Luandi Clan (Qiedihou Chanyu)

Biography

Family Background and Early Life

Qiedihou Chanyu came from the Luandi clan. He was a son of Yizhixie Chanyu and a younger brother of Wuwei Chanyu. His father Yizhixie Chanyu, who reigned from 126 to 114 BCE, fought the Han repeatedly on a large scale and was the principal Xiongnu ruler confronting Emperor Wu of Han during that period. His elder brother Wuwei Chanyu, who reigned from 114 to 105 BCE, and Goulihu Chanyu, who reigned from 102 to 101 BCE, successively ruled the Xiongnu. In his earlier career, Qiedihou Chanyu had served as Left Grand Commandant, described in the source text as the highest military commander in the eastern Xiongnu domains and therefore a prominent figure in the Xiongnu political order. In 101 BCE, after the death of Goulihu Chanyu, Qiedihou Chanyu succeeded him.

Accession and Conciliation toward the Han

When Qiedihou Chanyu first took power, his position was not yet secure and he feared that the Han might exploit his recent accession to attack. To protect himself, he made several conciliatory gestures. He sent word to the Han saying, "The Han emperor stands in the generation of my wife's father," placing himself in a junior familial position as a sign of humility. He released all previously detained Han envoys, including Lu Chongguo, and sent envoys to present tribute and express goodwill. Emperor Wu responded positively and in 100 BCE sent the Palace Attendant Su Wu, carrying an imperial tally, to the Xiongnu. Su Wu was to escort detained Xiongnu envoys back home and deliver generous gifts. After Qiedihou Chanyu received the gifts, however, the source text says that his attitude became arrogant, setting the stage for a deterioration in relations.

Su Wu’s Exile and Sheep-Herding at Beihai

In 100 BCE Su Wu and his party reached the Xiongnu. As they were preparing to return after completing their mission, Yu Chang's plot broke out within the Xiongnu. Yu Chang, a Han man who had surrendered to the Xiongnu and had an old association with Su Wu's deputy Zhang Sheng, plotted to abduct the Chanyu's mother, the Yanzhi, and return to the Han. When the plot was exposed, Qiedihou Chanyu was enraged and blamed the Han mission, initially intending to kill them all. After the Left Yizizhi intervened, he instead sought to force them to surrender.

Su Wu refused to submit even under threat of death. Impressed by his resolve, Qiedihou Chanyu first imprisoned him in a large underground pit and cut off food and drink. Su Wu survived for days by eating felt and drinking snow, and the Xiongnu regarded this as extraordinary. The Chanyu then exiled him to Beihai, identified in the source text with Lake Baikal, to herd sheep, declaring that he could return only "when the rams give milk." Su Wu remained at Beihai for nineteen years, still holding the Han imperial tally and refusing to submit. The episode became one of the most famous diplomatic events in the history of Han–Xiongnu relations.

Battle of Junji Mountain and Li Ling's Surrender

In the autumn of 99 BCE, the second year of the Tianhan era, Emperor Wu sent Cavalry Commandant Li Ling with 5,000 infantry from Juyan Lake. After marching north for thirty days, Li Ling reached Junji Mountain and encountered 30,000 cavalry personally led by Qiedihou Chanyu. Despite being heavily outnumbered, Li Ling used the terrain to form a defensive line and fought for several days, inflicting thousands of Xiongnu casualties. Seeing the Han troops' determination, Qiedihou Chanyu nearly considered withdrawing.

At this point, Guan Gan, a Han military officer who had been mistreated by a commandant, defected to the Xiongnu and revealed that Li Ling had no reinforcements and was running out of arrows. Qiedihou Chanyu then concentrated his forces and attacked fiercely. With his troops exhausted and ammunition depleted, Li Ling was defeated around Dihan Mountain and surrendered. After Li Ling's surrender, Qiedihou Chanyu gave him a daughter in marriage, made him Right Xiaowang, and treated him generously.

The Battle of Tian Shan and the Battle of the Yuwu River

After the Battle of Junji Mountain, Qiedihou Chanyu led troops south to support the Wise King of the Right. At that time, in the Battle of Tian Shan in present-day Xinjiang, the Han General of Ershi Li Guangli had led 30,000 cavalry from Jiuquan against the Wise King of the Right, killing or capturing more than ten thousand before beginning his return. Qiedihou Chanyu personally led the main Xiongnu force to surround him. The Han fought its way out but suffered heavy losses, with only two or three tenths surviving. The Book of Han, "Account of the Xiongnu," states that the Xiongnu tightly surrounded the General of Ershi, who nearly failed to escape, and that six or seven tenths of the Han troops died.

In 97 BCE, the fourth year of the Tianhan era, Emperor Wu sent Li Guangli with 60,000 cavalry and 70,000 infantry from Shuofang. Strong Crossbow Commandant Lu Bode led more than 10,000 men to join him; Mobile General Han Yue led 30,000 infantry from Wuyuan; and General of Yinwu Gongsun Ao led 10,000 cavalry and 30,000 infantry from Yanmen, attacking the Xiongnu on several routes. When Qiedihou Chanyu learned of the offensive, he moved baggage and livestock north of the Yuwu River and personally arrayed 100,000 cavalry on its south bank. The two sides fought for more than ten days. The Han forces, according to the source text, "did not fare well in battle and all withdrew," returning without results. Taking advantage of the outcome, Qiedihou Chanyu attacked the Han outpost of Xihou City beyond the frontier, received the surrender of Commandant Li Xu, and made him Right Xiaowang.

Later Years and Death

After the Battle of the Yuwu River, Qiedihou Chanyu's rule was comparatively stable, although military confrontation with the Han continued. He died in office in 96 BCE, the first year of the Taishi era, after a reign of about five years. His son Hulugu Chanyu succeeded him. By the time Qiedihou Chanyu died, repeated warfare had reduced Xiongnu strength to some extent, but the Xiongnu remained a formidable northern opponent of the Han.

Major Activities

Diplomacy toward the Han

Qiedihou Chanyu's diplomacy shifted from conciliation to confrontation. At the beginning of his reign, he released Han envoys including Lu Chongguo, described himself as a junior relative of the Han emperor, and sent tribute to the Han, briefly easing relations. As his position strengthened, however, his stance hardened. His detention of Su Wu in 100 BCE marked a major deterioration in relations. He thereafter repeatedly resisted Han peace overtures and relied on military force against Han offensives.

Military Activity

Qiedihou Chanyu commanded several major campaigns against the Han and was an important opponent in the Han–Xiongnu wars.

• Battle of Junji Mountain (99 BCE): Qiedihou Chanyu personally led cavalry against Li Ling. After Guan Gan's defection revealed the Han army's weakness, he exploited the opportunity and forced Li Ling to surrender. The source text presents the battle as an example of a larger force wearing down a smaller one while preserving its own strength.
• Battle of Tian Shan (99 BCE): After defeating Li Ling, Qiedihou Chanyu quickly moved to support the Wise King of the Right and surrounded Li Guangli at the Tianshan Mountains, inflicting severe Han losses.
• Battle of the Yuwu River (97 BCE): Qiedihou Chanyu personally led 100,000 cavalry on the south bank of the Yuwu River and fought Han forces for more than ten days, forcing them to withdraw without success. The source text describes this as one of the largest set-piece battles of the Han–Xiongnu wars.

Relations with Han Defectors

Qiedihou Chanyu adopted a policy of winning over and using Han officers who surrendered. After Li Ling capitulated, the Chanyu gave him a daughter in marriage and made him Right Xiaowang, assigning him authority in the eastern Xiongnu domains. After Li Xu surrendered, he was likewise appointed Right Xiaowang and was used to train Xiongnu forces. These defectors played roles in Xiongnu military and political affairs, while their service also intensified Han hostility toward the Xiongnu.

Impact on Xiongnu Internal Conditions

Although the Xiongnu achieved several tactical successes during Qiedihou Chanyu's reign, the source text states that repeated war increasingly depleted their overall strength. After his death, Xiongnu power continued to weaken and did not regain the strength associated with his father Yizhixie Chanyu. His reign thus prepared the ground for further decline under Hulugu Chanyu.

Personal Relations

• Yizhixie Chanyu: father; Xiongnu Chanyu who fought Emperor Wu of Han repeatedly
• Wuwei Chanyu: elder brother; Xiongnu Chanyu from 114 to 105 BCE
• Goulihu Chanyu: nephew; son of Wuwei Chanyu, Chanyu from 102 to 101 BCE and Qiedihou Chanyu's predecessor
• Hulugu Chanyu: son; succeeded Qiedihou Chanyu after his death
• Su Wu: Han Palace Attendant detained by Qiedihou Chanyu and exiled to Beihai to herd sheep for nineteen years
• Li Ling: Han Cavalry Commandant defeated and surrendered at Junji Mountain; Qiedihou Chanyu made him Right Xiaowang
• Li Xu: Han commandant who surrendered after the Battle of the Yuwu River and was made Right Xiaowang
• Li Guangli: Han General of Ershi surrounded by Qiedihou Chanyu at the Battle of Tian Shan and suffered heavy losses
• Emperor Wu of Han: Western Han emperor and Qiedihou Chanyu's principal opponent, who repeatedly dispatched armies against the Xiongnu
• Guan Gan: Han military officer who defected during the Battle of Junji Mountain and revealed information that contributed to Li Ling's defeat
• Yu Chang: Han man who had surrendered to the Xiongnu; his failed plot in 100 BCE implicated Su Wu's mission

Historical Assessment

Han and Contemporary Assessments

• The Book of Han, "Account of the Xiongnu," records that when Qiedihou Chanyu "first acceded, he feared a Han attack" and therefore said, "The Han emperor stands in the generation of my wife's father," recognizing the cautious posture of his early reign.
• Ban Gu records the process by which Qiedihou Chanyu became increasingly "arrogant," implicitly criticizing the inconsistency of his diplomacy.
• From the Han perspective he was often described in terms of arrogance and deception, and his detention of Su Wu and inducement of Li Ling's surrender were regarded as breaches of trust.

Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties

• Historians generally evaluated Qiedihou Chanyu within the broader pattern of Han–Xiongnu relations, regarding his reign as part of a crucial phase in which Han strategic advantage over the Xiongnu was being established.
• The source text states that Northern Wei historian Cui Hao, in commentary on the Book of Han, acknowledged Qiedihou Chanyu's military ability and regarded him as skilled in warfare.

Tang and Song Periods

• Tang historian Du You recorded Qiedihou Chanyu in the Tongdian, emphasizing the effects of his military activity on the balance of power between the Han and Xiongnu.
• Song historian Sima Guang described Qiedihou Chanyu's dealings and wars with the Han in detail in the Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance and criticized his detention of Su Wu as a breach of proper relations with the Han.

Modern Assessments

• Modern historian Lin Gan, in History of the Xiongnu, argues that although the Xiongnu won several tactical engagements under Qiedihou Chanyu, their overall strength was increasingly consumed and his reign formed part of the transition from Xiongnu strength toward decline.
• Tian Yuqing, in "On the Luntai Edict," analyzes how Xiongnu military pressure during Qiedihou Chanyu's reign contributed to Emperor Wu's late-life policy adjustment and the issuing of the Luntai Edict.
• The source text cites Denis Twitchett in The Cambridge History of China, Volume 1: The Ch'in and Han Empires as assessing Qiedihou Chanyu's strong diplomatic and military posture as contributing to prolonged Han–Xiongnu confrontation.