Chanyu Wuwei

Biography

Accession as Chanyu

Wuwei was a son of Yizhixie Chanyu. In 114 BCE (3rd year of the Yuanding era, Emperor Wu of Han) Yizhixie died and he succeeded as chanyu. The Records of the Grand Historian note that the Han court was then campaigning against the Yue peoples in the south and did not send armies against the Xiongnu, nor did the Xiongnu raid the Han frontier. Three years after his accession a Han force penetrated deep into the steppe in search of the Xiongnu army without meeting it; this shows that the two sides kept their distance at the time, but it does not show that they had concluded peace.

Guo Ji's Mission and the Frontier Situation

In 110 BCE (1st year of the Yuanfeng era, Emperor Wu of Han) Emperor Wu toured Shuofang, massed troops to display his military strength and sent Guo Ji to convey the Han court's position to the chanyu. Guo Ji demanded before the chanyu that the Xiongnu either fight or submit. Wuwei was enraged, killed the host official who had received the envoy and detained Guo Ji, moving him to the area of the Northern Sea. The Records of the Grand Historian say that Wuwei did not immediately raid the Han frontier but rested and built up his horses and troops, while Guo Ji's treatment deepened the diplomatic hostility between the two states.

Afterwards Wuwei repeatedly sent envoys to seek a marriage alliance. The Han envoy Wang Wu, who was familiar with Xiongnu customs, was received by Wuwei, and the two sides discussed sending a crown prince to the Han court as a hostage; other envoys such as Yang Xin also took part in the negotiations. The proposed hostage arrangement and Wuwei's personal visit to the Han court were never carried out. When a Xiongnu envoy later died of illness in Han territory, Wuwei suspected that he had been killed and detained Han envoys, while Xiongnu cavalry raided the frontier several times. The Han court strengthened its defences around Shuofang. The two states alternated between peace proposals and frontier clashes, and no stable marriage alliance was restored.

Death

Wuwei died in 105 BCE (6th year of the Yuanfeng era, Emperor Wu of Han); the Records of the Grand Historian say that "he died after ten years on the throne". His young son Wushilu succeeded him and was therefore styled the Child Chanyu. The internal turmoil under Wushilu, the capture of Zhao Ponu and the later accession of Xulihu all took place after Wuwei's death and do not belong to his own reign.

Major Activities

Handling of Han Envoys

Guo Ji was charged with conveying demands backed by military pressure to the Xiongnu, and Wuwei detained him instead of immediately going to war. He then negotiated a marriage alliance through envoys such as Wang Wu and Yang Xin, which shows that he used both the detention of envoys and negotiation in managing Han-Xiongnu relations. The suspicion caused by an envoy's death of illness broke off the talks, and military friction reappeared on the frontier.

Succession to the Chanyu Throne

Wuwei reigned for about ten years and was succeeded by his son Wushilu. This order of succession agrees across two encyclopedic accounts and the "Account of the Xiongnu" in the Records of the Grand Historian; Xulihu was only raised to the throne after Wushilu's death and should not be written as Wuwei's direct successor.

Personal Relations

• Yizhixie Chanyu: father and Wuwei's predecessor as chanyu.
• Wushilu: son, the Child Chanyu who succeeded Wuwei.
• Xulihu: younger brother, later raised as chanyu after Wushilu's death.
• Qiedihou: younger brother, later succeeded Xulihu as chanyu.
• Emperor Wu of Han: contemporary Han emperor, who toured the frontier and sent envoys to Wuwei.
• Guo Ji: Han envoy who conveyed the Han court's demands and was detained.
• Wang Wu and Yang Xin: Han envoys who took part in the marriage-alliance negotiations with Wuwei.

Historical Assessment

Contemporary and traditional records

Traditional records place this person within the institutions and networks of the Qin and Western Han periods and preserve the offices, writings, or actions through which the person became known.

Later evaluations

Later readers valued the person according to the surviving literary, political, scholarly, legal, or frontier legacy described above.

Modern scholarship

Modern scholarship studies the career through institutional history, textual sources, and the transmission of works.