Mulianyan

Biography

Accession and Investiture

Mulianyan succeeded his elder brother Mugui (King Hui) in 436 as the eleventh ruler of Tuyuhun, continuing the royal house's pattern of brother-to-brother succession. After his accession, Northern Wei in 437 (the third year of Taiyan) invested him as Grand General Who Guards the West with Yitong Sansi honors and retitled him Prince of Xiping; the Liu Song also conferred on him the offices of Commander of All Military Affairs of the Three Provinces of Xiqin, He, and Sha, Grand General Who Guards the West, and Governor of Xiqin and He provinces, with the title Prince of Longxi (later changed to Prince of Henan). By this time Tuyuhun had developed into a regional power controlling the area around Qinghai Lake and the northwestern Sichuan plateau.

The Northern Wei Campaign and Westward Migration

In 444 (the fifth year of Zhenjun of Taiping of Northern Wei), using as pretexts Mulianyan's killing of Weidai, eldest son of Apin, and "the discord between Shiyin and his brothers," Northern Wei sent Prince Jin, Tuoba Fuluo, at the head of an army against Tuyuhun. On hearing the news, Mulianyan fled to Bailan (centered on Lakes Eling and Zaling), while his nephew Shiyin fled to Hexi.

In 445, Northern Wei sent another army against Tuyuhun. Learning from Juqu Anzhou that Northern Wei had already taken Liangzhou, Mulianyan's fear deepened, and he drove his tribe west across the flowing sands, fleeing along the western segment of the "Tuyuhun Road." He led his people into the Kingdom of Khotan (present-day Hotan, Xinjiang), killed its king and occupied its land at a cost of tens of thousands of lives; his forces then marched south against Jibin (present-day Kashmir), and for a time he controlled the southern route of the Silk Road. This military confrontation left Tuyuhun "pressed by Wei" and nearly destroyed as a state. Mulianyan sent envoys to the Liu Song of the south seeking aid, presenting Wuwan hats, golden wine vessels from the Kingdom of Women, golden bracelets of the Barbarian Kings, and other objects.

During the western migration (ca. 445–452), the monk Huilan of Jiuquan entered Tuyuhun territory from Khotan; Mulianyan's heir apparent Qiong respected his virtue and sponsored Huilan's construction of the Zuojun Temple at Chengdu in Shu—evidence that the Tuyuhun polity began encountering and accepting Buddhism during the westward migration.

Return and Death

Mulianyan did not return to his homeland until 446 (the seventh year of Zhenjun of Taiping). The western migration had briefly extended Tuyuhun's power to the southern rim of the Tarim Basin. Mulianyan died in 452, and his nephew Shiyin succeeded him as King of Tuyuhun.

In the anecdote of Apin breaking arrows, the dying Apin ordered Mulianyan to break a single arrow and then a bundle of nineteen, to illustrate that unity is strength—one arrow snaps easily, but a bundle is hard to break.

Major Activities

• In 445 migrated west to Khotan, killed its king and seized its land, campaigned south against Jibin, and for a time controlled the southern Silk Road route, extending Tuyuhun's power into the Western Regions
• His reign preserved Tuyuhun's control over Qinghai, southern Gansu, and northwestern Sichuan
• Was invested simultaneously by both courts of his day (Northern Wei and Liu Song), sustaining the survival of the polity

The stages of his rule were as follows: in 436, after his elder brother Mugui died, he became leader of Tuyuhun; in 437 the Northern Wei appointed him grand general pacifying the west with the same honours as the three excellencies and changed his title to Prince of Xiping; in 444, when the clansman Weidai and others made contact with the Northern Wei, he killed Weidai and the Northern Wei at once sent troops, whereupon he withdrew to Bailan; in 445, as the Northern Wei pressed on, he led his people west to Khotan and sought help from the Liu Song; in 446, after the Northern Wei armies withdrew, he returned to his former territory; he died in 452 and Shiyin succeeded him. This advance and retreat shows the mobility of Tuyuhun under military pressure and its dependence on its established pastures, while the embassies and appeals to the Liu Song show that its diplomatic choices were directly bound up with the security of its grazing lands.

His foreign relations can be grouped by year: after succeeding in 436, he received from the Northern Wei in 437 the titles of grand general pacifying the west, equal in honours to the three excellencies, and Prince of Xiping; between 444 and 446, having killed the clansman Weidai for dealing with the Northern Wei, he drew repeated attacks from that state and withdrew first to Bailan and then west to Khotan, appealing to the Liu Song in his extremity and returning to his former territory after the Wei armies withdrew; he died in 452 and Shiyin succeeded him. Tuyuhun's embassies and investitures from both courts had real significance for the survival of his rule, though the terms of each embassy and the actual effect of the help sought are not fully recorded in the sources.

Personal Relations

• | Relation | Person | Notes |
• |---| --- |---|
• | Elder brother | Mugui (King Hui) | Previous King of Tuyuhun |
• | Heir apparent | Qiong | Sponsored the monk Huilan's Zuojun Temple at Chengdu |
• | Nephew | Shiyin | Succeeded after Mulianyan's death |
• | Nephew | Weidai | Eldest son of Apin; killed by Mulianyan, triggering the Northern Wei campaign |
• | Nephew | Chiliyan | Weidai's younger brother; fled to Northern Wei and was enfeoffed Prince of Guiyi |
• | Cousin | Funian | Led his tribe in submission to Northern Wei |

Historical Assessment

Crushed by Northern Wei yet driving as far as Khotan and Jibin, he was among the most expansive rulers in Tuyuhun's history.