls. Flora and fauna resemble China’s. Chestnuts grow as big as pears. They breed long-tailed fowl with five-chi plumes. Men tattoo for ornament. West of Mahan live the Zhou Hu islanders—short of stature, Xianbei-style shaven heads, leather dress, herders of cattle and swine—who speak no Korean. They wear only upper cloaks like half-nudity. They peddle by boat through Korean ports.
30
Chinhan elders claim descent from Chinese fleeing Qin labor, given Mahan’s eastern strip. They build palisades. Their lexicon differs: state is “pang,” bow “hu,” bandit “kou,” toast “hangshang.” They address each other as “tu,” echoing Qin idiom rather than solely Yan-Qi words. They nickname Lelang folk “achan,” explaining “a” as “we” and implying Lelang Chinese are leftover colonists. Hence the label “Chinhan” (Qin-Korea). Six founders split into twelve Chinhan states.
31
使 巿 便 便
Pyŏnchin lists twelve polities with ranks chinji, chŏmch’ŏk, pŏnhu, salkye, and ipchŏ. The text strings Pyŏnchin place names: Ipti, Puse, Mirimdon, Chŏptu, Kŭnji, Nanmirimdon, Kojamidon, Kŏchonsi, Yŏnhye, Panro, Pyŏnnaenŏ, Kunmi 〈variant heading: Pyŏn Kunmi state〉 , plus Misŏyama, Yŏcham, Kamno, Horo, and Chusŏn (editorial gloss: Mayŏn state) , then Kuya, Choch’oma, and Anya 〈repeated Mayŏn heading〉 , and finally Tŭllo, Sŏno, and Uyu. Pyŏnchin plus Chinhan number twenty-four states and forty to fifty thousand homes. Half answer to the Chin king. Mahan nobles are appointed Chin king generation after generation. The Chin king may not declare independence. 〈The Wei lüe notes they are colonists held in check by Mahan.〉 Their fields yield grain and rice; they reel silk and use draft animals. Wedding ritual observes gender separation unlike Mahan. Funerals deck corpses with long feathers so souls may fly. The Wei lüe compares their log pile houses to pens. Their iron feeds Korea, Huimo, and Wa. Iron ingots serve as coin and tribute to Lelang and Daifang. They love feasts with music and wine. They play a zhu-shaped zither with melody. Newborns heads are bound with stones for a narrow skull. Hence Chinhan’s flat heads. They tattoo like the Wa. Infantry arms match Mahan’s kit. Wayfarers step aside for each other.
32
西
Pyŏnchin intermixes with Chinhan behind stockades. Dress and housing match Chinhan. Language matches Chinhan but hearths sit west of doors. Tŭllo touches Wa territory. Pyŏnchin kings rule tall subjects. They wear white linen and grow long hair. They weave wide fine cloth. Justice is severe.
33
使 鹿 使
Wa lies southeast of Daifang across the sea in island kingdoms. Han knew over a hundred Wa polities; thirty now trade with China. The sea route from Daifang hugs Korea then swings seven thousand li to Wa’s north shore at Kuya. The first leg crosses a thousand li of sea to Tsushima. Tsushima’s governor is hiko, deputy hinumori. Tsushima is a rugged four-hundred-li isle with deer trails for roads. A thousand households live on seafood and grain trade. Another thousand-li crossing, the Vast Sea, reaches a larger island with the same titles. That land spans three hundred li with three thousand homes, some farms, still grain-short. Iki’s four thousand homes hide in coastal jungle. They free-dive for shellfish at any depth. A five-hundred-li march southeast reaches Ito with officers niji, semeko, and hekko. Ito’s thousand homes owe the queen regent; Chinese envoys billet there. Na holds twenty thousand homes under shima-ko. Fumi lies a hundred li east with a thousand families. Twenty days’ sail south is Tuma with fifty thousand hearths. Yamatai, the queen’s capital, lies ten days by sea and a month by land beyond Tuma. Yamatai’s bureaucracy lists ikima, maso, magatsu, nakatono over seventy thousand homes. Northward tallies are approximate; southern isles are uncharted. Beyond Yamatai lie vassal polities named in the text in sequence—Sima, Ilpaekchi, Iya, Tuchi, Miru, Hokodŏ, Puhu, Chŏnu, Taeso, Sonu, Hŏŭp, Hanasonu, Kwi, Uŏŏ, Kwinu, Yaema, Kungchin, Pari, Chiwei, Onu, and Nu—each a coastal chiefdom marking the rim of the queen’s confederation. South lies dog-country Kunu under a male king outside the queen’s sway. Daifang to Yamatai exceeds twelve thousand li.
34
使 綿 穿 綿 使 便 橿 使 使使
All Wa men tattoo face and limbs. Wa envoys call themselves grandees at the Chinese court. The custom recalls Shaokang’s son at Kuaiji tattooing against dragons. Wa divers tattoo today to charm away sharks and birds, though the practice began as magic and became mere decoration. Each Wa polity tattoos differently—left or right, large or small—by rank. By mileage it should lie east of Dongye in Kuaiji commandery. Morals are strict; men bind topknots in cotton headwraps. They wear wraparound cloth with few seams. Women wear poncho dresses slipped over the head. They grow rice and hemp, raise silkworms, and export fine ramie and silk. The islands lack cattle, horses, big cats, sheep, and magpies. Weapons are spear, shield, and wooden bow. Their composite bows and bamboo shafts differ from Hainan’s gear. The mild climate means raw greens year-round and bare feet. Families sleep apart and dust skin with cinnabar like Chinese face powder. Meals use baskets and dou; they eat with fingers. Burial uses inner coffins only, heaped earth above. Mourners abstain from meat while neighbors party at the wake. After interment the kin purify themselves in the river. Embassies include a polluted shaman who must not bathe or touch women—the “mourner” who absorbs ill luck. If the voyage prospers they reward the mourner’s slaves and goods; if disaster strikes they kill him for breaking taboo. They export pearls and green jade. Forests yield nan, camphor, maple, and fine bamboo. They grow spices but do not cook with them. Gibbons and black pheasants inhabit the woods. They divine by heat-cracking bone after announcing the question, like Chinese tortoise rites. Public feasts mix sexes and ages amid heavy drinking. 〈The Wei lüe says they count only sowing and harvest as a year.〉 They clap instead of kowtowing to superiors. Many live to eighty or a hundred. Nobles keep four or five wives; commoners two or three. Women are chaste and seldom jealous. Theft and litigation are rare. Minor crimes enslave the family; major ones extirpate the clan. Kinship ranks order obedience. The crown collects tribute. Waystations store goods. Every kingdom holds a market supervised by a “great Wa” inspector. North of Yamatai a high commissioner audits vassal states. He resides at Ito like a Chinese cishi. Ferries strip and search all couriers before imperial letters reach the queen. Commoners hide in the brush when nobles pass. Petitioners kneel with palms to earth. Affirmation is voiced as “yi,” like our “yes.”
35
婿
Wa once had male kings until decades of civil war raised the shaman queen Himiko, who ruled through spirit cults with her brother as regent. Since her accession almost no one sees her face. A thousand women attend her; one male servant feeds her and carries messages. Her palace is a fortified compound under arms.
36
East across the sea lie more Wa islands, pygmies to the south, naked and black-teeth peoples southeast—a year’s sail. Wa is an archipelago chain of some five thousand li.
37
使使巿 使 使 使
In Jingchu 2 Himiko sent Nashonmi to Daifang seeking audience at Luoyang; Liu Xia forwarded the embassy. The court’s twelfth-month edict reads: “We address Himiko, Wa queen allied to Wei: Liu Xia has forwarded Nashonmi and Toshi Kuri with four male and six female captives and two bolts of cloth, all received. We praise your loyalty across such distance. We invest you with the gold seal and purple ribbon through Daifang. Rule your people in steadfast loyalty. We promote Nashonmi and Kuri to Chinese military ranks with silver seals. We gift five bolts of crimson dragon brocade, 〈Pei Songzhi emends di to ti, citing Han Wen’s black yi-ti robe. The graph may be a scribal error.〉 plus felt and fifty bolts each of red and blue silk in return for your gifts. Special gifts include patterned brocade, blades, mirrors, pearls, and cinnabar for Himiko to display. Show these gifts so your realm knows the Son of Heaven honors you.”
38
西 使
The historian’s closing notes that Shi ji and Han shu covered Korea and Yue while Later Han chronicled the Qiang. Wei adds steppe peoples and eastern barbarians while frontier envoys wax and wane!
39
西 祿 西 西 西西 禿 西 西西 西 西 西西 西西西西 西西 西
The 《Wei lüe》 Western Rong chapter opens: the Di have ancient kings. Han Wudu commandery pushed Di bands into the Qian-Long valleys. Di clans claim Panhu ancestry and take color epithets: blue Di, white Di, python Di. They call themselves gazhi and hold Chinese titles. Jian'an-era Di kings Agui and Qianwan joined Ma Chao's revolt. Xiahou Yuan crushed Agui; Qianwan fled to Shu while remnant Di surrendered. Wei resettled Di vassals under Anyi and Fuyi protector commands. The (text reads Tai) Peaceful Di stayed on the Tianshui-Nan’an line under Guangwei. Their languages blend Qiang and Hu yet they use Chinese-style surnames. They favor blue and red dress. They farm and herd livestock. Bridal dress resembles Qiang robes with Chinese-like lapels. All wear braided hair. Proximity to Chinese settlers spread the language. Among themselves they speak Di. Wedding rites echo the Qiang—the old Western Rong of the Longxi corridor. Chinese counties overlay old Di chiefdoms. Ten thousand more Di camps ring Yinping and Jie. The Zilu herds were Xiongnu slaves by origin. When the Xiongnu declined in early Jianwu, their fugitive slaves hid north of Jincheng, Wuwei, and Jiuquan, around the Black River and Xihe, followed pasture with their herds, and raided Liangzhou. They include Hu and Dingling blood from runaway bondwomen. A chief Tantuo left descendants near Guangwei until Tugui revolts ended in execution. Shaoti still ambushes western traffic. Southern ranges beyond Dunhuang hold Yuezhi-offshoot Qiang bands from Ruoqiang toward the Pamirs. Yellow-ox Qiang calve at six months and border white-horse Qiang. Han found thirty-six oasis states that later split past fifty. By Later Han conquests only twenty routes remained. Three roads now lead from Yumen into the Tarim. The southern road crosses the Pamirs to the Kushans. The middle road skirts the northern sands via Loulan to Kucha and the Pamirs. The new northern road crosses to Gaochang and meets the middle track at Kucha. Earlier annals listed western products; here we summarize.
40
西 使 西西 西
The southern route Juemo, Xiaoyuan, Jingjue, and Loulan now answer to Shanshan. Ronglu, Hanmi, Qule, (gloss: Xueshan state) and Pishan fall under Khotan. Jibin, Bactria, Kabul, and India are Kushan vassals. In Lin'er, Buddhist scripture records that the land's king fathered the Buddha-to-be. The Buddha had been heir to the throne. His father bore the transliterated name Xietouxie; his mother bore the name Moye. His skin and robes shone yellow; his hair was blue-black as silk; his brows were a green fringe; his eyes gleamed copper-red. Maya first dreamed of a white elephant and conceived; he was born from her left side, his hair already in coils, and he walked seven steps the moment he touched the earth. That kingdom stood in the heartland of India. India also revered a sage called Shalü. In the first Yuanshou year of Han Emperor Ai, the academy student Jing Lu memorized a Buddhist text recited by Yi Cun, envoy of the Yuezhi king, which identified the Buddha, called Fudou in the text, with that figure. Buddhist texts register names such as Upasaka, śramaṇa, pariṣā, śrāvaka, and bhikṣu—titles for the Buddha's followers. Buddhist writings partly matched China's Laozi; people supposed Laozi slipped west through the frontier, reached India, and converted the western tribes. The Buddha's followers carried twenty-nine alternate epithets; a full catalogue would be tedious, so only this précis is offered. Cheli—also styled Liweite or Peiliwang—lay over three thousand li southeast of India in steamy, fever-hot lowlands. Its king held court at Shaqi among dozens of towns; the populace was soft, and Yuezhi and Indian armies repeatedly overran them. Their realm stretched thousands of li on every side; men and women stood some twelve feet tall; they fought from elephants and camels; the Yuezhi now exact tribute and corvée from them. Panyue—sometimes called the Han-Yue king—lay several thousand li southeast of India near the Yi frontier commanderies; its people were Chinese in stature, and Shu traders are said to have gone there.
41
西 西宿 西滿 西 西 西 西 西西 西西 西西西 西西 西 西西 西 西西 西
Along the southern road you reach the western terminus, then swing southeast until the known world runs out. On the central road westward, Yuli, Weixu, and Shanwang all answered to Yanqi; Guimo, Wensu, and Weitou all fell under Kucha. Zhenzhong, Shache, Jieshi, Qusha, Xiye, Yinai, Manli, Yiruo, Yuling, Sundu, Xiuxiu, and Qin all lay within Kashgar's sphere. Beyond them stretched Ferghana, Parthia, Mesopotamia, and Hyrcania. Wuyi was also called Paite; these four polities formed the next tier westward—their core territories, neither enlarged nor trimmed. Older geographers placed Characene west of Rome, but it actually sits to Rome's east. Writers once imagined it stronger than Parthia; today it serves Parthia and is counted Parthia's western march. Ancients put the Weak Water west of Characene; it truly lies west of Rome. The old tale was that two hundred days west of Characene brought you to the sunset ocean; in truth you near the sundown sea only west of Rome. Da Qin—also called Lijian—stood beyond the western ocean past Parthia and Characene. From Anggu on Parthia's frontier you sailed straight across the sea; fair winds delivered you in two months, sluggish winds in a year, dead calms in three. Because it lay west of the sea, people simply called it Haixi, 'west of the waters.' A great river rose in their land, and still farther west opened another ocean. Haixi held Chisan; from the capital due north you reached Wudan, then crossed a southwestern river in a day's sailing. Another river to the southwest took another full day by boat. Three great metropolitan clusters existed: from Anggu you marched north by land to the sea's north shore, then due west along the western coast, then south through Wuchisan, where a river required a day's ferry. The roundabout sea passage took six days of open ocean to reach the realm. The empire counted more than four hundred towns and stretched thousands of li in every direction. The ruler built his capital where river meets sea, encircled by stone ramparts. The land bore pine, cypress, pagoda tree, catalpa, bamboo, reeds, willows, paulownia, and myriad herbs. Farmers sowed the staple grains and kept horses, mules, donkeys, and camels for riding and baggage. They cultivated mulberries and silkworms. Their entertainers breathed fire, slipped knotted ropes, and juggled twelve balls with uncanny dexterity. They rotated rulers when disaster struck, elevating some worthy and exiling the old king alive—who dared not complain. They were tall, well proportioned, almost Chinese in looks, though they dressed in western fashion.
42
使 宿 使 西 西 西 宿
They claimed kinship with China and longed to open embassies eastward, but Parthia monopolized the trade and blocked their passage. They mastered alphabetic scripts of the west. Their palaces rose in stacked galleries; banners and drums announced authority; white-canopied gigs rattled along post roads laid out like the Han relay system. From Parthia along the northern shore the population was unbroken; watchtowers stood every ten li, relays every thirty; banditry was unknown. Only lions and tigers menaced the roads; lone travelers could not get through. The realm was dotted with dozens of client kings; the royal capital spanned a hundred li of walls and housed bureaucratic archives. The monarch kept five palaces ten li apart, rotating through them: dawn audiences, night lodgings, a five-day circuit of government. Thirty-six marshals sat council; if one failed to appear, no business was decided. When the king rode abroad, attendants carried a leather satchel for petitions dropped in sealed; only back at court did he read and rule on them. Crystal formed columns and palace vessels. They forged bows and arrows of fine make. Vassal kings ruled Zesan, Lüfen, Qielan, Xiandu, Sifu, Yuluo, and countless other petty realms too many to list. The country exported gossamer gauze. They struck gold and silver money at a ten-to-one exchange. They wove a fine fabric from 'water-sheep' fleece, the famed Haixi woolens. Legend said their livestock rose from the sea; weavers used not only wool but bark fiber and wild silk for carpets and felts brighter than eastern looms could match. They bought Chinese silk, re-spun it into western damask, and traded endlessly with Parthian ports on the ocean. Bitter seawater kept most merchants from pushing inland. Their hills yielded nine grades of banded jade—azure, vermilion, yellow, white, black, green, purple, scarlet, and indigo. The nine-hued stones still found near Yiwu belong to the same family. In Yangjia 3, Shule's king Chenpan sent a Haixi bluestone and a gold belt as tribute. Western maps mark Kashmir and Characene for 'wonder-stones'—these banded jades." Rome's tribute lists ran endless: precious metals, sacred tortoise shell, white horses, flame-maned chargers, 'startled-bird' rhino horn, hawksbill, bears, chilong, antidote mice, giant shells, tridacna, agate, southern gold, kingfisher plumes, ivory, figured jade, moon-bright and night-glow pearls, true white pearls, amber, coral, ten hues of glass, qiulin and langgan crystals, rose quartz, realgar and orpiment, jasper, five-tint jade, ten grades of tapestry, multicolored felts with brocaded borders, gold-thread embroidery, assorted silks, gold-washed and fire-proof cloths from a dozen named workshops, crimson gold-woven canopies, five-colored valances, rare woods and twelve aromatics from frankincense to storax.
43
西 西 西西西 西 西西 西 西 西 西西西西西西西西西西西 西西 西
Roman trade reached north by land and south by sea alongside the tribes beyond Jiaozhi's seven commanderies; a waterway also linked Yizhou and Yongchang—hence Yongchang's exotic bazaar. Earlier writers knew only the sea lane, not the caravan road; this sketch supplies both, though population figures remain guesswork. West of the Pamirs it was the greatest power, riddled with client kings—only the major dependencies are listed here. Zesan's king, a Roman vassal, ruled a mid-sea island six months' sail from Lüfen—or one month in a gale—nearest Parthian Anggu; the distance southwest to Rome itself was uncounted. Lüfen's client king sat two thousand li from the imperial city. West of Lüfen a two-hundred-thirty-li pontoon spanned the sea; the coastal road then ran west along the shore. Qielan's ruler was another Roman client. From Sitao you crossed a river due south, then marched west three thousand li to Qielan. South of that river the road turned west; another six hundred li from Qielan brought Sifu. The southern highway met Sifu, then swung southwest toward Xiandu. South of Qielan and Sifu lay heaped boulders, beyond which opened a sea rich in coral and pearl. North of Qielan, Sifu, and Sībīn'aman stretched an east-west mountain chain. Haixi flanked Rome with paired north-south ranges east and west of the sea. Xiandu's king, Roman-fed, ruled six hundred li northeast of Sifu. Sifu's king sat three hundred forty li northeast of Yuluo across the strait. Yuluo lay northeast of Sifu beyond successive ferries; Siluo lay beyond another crossing northeast. Siluo was Parthian territory touching Rome's frontier. West of Rome lay ocean, then a great river trending southwest; beyond rose mountains, the Red River, and the White-Jade peak where Xiwangmu dwelt; past her stretched the Moving Sands, then Dayuezhi and allied realms, then the Black Water—farthest rumor recorded here. The northern new road westward passed Eastern and Western Juimi, Danhuan, Bilu, Pulu, and Wutan—all under the Rear Cheshi king. He ruled Yulai; Wei ennobled King Yiduoza as palace attendant and grand commandant with the Wei seal. Northwest lay Wusun and Kangju unchanged from earlier accounts.
44
西 西 西 西西 西
North of Kangju stood the detached realm of Wuyi, then Liu, Yan, and Alani, also known as Yancai, all sharing Kangju's speech and ways. They touched Rome on the west and Kangju on the southeast. They herded famous sables by a great marsh; once Kangju's tributaries, they had since broken free. Hude sat north of the Pamirs between Wusun and Kangju with ten thousand warriors, fine horses, and sable pelts. Jiankun northwest of Kangju fielded thirty thousand riders, rich in sable and horseflesh. Dingling north of Kangju mustered sixty thousand herdsmen and traded prized white and blue 'kunzi' furs. These three clustered around Jiankun, seven thousand li from the chanyu's Anxi River camp, five thousand li north of the Cheshi confederation, three thousand li from Kangju's border, eight thousand li east of Kangju's capital. Some equated them with the northern Dingling west of Wusun, yet the stock seemed distinct.
45
西 西
North of the Xiongnu lay Hunyu, Qushe, Dingling, Gekun, and Xinli—another Dingling belt south of the Arctic Sea, not the band west of Wusun. Wusun elders spoke of a 'horse-shin' people among northern Dingling whose speech honked like waterfowl, human to the knee, horsed below, fleet afoot without mounts, fierce in war. A pygmy realm northwest of Kangju stood three feet tall and thickly peopled, immensely remote from Alani. Kangju traders guessed it lay over ten thousand li away.
46
Yu Huan observed: folk say pond fish never grasp the ocean, and drifting gnats never feel the year's breath—why? Their world is tiny and their lives brief. Even after touring Rome's neighbors I feel only newly sighted—how trifling beside Zou Yan's cosmology or the divinations of the Yijing and Taixuan! Trapped like cattle in a hoofprint, denied Pengzu's longevity, unable to ride the wind or a swift courser to see the world, we may only squint at sun, moon, and stars and send the mind across the eight wastes.
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