Luandi Junchen

Biography

Family Background and Accession

Junchen Chanyu came from the Xiongnu Luandi clan and was the son of Lao Shangchanyu. Lao Shangchanyu was Jizhu, a son of Modu Chanyu, who succeeded to the Xiongnu throne in 174 BCE. During Lao Shangchanyu's reign, the Xiongnu inflicted a major defeat on the Yuezhi, killed the Yuezhi king and used his head as a drinking vessel, bringing Xiongnu influence in the Western Regions to a high point. Lao Shangchanyu died in 161 BCE, the third year of Emperor Wen's later reign, and Junchen Chanyu succeeded him. At that time the Xiongnu were at the height of their power, controlling a broad territory from Liaodong in the east to the Western Regions in the west and possessing more than 300,000 mounted archers, making them the Han's greatest northern threat.

At the beginning of his reign, Junchen Chanyu continued his father's heqin policy toward the Han. Under Emperor Wen, the Han sent women from the imperial clan to marry the Chanyu and annually provided silk floss, silk, wine, grain, and other goods, while the two rulers were nominally bound as brothers through heqin. This relationship had developed from the humiliating settlement that followed the Battle of Baideng in the early Han. The Xiongnu received large quantities of goods, while the Han used the arrangement to purchase relative peace on its northern frontier.

Late Reign of Emperor Wen: Heqin and Southern Raids

Although Junchen Chanyu nominally maintained heqin with the Han early in his reign, he did not stop raiding the Han frontier. In 158 BCE, the sixth year of Emperor Wen's later reign, he broke the heqin arrangement and sent 60,000 troops into Shang Commandery and Yunzhong. Xiongnu cavalry penetrated deeply into Han territory, and beacon fires reached Ganquan and Chang'an, alarming the capital. Emperor Wen urgently deployed large forces along the frontier, with Zhou Yafu and other commanders stationed near Chang'an and in the border commanderies. The Xiongnu cavalry plundered Han territory for several months before withdrawing. The invasion demonstrated that Junchen Chanyu did not abandon the use of force to obtain benefits even while maintaining the heqin relationship.

Reign of Emperor Jing: Brief Calm and Renewed Conflict

Emperor Wen died in 157 BCE and Emperor Jing succeeded him. In 156 BCE, Junchen Chanyu again raided Dai Commandery. Emperor Jing sent envoys to reach an agreement with the Xiongnu, restoring heqin. The Han sent a woman styled as a princess to marry the Chanyu, reopened frontier markets, and resumed annual gifts under the previous terms. The frontier was relatively calm for several years.

The calm did not last. In 148 BCE, the Xiongnu sent troops against Yan. In 144 BCE, Xiongnu cavalry raided Yanmen, Yunzhong, and Shang commanderies and seized horses from Han imperial pastures; more than two thousand Han soldiers were killed. Although these clashes were limited in scale, they showed that Junchen Chanyu continued to exert military pressure on the Han frontier and that heqin remained, in the source text's interpretation, one means of acquiring benefits rather than an end to armed pressure.

Early Reign of Emperor Wu: Maintaining Heqin and Strategic Confrontation

In 141 BCE Emperor Wu succeeded Emperor Jing. The young emperor was unwilling to continue enduring the humiliations associated with heqin, but because his political position was not yet secure he initially maintained the arrangement with the Xiongnu and treated them with generous provisions in order to stabilize the northern frontier. Junchen Chanyu continued to receive substantial Han gifts, and the two sides outwardly maintained peaceful relations.

Emperor Wu, however, did not abandon plans to change the strategic relationship with the Xiongnu. He strengthened the military and accumulated resources while secretly planning action through channels that included Nie Yi, a wealthy merchant of Mayi. In 135 BCE, the sixth year of the Jianyuan era, the Xiongnu requested heqin. The Han court debated whether to maintain peace or go to war. Wang Hui, Director of Diplomatic Relations, favored war, while Censor-in-chief Han Anguo supported heqin. Emperor Wu ultimately accepted the peace proposal, but the source text presents this as a temporary measure while military preparations continued.

The Mayi Ambush and the Rupture of Han–Xiongnu Relations

In 133 BCE, the second year of the Yuanguang era, Emperor Wu adopted Wang Hui's proposal for the Mayi Ambush. The Han sent Nie Yi beyond the frontier to trade with the Xiongnu and to pretend that he would act as an internal collaborator and hand over the city of Mayi. Junchen Chanyu believed him and personally led 100,000 cavalry south to seize Mayi. The Han mobilized more than 300,000 troops under commanders including Han Anguo, Li Guang, and Gongsun He, concealing them in the valleys around Mayi in the hope of annihilating the main Xiongnu force.

When Junchen Chanyu reached a point more than one hundred li from Mayi, he noticed that livestock covered the countryside but no herders were present and became suspicious. He sent troops to seize a Han frontier outpost and captured an official from Yanmen. Under pressure, the official revealed the Han plan. Junchen Chanyu was shocked, immediately ordered a retreat, and exclaimed, "That I obtained this official was Heaven's doing!" Han forces learned of the Xiongnu retreat too late to catch them, and the Mayi Ambush failed.

The Mayi Ambush marked the complete breakdown of the Han–Xiongnu heqin relationship. The Xiongnu no longer trusted the Han and repeatedly raided south, killing officials and civilians and carrying off captives, while the Han began large-scale counteroffensives. Full-scale Han–Xiongnu warfare followed.

Later Years: Loss of the Hetao and Death

After the Mayi Ambush, warfare between the Han and Xiongnu continued. In 129 BCE, the sixth year of the Yuanguang era, the Han launched four separate attacks; Wei Qing's force struck directly at Longcheng and achieved a limited victory. In 128 BCE, the first year of Yuanshuo, Wei Qing again marched from Yanmen and killed several thousand Xiongnu. In 127 BCE, the second year of Yuanshuo, Wei Qing led a large army westward from Yunzhong, defeated the Xiongnu Loufan and Baiyang kings, occupied the Hetao region, killed several thousand men, and captured more than a million cattle and sheep. The Han established Shuofang Commandery in the Hetao and built the city of Shuofang, depriving the Xiongnu of an important strategic base.

The loss of the Hetao was a serious blow. Its rich pasturelands were important to the Xiongnu and also served as a staging ground for raids into Han territory. Han control of the area not only reduced the direct threat to the Guanzhong region but also provided a base for further advances toward the Xiongnu heartland.

Junchen Chanyu died of illness in the winter of 126 BCE, the third year of the Yuanshuo era. His younger brother Yizhixie then proclaimed himself Chanyu. Junchen Chanyu's crown prince Yudan fled under pressure from Yizhixie and surrendered to the Han, where Emperor Wu enfeoffed him as Marquis of She'an. Yudan died several months later. After Junchen Chanyu's death, the Xiongnu underwent a succession struggle. Yizhixie Chanyu continued the conflict with the Han, and the war entered an even more intense phase.

Major Activities

Heqin and Warfare with the Han

During the source text's stated thirty-five years of rule, Junchen Chanyu's relationship with the Han went through heqin, raiding, rupture, and war. He accepted Han women and material gifts while repeatedly sending troops south to plunder the frontier. The invasion by 60,000 cavalry in 158 BCE, the attack on Dai Commandery in 156 BCE, the attack on Yan in 148 BCE, and the raids on Yanmen, Yunzhong, and Shang commanderies in 144 BCE were major episodes. After the Mayi Ambush, relations collapsed completely and the Xiongnu repeatedly raided south while fighting Han armies led by Wei Qing and others.

Response to the Mayi Ambush

In 133 BCE Junchen Chanyu personally led 100,000 cavalry south and entered the Han trap at Mayi. Becoming suspicious on the approach to the city, he captured an official from Yanmen, learned the truth, and promptly withdrew, causing the Han encirclement plan to fail. This event was a major turning point in Han–Xiongnu relations and a key decision in Junchen Chanyu's military and political career.

Military Confrontation with the Han

After the Mayi Ambush, Junchen Chanyu faced repeated Han offensives. In 129 BCE the Han attacked on four fronts and Wei Qing reached Longcheng. In 127 BCE Wei Qing defeated the Loufan and Baiyang kings and occupied the Hetao, after which the Han established Shuofang Commandery. By the end of Junchen Chanyu's reign, the Xiongnu had gradually moved onto the strategic defensive, although they continued to raid Han frontier areas.

Xiongnu Internal Power Structure

The internal Xiongnu political structure remained relatively stable during Junchen Chanyu's reign. After his death, however, his younger brother Yizhixie and crown prince Yudan competed for the Chanyu position. Yizhixie prevailed and Yudan fled to the Han. This succession struggle reflected the coexistence and conflict of two Xiongnu succession principles: succession from elder brother to younger brother and succession from father to son.

Personal Relations

• Lao Shangchanyu: father, reigned 174–161 BCE
• Yizhixie Chanyu: younger brother, reigned 126–114 BCE
• Yudan: son and crown prince; later fled to the Han and was enfeoffed as Marquis of She'an
• Emperor Wen of Han: relations combined heqin and warfare
• Emperor Jing of Han: restored heqin with the Xiongnu before renewed conflict
• Emperor Wu of Han: Han–Xiongnu relations fully ruptured after the Mayi Ambush
• Wei Qing: Han general who defeated the Xiongnu Loufan and Baiyang kings and occupied the Hetao in 127 BCE
• Li Guang: Han general who fought the Xiongnu on multiple occasions
• Han Anguo: Han general and one of the commanders involved in the Mayi Ambush

Historical Assessment

Han and Contemporary Assessments

• The "Account of the Xiongnu" in the Records of the Grand Historian records that Junchen Chanyu maintained heqin after his accession but repeatedly broke the arrangement and raided the frontier, reflecting the Xiongnu strategy of using military force to obtain benefits.
• The "Account of the Xiongnu" in the Book of Han records numerous conflicts between Junchen Chanyu and the Han, including the major invasion of 158 BCE and his response to the Mayi Ambush.
• Han assessments of Junchen Chanyu were primarily hostile, viewing him as an untrustworthy northern enemy who repeatedly violated the frontier.

Wei and Jin through Sui and Tang

• Historians of these periods generally assessed Junchen Chanyu within the development of Han–Xiongnu relations, treating his reign as the transition from heqin to war.
• The Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance, in its account of the Mayi Ambush, describes Junchen Chanyu's response in detail and emphasizes his cautious and suspicious character.
• Tang historian Du You discussed Xiongnu history in the Tongdian and treated Junchen Chanyu as an important figure in the transition of the Xiongnu from strength toward decline.

Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Periods

• Song historian Sima Guang, in the Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance, commented on the failure of the Mayi Ambush and regarded the use of deception against the Xiongnu as a questionable strategy.
• Ming and Qing scholars often studied Junchen Chanyu from the perspective of frontier history, focusing on his place in the changing relationship between the Han and the Xiongnu.
• Qing scholarship developed more detailed studies of Xiongnu history and discussed Han–Xiongnu warfare during Junchen Chanyu's reign extensively.

Modern Assessments

• Modern historian Lin Gan, in History of the Xiongnu, treats Junchen Chanyu's reign as a continuation of the Xiongnu's period of greatest strength while noting that the Xiongnu had begun to face the challenge of a rising Han state.
• Tian Yuqing, in studies including "On the Luntai Edict," analyzes the strategic situation of Junchen Chanyu's period within the broader history of Han–Xiongnu relations.
• Modern researchers generally regard Junchen Chanyu's reign as a turning point in Han–Xiongnu relations: late in his reign the Han began taking the strategic initiative and the Xiongnu gradually lost their former advantage.