Luandi Jizhu

Biography

Family Background and Early Life

Lao Shangchanyu Jizhu came from the Xiongnu Luandi clan and was the son of Modu Chanyu. His grandfather Touman Chanyu was the first Chanyu of the Xiongnu. During the turmoil at the end of the Qin, Touman recovered the Henan region, but he was later killed by Modu. Modu Chanyu killed his father and took the throne in 206 BCE, the first year of Emperor Gaozu of Han. He defeated the Donghu in the east, attacked the Yuezhi in the west, annexed Loufan and the Baiyang king of Henan in the south, and commanded more than 300,000 archers, making the Xiongnu a major northern power. Historical sources do not record Jizhu's birth year; it is estimated that he was born around the reigns of Emperor Gaozu and Emperor Hui, roughly around 200 BCE. His early activities are not clearly recorded. As Modu's eldest son, however, Jizhu may already have taken part in military and political affairs when Modu campaigned against the Yuezhi in 177 BCE; this is a reasonable inference rather than a confirmed fact. In 174 BCE, Modu Chanyu wrote to Emperor Wen saying that "all the peoples who draw the bow have become one family." He died soon afterward, and Jizhu succeeded him as Lao Shangchanyu.

Early Reign and Heqin

When Lao Shangchanyu came to power, the Han court was still undergoing political adjustment in the early years of Emperor Wen. Emperor Wen sent a royal clanswoman holding the title Wengzhu to become the Chanyu's Yanzhi, restoring the Han–Xiongnu heqin relationship, and each year supplied the Xiongnu with quantities of silk floss, silk, wine, grain, and other provisions. In the early part of Lao Shangchanyu's reign, relations with the Han remained friendly. Notably, the eunuch Zhonghang Yue, who accompanied the Wengzhu to the Xiongnu but had been unwilling to go, defected to the Xiongnu after being compelled to make the journey and was then highly valued by Lao Shangchanyu. Zhonghang Yue taught the Xiongnu methods of written record keeping and of calculating the numbers of people and livestock. He also advised the Chanyu not to admire Han goods, arguing that Xiongnu customs were sufficient in themselves. Lao Shangchanyu relied on him as an important adviser, and Zhonghang Yue later remained a confidant of both Lao Shangchanyu and Junchen Chanyu.

Defeating the Yuezhi and Controlling the Western Regions

During Lao Shangchanyu's reign, the Xiongnu again attacked the Yuezhi. He killed the Yuezhi king and used the king's skull as a drinking vessel, forcing the Yuezhi tribes to migrate westward into the land of Daxia and bringing the entire Hexi region and the Western Regions under Xiongnu control. The "Account of Dayuan" in the Records of the Grand Historian records that "the Xiongnu Lao Shangchanyu killed the Yuezhi king and made his head into a drinking vessel." The "Account of the Xiongnu" in the Book of Han likewise records the use of the Yuezhi king's head as a drinking vessel in a blood-oath ceremony. The westward migration of the Yuezhi triggered major population movements in Central Asia, affecting Daxia, the Saka, and other peoples and exerting a far-reaching influence on the political geography of the Western Regions. The Xiongnu thereafter controlled the states of the Western Regions and established the office of Tongpu Commandant to administer taxation.

Southern Raids on the Han and Mobile Warfare

Taking advantage of the geography beyond the Han frontier and the difficulty Han armies faced in pursuing the Xiongnu over long distances, Lao Shangchanyu adopted a mobile strategy summarized as "attack when the enemy rests, withdraw when the enemy advances." He launched sudden raids, invasions, and plundering expeditions that kept Han frontier defenses under constant strain. In 169 BCE, the eleventh year of Emperor Wen's early reign, Xiongnu forces raided Didao and other Han frontier areas. The largest invasion came in the winter of 166 BCE, the fourteenth year of Emperor Wen's early reign. Lao Shangchanyu led 140,000 cavalry into Chaona and Xiaoguan, killed Beidi Commandant Sun Ang, advanced as far as Pengyang, and sent forward troops that burned the Huizhong Palace and ranged close to Chang'an.

Emperor Wen was furious and immediately organized a counterattack. He appointed Commandant of the Capital Zhou She as General of Guards and Chamberlain for Attendants Zhang Wu as General of Chariots and Cavalry, dispatching one thousand chariots and 100,000 cavalry to positions near Chang'an to guard against the Xiongnu. Marquis of Chang Lu Qing was made General of Shang Commandery; Marquis of Ning Wei Su, General of Beidi; Marquis of Longlü Zhou Zao, General of Longxi; Marquis of Dongyang Zhang Xiangru, General-in-Chief; and Marquis of Cheng Dong Chi, Vanguard General. Large numbers of chariots and cavalry were sent against the Xiongnu. Lao Shangchanyu, wary of the numerical strength of the Han forces, avoided battle. After remaining within the frontier for more than a month he withdrew, and the Han army, having pursued beyond the passes, also withdrew without major gains.

Over the following several years the Xiongnu raided repeatedly, plundering Yunzhong and Liaodong commanderies and also reaching Dai Commandery. More than ten thousand people were reportedly killed or carried off each year. Unable to put a stop to the raids, the Han increased its annual gifts to the Xiongnu in addition to maintaining the heqin arrangement. In 162 BCE, the second year of Emperor Wen's later reign, the two sides exchanged envoys and letters. Lao Shangchanyu accepted the Han proposal for peace, and both sides agreed not to cross the Great Wall frontier.

Later Years and Death

In 161 BCE, the third year of Emperor Wen's later reign, Lao Shangchanyu Jizhu died of illness after a thirteen-year reign. His son Junchen Chanyu succeeded him. During Lao Shangchanyu's rule, Xiongnu military power reached an exceptional peak. In the west, the Xiongnu drove away the Yuezhi and brought the Western Regions under control; in the south, repeated successes against the Han left the Han with few effective countermeasures. Politically, the Xiongnu remained comparatively cohesive and experienced no major internal conflict.

Major Activities

Military Expansion

Xiongnu military power reached its height during Lao Shangchanyu's reign. In the west, he took advantage of Wusun hostility toward the Yuezhi, defeated the Yuezhi, killed their king, and used his skull as a drinking vessel. The Yuezhi were forced to move westward into Daxia, and the Xiongnu consequently gained control of the states of the Western Regions. In the south, he used mobile warfare to raid Han frontier commanderies year after year. The invasion of 166 BCE with 140,000 cavalry was one of the largest Xiongnu military operations against the Han. His forces penetrated deep into Han territory, burned the Huizhong Palace, and sent advance units near Ganquan Palace, alarming Chang'an. Subsequent raids on Yunzhong and Liaodong killed or carried off people in the tens of thousands and forced the Han to increase its annual gifts in addition to the heqin arrangement.

Political Measures

Lao Shangchanyu accepted and employed the Han eunuch Zhonghang Yue, entrusting him with teaching Xiongnu officials methods of record keeping and of counting people and livestock. Zhonghang Yue became an important adviser. He urged the Chanyu to resist dependence on Han clothing and food and to preserve Xiongnu customs, strengthening cultural independence from the Han. Xiongnu politics remained cohesive under Lao Shangchanyu, with no major internal conflicts, in contrast with Modu Chanyu's patricidal seizure of power and the succession struggles that followed Junchen Chanyu's death.

Foreign Relations

At the beginning of his reign, Lao Shangchanyu maintained a heqin relationship with the Han and married a royal clanswoman holding the title Wengzhu who had been sent by Emperor Wen as his Yanzhi. Militarily, however, he continued repeated raids, creating a situation in which "heqin and raiding proceeded side by side." In 162 BCE the two states reached a peace agreement establishing the Great Wall as the boundary and promising mutual non-aggression. Lao Shangchanyu also dealt indirectly with Wusun through his control of the Western Regions, exploiting Wusun hostility toward the Yuezhi in the campaign against the latter.

Travels and Military Range

Lao Shangchanyu's military operations covered a broad geographic range. In the west, his armies reached the Hexi Corridor and the Western Regions, defeated the Yuezhi, and brought the Western Regions under Xiongnu control. In the south, they operated in Han commanderies including Beidi, Shang, Longxi, Yunzhong, and Liaodong. During the 166 BCE invasion, his route passed through the Ru River valley, in what is now the Pengyang area of Ningxia, and continued to Pengyang, where his forces burned the Huizhong Palace. The broad, level valley and abundant water made the Ru River valley suitable for large forces and, according to the source text, helped make it an important approach route for Lao Shangchanyu's campaign against the Han.

Contemporaries and Associates

Lao Shangchanyu was a contemporary of Emperor Wen of Han, with whom he exchanged diplomatic letters on several occasions. His relationship with Zhonghang Yue was particularly distinctive: Zhonghang Yue had originally been a Han eunuch, but after accompanying the Wengzhu to the Xiongnu he defected and became one of Lao Shangchanyu's most trusted advisers. Lao Shangchanyu's relationship with the Wusun was also significant, as he exploited Wusun hostility toward the Yuezhi and joined with them in defeating the Yuezhi.

Personal Relations

• Grandfather: Touman Chanyu, the first Chanyu of the Xiongnu
• Father: Modu Chanyu, the second Chanyu of the Xiongnu
• Principal wife: a Wengzhu from the imperial clan of Emperor Wen of Han; her surname is unknown, and she held the title Wengzhu rather than princess
• Eldest son: Junchen Chanyu, the fourth Chanyu of the Xiongnu
• Second son: Yizhixie Chanyu, the fifth Chanyu of the Xiongnu and younger brother of Junchen Chanyu
• Daughter: married Zhao Xin, King of Zici; Zhao Xin's wife was said to be the elder sister of Yizhixie Chanyu, that is, the younger sister of Junchen Chanyu
• Zhonghang Yue: formerly a Han eunuch; after defecting to the Xiongnu, he became a trusted adviser to Lao Shangchanyu
• Emperor Wen of Han: Han emperor; relations alternated between heqin and warfare
• Sun Ang, Commandant of Beidi: Han officer killed by the Xiongnu in 166 BCE
• Marquis of Chang Lu Qing: Han general appointed General of Shang Commandery in 166 BCE
• Marquis of Ning Wei Su: Han general appointed General of Beidi in 166 BCE
• Marquis of Longlü Zhou Zao: Han general appointed General of Longxi in 166 BCE
• Marquis of Dongyang Zhang Xiangru: Han general appointed General-in-Chief in 166 BCE
• Marquis of Cheng Dong Chi: Han general appointed Vanguard General in 166 BCE
• Zhou She: Han general serving as General of Guards in 166 BCE
• Zhang Wu: Han general serving as General of Chariots and Cavalry in 166 BCE
• King of the Yuezhi: killed by Lao Shangchanyu, his skull used as a drinking vessel
• Wusun: assisted the Xiongnu in defeating the Yuezhi

Historical Assessment

Han and Contemporary Assessments

• The "Account of the Xiongnu" in the Records of the Grand Historian records: "When Lao Shang Jizhu Chanyu first ascended the throne, Emperor Wen again sent a woman of the imperial clan with the title Wengzhu to become the Chanyu's Yanzhi." Sima Qian records Lao Shangchanyu's attacks on the Han in detail without explicit praise or condemnation, objectively presenting the military threat he posed.
• The "Account of the Xiongnu" in the Book of Han records that in the fourteenth year of Emperor Wen, "the Xiongnu Chanyu entered Chaona and Xiaoguan with 140,000 cavalry, killed Beidi Commandant Ang, seized many people and livestock, and then reached Pengyang." Ban Gu's account emphasizes the scale of the invasion as a major frontier threat to the Han.
• An edict of Emperor Wen described the Xiongnu as having "not a year without invasion" in the Book of Han, "Annals of Emperor Wen," reflecting the reality of repeated frontier raids during Lao Shangchanyu's reign.

Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties

• In the Western Jin, Jiang Tong's Memorial on Relocating the Rong discussed the Xiongnu threat and looked back to the strength of the Xiongnu under Modu and Lao Shangchanyu, treating Lao Shangchanyu as a representative of the long-standing northern frontier danger.
• Northern Wei scholar Cui Hao, when discussing northern peoples, cited Lao Shangchanyu's defeat of the Yuezhi and control of the Western Regions as an example of the expansionist capacity of northern nomadic polities.

Tang and Song Periods

• Tang scholar Sima Zhen, in his Suoyin commentary to the Records of the Grand Historian, cited works such as the Old Affairs of Xihe when discussing Lao Shangchanyu and explained the term "shoujue" as a skull cup, a drinking vessel made from the skull of a defeated enemy.
• Song historian Sima Guang's Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance, juan 14, records Lao Shangchanyu's campaigns and Han defensive deployments in detail, treating his reign as an important phase in the development of Han–Xiongnu relations.

Ming and Qing Periods

• Wang Fuzhi, writing in the late Ming and early Qing, argued in Du Tongjian Lun that during Lao Shangchanyu's reign the Xiongnu repeatedly violated the frontier without suffering decisive defeat, criticizing the passivity of the Han heqin policy.
• Qing scholar Zhao Yi examined the history of Han–Xiongnu heqin in Notes on the Twenty-Two Histories and noted that under Lao Shangchanyu "heqin and raiding proceeded side by side," suggesting that the Xiongnu used the alliance as a means of obtaining benefits.

Modern Assessments

• Lin Gan, in History of the Xiongnu, argues that Xiongnu power reached its height during Lao Shangchanyu's reign, with the Xiongnu controlling the Western Regions in the west and pressing the Han in the south.
• Ma Changshou, in The Northern Di and the Xiongnu, considers Lao Shangchanyu's defeat of the Yuezhi to have world-historical significance because the Yuezhi migration triggered population movements in Central Asia and altered the political geography of Eurasia.
• Tian Jizhou, in Ethnic History of the Qin and Han Dynasties, regards Lao Shangchanyu's employment of Zhonghang Yue as evidence of Xiongnu political adaptability, using Han techniques to strengthen Xiongnu administrative capacity.