Luandi Hulugu

Biography

Family Background and Succession

Hulugu Chanyu belonged to the Luandi clan and was a son of Qiedihou Chanyu. During Qiedihou Chanyu's reign, Hulugu served as Wise King of the Left and was the Xiongnu heir apparent. In 96 BCE, the first year of Taishi, Qiedihou Chanyu died and Hulugu's younger brother, the Left Grand General, succeeded to the position. Soon afterward, however, the Left Grand General yielded the throne to Hulugu, who then became chanyu. After taking power, Hulugu appointed his younger brother Wise King of the Left, intending eventually to pass the position to him in accordance with the Xiongnu practice of fraternal succession.

Wars with the Han

Immediately after his accession, Hulugu Chanyu sent troops to the Han frontier and adopted an offensive posture. Emperor Wu of Han dispatched the Ershi General Li Guangli with 70,000 soldiers, while an advance commander led 40,000 cavalry out from Jiuquan toward the Xiongnu court. Learning that a major Han force was advancing, Hulugu Chanyu adopted attacks on supplies and resources as well as surprise tactics, ultimately forcing Li Guangli to retreat.

In 91 BCE, the second year of Zhenghe, Hulugu Chanyu raided Shanggu and Wuyuan commanderies, killing and plundering officials and civilians. In 90 BCE, the third year of Zhenghe, he again attacked Wuyuan and Jiuquan commanderies and killed two commandants. Han and Xiongnu forces fought at Mount Junji and the narrow pass at Fuyangju. At Lady Fan's City, approximately north of present-day Bailingmiao in Inner Mongolia, Hulugu Chanyu defeated Li Guangli and accepted his surrender. After the Ershi General Li Guangli surrendered to the Xiongnu, Hulugu Chanyu married a daughter to him as a sign of favor.

Heqin Negotiations and the Detention of Envoys

In 89 BCE, the fourth year of Zhenghe, Hulugu Chanyu sent envoys to the Han to request a heqin marriage alliance. He asked the Han to open frontier markets, marry a woman of the imperial clan to him, and provide gifts. The negotiations were later abandoned after he detained Han envoys. The detention kept Han–Xiongnu relations tense. In 87 BCE, the second year of Houyuan, Hulugu again led troops to attack Shuofang and continued to raid the Han frontier.

Internal Conflict and Death

During Hulugu Chanyu's reign, the development of the Xiongnu slave economy was accompanied by growing corruption among the ruling class, and internal tensions gradually intensified. The conflict initially arose when the Chanyu, wishing to pass the position to his own son, demoted Xianxianshan, the lawful heir of the Wise King of the Left, to Rizhu King. It deepened when the Chanyu's mother, a Yanzhi, feared that his half-brother, the Left Grand Commandant Xian, who was highly regarded by the clansmen, might be chosen instead of her own son. She therefore had him killed, after which the Left Grand Commandant's full brother refused to attend the regular assembly on time.

In 85 BCE, the second year of Shiyuan, Hulugu Chanyu died of illness. Before his death, he instructed the nobles to enthrone his younger brother, the Right Guli King, as chanyu. After Hulugu's death, however, Wei Lü and his wife, Manqu Yanzhi, forged an order and installed the Left Guli King instead. Supported by Wei Lü and others, the Left Guli King became Huyandi Chanyu. The Wise King of the Left and the Right Guli King were furious and secretly considered submitting to the Han. Fearing that this would fail, they then plotted to force the Lutu King to flee with them to Wusun. The Lutu King refused and informed the Chanyu. The Chanyu sent men to investigate; the Right Guli King rejected the accusation and instead shifted the blame to the Lutu King. As a result, both kings left their former pasture lands and stopped attending the assembly at Longcheng. The continuing intensification of conflict within the ruling class created major obstacles to the development of the power of the slave-owning aristocracy.

Major Activities

Raids on the Han Frontier

During his reign, Hulugu Chanyu repeatedly raided Han frontier commanderies. In 91 BCE, the second year of Zhenghe, he attacked Shanggu and Wuyuan commanderies and killed and plundered officials and civilians. In 90 BCE, the third year of Zhenghe, he attacked Wuyuan and Jiuquan commanderies and killed two commandants. In 87 BCE, the second year of Houyuan, he again led troops against Shuofang. These operations intensified Han–Xiongnu tensions and also consumed Xiongnu resources.

Defeat of Li Guangli

In 90 BCE, the third year of Zhenghe, Hulugu Chanyu defeated the Han general Li Guangli at Lady Fan's City and accepted his surrender. Li Guangli was a prominent general of Emperor Wu's reign, and his surrender to the Xiongnu caused a major shock in the Han. Hulugu Chanyu married a daughter to Li Guangli to show favor, but this also intensified the power struggle within the Xiongnu, as Wei Lü and others resented Li Guangli's favored status.

Heqin Negotiations and the Detention of Envoys

In 89 BCE, the fourth year of Zhenghe, Hulugu Chanyu sent envoys to the Han seeking a heqin marriage alliance, asking the Han to open frontier markets, provide a woman of the imperial clan in marriage, and give material gifts. The negotiations were later abandoned after Han envoys were detained. Hulugu's detention of the envoys kept Han–Xiongnu relations tense and cost him an opportunity to ease relations with the Han.

Internal Power Struggle

Succession disputes intensified within the Xiongnu during Hulugu Chanyu's reign. He demoted Xianxianshan, heir of the Wise King of the Left, to Rizhu King, alienating members of the aristocracy. The Chanyu's mother, a Yanzhi, had his half-brother, the Left Grand Commandant, assassinated, deepening the split. Before his death Hulugu designated the Right Guli King as successor, but after his death Wei Lü and others enthroned the Left Guli King as Huyandi Chanyu. The Right Guli King and other nobles then contemplated rebellion, shaking the foundations of Xiongnu rule.

Personal Relations

• Qiedihou Chanyu (father; previous chanyu)
• Left Grand General (younger brother; briefly succeeded before yielding the position)
• Wise King of the Left (younger brother; designated as heir and died earlier)
• Xianxianshan (nephew; originally heir of the Wise King of the Left, demoted to Rizhu King)
• Left Grand Commandant (half-brother; assassinated by the Chanyu's mother, a Yanzhi)
• Manqu Yanzhi (wife; wife of Wei Lü)
• Huyandi Chanyu (son; later succeeded as chanyu)
• Right Guli King (younger brother; designated as successor before Hulugu's death, but did not succeed)
• Wei Lü (subject; supported the enthronement of Huyandi Chanyu)
• Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che (Han emperor)
• Li Guangli (Han general; defeated and then surrendered, and married the Chanyu's daughter)

Historical Assessment

Han and Contemporary Assessments

The Book of Han: Account of the Xiongnu records that during Hulugu Chanyu's reign, “as the Xiongnu slave economy developed, the ruling class became increasingly corrupt,” and that his manipulation of the succession triggered internal power struggles among the Xiongnu.

The Book of Han: Account of the Xiongnu also records that when Hulugu was dying, he “instructed the nobles to enthrone his younger brother, the Right Guli King, as chanyu,” but that after his death Wei Lü and others forged an order and installed the Left Guli King instead, causing “the Wise King of the Left and the Right Guli King to become extremely angry” and further deepening Xiongnu divisions.

On the Han side, Hulugu Chanyu was regarded as a formidable enemy. His repeated raids on frontier commanderies, in which officials and civilians were killed and plundered, forced the Han to dispatch armies against him on multiple occasions.

Later Historians

Later historians have often evaluated Hulugu Chanyu from the perspective of Han–Xiongnu relations, regarding his reign as a crucial period of military stalemate. His defeat of Li Guangli and acceptance of the surrender of the Ershi general checked Han influence in the Western Regions to some extent, but years of warfare also consumed Xiongnu strength.

Some scholars have argued that Hulugu Chanyu failed to handle internal conflicts effectively and that his manipulation of the succession laid the groundwork for later Xiongnu fragmentation.

Modern Research

Modern scholars analyzing Xiongnu political institutions have interpreted the internal struggles of Hulugu's reign as reflecting conflict between two succession principles: fraternal succession and succession from father to son.

Researchers have also argued that during Hulugu Chanyu's reign the Han–Xiongnu war entered a prolonged stalemate, with neither side able to defeat the other decisively, eventually moving toward heqin marriage alliances and frontier trade.